Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - A
Abby Singer
The second-to-last shot of the day. Named after production manager Abby Singer, who would frequently call "last shot of the day" or "this shot, and just one more," only to have the director ask for more takes. See also martini shot.

Above-the-Line Expenses
The major expenses committed to before production begins, including story/rights/continuity (writing); salaries for producers, director, and cast; travel and living; and production fees (if the project is bought from an earlier company). Everything else falls under below-the-line expenses.

Academy of Motion Picture Awards
AKA: Oscars, Academy Awards
The term "Oscar" was coined by an anonymous person who remarked that the statue looked like their Uncle Oscar.

Action
"Action" is called during filming to indicate the start of the current take. See also cut, speed, lock it down.

Actor
AKA: Actress
A person who plays the role of a character. Historically, the term "Actor" refered exclusively to males, but in modern times the term is used for both genders.

Additional Camera
AKA: B Camera
An extra camera operator, often needed for complicated action sequences or stunts. Contrast with additional photography.

Additional Photography
AKA: Additional Photographer, Reshoots, Reshooting, Pickups
Focus group or studio reaction to some shots or scenes may be bad enough to convince the filmmakers to discard them. In some cases, actors are recalled and parts of the movie are refilmed. This is referred to as "Additional Photography", "Reshoots", or "Pickups". Contrast with additional camera, pickups.

Advance
Of a composite print: the distance between a point on the soundtrack and the corresponding image. Of payment: an amount given before receipt of services.

Agent
A person responsible for the professional business dealings of an actor, director, or other artist. An agent typically negotiates the contracts on behalf of the actor or director, and often has some part in selecting or recommending roles for their client.

Alan Smithee
AKA:Allen Smithee
The sole pseudonym that the Directors Guild of America allowed directors to use when they wish to remove their name from a film. The name has reportedly been retired by the Directors Guild of America, after 1997's An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn revealed the alias to the general public. It appears that project-specific pseudonyms are now used instead, selected on a case-by-case basis when the DGA agrees that a film has been taken away from a director and cut and/or altered to such an extreme extent that it completely deviates from that director's original vision.

American Cinema Editors
AKA: ACE
Honorary society of film editors founded in 1950 by Jack Ogilvie, Warren Low and others.

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
AKA: AFTRA
An association with jurisdiction over some works that can be recorded by picture or by sound. See also the Screen Actors Guild.

American Society of Cinematographers
AKA: ASC
An organization founded in 1919 and dedicated to advancing the art of cinematography through artistry and technological progress, to exchange ideas and to cement a closer relationship among cinematographers. Membership is international and by invitation based on an individual's body of narrative filmwork. Use of the abbreviation ASC, e.g. for on-screen credits, indicates membership in the society. The society publishes "American Cinematographer" magazine.

Anamorphic
AKA: Cinemascope
An optical system which has different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture. See also aspect ratio, contrast with spherical. Cinemascope is a tradename of an anamorphic technique.

Anamorphic Widescreen
AKA: 16:9 Enhanced
DVD mastering process whereby a film source with an aspect ratio greater than 4:3 (usually also greater than or equal to 16:9) is transferred to the DVD video master in such a way that the picture is vertically stretched by a factor of about 1.33 (e.g. if the picture had an aspect ratio of 16:9, it now has one of 4:3). The idea is to use as much resolution of the video master as possible so widescreen pictures use the 4:3 frame optimally, gaining another 33% of vertical resolution and looking markedly sharper. When playing a DVD with anamorphic widescreen the display (16:9 capable TV or projector and screen) has to vertically squeeze the picture by a factor of 0.75 so a circle is still a circle. If the display cannot do this the DVD player will do the squeezing and add black bars on the top and bottom of the picture. In that case the additional 33% resolution are not available.

Animation
AKA: Animated, Animator
The process of creating the illusion of motion by creating individual frames, as opposed to filming naturally-occurring action at a regular frame rate. See also computer generated animation, claymation, time lapse. Contrast with motion capture, rotoscoping.

Anime
A style of animated movie which had its roots in the comic books of Japan. Animation enjoys an immense variety of subject matter and audiences in Japan. Outside of Japan, "Anime" is often used to describe only the adult oriented science fiction and fantasy entries in the field.

Answer print
The first graded print of a film that combines sound and picture, which is created for the client to view and approve before printing the rest of the copies of the film.

Aperture
AKA: F/Number, F-Stop, Effect Aperture, Relative Aperture
A measure of the width of the opening allowing light to enter a camera. The apparent diameter of a lens viewed from the position of the object against a diffusely illuminated background is called the "effect aperture". The ratio of focal length of a lens to its "effective aperture" for an object located at infinity is called the "relative aperture", or "f/number". Larger apertures allow more light to enter a camera, hence darker scenes can be recorded. Conversely, smaller apertures allow less light to enter, but have the advantage of creating a large depth of field. See also shutter speed.
Armorer
A person who is responsible for weapons on the set of a movie or television show. Duties include providing the correct weapons to suit the era and style of the film, advising the director on use of weapons, choosing the correct blanks, creating a safe set for the use of said weapons, teaching actors about handling and using weapons, making sure use of all weapons is properly licensed, and ensuring the safety of everyone on the set while weapons are in use.

Art Department
The section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall "look" of the film (i.e. modern/high-tech, rustic, futuristic, etc.) as desired by the director. Individual positions within in this department include: production designer, production buyer, special effects supervisor, draftsman, art director, assistant art director, set decorator, set dresser, property master, leadman, swing gang, and property assistant.

Art Director
The person who oversees the artists and craftspeople who build the sets. See also production designer, set designer, set director, leadman, and swing gang.

Artifact
A visual defect in an image caused by limitations or the malfunction of imaging equipment. See also motion artifact, contrast with cinch marks.

Articulation Artist
A person who takes an artist's designs and builds them in a computer, so that animators can manipulate the figures to tell the story of the film.

Aspect Ratio
AKA: Aspect, Academy Ratio
A measure of the relative sizes of the horizontal and vertical components of an image. "standard" 4:3 or 16:9 See also anamorphic.

Assistant Art Director
An assistant to the art director.

Assistant Camera
AKA: Assistant Camera Operator, First Assistant Cameraman, 1st Assistant Cameraman, 1st Assistant Camera, Assistant Cameraman, Camera Assistant
A member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator. This person is responsible for the maintenance and care of the camera, as well as preparing dope sheets. In smaller camera crews, they may also perform the duties of clapper-loader and/or a focus puller. See also additional camera.

Assistant Director
AKA: AD, First Assistant Director, 1st Assistant Director, 2nd Assistant Director
An assistant director's duties include tracking the progress of filming versus the production schedule, and preparing call sheets.
A First Assistant Director is responsible for the preparation of the shooting schedule and script breakdown used to plan the shooting of a film or television show. The AD works directly with the Director to manage of the minute to minute operations on the set during the process of filming, as well as co-ordinating the necessary communication of details of future operations as the filming progresses. Other duties include tracking the progress of filming versus the production schedule, observing all rules related to union crafts, labor contracts and location agreements, maintaining safety on the working set, and working with the Unit Manager to keep operational costs within the budgeted plan.
A Second Assistant Director is responsible for information distribution and reporting, cast notification and preparations during the shooting process, recording of all data relative to the working hours of the crew and cast, management of the background cast (atmosphere or "extras"), preparation of call sheets, production reports,and other documentation. When needed, the Second Assistant Director can assume the duties of the First Assistant Director on a temporary basis.
Assistant Film Editor
AKA: Assistant Picture Editor, Assistant Sound Editor, Assistant Editor, First Assistant Editor, Second Assistant Editor, Apprentice Editor
Editing room crewmember responsible for providing any and all required logistical assistance to the editor(s). Duties vary, depending on whether the assistant is working with a picture or sound editor and whether the show is being edited on film or on a non-linear editing system. On a film-edited show, assistant picture editors will, during production: liase with the film lab and sound transfer facility regarding the processing of dailies; leader, sync and edgecode the dailies rolls; coordinate and take notes during dailies screenings; organize and maintain camera reports, sound reports, script notes, and lined script pages from the set, as well as lab reports and sound transfer reports; log all dailies footage; and reorganize footage for editing, if necessary. Ongoing, and during post-production, they will: reconstitute trims; locate and pull trims requested by the editor; check sync, clean, measure, re-splice, and add change-over marks to cut reels; coordinate screenings of cut work; take notes during screenings. Once the sound department begins work, the assistants produce change sheets detailing each day's changes to the workprint and production track and send them, along with any necessary duplicate trims, to the sound department. Assistants may be permitted by the editor to do some creative work, such as commenting on the editor's work; cutting temporary ("temp") sound effects and music into the track; and sometimes even editing scenes. After picture lock, the assistant: oversees the creation of optical effects such as fades, dissolves, etc. and cuts them into the workprint; continues to work with the sound department as necessary; and in some cases oversees the final stages of post-production, all the way through sound mix, negative conforming, and the production of final prints. The assistant editor chain of command consists of the First Assistant Editor(s), who bears the most responsibility for the smooth performance of the assistant team; the Second Assistant Editor(s); and the Apprentice Editor(s).

Assistant Production Manager
AKA: Assistant Production Co-Ordinator
An assistant to the production co-ordinator. See also production secretary.

Associate Producer
An individual who performs a limited number of producing functions delegated to her/him by a producer, under the direct supervision and control of that producer. The term may also refer to a person who would qualify as an executive producer of a project, but for the fact that (s)he acts on behalf of a production company which is subordinate to another one on that project. See also co-producer and line producer.

Association of Film Commissioners International
AKA: AFCI
WWW: http://www.afci.org A non-profit educational organization founded in 1975 to serve the needs of on-location film, television and commercial production.

Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers
On the web: International Home Page
A membership organization serving local and international film and videomakers-from documentarians and experimental artists to makers of narrative features

Australian Screen Editors
AKA: ASE
A cultural, professional and educational organisation, dedicated to the pursuit and recognition of excellence in the arts, sciences and technology of motion picture film and televisual post-production. It aims to promote, improve and protect the role of editor as an essential and significant contributor to all screen productions.

Association of Motion Picture Sound
AKA: AMPS
A UK-based organization whose aims are to promote and encourage the science, technology and creative application of all aspects of motion picture sound recording and reproduction, and to promote and enhance the status and recognition of the contribution of those therein engaged.
On the web: Official Home Page

Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers
AKA: AMPTP

Australian Screen Directors Association
AKA: ASDA
The Australian Screen Directors Association (ASDA) is an industry association representing the interests of film and television directors, documentary filmmakers, animators and independent producers throughout Australia.
On the web: Official Home Page

Australian Society of Cinematographers
AKA: ACS
Use of the abbreviation after a name indicates that the person is a member of the ACS.
On the web: Official Home Page

Auteur
A filmmaker, generally a director, who creates a body of work with a unified sensibility that reveals, through the interplay of themes and styles, a personal worldview. The term originated with François Truffaut, whose 1954 essay "Une certaine tendence du cinéma français" put forth the idea that the most interesting films were those that functioned as a medium of personal expression--and therefore bore the distinctive imprint of their "author." American critic Andrew Sarris later translated and expanded this idea into an "auteur theory," which proposed an evaluation of films based on their context within the filmmaker's oeuvre, rather than for their technical proficiency or greater historical significance. The term "auteur" later came to refer to any filmmaker who performed or was intimately involved in all aspects of the moviemaking process (writing, directing, producing, editing, etc.).

Automated Dialogue Replacement
AKA: Automatic Dialogue Replacement, ADR, Dialogue Looping, Dialog Looping, Looping
The re-recording of dialogue by actors in a sound studio during post-production, usually performed to playback of edited picture in order to match lip movements on screen. ADR is frequently used to replace production track of poor quality (e.g., due to high levels of background noise) or to change the delivery or inflection of a line. ADR can also be used to insert new lines of dialogue which are conceived during editing, although such lines can only be placed against picture in which the face of the actor speaking is not visible.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Editing
AKA: Automatic Dialogue Replacement Editing, ADR Editing
The process of editing sound during Automatic Dialogue Replacement.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Editor
AKA:Automatic Dialogue Replacement Editor, ADR Editor
The person who performs ADR Editing.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Mixer
AKA:Automatic Dialogue Replacement Mixer, ADR Mixer
The person who mixes the sound during Automated Dialogue Replacement.

AVID
Manufacturer of a popular non-linear editing system. Often used to refer to the system itself, as "AVID editor". Competitors include Lightworks.

Axis of Action
In the continuity editing system, the "Axis of Action" is an imaginary line that passes through the two main actors of a scene, defining the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or left. The camera is not supposed to cross the axis at a cut and thus reverse those spatial relations. Also called the "180° line."

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - B
B-Movie
A low-budget, second tier movie, frequently the 2nd movie in a double-feature billing. B-films were cheaper for studios because they did not involve the most highly paid actors or costly sets, and were popular with theater owners because they were less expensive to bring into their theaters while still able to draw revenue.

Back Projection
AKA: Rear Projection
A photographic technique whereby live action is filmed in front of a screen which the background action is projected on. Originally used for scenes occuring in vehicles. Contrast this with a matte shot.

Background Artist
AKA: Scenic Artist, Backgrounds
A person responsible for designing or constructing the art placed at the rear of a set. See also matte artist.

Backlot
AKA: Back lot
A large, undeveloped area on studio property used for constructing large open-air sets or for filming wilderness scenes.

Banned
Many countries have either government or official movie classification boards who are responsible for determining the suitability of a movie for release in their country or region. These boards occasionally block the release of a movie either in theaters or on video. Often, a banned movie will find its way around a ban by means of bootleg distribution. See also censorship.

Behind the Scenes
The off-camera goings on associated with filmmaking.

Below-the-Line Expenses
All physical production costs not included in the above-the-line expenses, including material costs, music rights, publicity, trailer, etc.

Best Boy
AKA: Assistant Chief Lighting Technician, Best Boy Grip, Best Boy Electric
The chief assistant, usually of the gaffer or key grip. In charge of the people and equipment, scheduling the required quantities for each day's work. The term originates from promoting the crew's 'best boy' to supervising, allowing the gaffer and key grip to stay on set and carry out the cameraman's lighting needs. The origin of the term is from "pre-union" filming days when the line between Grip and Electric departments was less rigid. When the head of either department needed another body temporarily, he'd go to the head of the other department and ask him to "lend me your BEST boy". By default the 2nd in charge of either department came to be known as best-boy. This term may also have been borrowed from early sailing and whaling crews, as sailors were often employed to set up and work rigging in theatres. There are no "best girls" per se; female chief assistants are also called "Best Boys".

Billing
AKA: Top Billing, Diagonal Billing, Equal Billing
A great deal of importance is placed on the relative sizes, positions, and order of names and the movie's title in printed publicity material as well as the opening credits. Generally, higher positions designate higher importance. Additionally, there is significant given to names which appear before or above the actual title of the movie. The person whose name is shown first in the credits or whose name is at the top of an advertisement is said to have received "top billing". If more than one name appears at the same time or at the same height, they are said to have "equal billing", with the importance of the people concerned decreasing from left to right. In some movies with a large number of stars, the publicity department must go to great lengths to satisfy the demands of various parties. "Diagonal billing" is where a different name appears first, depending on whether the material is read from top to bottom, or from left to right. In some extreme cases, multiple stars in the same movie have each demanded top billing, in which case an equal number of differently-billed advertisement have been created.

Biographic Picture
AKA: Biopic
A filmed story of a person's life story.

Bit Part
A small unimportant role, usually lasting only one scene.

Black and White
AKA: BW, B/W, B&W
Indicates that the images have no color. The first movies were black and white (as color film stock hadn't been invented), but in more recent times many films have been shot in black and white either for artistic reasons or because it is cheaper. Some films are shot using color film stock with the final print in black and white.

Black Comedy
A comedy in which the humour is derived from subjects which are typically considered "serious", or for which humour is usually considered as unsuitable. Common examples are death, war, suffering, and murder.

Blackface
The make up technique of making an actor, usually white, to resemble an African American or at least a caricature thereof such as in the final scene of The Jazz Singer (1927). There were also equivalents for Asians (Yellowface) and Native Americans (Redface). It was a standard practice in the early 20th century for the casting of actors in non-white roles and abandoned when it was recognized to be an insult to minorities which also cheated them of casting opportunies.

Blacklisting
AKA: Blacklist
A list of filmmakers or actors who have either been formally or informally discriminated against, due to their personal, political, social, or religious beliefs. In 1950s America, McCarthyism resulted in numerous filmmakers being blacklisted.

Blockbuster
AKA: Hit
A movie which is a huge financial success. In common usage a "blockbuster" is a movie that has a box-office of more than $100 million upon release in North America.

Blocking
A process during which the director and actors determine where on the set the actors will move and stand, so that lighting and camera placements may be set.

Bluescreen
A process whereby actors work in front of an evenly lit, monochromatic (usually blue or green) background. The background is then replaced in post production by chromakeying, allowing other footage or computer-generated images to form the background imagery. See also greenscreen.

Body Double
AKA: Photo Double
For some shots, a director may consider that a particular actor's body may not be suitable for the impression desired. In these situations, the actor is "doubled" (replaced) by a person whose body is more suitible. Typically, body doubles are used for shots requiring nudity or depictions of physical fitness. Contrast with stunt double and stand-in.

Body Makeup
Makeup applied below the neck or above the wrists.

Bomb
A movie which is a financial disaster. Exception: in the United Kingdom, when used with "down" (e.g. "went down a bomb"), the term means a rousing success.

Boom Microphone
AKA:Boom Mic, Boom, Fishpole, Giraffe
A long pole with a microphone on the end. The boom is extended out near the actors. Ideally, the microphone at the end should be placed in the camera's safe area.

Boom Operator
A member of the sound crew who operates the boom microphone. See also sound recordist.

Bootleg
An unofficial and illegally copied or distributed version of a movie, often of a substandard quality. Bootleg videos are often available for movies that have yet to be released in a particular country, or have been banned.

Bounce Board
A large white card made of foam or posterboard used to reflect soft light and for the soft key and fill.

Box-Office
AKA: Gross, B.O., BO
A measure of the total amount of money paid by cinema-goers to view a movie.

Breakdown Script
AKA: Breakdown
A detailed list of all items, people, props, equipment, etc required for a shoot on a day-by-day basis. Recording such lists aids in continuity and allows optimization of the time of actors and the crew.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts
AKA: BAFTA

British Film Commission
AKA: BFC
The British Film Commission (BFC) is a government-funded organisation established in 1991, as an initial point of contact to assist in the making of international and domestic film and television throughout every stage of production in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
On the web: Official Home Page

British Society of Cinematographers
AKA: BSC

Buck
Slang for the US Dollar.

Bundesverband Kamera (German Society of Cinematographers)
AKA: BVK
On the web: On the web: BVKamera.org
Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - C

Call Sheet
A listing of which actors will be required for which scenes, and when they will be required. Call sheets are created by assistant directors and others.

Cameo
A bit part played by a famous actor who would ordinarily not take such a small part. Originally meaning "a small piece of artwork", the term was borrowed by director Michael Anderson when attempting to attract famous actors to play bit parts in Around the World in 80 Days.

