IB Film SL flashcards
IB Film SL · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Mise-en-scène
- Everything placed within the camera frame: setting, costume, lighting, staging, and figure movement. Analysts treat these as deliberate choices that produce meaning for the spectator.
- Diegetic sound
- Sound whose source exists within the story world, such as dialogue, footsteps, or a radio in the scene. It contrasts with non-diegetic sound like score or narration.
- 180-degree rule
- A continuity convention keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary line between two characters, so screen direction and spatial relationships stay consistent across cuts.
- Match cut
- An edit linking two shots through visual, spatial, or conceptual similarity, such as a shape or movement match. It creates continuity or a meaningful comparison between scenes.
- Auteur theory
- The idea that a director is the primary creative author, expressing a consistent style and thematic preoccupations across films, despite the collaborative nature of film production.
- Todorov's narrative model
- A five-stage structure: initial equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair, and a new equilibrium. It is used to map narrative progression in classical storytelling.
- Enigma code
- Barthes' term for narrative elements that pose questions and withhold answers, sustaining spectator curiosity. Their resolution or deliberate non-resolution shapes narrative pleasure and meaning.
- Genre repertoire of elements
- The recurring ingredients of a genre: iconography, settings, character types, narrative situations, and stylistic conventions. Comparing a film against them reveals conformity, hybridity, or innovation.
- Close analysis method
- A procedure for sequences: state the sequence's narrative function, identify repeated patterns in mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, and sound, then link those patterns to meaning.
- Dutch angle
- A camera angle in which the horizon is tilted rather than level. It produces instability, unease, or disorientation and is often associated with tension or psychological disturbance.
- Comparative study focus
- The specific point of comparison between two films, such as genre, auteur, movement, or theme. A clear focus prevents two separate descriptions sitting side by side.
- National cinema
- A critical category grouping films by country or region, shaped by funding, censorship, language, and reception. It is a construction to be tested, not a fixed property.
- Dogme 95
- A 1995 Danish manifesto by von Trier and Vinterberg imposing rules such as handheld camera, location shooting, and no artificial lighting, aiming to strip cinema of spectacle.
- French New Wave
- A late-1950s French movement of critics-turned-directors who used location shooting, jump cuts, and personal expression. Its auteurist polemic reshaped film criticism worldwide.
- Italian Neorealism
- A post-war Italian movement using location shooting, non-professional actors, and stories of ordinary hardship. Its style and social concern became a reference point for later cinemas.
- Feminist film theory
- A framework examining how film constructs gender, looking relations, and spectatorship. The male gaze and the position of female spectators are central concerns in this analysis.
- Postcolonial theory
- A framework analysing representation, power, and identity in films from formerly colonised regions. It examines how cinema reproduces, resists, or complicates colonial ways of seeing.
- Primary versus secondary source
- Primary sources are the films themselves; secondary sources are criticism, theory, and interviews about them. Comparative essays must distinguish clearly between the two kinds of evidence.
- Tertium quid
- The shared third term that makes a comparison meaningful, such as a common genre or theme. Without it, comparison collapses into unrelated description of two films.
- Creative intention
- A stated aim written before or early in production, describing the intended effect, audience, and formal approach. It later anchors reflection on what the finished film achieved.
- Exposure triangle
- The relationship between aperture, shutter, and ISO that determines image brightness. Changing one requires compensating with another to maintain correct exposure and desired depth of field.
- Shot list
- A pre-production document enumerating each planned shot with size, angle, movement, and notes. It coordinates crew activity and supports efficient, organised shooting days.
- Storyboard
- A sequence of drawings representing planned shots, including framing and action. It communicates visual intention to the crew and helps anticipate continuity and editing problems.
- Three-point lighting
- A standard setup using key, fill, and back light to shape a subject. Ratios between key and fill control contrast and mood in the image.
- Coverage
- The range of shots filmed for a scene, such as wide, medium, and close-ups from multiple angles. Adequate coverage gives the editor choices in post-production.
- Room tone
- A recording of the ambient sound of a location without dialogue or action. It is used in editing to smooth audio transitions and fill gaps between takes.
- Rough cut versus fine cut
- A rough cut assembles the story with approximate timing; a fine cut refines pacing, transitions, sound, and colour. The stages mark progressive control over the edit.
- Call sheet
- A daily production document listing call times, locations, scenes, crew contacts, and safety notes. It coordinates the shooting day and is essential for professional collaboration.
- Shooting ratio
- The amount of footage shot relative to the finished running time, expressed as a ratio. Higher ratios imply more coverage, more takes, and more editing options.
- Informed consent
- Participants' agreement to appear in a film after understanding its purpose, distribution, and risks. It is an ethical and often legal requirement for documentary and fiction work.
- Research log
- A dated record of each source, its key claim, and how it informed the project. It supports academic honesty and makes the research process visible for assessment.
- Wild track
- Audio recorded separately from the picture, such as ambient sound or voice-over. It is synchronised in editing to support or replace location sound.