Media Aesthetics Test 2

Used to make wide-screen shots fit into a 4 x 3 aspect ratio image. This leaves black bars above and below the image

Letterboxing

"In a [x], all objects look progressively smaller the farther away they are, and parallel lines converge in the distance, with the vertical and horizontal lines becoming more crowded as they move away from the observer (camera). All parallel lines converge and stop or disappear at the [y], which always lies at eye level or camera level on the horizon line."

Linear Perspective Vanishing Point

Shows not only "what" is happening, but also "why". Its main purpose is event intensification.

Looking Into an Event

The depth plane marking the approximate middle of the z-axis.

Middleground

A vector created by the movement on screen. This type of vector cannot be illustrated in a still photograph.

Motion Vector

When a second-order space comes into the foreground, appearing "in front" of the first order space.

Figure/Ground Paradox

The depth plane closest to the camera, marking the beginning of the z-axis.

Foreground

"The _____________________ is the borderline between the internal world of the representation [the screen itself and what is shown on it] and the world external to the representation."

Frame

Grouping information into multiple frames and text ___________________________ makes it relatively easy to seek out and comprehend the desired information.

Blocks

The most stable position of an object on screen is locating it on the lower third

False

The term "open set" refers to the fact that the set is "open" for the public to come and view.

False

The wide-screen aspect ratio is best for Close Ups (CU) and Extreme Close Ups (XCU or ECU), whereas the 4 x 3 aspect ratio is better for landscape shots

False

We tend to pay more attention to the left side of the screen than the right side of the screen

False

Z axis vectors (those that are directly on the z axis and not pointing along the x axis left or right) require noseroom or leadroom.

False

Reducing the size of the picture to place it in the center of the frame. This creates a black frame that encompasses all sides of the image.

Window boxing

The width of the screen

X Axis

The height of the screen

Y Axis

The depth axis: how far an object seems to be from the screen/camera

Z Axis

Z-axis __________________________ refers to placing people and their movements primarily along the z-axis - toward and away from the camera."

blocking

Aesthetically, the narrow angle lens conveys these things to the viewer

collective goals sameness of behavior persuadability raw, irrational power

Aesthetically, what does the wide-angle lens convey to the viewer

drama intense emotion by distorting a close-up image congestion exaggerates size relationships

The borders of a picture field act like magnets: they have a tendency to attract objects near them. This ______________________________ _________ ___________ _________________________________ can be so strong that it counteracts our natural reaction to gravitational pull."

magnetism of the frame

Leaving room in front of an index vector (a person's nose or the gaze of their eyes, for example) or motion vector in order for the vector force "to be absorbed or comfortably guided through the screen border and on to the next shot" "is called [a] for index vectors and [b] for motion vectors."

noseroom lead room

One of our built-in survival mechanisms is our tendency to mentally fill in gaps in visual information to arrive at complete and easily manageable patterns and configurations. This perceptual activity is called _______________________________ _________________________________, or closure for short."

psychological closure

The following adjustments or lens choices affects how great or shallow your depth of field is

the distance from the camera to the object focal length of the lens the lens aperture

Vectors are such powerful structural elements that they usually override the lesser forces of graphic weight and magnetism of the frame

True

Vertical lines seem more dynamic, powerful, and exciting than horizontal lines

True

shot (or sequence of shots) can be less stable, but still balanced by using principles of dynamic balance

True

A shaky camera always makes the footage more compelling

False

Graphic vectors have the greatest vector magnitude

False

Height in plane works as a distinct depth cue, regardless of whether or not the camera is parallel to the horizon.

False

In normal HD imaging (not 3D/Stereoscopic imaging), we perceive the depth axis as originating from the screen and going forward, from the camera lens to the viewer

False

It is easy for a viewer to provide psychological closure in 3D, even if the object is on the screen-to-viewer portion of the z-axis

False

OTS (O/S) shooting is the same thing as cross shooting.

False

Technically, there is no distinction between Point of View (POV) and Viewpoint

False

The aspect ratio of all mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc.) is 16 x 9 (1.78:1).

False

Typically, objects on the screen that are smaller and desaturated have greater graphic weight than do large objects with saturated colors

False

"______________________ _________ __________________________ refers to how far away or close we show on-screen an object or a person or how much territory a shot includes. There are five traditional designations of fields of view: extreme long shot (ELS), long shot (LS), medium shot (MS), close-up (CU), and extreme close-up (ECU or XCU)."

