Movies - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From Expert on Cambridge IELTS 09 Academic Listening Test 2 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
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Questions
Questions 31–35 Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
- Movies were considered not only entertainment but also 31 by the intellectuals of the day.
- Filmmakers use techniques such as staging, lighting, performance, 32 and focus to develop different styles of films.
- Before cutting, the action in films was like it was in the theater because it was 33.
- 34 is the technique that sets film apart from theater.
- Cross-cutting-which is also called 35 made it possible to tell two stories at the same time.
Questions 36–40 Summary Completion
Complete the summary below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
D.W. Griffith redefined the innovations of other filmmakers and he created a unique 36. He liked to shoot a scene from different 37 rather than one position. And he liked to use editing to highlight the 38 of a scene. He usually broke down a scene into closely framed shots which are recognised as 39. The shots can show closer views of people's faces or gestures so that they can convey a character's 40 through their subtle facial changes.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | high art | Movies were also regarded as high art by the intellectuals of the day | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that educated thinkers during that period viewed movies as a serious form of art. Answer Explanation: The answer means serious, valuable, and superior art. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is confirmed by the first paragraph of the transcript. The sentence states that movies were not just entertainment, but were also seen as "high art" by thinkers and educated people (the intellectuals of the day). In this context, "regarded as" means the same thing as "considered". |
| Q32 | camera framing | It's the filmmaker's systematic use of the techniques of the medium for example, staging, lighting, performance, camera framing and focus | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that a film's style comes from methods such as staging, lighting, acting, positioning the camera, and focusing. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to deciding how a scene is placed and viewed inside the camera's picture borders. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by the lecture when the speaker explains how film style is created. The speaker lists the specific tools and techniques movie makers use, which include staging, lighting, performance, camera framing, and focus. |
| Q33 | continuous | Before cutting, the action in films was like it was in the theater. The action took place far away from us. And it was continuous | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that in early films before cutting, the action was shown from far away and ran non-stop without any breaks, exactly like watching a live play in a theater. Answer Explanation: The answer means happening without stopping, breaks, or interruptions. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "continuous" because the speaker directly explains what movies were like before editing techniques were developed. In the theater, as well as in early films before cutting, the action was not broken up by different shots; instead, it was continuous. |
| Q34 | Editing | The critics preferred to see stylistic editing, the technique that set film apart from theater | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that reviewers favored editing because it was the special method that made movies unique compared to stage theatre. Answer Explanation: The answer means "Editing," which is the process of putting together different shots and pieces of film to make a movie. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is confirmed by the fourth paragraph. The text states that early critics liked "stylistic editing" because it was "the technique that set film apart from theater." Therefore, editing is the specific skill or method that made films different from stage plays. |
| Q35 | parallel action | Another film technique - called cross-cutting - made it possible to tell two stories at the same time. Cross-cutting is also called parallel action | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that cross-cutting allows movies to show two different events happening at once, and it notes that another name for this technique is parallel action. Answer Explanation: The answer means another name for the film editing method known as cross-cutting. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "parallel action" because the speaker explicitly states that the technique of cross-cutting is also known by this name. In the sentence, the phrase "which is also called" directly matches the text's explanation that "Cross-cutting is also called parallel action." |
| Q36 | narrative form | While Griffith didn't invent everything about film, actually he defined and redefined the innovations of other filmmakers, he created movies that critics and audiences recognised as a unique narrative form | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that although Griffith did not create every technique, he took other people's ideas and improved them to make films with a unique style of storytelling. Answer Explanation: The answer "narrative form" means a special way or style of telling a story. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "narrative form" because the text mentions that D.W. Griffith improved upon earlier film techniques and made films that were viewed as a "unique narrative form." The summary asks what kind of unique thing he created after redefining the innovations of other filmmakers. |
| Q37 | angles | Instead of having one camera shoot a scene from one position, D.W Griffith filled each scene from many angles, and then he pieced together the sequences in the editing room | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that rather than filming an entire scene from a single fixed place, D.W. Griffith recorded each scene from multiple different camera angles. Answer Explanation: The answer "angles" means the different directions or positions from which a camera looks at and records a scene. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "angles" because the summary mentions filming a scene from different directions rather than just one position. In the transcript, the speaker explains that rather than using a single camera in one spot, D.W. Griffith filmed scenes from "many angles" before joining them together in editing. |
