2.9: Film, Video, and Digital Art
1. Digital filmmaking has taken over as the dominant technology in the film industry.
2. The difference between film and video is:
a. the way that the images are recorded
b. whether or not the movie has been edited
c. whether or not the movie has financial backing
d. that one records moving images and the other stills
e. that one only works in the dark
3. The way that images appear to be moving in films and videos is actually an optical illusion.
4. The theory that describes the way separate images viewed at regular intervals create the
appearance of continuous motion is called ________.
a. binocular vision d. multi-vision
b. blurred vision e. panoramic vision
c. persistence of vision
5. In order for moving images to be invented, motion first had to be frozen in still photographic
images.
6. In full gallop, a horse’s legs are ________ when all of them are off the ground.
a. splayed out in front and behind its body
b. crossed
c. underneath its body
d. angled out to the sides
e. a horse never has all of its legs off the ground
7. As Eadweard Muybridge’s experiments with motion showed, ________.
a. the camera only captures what is clearly visible to the human eye
b. the human eye cannot perceive anything visible to the camera
c. the camera and the human eye have nothing in common
d. the camera can capture what the human eye cannot see
e. the camera cannot capture moving objects
8. The earliest films featured elaborate sets and behind-the-scenes footage.
9. Movies were being shown all over Europe and the United States as early as ________.
a. 1527 d. 1936
b. 1750 e. 1993
c. 1896
10. Georges Méliès’s film A Trip to the Moon is known for being:
a. one of the first films to show a progression of time
b. one of the first films to change location in various scenes
c. a fictional account of astronomers launching their rocket from a cannon
d. a silent film known for trick effects and humor
e. all of the other answers
11. D. W. Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation employed innovative techniques and was used as a
propaganda tool by ________.
a. the Transatlantic Railroad d. the US president
b. Ellis Island e. none of the other answers
c. the Ku Klux Klan
12. Amongst the innovative aspects of Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane are:
a. dramatic lighting, innovative editing, and natural sound
b. elaborate sets and moving camera shots
c. fabricated newspaper headlines and character flashbacks
d. deep focus and low camera angles
e. all of the other answers
13. One of the first popular films to use color imagery was ________.
a. A Trip to the Moon d. Citizen Kane
b. The Wizard of Oz e. Star Wars
c. Singin’ in the Rain
14. How are the locations in The Wizard of Oz distinguished?
a. Kansas is shown in color and the Land of Oz is in black and white
b. Kansas is shown in black and white and the Land of Oz is in color
c. Kansas and the Land of Oz are both in black and white
d. Kansas and the Land of Oz are both in color
e. none of the other answers
15. One of the first popular films to use synchronized sound was ________.
a. A Trip to the Moon d. Citizen Kane
b. The Wizard of Oz e. Star Wars
c. Singin’ in the Rain
16. The film The Artist, released in 2011, comments on “the good old days” of the film industry by
using ________.
a. aliens and CGI d. silence and black and white
b. comedians and a war setting e. none of the other answers
c. abstraction and animation
17. Using puppets, dolls, or models to create scenes in a movie is called ________.
a. cel animation d. collage
b. imaginary thinking e. expressionism
c. stop-motion animation
18. Using a sequence of specially generated drawings to create scenes in a movie is called ________.
a. cel animation d. collage
b. imaginary thinking e. Expressionism
c. stop-motion animation
19. Who was the director of Amélie?
a. Jean-Pierre Jeunet d. Audrey Tatou
b. Pierre-Auguste Renoir e. Robert Wiene
c. Hiyao Miyazaki
20. Such films as Amélie combine realistic and fantastical elements in order to:
a. trick the viewer into believing everything in the film is true
b. point out the magical qualities of ordinary life
c. prevent the filmmaker and actors from being bored during production
d. sell as many products as possible
e. challenge the actors
21. Which of the following were used to create the visual effects in Lord of the Rings?
a. live action d. key-frame animation
b. computer-generated imagery e. all of the other answers
c. motion capture
22. Some common film genres discussed in this chapter are:
a. animation and live action d. experimental film
b. science fiction e. all of the other answers
c. horror and documentary
23. The dark and mysterious scenery of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was inspired by ________.
a. German Expressionism d. Netherlandish painting
b. French Impressionism e. none of the other answers
c. African masks
24. What genre might a filmmaker be working in if he or she used ominous music, fake blood, and
shot many of the scenes at night?
