Critical Viewing Cinema Vocabulary Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard – do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?” (Tommy DeVito Goodfellas 1990) “What – – comedy at the grim with a grin,” comedy finds humor in “looking serious matters Breakaway furniture specially constructed props made from light-weight materials that easily break apart; often used for fight scenes Burlesque a vaudeville offshoot of live entertainment including musical numbers and “blue” Spoof a film that playfully imitates the style of a serious work a film that criticizes the style of a serious work by harshly Satire mocking it Mime (Pantomime) instrumental in silent speechless acting out of a character and his actions Improv (Improvisation) an actor ad-libs his character, acting out a scene without a script or rehearsal Slapstick violent actions used for humorous effect Double take a delayed comic reaction in which an event goes unnoticed until the actor suddenly acknowledges it Pratfall falling on one’s bottom for comedic effect Shtick a Yiddish term for a comedian’s trademark talent Sit com (Situational a television comedy that focuses on the natural humor of a comedy) particular setting, purely a television term Dramedy a genre which combines the elements of drama and comedy; also known as for serious comedy “serio-comedy,” Sketch a short comedy routine with actors staged in a pre-planned situation Laugh track a recording of laughter used only in television comedy shows; also known as laughter” “canned Cinema Vocabulary Who’s Who? – matter where you go, there you are” (Buckaroo Banzai The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th “No – Dimension - 1984) Director the most influential creator of the film who determines all aspect of filmmaking Assistant to the director an aide to the director who is concerned more with management details than with the creative process Executive producer the person who is responsible for a film's financing, or for arranging the film's production elements (stars, screenwriter, etc.)
Critical Viewing Cinema Vocabulary – Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard “What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?” (Tommy DeVito – Goodfellas – 1990) comedy “looking at the grim with a grin,” comedy finds humor in serious matters Breakaway furniture specially constructed props made from light-weight materials that easily break apart; often used for fight scenes Burlesque a vaudeville offshoot of live entertainment including musical numbers and “blue” Spoof a film that playfully imitates the style of a serious work Satire a film that criticizes the style of a serious work by harshly mocking it Mime (Pantomime) instrumental in silent speechless acting out of a character and his actions Improv (Improvisation) an actor ad-libs his character, acting out a scene without a script or rehearsal Slapstick violent actions used for humorous effect Double take a delayed comic reaction in which an event goes unnoticed until the actor suddenly acknowledges it Pratfall falling on one’s bottom for comedic effect Shtick a Yiddish term for a comedian’s trademark talent Sit com (Situational comedy) a television comedy that focuses on the natural humor of a particular setting, purely a television term Dramedy a genre which combines the elements of drama and comedy; also known as “serio-comedy,” for serious comedy Sketch a short comedy routine with actors staged in a pre-planned situation Laugh track a recording of laughter used only in television comedy shows; also known as “canned laughter” Cinema Vocabulary – Who’s Who? “No matter where you go, there you are” (Buckaroo Banzai – The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension - 1984) Director the most influential creator of the film who determines all aspect of filmmaking Assistant to the director an aide to the director who is concerned more with management details than with the creative process Executive producer the person who is responsible for a film's financing, or for arranging the film's production elements (stars, screenwriter, etc.)