Camera
A device for recording images.

Camera Crew
The group of crewmembers directly involved with operation of the camera. Individual job titles include: clapper-loader, camera operator, assistant cameraman, director of photography, focus puller, grip, key grip, dolly grip, additional camera.

Camera Loader
AKA: Clapper-Loader, Clapper Loader
The person who operates the clapboard at the beginning of a shot, also responsible for loading film stock into film magazines. The action of slapping the clapper was invented as a way of synchronizing the visual and audio components of a shot. Recent innovations in audio-visual synchronization have made this unnecessary, but it still occurs extensively. See also assistant cameraman.

Camera Operator
AKA: Cameraman
The person who operates the camera to the specifications dictated by the director of photography. A director or a director of photography sometimes assumes this role. (Luc Besson always operates the camera on films he directs.) See also Society of Operating Cameramen, Steadicam operator.

Camp
AKA: Campy
A form of comedic parody where the clichéd conventions of a dramatic form like adventure are deliberately exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. Often unfairly used to describe superhero films and shows as Batman is a prime example of this form of comedy.

Canadian Society of Cinematographers
AKA: CSC
Use of the abbreviation after a name indicates that the person is a member of the CSC.
On the web: Official Home Page

Cast
A collective term for the actors appearing in a particular movie.

Casting
The process of hiring actors to play the characters in a script, typically done by a casting director, but with some input from a director, producer, or studio. See also CSA.

Casting Couch
During the so-called "Golden Age" of Hollwood, it was not uncommon for would-be-stars to grant sexual favours to directors and/or producers in return for a role in films. These favours were usually rumoured to be on a couch in the filmmaker's office. The phrase "Casting Couch" has been popularized, and although the practise has diminished, the term remains in use.

Casting Director
AKA: Extras Casting, Casting Assistant, Casting Associate
The person who auditions and helps to select all of the speaking role actors in film, television shows or plays. The CD must possess a vast knowledge of the actor pool and be able to match a variety of actors with just the right role. Directors and producers rely on the Casting Director to assist them with assembling the perfect cast for their production. Casting Directors are also responsible for serving as the liason between the director, and the actors and their agents. CDs negotiate the deals with agents once the actors have been cast and are also responsible for the contracts and SAG of each actor.

Casting Society of America
AKA: CSA
The Casting Society of America is a professional organization of Casting Directors working in theatre, film, and television. The C.S.A. is not a union or a guild, therefore every Casting Director working in these mediums is not necessarily a member of this organization.
On the web: Official Home Page

Caterer
AKA: Catering
A person or company who provides the main meals for cast and crew either on set or on location. See also craft service.

Cel
A hand drawn sheet representing a single animation frame, usualy made of a clear material like cellulose or mylar to allow several layers of composition.

Cel Animation
A form of animation where hand drawn pictures are transposed on to plastic sheets, each with a different element such as characters and background, and layered on top of each other to create a complete scene. The composition is then photographed and incorporated in the finished film. It was the predominate of form of animation until the rise of computer generated animation in the mid 1990's.

Censorship
AKA: Censoring, Censor
Changes required of a movie by some person or body other than the studio or the filmmakers, usually a national or regional film classification board. See also certificate.

Certificates
AKA: Certificate, Ratings
Various countries or regions have film classification boards for reviewing movies and rating their content in terms of its suitability for particular audiences. For many countries, movies are required to be advertised as having a particular "certificate" or "rating", forewarning audiences of possible "objectionable content". The nature of this "objectionable content" is determined mainly by contemporary national, social, religious, and political standards. The usual criteria which determine a film's certificate are violence and sexuality, with "mature" (adult) situations and especially blasphemy and political issues often being considered more important outside the Western world. This is by no means a hard and fast rule; see the Hays Production Code for an example. In some cases, a film classification board exhibits censorship by demanding changes be made to a movie in order to receive a certain rating. As many movies are targetted at a particular age group, studios must balance the content of their films against the demands of the classification board. Negotiations are common; studios agree to make certain changes to films in order to receive the required rating. See also: Banned, NC-17, PG, G, XXX.

CGI
AKA: Computer Generated Imagery
The use of computer graphics to create or enhance special effects.

Change Pages
When a script is being edited during production, changes are distributed to actors and the filmmakers on "change pages", which are usually a different color to the pages of the script.

Change-Over Marks
AKA: Change-Over, Reel Change, Reel Change Marks, Cigarette Burns
Most completed movies consist of more than one reel, and thus for an uninterrupted screening, at least two projectors must be used. Towards the end of a reel, one or more frames may include a small circle in one of the corners. These are signals to the projectionist that the current reel is approaching the end, and he or she should be ready to start the next projector, which should have the next reel prepared for projection. Also, many theaters have switched to a platter system which allows the entire film to be spliced together and put on a large platter. The film is fed through the center of the reel (unwinding from the inside out), then into the projector, and then back onto another platter. This process allows the film to be show back-to-back without having to rewind it.

Character Actor
An actor who specializes in playing a particular style of character, often stereotypical, offbeat, or humorous.

Choreographer
A person who plans and directs dance sequences within a movie.

Chromakeying
An electronic/computerized technique that allows for specific color elements (chroma) to be replaced with different picture elements. See also bluescreen and greenscreen.

Chute Cowboys
Slang term for experienced parachutists that either perform or assist with stunts involving parachutes.

Chyron
Text graphics which appear at the bottom of a screen used to describe time, place, or name of person on screen; can also describe the technology used to add the text to the bottom of the screen.

Cinch Marks
AKA: Scratches
Scratches on a print running parallel to the edge of the strip of film. Typically caused by improper reel winding which allows one coil of the print to slide against another.

Cinema
A place where screenings occur. Cinemas can be hardtops or ozoners.

Cinema Audio Society
AKA: CAS
A philanthropic, non-profit organization formed in 1964 for the purpose of sharing information with sound professionals in the motion picture and television industry. Use of the abbreviation after a name indicates that the person is a member of the CAS.
On the web: Official Home Page

Cinematographer
AKA: Cinematography, Cin
A person with expertise in the art of capturing images either electronically or on film stock through the application of visual recording devices and the selection and arrangement of lighting. The chief cinematographer for a movie is called the director of photography.

Clapboard
AKA: Clapper, Slate
A small board which holds information identifying a shot. It typically contains the working title of the movie, the names of the director and director of photography, the scene and take numbers, the date, and the time. It is filmed at the beginning of a take. On the top of the clapboard is a hinged stick which is often "clapped" to provide audio/visual synchronization. See also clapper-loader, continuity report.

Clapper-Loader
See camera loader.

Classification and Ratings Administration
AKA: CARA
The division of the MPAA which is responsible for administering certificates.
On the web: CARA Home Page

Claymation
Animation of models constructed from clay or plasticine.

Clean Speech
A take in which all dialogue was performed without error.

Cliffhanger
A moment of high drama, frequently used at the end of serials. Named for the (now clichéd) practice of leaving a hero or heroine hanging onto the edge of a cliff.

Close Captioned
AKA: Close-Captioned, CC
A system which displays the current dialog on screen for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers. Contrast with subtitles, intertitles.

Close-up
AKA: CU
A shot in which the subject is larger than the frame, revealing much detail. The abbreviation is often used in a slug line.

Colorist
An image artist who, during post-production of a movie or television show, utilizes computer-based alteration/correction programs to go through the movie/show frame by frame to insure color and light continuity. The colorist may also tweak colors to stylistically heighten them (think Sin City or Kill Bill I).

Compositing
The combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images (or sequences of images), often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Examples might be incorporating rendered 3D images (CGI) into filmed material, or extracting elements shot in front of blue/green screen. Today most compositing is achieved through digital image manipulation.

Compositor
A person who works with compositing. See also digital compositor.

Co-Producer
A producer who performs a substantial portion of a creative producing function, or who is primarily responsible for one or more managerial producing functions. A co-producer has less responsibility than a producer for the completion of a project. Note that if a project has more than one producer, it doesn't mean that these individuals are "co-producers" in the technical sense of that term. See also executive producer, associate producer, line producer.

Color Consultant
A technical advisor with expertise in film stock and film developing, who provides advice for cinematographers and color timers.

Color Temperature
Term that describes the color of light sources; literally, the temperature at which a blackbody emits enough radiant energy to evoke a color equivalent to that coming from a given light source. A high color temperature corresponds to bluer light, a low color temperature to yellow light. The color temperature of daylight is around 5500K.

Color Timing
AKA: Color Correction, Color Timer, Color Corrected
A process which adjusts the final print so that colors match from shot to shot, regardless of the film stock and camera used to shoot the scene. So named because one aspect is adjusting the exposure time of each shot. Performed by a color timer. See also color consultant.

Colorization
AKA: Colorized
A film alteration process where an operator digitally alters a black and white image to include color. It is a controversial practice because many filmmakers and viewers believe it fundamentally alters an artistic creation. Early attempts at colorization in the 1980's were relatively crude in their shading range. Examples of this kind of alteration are versions of Casablanca and It's a Wonderful Life. Citizen Kane is notable in that Orson Welles was able to legally prevent its alteration.

Composer
A musician whose music appears in a movie's score. Most movies have at least some original music written for the score, usually after the relevant parts of the movie have been filmed. See also lyrics.

Composite Print
AKA: Synchronized Print
A print with a images and sound on the same strip of film. The sound component may be either a magnetic soundtrack or an optical soundtrack. See also advance.

Conductor
AKA: Musical Conductor, Orchestra Conductor
A person who directs the orchestra's performance of the score, often the composer.