| Q38 | dramatic impact | He used editing to heighten and control the dramatic impact of a scene | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that Griffith used movie editing to make the emotional power and excitement (dramatic impact) of a scene stronger and more controlled. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to the strong emotional and exciting effect that a movie scene creates for the audience. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is confirmed by D.W. Griffith's techniques mentioned in the text. The summary states that he used editing to "highlight" something in a scene. In the transcript, the narrator explains that "He used editing to heighten and control the dramatic impact of a scene." The word "heighten" matches the meaning of "highlight" (to increase or emphasize), pointing directly to "dramatic impact" as the correct words to complete the blank. |
| Q39 | close-ups | These closely framed shots are known as close-ups | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript states that camera shots that show a subject up close are called close-ups. Answer Explanation: The answer refers to film shots taken from very near an actor's face or body, which show details closely. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "close-ups" because the text explains that D.W. Griffith divided scenes into shots showing closer views of faces and gestures. The speaker states that these "closely framed shots" are called "close-ups." The phrase in the summary "closely framed shots which are recognised as" directly matches the text's "closely framed shots are known as close-ups." |
| Q40 | emotions | The close-up conveys a character's emotions through subtle changes in the eyes, mouth, and brow | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that close-up shots show viewers how a character feels by focusing on tiny, delicate movements in their facial features. Answer Explanation: The answer "emotions" means the feelings that a person experiences, such as happiness, sadness, or anger. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "emotions" because the summary discusses how close-up shots show people's faces and gestures to reveal what a character feels. The lecture directly states that a close-up conveys a character's "emotions" through small facial movements in the eyes, mouth, and brow. |
Transcript
In the first two decades of the twentieth century, cinema established itself as a powerful mass medium. Movies were a popular entertainment for working people, but they were more than just entertainment. Movies were also regarded as high art by the intellectuals of the day. Many people believed that cinema or film would be the defining art form of the new century.
Even in its earliest years, film was developing its own style, a style that was distinct from that of the theater. But what do we mean when we speak of film style? To put it simply, style is the texture of a film's images and sounds. It's the filmmaker's systematic use of the techniques of the medium for example, staging, lighting, performance, camera framing and focus. Editing and sound also contribute to style.
A few filmmakers of the silent era were already developing film style, most notably in the editing technique is cutting. Cutting is when the action is broken up into separate shots, or pieces of film, and then the shots are recombined to tell the story in a coherent way. Before cutting, the action in films was like it was in the theater. The action took place far away from us. And it was continuous. It wasn't interrupted by any closer views of the actors.
Early film critics didn't like films that looked too much like theatre. Theatre was a well recognised art form with its own traditions and methods. However, film was something new, and well, it was an art form that owed its birth to the technology of the moving picture camera. The critics preferred to see stylistic editing, the technique that set film apart from theater. A lot of critics felt that editing was the most important film technique. Cutting - the change from shot to shot - was regarded as the key to film artistry.
Another film technique - called cross-cutting - made it possible to tell two stories at the same time. Cross-cutting is also called parallel action. It involves showing segments from two different sequences, moving back and forth from one to the other so the two stories appear to be taking place at the same time. Cross-cutting was used in the film The Great Train Robbery, which was made in 1903. The film shows bandits escaping from the scene of their crime, and then it cross-cuts to a scene where the townspeople are dancing at a party, unaware the robbery has taken place. The audience easily understands that the two scenes are going on at the same time.
The person who usually receives the credit for inventing most film techniques is D.W. Griffith. D.W. Griffith was an American filmmaker who is considered by many to be the most influential figure in the history of cinema. He began his career as a stage actor and writer in the first part of the 20th century. He took his stories to the early movie studios, landing at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in 1908. Until 1913 Griffith oversaw the production of almost all of Biograph's movies, more than 450 films. The quality of Griffith's productions was generally considered superior to his contemporaries, and his projects became more ambitious than the standard one-reel films. His three-hour feature - The Birth of a Nation - is a stunning success and is considered the most important film in the development of cinema as an art.
While Griffith didn't invent everything about film, actually he defined and redefined the innovations of other filmmakers, he created movies that critics and audiences recognised as a unique narrative form. This is because he perfected the elements of film "grammar" and the art of the story film which includes cross-cutting, close-ups, parallel narratives, camera movement and more restrained acting.
Instead of having one camera shoot a scene from one position, D.W Griffith filled each scene from many angles, and then he pieced together the sequences in the editing room. He used editing to heighten and control the dramatic impact of a scene. He introduced analytical editing, that is, breaking down a scene into shots that show closer views of people's faces or gestures. These closely framed shots are known as close-ups. The close-up conveys a character's emotions through subtle changes in the eyes, mouth, and brow. After D.W Griffith, the close-up becomes a standard tool in the language of film.