Every film ends with hundreds of names and job titles, most of which mean nothing to the audience. These ten questions cover the ones worth knowing.
A feature film is made by a few hundred people doing specific, separable jobs, and the job titles are older than most of the technology. Some are plain descriptions. Others, like gaffer and best boy, are trade slang that stuck around long after anyone remembered where it came from. This quiz walks through the crew and the vocabulary of a shoot, from the drawings made before anything is filmed to the sound work added months afterwards. None of it requires having seen a particular film.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: B. How each scene is lit and photographed
Why: Also called the cinematographer, this person chooses the lighting, lenses and camera moves with the director and runs the camera and lighting crews. The corresponding Academy Award is Best Cinematography.
Answer: A. Selects and assembles the filmed takes into the finished sequence
Why: The editor works from every usable take and decides the length and order of shots, which is where a scene's rhythm actually comes from. The first version with every scene in script order is called the rough cut.
Answer: D. Heads the electrical department and rigs the lighting
Why: The gaffer turns the cinematographer's lighting plan into actual lamps, cable and power on the floor. The equivalent role on the grip side is the key grip, who handles rigging and camera support rather than electricity.
Answer: C. The chief assistant to the gaffer or the key grip
Why: There is a best boy electric and a best boy grip, each second in command of their department and responsible for crew and kit. The title is used regardless of the person's age or gender.
Answer: B. Everyday sound effects performed in a studio in time with the picture
Why: Footsteps, rustling clothes and handled props are usually performed again by a foley artist because location recordings rarely capture them cleanly. The craft is named after Jack Foley, who developed it at Universal in the sound era.
Answer: A. The scene takes place indoors
Why: Scene headings begin with INT. or EXT. for interior or exterior, then the location and the time of day. That one abbreviation tells the production team at a glance whether a scene needs a stage or a location.
Answer: D. The main shooting period involving the lead cast
Why: A production moves through development, pre-production, principal photography and then post-production. Material gathered afterwards without the main cast is handled by the second unit or picked up in reshoots.
Answer: C. The main filming period with the lead cast
Why: Pre-production planning comes before it and editing after. Financing and insurance schedules are usually pegged to the date it begins.
Answer: B. It marks the take and gives a point for syncing sound to picture
Why: The clap produces one clear frame and one sharp spike on the sound recording, which an editor lines up to marry the two. The board also carries the production, scene and take numbers so the footage can be identified later.
Answer: A. A shot in which the camera itself moves through the scene
Why: Physically moving the camera changes the relationship between foreground and background, which is why a zoom never looks the same. Dollies are often run on rails, and those rails are where the name comes from.
Harmony is not a matter of taste alone. Simple ratios, overtones, and the compromise hiding inside every piano.
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