Construction Co-ordinator
AKA: Construction Foreman, Construction Manager
Financial responsibilities include budgeting, tracking costs, generating reports, etc. Through drawings, a construction co-ordinator is directed artistically by the Production Designer and Art Director to produce their "vision" in three dimensions. Also responsible for the physical integrity of the structures built by the construction department.

Continuity
AKA: Continuity Error
The degree to which a movie is self-consistent. For example, a scene where an actor is wearing a hat when seen from one camera angle and not from another would lack continuity. A person is often employed to check that continuity is maintained since reshooting embarrassing lapses in continuity can be prohibitively expensive. See also continuity report. In modern times, some continuity errors can be corrected through digital compositing. See the Terminator 2: Judgment Day trivia entry for an example.

Continuity Report
AKA: Continuity Script
A detailed list of the events that occured during the filming of a scene. Typically recorded are production and crew identification, camera settings, environmental conditions, the status of each take, and exact details of the action that occurs. By recording all possible sources of variation, the report helps cut down continuity error between shots or even during reshooting.

Costume
The clothes worn by actors when being filmed.

Costume Designer
A person who designs the costumes for a movie.

Costume Supervisor
The person in charge of costumes, usually preparing them for use and making sure they are accurate and faithful to the designs. Other responsibilities include consulting with the designers and training, supervising, and scheduling the costume staff.

Costumer
AKA: Wardrobe, Assistant Wardrobe, Wardrobe Assistant
A person responsible for handling the costumes worn by actors.

Costumes
The person or department responsible for obtaining wardrobe items specified by the costume designer. Most items are borrowed from the studio's costume stock or rented from outside companies; others may be created specifically for the production.

Cowboy Shot
A shot framed from mid-thigh up. Got its name during the filming of many westerns, when this was a common framing used.

Craft Service
AKA: Crafts Service
The person (or people) available to assist the other crafts which include camera, sound, electricians, grips, props, art director, set decorator, hair and makeup, service the other crafts during the actual shooting of a motion picture, with tasks including providing snacks and cleaning the set.

Crane Shot
A shot taken by a camera on a crane; often used to show the actors/action from above. Cranes usually carry both the camera and a camera operator, but some can be operated by remote control.

Creative Consultant
A multi-faceted individual that works primarily for the director of a feature, who helps with the creative process of a film in more than one field (e.g. script, special effects, photography sound design, music, etc.) In many cases, creative consultants go unaccredited, like ghost writers, for various reasons.

Creator
AKA: Concept
The writer or other primary creative force behind a movie, series, or group of characters.

Crewmembers
AKA: Crew
A collective term for anyone involved with the production of a movie who does not appear in the movie. This term is usually used to refer to the more subordinate members of a production team (contrast with filmmakers.)

Critic
A person who publishes a review of a movie from either an artistic or entertainment point of view.

Crosscut
The technique of interweaving pieces of two or more scenes, usually in order to show simultaneous actions or illuminate themes.

Cut
A change in either camera angle or placement, location, or time. "Cut" is called during filming to indicate that the current take is over. See also shot, action. A "cut" of a movie is also a complete edited version.

Cyberpunk
A subgenre of science fiction that typically has elements which include a futuristic tone, massive urban areas in decay and poverty, partial environmental collapse, extremely powerful business corporations, random street gang violence with the overall presence of extremely powerful computer, robotic and information technology. Blade Runner is considered the definitive cyberpunk movie.
Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - D
Dailies
AKA: Rushes
The first positive prints made from the negatives photographed on the previous day. During filming, the director and some actors may view these dailies as an indication of how the filming and the actors' performances are progressing.

Day-For-Night
A shoot done during that day, that simulates night time, using filters, underexposure, and other techniques to create a feeling of darkness.

Deepfocus Shot
A shot in which both the foreground and the background are in focus. In other words, a shot with exceptional depth of field.

Denoument
The concluding scenes of a movie where the story elements are finished and the characters' status after the climax is shown.

Depth of Field
AKA: DOF
A measure of the range along a camera's line of site in which objects will be in focus. See also aperture, shutter speed.

Designer
Someone who creates plans for visual aspects of a production (e.g. costume designer).

Dialect Coach
A person who helps train an actor in diction and/or the use of accents to suit the character an actor is playing.

Dialogue Editor
A sound editor who specializes in editing dialogue.

Dialogue Coach
AKA: Dialogue Director
A person who helps train an actor in diction and/or the use of inflections, so that his or her speech fits the character and situation.

Diegetic sound
AKA:Actual sound
A sound that is created by something or someone visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film.

Digital Compositing
A technique whereby separately filmed components are combined through digital editing. Contrast with optical printing.

Digital Compositor
A person who does compositing by digital means (at a computer), as opposed to using (pre-digital) optical or physical techniques.

Digital Editing
Editing a portion of a movie by digitizing one or more frames and altering them electronically or combining them with other digitized images, and then printing the modified frame.

Digital Imaging Technician
A person who provides on-set quality control, image manipulation & color correction, production continuity, trouble shooting and consultation to assist in fullfilling the requirements and vision of the cinematographer in film-style digital production.

Digital Theatre Systems
AKA: DTS
A company which has produced a digital soundtrack standard. Competitors include Dolby Digital and SDDS.

Digital Versatile Disc
AKA: Digital Video Disc, DVD
Digital Versatile Discs resemble audio CDs in appearance, but have a much higher storage capacity. Hence, they can store rich digital media such as video in addition to audio and computer software. DVD was once called "Digital Video Disc" but the name change reflects its wider uses. As a video medium, DVD offers full length feature films to be stored with exceptional picture quality accompanied by high end digital sound, such as Dolby Digital and DTS. Thanks to the huge capacity of discs, DVD movies are often sold with extra features such as the option to view the movie in widescreen or fullscreen, or the option to listen to the movie or director commentaries.

Directing Animator
The animator responsible for creating the key poses or key frames of an animation.

Director
AKA: Dir, Helmer
The principal creative artist on a movie set. A director is usually (but not always) the driving artistic source behind the filming process, and communicates to actors the way that he/she would like a particular scene played. A director's duties might also include casting, script editing, shot selection, shot composition, and editing. Typically, a director has complete artistic control over all aspects of the movie, but it is not uncommon for the director to be bound by agreements with either a producer or a studio. In some large productions, a director will delegate less important scenes to a second unit.

Director of Photography
AKA: DP, DoP
A cinematographer who is ultimately responsible for the process of recording a scene in the manner desired by the director. The Director of Photography has a number of possible duties: selection of film stock, cameras, and lenses; designing and selecting lighting, directing the gaffer's placement of lighting; shot composition (in consultation with the director); film developing and film printing.

Director's Cut
AKA: DC
Contracts under the terms of the Hollywood Director's Guild usually allow 6 weeks for a director to assemble a cut of the movie without studio interference as he or she would like it to be seen. This director's cut is fully edited and has a synchronized soundtrack. This cut is usually not color corrected or density corrected and may not even have the final music and effects tracks. In more recent times the term Director's Cut has taken on a popular meaning that implies a polished final cut of the movie that the director has complete artistic control over.

Dissolve
AKA: Lap Dissolve
An editing technique whereby the images of one shot is gradually replaced by the images of another.

Distributor
AKA: Distrib, Distribution
The organization responsible for coordinating the distribution of the finished movie to exhibitors, as well as the sale of videos, laserdiscs, and other media versions of movies.

Documentary
AKA: Docu
A non-fiction narrative without actors. Typically a documentary is a journalistic record of an event, person, or place. See also: cinema verité.

Dogme 95
A filmmaking movement launched in 1995 by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, among others. The Dogme 95 Manifesto renounces special effects and other forms of "gimmickry" in favor of stripped-down techniques. In order to qualify for Dogme status, filmmakers must abide by the following ten rules (known as the "Vow of Chastity"):

1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot).
3. The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting must take place where the film takes place).
4. The film must be in color. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.) 7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35mm.
10. The director must not be credited.

Dolby Noise Reduction
AKA: Dolby, Dolby Labs, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, Dolby 70mm, Dolby Stereo
Dolby Laboratories, Inc has produced a number of noise reduction and sound enhancement processes. Competitors include DTS and SDDS.

Dolly
AKA: Dolly Shot, Dolly Up, Dolly In, Dolly Back, Pull back
A dolly is a small truck which rolls along dolly tracks carrying the camera,some of the camera crew and occasionally the director. "Dolly" is also the action of moving the camera towards (dolly up/in) or away from (dolly/pull back) the object that it is pointing at. The term often appears in screenplays. There is a subtle difference between the results of a zoom shot and a dolly shot. In a zoom, the relative positions and sizes of all objects in the frame remains the same, whereas in a dolly shot this will change as the camera moves. Alfred Hitchcock's much-imitated shot in Vertigo used a combination zoom-in and dolly back, resulting in a dramatic change in perspective.

Dolly Grip
A grip that moves a dolly.

Dolly Tracks
A set of tracks upon which a camera can be moved. See also dolly.

Dope Sheet
AKA: Camera Report
A list of scenes from the script that have already been filmed, or a list of the contents of an exposed reel of film stock. An accurate dope sheet is the responsibility of the assistant cameraman. See also clapboard, continuity report.

Double
An actor who stands in for another actor in certain scenes, some of which may involve dangerous circumstances or require special skills (e.g. a stunt double). Sometimes body doubles are used in scenes that call for nudity or intimacy. Contrast with stand-in.

Double Bill
Two movies shown consecutively, typically for a discounted single admission price. Often the movies are sequels or are otherwise related (by genre, eg). See also feature presentation, supporting feature, and trailer.

Draftsman
A person who creates the plans for set construction. See also swing gang, production designer, and art director.

Dresser
A wardrobe assistant who helps actors with their costumes.