Field of View

A screen force (typically a line, for example, the horizon line) that leads our eye along it, but does not indicate one direction over the other.

Graphic Vector

_____________________________ can be done either by using lines/lettering or by using a secondary frame. In essence, this "flattens" an image with a great deal of depth into a flat, two-dimensional plane.

Graphication

When framing a Close-up shot of a person, we leave space above them to counteract the magnetic pull of the frame. This is called __________________________.

Headroom

Several clues help us determine the size of an object within the frame. They include:

How much screen area the object occupies. Knowledge of the object and its normal size. The context of its size compared to other objects within the frame that we do know the size of.

Because the screen is a two dimensional surface, when elements of the background have vectors that continue into objects placed in the foreground, the objects are seen as being the same object perceptually (although not necessarily logically).

Illogical Closure

A vector that is created by something that points in a specific direction. For example, an arrow on a sign.

Index Vector

The camera takes the place of someone with a more or less "objective" point of view. Focuses on the "what" of an event

Looking at an Event

Inductive Visual Approach

Moves from the details of the event to a general overview Begins with a series of close-ups and may or may not ever include a long-shot/establishing shot of the entire scene. Remains somewhat impressionistic, forcing the emotional participation of the audience A downside of this kind of visual approach is that it may not lead to the desired closure, but instead to a fragmented narrative

Deductive Visual Approach

Moves from the general to the specific Typically uses a "Master Shot" or "Establishing Shot" to set up the context for the scene The classic approach to telling a story Ideally suited to a large, horizontally stretched HDTV or movie screen

The most direct graphic depth cue is an overlapping plane. When you see one object partially covered by another (technically called ____________________________), you know that the one doing the covering must be in front of the one that is partially covered."

Occlusion

Filling the sides of the screen with natural scenic elements , such as buildings, trees, or furniture can effectively change the aspect ratio of the screen and force the viewer to focus on the vertical (or horizontal elements in the center of the image.

Organic Masking

Cutting off the sides of a wide-screen image to make it fit the screen. When action occurs off-center, the image is "panned" to the right or left to follow the action, while still cutting off the other side.

Pan and Scan

Close-ups seem physically and psychologically closer to us than long shots. Because we seem to perceive variations in field of view as variations of physical and psychological distance, we seem to react to them in the same way we do to the actual distances of people and things in everyday life.... This pseudo-interpersonal relationship between somebody on television talking to us" is called _________________________________. The term was coined by Joshua Meyrowitz in 1982.

Paraproxemics

Joshua Meyrowitz coined the term ___________________________ to describe "how close a viewer perceives the virtual distance of a screen event to be." In other words, "we feel closer to somebody and are apt to get more emotionally involved if the person appears on-screen in a close-up rather than a long shot."

Paraproxemics

"Persons occupying nongraphical first-order space experience a higher degree of ________________________ [where viewers see the people in the image as being "real", fostering familiarity and trust] from viewersthan people appearing in graphicated second-order space."

Personification

Used to fit a 4 x 3 aspect ratio image into a 16 x 9 screen. This leaves black bars on both sides of the screen.

Pillarboxing

Occurs when the vector field within the frame entertains such easy psychological closure that the image no longer compels us to extend it beyond the screen. This is what happens, for example, when a person in a frame is cut off at a natural diving line.

Premature Closure

"The _______________________ focus effect involves changing the focus from one location on the z-axis to another.... Obviously, you need a relatively shallow depth of field to accomplish such [an effect], which means that you must use a narrow-angle lens." An extra tip: it also helps if the distance between your two planes of focus is greater.

Rack

When the image in the secondary space (in the background) is larger than the image in the primary space (in the foreground).

Relative-Size Paradox

The ________________________ ________ _________________________ is a compositional tool wherein the screen is divided vertically and horizantally into three sections. When using this compositional tool for dynamic balance, the shot is composed with major structural elements sitting on the intersections of those three sections.

Rule of Thirds

"In video and film, the guiding compositional principle is not necessarily the screen space of a FRAME, but of a ____________________________."

Sequence

Stretching the image to change it from one aspect ratio to another without leaving any black bars on the screen.

Squeezing

A series of hand- or computer-drawn sketches of key visualizations and audio ideas make up the ______________________________. [It's] 'frames' show how you would ideally like your visualizations to appear on the video or film screen. The audio information is usually written below the corresponding...frame. To tell a good story, a good [one] will show not only the visualizations of the individual shots but also their sequencing."