a. romantic comedy d. fairytale
b. documentary e. none of the other answers
c. horror
25. An Inconvenient Truth is ________ about ________.
a. a fictional film . . . Al Gore
b. an experimental film . . . museum practices
c. a documentary . . . global warming
d. a romantic comedy . . . a secret marriage
e. a science fiction film . . . another planet
26. Think about your favorite film. What genre is it? Do you think it is a typical example of that genre,
or does it use new or unexpected approaches? What techniques have been used by the director, or
the special effects team, in creating the mood of the film?
Match the term with its definition:
a. series of sketches or pictures used to show the scenes that will be filmed in a movie or created
using animation
b. small storefront movie theaters popular in the early twentieth century
c. sound that is recorded during a scene or that coordinates with filmed images; also refers to
sound that has a visible onscreen source
d. making a movie by filming slightly varying separate still drawings, models, or
computer-generated images, and putting them together in sequence so that they appear to move
e. categories of film that have developed recognizable plots, types of characters, and scenery
27. animation
28. film genres
29. nickelodeons
30. storyboards
31. synchronized sound
32. Auteur theory ________.
a. considers films to be art, as they represent a realization of the director’s creative vision
b. focuses on the director or screenwriter rather than other contributors
c. includes study of films by such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Jane Campion, and Wes
Anderson
d. highlights characteristic elements of a film or selection of films, including both appearance and
content
e. all of the other answers
33. ________ films often include innovative technology, unexpected subject matter, and/or
manipulated images.
a. documentary d. historical
b. experimental e. all of the other answers
c. silent
34. The film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari uses visual imagery rather than traditional dialogue to tell the
story, while the focus on imagery in Meshes of the Afternoon may seem closer to traditional fine
art than to a conventional movie narrative. Consider the movie stills in two or three examples from
this chapter, and make a list of the elements and principles at work in them. If possible, see the
films themselves (or watch an extract) and discuss how those elements and principles have
translated across moving images. Which of them are still present? In what ways have they
changed?
35. Videos designed to be art are often made to be presented ________.
a. on television screens
b. in art galleries or at art events
c. in such a way that they transform a space
d. projected on walls
e. all of the other answers
36. Nam June Paik’s ________ combines recognizable and distorted images made using a synthesizer
to modulate video signals.
a. ABC.123 d. Shock Wave
b. Inconvenient Truth e. collage
c. Global Groove
37. Consider the following statement by Bill Viola, first by yourself, then with a group:
“Technology is the imprint of the human mind onto the material substance of the natural world.
Like the Renaissance, today’s technological revolution is fueled by a combination of art, science,
and technology, and the universal human need to share our individual ideas and experiences in
ever-new ways . . . The digital image has become the common language of our time, and through it
living artists are once again emerging from the margins of culture to speak directly to the people in
the language of their experience”
What does Viola mean by this statement? Do you agree or disagree? What examples can you find
to support or refute his claims?
38. David Fincher’s House of Cards is known especially for being ________.
a. a 24-hour film screened in real time
b. a mini-series with a full season’s episodes released simultaneously
c. an interactive narrative that evolves with viewer input during filming
d. a documentary on the history of Las Vegas casinos
e. none of the other answers
Match the filmmaker with a description of his or her work:
a. photographer who first captured sequences of still images of a horse and then made them
appear to move
b. director of an experimental film based on dreams, recurring objects, and repeated image
sequences
c. filmmaker renowned for an innovative and influential film that commented on a newspaper
tycoon and the American Dream
d. known for silent films with trick effects and humor, including one about astronomers launched
from a cannon onto the moon
e. animator who incorporates elements from Japanese mythology into his films
f. Oscar-winning director who used cutting-edge visual effects, combining live action with
computer-generated imagery
39. Maya Deren
40. Georges Méliès
41. Hayao Miyazaki
42. Eadweard Muybridge
43. Orson Welles
44. Peter Jackson