Driver
AKA: Transportation Captain
A person who drives either equipment or passenger trucks, typically between location shootings, sets, and the studio. The chief driver is called the transportation captain. See also transportation co-ordinator.

Dubbing
AKA: Dubs, Dubbed
The technique of combining multiple sound components into one. The term is also used to refer to automatic dialog replacement of a new language.

Dutch Tilt
A shot composed with the horizon not parallel with the bottom of the frame. Used extensively in Batman, and frequently by Orson Welles.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - E
Edge Numbers
Numbers printed on the edge of a print to allow easy identification of frames.

Editing
AKA: Visual Editing, Film Editing
Reconstructing the sequence of events in a movie. See also AVID, editor.

Editor
A person who performs editing (in consultation with the director) on a movie. This term usually refers to someone who does visual editing. See also Motion Picture Editors Guild.

Effects Stock
Special film stock that is typically used by the second unit to generate computerized composites. Effects stock usually has finer film grain, and is usually rated several stops lower than standard stock.

Electrical Department
The department in charge of all electrical matters (primarily lighting) for productions.

Electrician
The person or grip in charge of and familiar with the electrical equipment on the set.

Epic
A film with large dramatic scope or that required an immense production.

Establishing shot
The first shot of a new scene, that introduces the audience to the space in which the forthcoming scene will take place.

Executive Producer
AKA: Executive in Charge of Production
A producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues. See also associate producer, co-producer, line producer.

Exhibitor
An organization which represents cinemas.

Exposition
Background information necessary to the advancement of the storyline or to augment richness or detail.

Exterior
AKA: EXT
Used in a slug line, indicates that the scene occurs outdoors.

Extra
A person who appears in a movie where a non-specific, non-speaking character is required, usually as part of a crowd or in the background of a scene. Extras are often recruited from wherever they are available. Contrast with non-speaking role.

Extreme Close-up
AKA: ECU
A shot in which the subject is much larger than the frame. Provides more detail than a close-up. The abbreviation is often used in a slug line.

Eyeline Match
A technique used in visual effects to make sure an actor is looking at the "face" of the character/creature to be inserted later. One approach, used on Stuart Little (1999), is to sync a laser to the camera so that it is on only when the shutter is closed, and makes a dot where the creature's eyes would be. More commonly, a grip holds a target on a pole.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - F
Fade
AKA: Fade To Black, Fade In, Fade Out
A smooth, gradual transition from a normal image to complete blackness (fade out), or vice versa (fade in).

Fast Motion
AKA: Skip Frame
A shot in which time appears to move more quickly than normal. The process is commonly achieved by either deleting select frames (called "skip frames") or by undercranking. See also motion artifact, freeze frame, frame rate, judder.

Feature Film
AKA: Feature
A movie at least 40-45 minutes (2 reels) long intended for theatrical release. Contrast with short subject.

Feature Presentation
AKA: Main Attraction
The main or advertised movie during a screening. See also: double bill, trailer, supporting feature.

Featured Background
A term used to describe the perfomers who are placed in prominent positions in the background of the major action of a scene.

Femme Fatale
Literally: "Deadly Lady"; a slang term used to describe a character in a movie.

Festival
An event at which films can often premiere. Festivals can be used as by studios to show their wares and sell rights to distributors, or to officially mark a movie's release so as to make it eligible for award ceremonies with hard deadlines that can't be met if they waited for a general release. Some festivals are competitive, giving awards from a jury or selected by the audiences.

Film Buyer
A person who arranges to purchase films from an distributor on behalf of an exhibitor.

Film Developing
AKA: Developed
A process whereby images recorded on film stock are transfered to a negative print. See also color timing.

Film Grain
AKA: Grain, Graininess, Grainy
The tiny particles of light-sensitive material on film stock that record images. Finer grains give higher image quality, but coarser grains allow a faster shutter speed. Graininess is an artifact which results from the use of coarse grains, and gives images a slight mosaic appearance.

Film Magazines
A reel of film stock ready for use in a camera. The clapper-loader is responsible for inserting these into a camera.

Film Noir
Literally: "Black Film"; describes a genre of film which typically features dark, brooding characters, corruption, detectives, and the seedy side of the big city.

Film Printing
The process of transfering images from a negative print to a print.

Film Stock
The physical medium on which photographic images are recorded. See also film grain.

Filmmakers
A collective term used to refer to people who have a significant degree of control over the creation of a movie: directors, producers, screenwriters, and editors.

First Assistant Camera
AKA: 1AC
See focus puller.

Flashback
A scene that breaks the chronological continuity of the main narrative by depicting events which happened in the past. Contrast with flashforward.

Flashforward
A scene that breaks the chronological continuity of the main narrative by depicting events which happen in the future. Contrast with flashback.

Foam Technician
AKA: Foam Runner
A person responsible for creating foam latex prosthetic appliances from a sculpture created by a makeup artist.

Focus
The sharpness of an image, or the adjustments made on a camera necessary to achieve this. See also focus puller.

Focus Group
A group of approximately ten to twelve members of the public unrelated to a movie's production who attend a sneak preview. A single focus group is usually composed of a selection of people within the boundaries of a movie's intended audience. The group is extensively questioned by the filmmakers following the screening, and their opinions are incorporated into any further editing that may occur before the premiere.

Focus Puller
AKA: B Cameraman
A member of the camera crew who adjusts the focus of the camera during filming. See also assistant cameraman.

Foley
The art of recreating incidental sound effects (such as footsteps) in synchronization with the visual component of a movie. Named after early practitioner Jack Foley, foley artists sometimes use bizarre objects and methods to achieve sound effects, e.g. snapping celery to mimic bones being broken. The sounds are often exaggerated for extra effect - fight sequences are almost always accompanied by loud foley added thuds and slaps.

Foley Artist
AKA: Foley Operator
A person who creates foley sound effects; named after early practitioner Jack Foley.

Foley Editor
Edits the sounds created by a foley artist.

Foley Mixer
A sound mixer who works with a foley artist to record sound effects.

Forced perspective
A technique used to create a sense of great distance or to make a space seem much bigger than it is, forced perspective is created by using objects that are vary in size, and placing them specific distances from one another, to create the effect of objects fading into the distance.

Frame
An individual picture image which eventually appears on a print.

Frame Rate
AKA: Frames Per Second, FPS
Movies are created by taking a rapid sequence of pictures (frames) of action. By displaying these frames at the same rate at which they were recorded, the illusion of motion can be created. "Frame Rate" is the number of frames captured or projected per second. The human optical system is only capable of capturing about 20 images per second; hence to give a realistic illusion of motion a frame rate greater than this is required. Most modern motion pictures are filmed and displayed at 24 fps. Earlier films used lower frame rates, and hence when played back on modern equipment, fast motion occurs due to undercranking. See also: slow motion, fast motion, undercranking, overcranking, judder, motion artifact.

Freeze Frame
AKA: Freeze
An optical printing effect whereby a single frame is repeated to give the illusion that all action has stopped. Often used by Martin Scorsese. Contrast with stop motion.

Fullscreen
AKA: 4:3
Fullscreen is a term used to describe the shape of the picture a movie is displayed in order for it to fill a regular (as of 1998) TV screen. At the time of writing, most TVs are squarer than the newer widescreen TVs on the market. With these older sets, for every 4 inches/cm of horizontal screen size there are 3 inches/cm of vertical size, hence a 4:3 aspect ratio. Widescreen TVs have 5 and 1/3 inches/cm horizontal size for each 3 of vertical. Rather than write that as 5.333:3, we use 16:9. So fullscreen=4:3, widescreen=16:9. When a movie is played in fullscreen format for a 4:3 TV, the movie is almost always adjusted to fit. You may be familiar with the phrase "this movie has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV." What that almost always means is that much of the original picture has been thrown away, i.e. the pan and scan procedure has been used to pick the most appropriate pieces of the picture to keep because the old TV screen is the wrong shape to show the whole picture. In terms of home cinema, fullscreen is inferior to widescreen and is often considered to be an unacceptable format. The 4:3 shape TV is expected to become obsolete over the next decade as TV moves to digital and HDTV formats, which are widescreen based. DVDs often offer both fullscreen and widescreen formats, however many are already only available in widescreen and anamorphic format, so as to cater for the growing audience of home cinema enthusiasts who have already abandoned fullscreen.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - G
G
A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that a film is suitable for all ages. See also PG.

Gaffer
AKA: Chief Lighting Technician
The head of the electrical department, responsible for the design and execution of the lighting plan for a production. Early films used mostly natural light, which stagehands controlled with large tent cloths using long poles called gaffs (stagehands were often beached sailors or longshoremen, and a gaff is a type of boom on a sailing ship). In 16th Century English, the term "gaffer" denoted a man who was the head of any organized group of laborers.

Gel
A thin, tinted plastic-like sheet placed over a light to change the color of the projected light. "Cleaning the gels" is a practical joke usually given as a job to an inexperienced crew member.

Generator
AKA: Genny, Genny Operator
A mechanical engine which produces electricity from fuel (usually diesel). Frequently used for location shooting, either due to the unavailability or insufficient quantities of electricity locally available.

Giraffe
A mechanically extendable and manipulated boom microphone.

Go Motion
AKA: Go-Motion
A form of animation similar to stop motion, but which incorporates motion blur. Ordinary stop motion cannot produce motion blur as motion only occurs between frames. Robotic models that are moved during the exposure of each frame produce motion blur, and thus are more realistic. Pioneered by Industrial Light and Magic for Dragonslayer.

Greenscreen
A newer technique similar to bluescreen, however utilizing a key green background. Research showed that substantially better results could be gained by filming on green instead of blue, as effects stock was more sensitive to separating key green from other (foreground) colors. See also chromakeying.