Storyboard

The most common way of using point of view is to have the camera first focus on a person looking in a particular direction and then follow with a shot of what the person sees.... By switching from an objective viewpoint (seeing the driver look at something) to the driver's ___________________________ point of view, you are now commenting on the event, not just reporting it."

Subjective

When one object becomes "transparent" over another object, eliminating the illusion of depth and volume

Superimposition

Narrow Angle

To put the lens in this position, you zoom all the way in Makes objects on the z axis appear closer together than they really are This lens position enlarges the background, making objects in the background appear close in size to the objects in the foreground. This makes the z axis feel shortened. Inhibits the normal convergence of parallel lines and thus reduces the illusion of depth through linear perspective. Has a shallow depth of field and therefore emphasizes (and even creates) aerial perspective

Wide Angle

To put the lens in this position, you zoom all the way out Exaggerates relative size and stretches the z axis. Accelerates the convergence of parallel lines (for linear perspective). This makes the z axis appear elongated

A negative volume must be delineated (surrounded, defined by, etc.) positive volumes. So the sky, for example, is not negative volume because there is nothing to "contain it".

True

A shot of a car driving downhill from the upper left of the screen to the lower right of the screen will appear to be going faster than a car going downhill from the upper right to the lower left.

True

According to the principle of "relative size" (a hardwired response in humans), the smaller an object appears on the screen, the farther away it seems

True

Continuing vectors, converging vectors, and diverging vectors must remain pointing in the same direction from shot to shot when editing a sequence of shots together in order to maintain continuity

True

Graphic weight is in part determined by the color of an object

True

If the point of convergence is in front of two objects (when shooting with a 3D camera), the two objects will both appear to be behind the "window"

True

In shallow depth of field, only a relatively small portion of the z-axis is in focus, whereas in great/deep depth of field, a good portion of the z-axis is in focus.

True

Producing video for mobile media requires a using lot of close-ups

True

The figure/ground principle also applies to the aesthetic field of SOUND

True

The most compelling reason for our screens being horizontally oriented is that we live mostly on a horizontal plane - for example, we might walk 5 steps to the right or left easily, but we need a ladder to be able to walk 5 steps up or down.

True

When the camera shoots from a below-eye-level POV, then the subject seems more important and powerful.

True

You often see direct-address in news packages, but rarely in film

True

"_____________________________ means thinking in pictures or, more precisely, in individual shots or brief sequences. It also means thinking about the sounds that go with your video production or film."

Visualization

The interplay between positive and negative volumes is called _________________________ __________________________.... The control of [this] - how the positive volumes articulate the negative space - is an essential factor in the manipulation of three-dimensional space and the illusion of screen depth."

Volume Duality

HDTV has an aspect ratio of:?

16 x 9 (1.78:1)

A certain amount of moisture and dut is always in the atmosphere. We therefore see objects that are close to us somewhat more sharply than those farther away, a phenomenon known as __________________________ _________________________________.... Colors also lose their density and become less saturated the farther away they are from the observer (camera). Outdoors, distant colors take on a slightly bluish tint."

Aerial Perspective

"__________________________ the z-axis means to place positive volumes along the z-axis to help the camera distinguish among the depth planes. By placing objects or people at various z-axis locations and by choosing a specific lens (wide angle, normal, or narrow-angle zoom lens positions), you can make the viewer perceive restricted or open space, with objects being crowded or else comfortably or agonizingly far apart."

Articulating

"_______________ ___________________ is the relationship of screen width to screen height."

Aspect Ratio

The depth plane farthest from the camera, marking the end of the z-axis.

Background

"Simply by ________________________ the camera (in film, this is called a 'Dutch angle') and thus tilting the horizontal plane, you can easily destabilize a scene or make an otherwise uninteresting building or object look dynamic. You can also suggest people's extreme physical or mental stress by having them operate on a tilted horizontal plane."

Canting

"You can correct an imbalance of graphic weight by centering the object through camera or object movement so that the pull of the frame is neutralized...or by _______________________________ it with another object or other graphic element (such as lettering or even beam of light) of similar graphic weight."

Counterweighting

Uses special effects to build a screen event that would not otherwise exist.

Creating an Event

"You can achieve aerial perspective by manipulating the _______________________ __________ __________________________ - the area along the z-axis that appears in focus - and by making use of selective focus, that is, focusing on only a specific area along the z-axis."

Depth of Field