Greensman
A member of the crew who procures, places, and maintains any vegetation on a set.

Grip
In the USA, a grip is a skilled person responsible for the set up, adjustment and maintenance of production equipment on the set. Their typical duties involve camera movement, lighting refinement, and mechanical rigging. In the UK, grips work exclusively with equipment that the camera is mounted on. Contrast with swing gang, see also key grip.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - H
Hairstylist
AKA: Hairstyles, Hair stylist, Hairdresser, Hair dresser, Hair Styles
Person responsible for maintaining actors' hairstyles during filming.

Hardtop
Slang for a normal indoor theatre. See also ozoner.

High Concept
Describes a film that includes and/or exploits certain elements (e.g. fast action, big-name stars) in order to attract a large audience.

HOD
An abbreviation for "Head of Department". Sometimes known in US as coordinators.

Hold
A word used on a continuity report to indicate that a particular take should be kept, but not developed. See also print.

Host wraps
The short segments of TV show where the host of the program talks or discusses topics; common in reality TV, where a host summarizes what has happened before the show returns to the action.

Hot Set
A set where set dressers and prop persons have finalized placing funiture and props for filming a scene and on which a scene is in the process of being shot; labeled thus to indicate that it should not be changed or disturbed.

Hype
Overzealous praise or advertising.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - I
Independent Film
AKA: Indie
A movie not produced by a major studio.

Ingenue
A young actress. Also, a type of role played by a young actress, generally implying a young, fresh-faced, naive character. studio.

Ink
Verb: to sign a contract. Noun: press coverage.

Inning
A period of time.

Insert
A close-up shot of an object, often produced by the second unit. The term probably came about to reflect the fact that this shot will be "inserted" into the final version of the movie during editing.

Interior
AKA: INT
Used in a slug line, indicates that the scene occurs indoors.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts
AKA: I.A.T.S.E., IATSE
WWW: http://www.iatse.com/

Intertitles
A title card appearing intercut with a scene. Contrast with subtitles. Commonly used with silent films.
Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - J
Jib
The arm of a mechanical crane.

Judder
An instability introduced when images sampled at one frame rate are converted to a different frame rate for viewing. This effect is most noticeable when frames are repeated or deleted in order to obtain slow motion or fast motion. See also motion artifact.

Jump Cut
A cut involving an interruption to the continuity of time, where the image in a shot closely matches the image of the previous shot.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - K
Key
A general adjective denoting importance.

Key Grip
AKA: Key-Grip
The chief of a group of grips, often doubling for a construction co-ordinator and a backup for the camera crew, that also moves a dolly. Key grips work closely with the gaffer.

Kickoff
The start of production or principal photography.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - L
Layouts
AKA: Blocking
A person responsible for working out the action before filming begins, including where the characters should be, and the camera angles.

Lead Character Technical Director
Oversees the work of a team of character technical directors, partners closely with the Lead Artist to address all issues related the creation of animated film and/or game characters. Responsible for setting and maintaining the aesthetic and technical quality bar for the character creation team.

Lead Role
AKA: Lead, Female Lead, Male Lead
The most important character in a movie, often distinguished by gender.

Leadman
AKA:Lead man, Lead person
Member of the art department who is in charge of swing gangs and/or set dressers and reports to the set decorator.

Lens
An optical device used by a camera to focus an image onto film stock.

Letterboxing
AKA: Letterboxed, Letterbox
As the aspect ratio of movies are rarely the same as the aspect ratio of a television screen, when showing movies on TV it is necessary to make sacrifices. "Letterboxing" is a video mastering process whereby a film source with an aspect ratio greater than that of the video master (4:3 for NTSC/PAL and 16:9 for HDTV) is transferred to the video master in such a way that no film image is cut off to the left or the right, requiring the addition of (usually) black bars at the top and at the bottom of the image so that it entirely fills the screen--in other words, the technique of shrinking the image just enough so that its entire width appears on screen, with black areas above and below the image. The advantage of this technique is that the film images are shown as originally intended by the film's creators, not interfering with their shot composition and artistic intentions. The disadvantage is that the entire image must be shrunk, which makes viewing on smaller TVs more difficult. Contrast with pan and scan (for DVD, also anamorphic widescreen).

Lighting
AKA: Lights
Most productions use artificial lighting when filming for various technical and artistic reasons, both on location or on a set. Lighting is designed by the director of photography in consultation with the director, and is the responsibility of the electrical department.

Lighting Crew
AKA: Lighting technician, Lighting technicians
A group of technicians who install, operate, and maintain lighting.

Lighting Department
The section of a production's crew responsible for lighting and other electrical matters during filming. Individual positions within in this department include: Gaffer, Best Boy, Lighting Board Operator, Lamp Operator, Rigging Gaffer, Riggers and genny operator.

Lighting Board Operator
A member of the electrical department who runs a console that controls the level or intensity of the lights, creating a look for the show. This can be simple or complex, involving intensity matching for shot continuity, on-screen effects, moving light control and synchronized work with other departments, like special effects and visual effects.

Lighting Technician
A member of the electrical department that is responsible for operating lights and lighting equipment on a set.

Line Producer
A producer who is responsible for managing every person and issue during the making of a film. Line producers only work on one film at a time. See also: unit production manager, associate producer, co-producer, executive producer.

Lined Script
A copy of the shooting script which is prepared by the script supervisor during production to indicate, via notations and vertical lines drawn directly onto the script pages, exactly what coverage has been shot. A given vertical line indicates, via the line's start and end point, what script material is covered in a particular shot, and whether given dialog or action is on-screen or off-screen in the shot, indicated by the line changing between straight and wavy respectively. Different coloured lines usually represent certain types of shots: close-up, insert, steadicam, etc. Each vertical line is also notated with the slate of the shot (e.g. "3C"), the printed takes (e.g. "1, 3, and 4"), and a brief shot description (e.g. "M2S Rolf & Liza"). The lined script also frequently incorporates the script supervisor's script notes on the facing pages for a given scene. The lined script is used by the film editor as a reference to what coverage was shot and to changes made to the script during production. Lined scripts give editors a quick view of all available coverage at a glance, so that he or she can make quick editing decisions without having to sort through all the footage repeatedly.

Live Area
A camera's viewfinder actually shows (and records on film stock) a greater area of the scene than will appear in the final product. Markings are etched in the viewfinder to indicate to the camera operator the extents of the "viewable" film (called the live area). An area beyond that (called the safe area) is also marked; it is in this area that the camera operator might direct the boom operator to place the boom microphone.

Location Filming
AKA: Location, On Location, Location Shooting
Filming which occurs at a place not constructed specifically for the production. Typically this is either outdoors, a well-known location, or a real place which suffices.
On the web: Find Location By Movie, Find Movie by Location

Location Manager
A person who manages various aspects of filming a movie on location, such as arranging with authorities for permission to shoot in specific places. The Location Manager is not based on set and therefore has an Assistant Location Manager who represents the department and manages the department's interests on set where the Location Manager's permission is not required or where elements of the Location Managers job has been delegated the Assistant Location Manager to oversee.

Location mixer
A sound mixer responsible for mixing sounds recorded on location.

Location Scout
A person who looks for suitable locations for filming.

Lock it down
AKA: Lock it up, a lock up A direction given by the assistant director for everyone on the set to be quiet, move out of frame, and to secure the set against anything or one interrupting the shot as it is happening. It is called just prior to speed. The phrase can also be used to securing a location for filming.

Long shot
A camera shot from a great distance, usually showing the characters as very small in comparison to their surroundings.

Look development lead
A person who works in a Digital/CG department and is responsible for wrangling the information from departments upstream like Modeling, Textures, Concept Art, Shaders and Effects and coming up with the final visual design on the look of characters, props, fx and sets that will eventually be used by lighters downstream on final shots. Usually referred to as lookdev.

Looping
See Automatic Dialogue Replacement.

Lyricist
A writer of song lyrics.

Lyrics
The words sung in a song; also refers to their writer.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - M
Macguffin
AKA: Weenie
A term used by Alfred Hitchcock to refer to an item, event, or piece of knowledge that the characters in a film consider extremely important, but which the audience either doesn't know of or doesn't care about. Examples: the engine plans in The 39 Steps, the statue with the microfilms in North by Northwest, and the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.

Magic hour
The minutes just around sunset and sunrise, where light levels change drastically and quickly, lending a warm orange glow to earlier shots, and a clearer blue in later minutes that allows a crew to shoot night scenes while light still remains.

Magnetic Soundtrack
AKA: Magnetic Print
A composite print in which the soundtrack is recorded on the attached strip of magnetic tape. Largely obsolete due to high cost and maintenance difficulties.

Maintenance Engineer
A person responsible for general maintenance and repair.

Majors
The major Hollywood movie producer/distributor studios (MGM/UA, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Universal, and Disney).

Makeup
AKA: Make up, Make-up, Makeup Artist, Makeup Supervisor
The decorations placed directly on the skin or hair of an actor for cosmetic or artistic effect. Practitioners are called artists or supervisors. See also body makeup, special makeup effects, prosthetic appliances.

Martial-Arts
AKA: Martial Arts, Chop-Socky, Chopsocky
A film which features hand to hand combat, usually using various Asian combat systems like Karate and the Chinese fighting styles popularly known in the west as Kung Fu. "Chop-socky" is a slang and scornful term for martial-arts movies.

Martini Shot
The last shot of the day's shoot... because the next "shot" is in a Martini glass. See also Abby Singer.

Matte Artist
AKA: Mattematician
A person who creates artwork (usually for the background of a shot) which is included in the movie either via a matte shot or optical printing.

Matte Shot
A photographic technique whereby artwork - usually on glass - from a matte artist is combined with live action. Contrast this with back projection or a travelling matte.

Method Acting
A style of acting formalized by Konstantin Stanislavsky which is believed by some to create more realistic performances. Essentially, the theory requires actors to draw experiences from their own personal lives that correlate to the character they are playing - an extremely demanding process emotionally. In some cases, "method" actors take the theory even further by arranging events in their private lives to resemble the lives of their characters. See the trivia entries for Down and Out in Beverly Hills and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for examples, and the trivia entry for Marathon Man for an amusing anecdote.

Medium shot
A camera shot from a medium distance, usually showing the characters from the waist up, that allows the audience to see body language, but not as much facial expression.

Microphone
AKA: Mike, Mic
A device which converts sound into electrical impulses, usually for recording or amplification.

Mini-Majors
AKA: Mini Majors
Studios which are large but not as large as the majors: Embassy, Gramercy, etc.

Mini-Series
AKA: Miniseries
A television series with a set number of episodes which tell a complete story, usually filmed at the same time. Contrast with serial.

Mise-en-scene
Literally translated as "what's put into the scene", this is the sum total of all factors affecting the artistic "look" or "feel" of a shot or scene. These can include shot selection, shot composition, production design and set decoration, as well as technical camera properties such as shutter speed, aperture, frame rate, and depth of field. Mise-en-scene is often contrasted with montage, where the artistic "look" of a scene is constructed through visual editing.

Montage
An artistic device for creating the artistic "look" or "feel" of a scene, through the use of visual editing. Often contrasted with mise-en-scene.

MOS
AKA: Mit Out Sound, Minus Optical Stripe, Motor Only Sync,
A take that is filmed without recording sound at the same time. MOS stands for "mit out sound"--it is purported that director Erich Von Stroheim couldn't pronounce "without sound" correctly due to his accent.

Motion Artifact
AKA: Strobing, Nyquist Limit
The visual interference patterns between a shot's frame rate and a filmed object's periodic motion or change. If a shot is filmed with a frame rate R, any images of periodic events of a frequency greater than R/2 (the "Nyquist Limit") will be misrepresented on film. A commonly-occuring example of this artifact is the illusion of spoked wheels appearing to turn in the wrong direction or at the wrong rate. Incorrect frame rates and synchronization can also cause strobing during shots of projected movies or of television screens. See also artifact, judder.

Motion Blur
Shots of objects that quickly move in the camera's frame, and/or shots with a slow shutter speed are likely to produce a "smearing" effect, since the object is in a range of positions during a single exposure.

Motion Capture
An animation technique in which the actions of an animated object are derived automatically from the motion of a real-world actor or object. See also rotoscoping.

Motion Control
A camera setup which records the motion of a camera during a shot so that visual effects can be easily synchronized with the photographed scene.

Motion Picture
AKA: Movie, Film, Flick, Picture

Motion Picture Editors Guild
A professional union for picture and sound editors, which now also includes re-recording mixers, projectionists, recordists, mic boom operators, engineers, and story analysts.
On the web: Official Home Page

Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
AKA: MPPDA

Motion Picture Sound Editors
AKA: MPSE

Motion Picture Stills Photographers Association
AKA: MPSPA

Movematch
The use of computer programs to combine and synthesize real footage with CGI effects.

Music Arranger
Someone who adapts a musical composition for voices, instruments, and/or performance styles other than those for which the music was originally written.

Music Editor
A person who, in collaboration with the music supervisor and composer, performs editing on the score, live vocals, songs and source music of a movie.

Music Preparation
Person who prepares printed parts from the composer's score for the musicians to play from at the score recording sessions.

Music Supervisor
AKA: Musical Director, Musical Direction, Music Director, Music Direction
A person who coordinates the work of the composer, the editor, and sound mixers. Alternately, a person who researches, obtains rights to, and supplies songs for a production.

Musical
A movie whose dramatic story structure includes unrealistic episodes of musical perfomance and/or dancing.
Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - N
National Film Theatre
AKA: NFT
Main showcase cinema in the UK. Located in London, England.
On the web: Official Home Page

National Organization of Theatre Owners
AKA: NATO

NC-17: NO ONE 17 AND UNDER ADMITTED
AKA: NC-17, X-Rated, X Rated, X
A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that no person aged 17 or under will be allowed to attend a screening of the movie. This category was formerly called "X", but many people's mistaken association of "X" films with XXX films caused the MPAA to change this on September 27, 1990.
On the web: MPAA Ratings Explanation

Negative Cost
The cost of a movie through the production of a finished negative, not including the costs of prints, advertising, or distribution.

Negative Cutter
A person who matches the negative of a movie and conforms (matches) it to the final version of the film as decided by the filmmakers. From this negative the prints are made.

Negative Pickup
An agreement where a distributor acquires a finished negative and agrees to pay P&A and distribution costs. As opposed to deals where the distributor is involved during production.

Negative Print
AKA: Negative, Neg
A reverse light image capture. See also positive print.

NG
AKA: No good
An abbreviation of the phrase "no good", which can be used to describe various aspects of filmmaking, i.e. "a ng take".

Non-linear Editing
The computer-assisted editing of a movie without the need to assemble it in linear sequence. The visual equivalent of word processing.

NTSC
The standard for TV/video display in the US and Canada, as set by the National Television Standards Committee, which delivers 525 lines of resolution at 60 half-frames per second. See also PAL and SECAM.

Nut
Operating expenses to be recovered, often deductible in an exhibitor's contract with distributors.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - O
Off book
When an actor has completely memorized their lines and cues, they are described as being off-book -- no longer in need of their script.

Off-line
The process of preliminary editing done in a lower-cost editing facility, to prepare a list of edits for on-line.

Off-line Editor
A person who performs the off-line work, completing preliminary editing done in a lower-cost editing facility, to prepare a list of edits for the final, or on-line editor.

On-line
The process of final editing and preparation for distribution of film, with edits often from a list of changes created during off-line.

On-line Editor
A person who performs the on-line work, who completes the final editing and preparation for distribution of film, with edits often from a list of changes created by the off-line editor.

Opaquer
An artist who colours in the individual cells of an animated film.

Open
AKA: Opens, Opened, Opening
The time at which a movie is first released in theatres. Movies will often open at different times in different countries/regions.

Opening Weekend
When a movie is first released in each country, its success is often measured in terms of its gross for the first weekend it opened. A disproportionate number of people usually see a movie on its opening weekend so box-office numbers are a good guide as to whether the movie will be a hit or not.

Optical Printer
AKA: Optical Printing
A laboratory machine for combining the images of one or more reels of film through photographic techniques. Contrast with digital compositing.

Optical Soundtrack
A composite print in which the soundtrack is recorded via the varying width of a transparent track which runs beside the sequence of frames on a print. See also advance.

Option
AKA: Optioning a Script
To buy the exclusive rights to a script, within a specified time at a set price, effectively guaranteeing that during the indicated time period, the writer will not share the idea with anyone else.

Orchestral Arrangements
AKA: Arrangements, Orchestrations, Orchestration
An adaptation of the score for all instruments in an orchestra.

Orchestrator
A person who writes orchestral arrangements.

Oscar
AKA: Oscars, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards
The term "Oscar" was coined by an anonymous person who remarked that the statue looked like their Uncle Oscar.

Out-Take
AKA: Out take, Outtake, Outtakes
A take of a scene not used in a movie. In some movies, out-takes are shown under the closing credits.

Overcranking
The process of speeding the frame rate of a camera up, so that when the captured pictures are played at the normal frame rate the action appears to be in slow motion. Historically, cameras were operated by turning a crank at a constant, required speed; hence "overcranking" refers to turning the crank too quickly. See also undercranking, frames per second, judder.

Over the Shoulder shot
A camera shot over the first character's shoulder capturing the second character opposite them; commonly used to show a conversation from the first character's perspective.

Ozoner
Slang for a drive-in theatre. See also hardtop.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - P
P&A
Prints and advertising, the major costs of film distribution.

PAL
AKA: Phase Alternating Line
A standard for tv/video display, dominant in Europe and Australia, which delivers 625 lines of resolution at 50 half-frames per second. See also NTSC and SECAM.

Pan
The action of rotating a camera about its vertical axis. See also tilt.

Pan and Scan
AKA: Panned and Scanned
As the aspect ratio of movies are rarely the same as the aspect ratio of a television screen, when showing movies on TV it is necessary to make sacrifices. "Pan and Scan" refers to the technique of chopping off strips from one or both sides of the picture when displaying. The areas chopped off are typically changed on a shot-by-shot basis, depending on scene composition. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows detail to be seen, the disadvantage is that shot composition is sometimes destroyed. Contrast with letterboxing.

Pen
To write, especially a script.

PG
AKA: PG: Parental Guidance Suggested
A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that a film's content is suitable for viewing by children, but recommends parental guidance. See also PG-13.
On the web: MPAA Ratings Explanation

PG-13
A certificate introduced by the MPAA on July 1, 1984 to indicate that a movie's content is rated as slightly stronger than a PG certificate. See also R.

Pickups
AKA: Picked up
Movies made by one studio that have been acquired by another. Alternately, any footage shot after production wraps. See also additional photography.

Picture Car
A vehicle shown in a movie.

Pipeline
A schedule of movie projects in production.

Pixelation
Visual squarelike digital break up that appears on the monitor when playing back a video from a digital medium such as a miniDV or a Digibeta resulting from some sort of corruption of the video. Also, A variant of stop-motion animation where actors are the objects being filmed. The key example is Neighbours.

Point of View
AKA: POV
A camera angle in which the camera views what would be visible from a particular object's position. The abbreviation is often used in a slug line.

Pornographic Film
AKA: Porno, Skin flick
A film in which sex is graphically depicted to a large degree. See also R or XXX.

Positive Print
An original light image captured on film. See also negative print.

Post-Production
AKA: Postproduction, Post
Work performed on a movie after the end of principal photography. Usually involves editing and visual effects. See also production.

Post-Production Co-ordinator
A person who works many facets of the post-production process, including ensuring the smooth operation of the editorial department, coordinating the production and delivery of final delivery elements, scheduling and coordinating ADR sessions, managing the administration of the department including post-production accounting and final delivery paperwork, organizing final post-production related documents, and coordinating the final wrap and proper storage of final video and audio masters and offline editorial materials.

Post-Production Supervisor
AKA: Production supervisor
A person overseeing the entire post-production of a project. They report directly to the producer and/or the studio in charge of the feature. Working side by side with the director and editor, the supervisor has the responsibility of finishing the film on time and on budget while satisfying the wants of the director. Post-production supervisors have authority over post-production co-ordinators. Typical duties include: Controlling all activities with vendors such as optical houses, sound facilities, inserts, ADR, reshooting, CGI, score, delivery requirements to domestic and international distributors, legal clearances, preview screenings, color timing, video mastering and budgeting the movie through the completion and delivery.

Pre-Production
AKA: Preproduction, Pre
Arrangements made before the start of filming. This can include script editing, set construction, location scouting, and casting. See also production.

Premiere
AKA: Bow, Debut
The first official public screening of a movie, marking the opening. The affair is often a gala event attended by the filmmakers, stars, and other celebrities.

Prequel
A movie that presents the characters and/or events chronologically before the setting of a previously filmed movie. See also series, serial, contrast with sequel.

Presenter
AKA: Presents
A presenter is person (often famous or well respected) who introduces a movie or show on screen or via voice-over. Some films include a credit "Presented by", or "presents", which indicates the person is an executive producer as opposed to someone who appears in the film.

Previsualization Artist
An designer who uses low resolution proxy models, quick OpenGL hardware renderings, and other 3D FX systems to completely conceptualize a sequence that requires either visual FX or character animation with the goal of to producing usable data that will help streamline the production process.

Principal Photography
AKA: Principal Filming, Principal, Shoot
The filming of major or significant components of a movie which involve lead actors.

Print
A projectable version of a movie, usually consisting of one or more reels. When refering to a particular take on a continuity report, "print" indicates that the take should be developed. See also hold.

Producer
AKA: Prod
The chief of staff of a movie production in all matters save the creative efforts of the director, who is head of the line. A producer is responsible for raising funding, hiring key personnel, and arranging for distributors. See also associate producer, co-producer, executive producer, line producer, Producer's Guild of America.

Product Placement
A business arrangement whereby the filmmakers agree to show the products or logo of a particular company, usually in return for payment or other consideration.

Production
AKA: In Production, Production Date
In the movie industry, this term refers to the phase of movie making during which principal photography occurs. Popularly, however, "production" means the entire movie project. See also pre-production and post-production.

Production Accountant
AKA: Accountant
The person responsible for managing finances during the production.

Production Assistant
AKA: Set Production Assistant, PA, Gopher, Personal Assistant, Assistant To, Assistant To Producer
A person responsible for various odd jobs, which could include such disseparate tasks as running errands, stopping traffic, acting as couriers, fetching items from craft service, etc. Tasks and levels of responsibility can vary greatly, depending on the film, the needs of the rest of the team, and the skills of the individuals PA themselves. Production Assistants are often attached to individual actors or filmmakers.

Production Buyer
A person who purchases supplies, equipment, and property necessary for a production.

Production Company
A general term for a company that is associated with the making of a movie.

Production Coordinator
The person responsible for overseeing practical matters such as ordering equipment, getting near-location accommodations for the cast and crew, etc.

Production Designer
AKA: Production Design
An artist responsible for designing the overall visual appearance of a movie.

Production Illustrator
AKA: Storyboard Artist, Illustrator
A person responsible for drawing the storyboards and anything else that needs to be drawn during the production of the movie.

Production Manager
AKA: PM
Reporting to the film's producer, this person supervises the budget, hires the crew, approves purchase orders & time cards, and generally makes sure all departments are doing their respective jobs within the parameters of the budget.

Production Report
A daily report of actual progress versus the production schedule. Includes dope sheets, continuity reports, and call sheets, as well as extensive notes regarding on-set happenings, activities of the cast and crew, and explanations of unexpected events. See also lined script.

Production Schedule
A detailed plan of the timing of activities associated with the making of a movie, of particular interest to production managers. See also production report.

Production Secretary
Secretary to the production manager.

Production Sound Mixer
The head of the sound department on the set. They are responsible for the process of recording all sync dialog and sync sound effects in a scene. The Production Sound Mixer has a number of duties: selection and operation of the microphones, and recording equipment used on the set, directing the boom operator, combining the sound of multiple microphones used to capture dialog and effects on a set, recording sound ambiance and room tone for all scenes, and wild track that will aid the editor and sound mixer in matching the different sound takes in a scene for smooth sound transitions.

Projectionist
A studio or cinema employee that operates a projector.

Projector
A device for displaying a reel of a movie on a screen, either for a screening or a back projection.

Prompter
AKA: Prompt
A person who supplies actors with the correct lines from the script if they forget.

Prop
Anything an actor touches or uses on the set; e.g. phones, guns, cutlery, etc. Movie animals and all food styling (food seen or eaten on set/screen) also fall into this domain. See also property assistant and set dresser.

Property Assistant
AKA: Prop Assistant
Responsible for the placement and maintenance of props on a set.

Property Master
AKA: Prop Master, Props, Property, Assistant Property Master
The person responsible for buying, acquiring, and/or manufacturing any props needed for a production. The property master is responsible for all aspects of prop use on the set and, in conjunction with the script supervisor, for maintaining set continuity. Contrast with set dresser.

Prosthetic Appliances
AKA: Prosthetic Makeup, Prosthetics
Makeup that requires gluing additions (prosthetic appliances) made of a material such as latex or gelatin to an actors skin. May be applied by someone other than the designer. See also squib.

Publicity Assistant
Assistant to the publicity director.

Publicity Department
AKA: Advertising
The section of a production's crew responsible for promoting a movie. Individual positions within in this department include: unit publicist, publicity assistant, and stills photographer.

Publicity Director
AKA: Publicity Executive
Person employed by a studio to conceive and oversee the publicity campaign that opens a movie. In many cases, this person never even appears on the set -- especially if the movie is a pickup and didn't have a releasing studio at the time it was produced. In other cases, this person is frequently on the set and directly supervises the efforts of the unit publicist.

Puppeteer
Someone who operates puppets; these may be either physically controlled (e.g., worn), cable operated, or radio controlled. This may also refer to remote-controlled portions of a costume.

Pyrotechnician
A member of the crew with expertise in fire or explosions.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - Q
Quarter
A quarter of a year; three months. Used by production accountants and publicity departments for financial issues.

Quid
Slang for a pound sterling (UK).

Quota Quickies
Low budget, short subjects made in the UK in the 1930s. The Cinematographic Films Bill, passed in April 1927 stipulated that all UK cinemas would have to include a proportion of British films in their programmes. The percentage varied, rising to 20% at one time. The "Quota Quickies" were generally of a quite low quality but there are some gems hidden in their midst, notably those by Michael Powell.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - R
R
AKA: Restricted
A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that persons under the age of 16 would only be admitted when accompanied by an adult. The age was later raised to under 17 years old, and varies in some jurisdictions. See also NC-17, PG-13.

Railroad Coordinator
A person who advises a production on railroad history, architecture, business practices, economics, equipment, locations, and strategies to attain maximum on-screen production/artistic values, and then locates/scouts/evaluates railroad equipment and locations; coordinates railroad equipment assembly/dispersal at a filming location; plans and executes for camera railroad operations; exercises overall set safety management (in accordance with US Federal Railroad, Transport Canada, and Ferrocarill de Mexico regulations); is responsible for equipment and railroad operations budget development and management.

Railroad Consultant
A person who advises a production on railroad history, architecture, business practices, economics, equipment, locations, and strategies to attain maximum on-screen production/artistic values.

Re-recording Mixer
AKA: Sound re-recording mixer
A member of the sound crew responsible for mixing the final sound elements (dialogue, music, sound effects and foley). In most feature films and some television shows there is a crew of three re-recording mixers (one for dialog, one for sound effects and foley and one for music.) Sometimes in television the music mixer mixes the foley for expediency. There are also two-person crews in which the dialog mixer (generally considered the lead mixer) mixes music as well, with the other person mixing sound effects and foley.

Reel
A strip of film wound on a metal wheel. Typical reels hold 15-25 minutes of film.

Release
AKA: Released
When a movie is shipped to exhibitors by the distributor, it is deemed to have been released for public viewing - there are no longer any studio restrictions on who can see the movie.

Reverse Shot
AKA: Reverse Angle, Hollywood Reverse
A shot taken at a 120-180 degree angle from the preceding shot. When used in dialogue scenes, reverse-shot editing usually alternates between over-the-shoulder shots that show each character speaking. See also shot/reverse shot.

Rigger
Workers responsible for the setting, hanging and focussing of lighting instruments and constructing scaffolding used in making film sets.

Room Tone
Different sets and locations have different audio characteristics. A sound recordist will typically make a recording of the natural ambient "silence" in a set/location for the sound editor, who will use it as a reference point, or for when silence is required.

Rotoscoping
AKA: Rotoscope
An animation technique in which images of live action are traced, either manually or automatically. See also motion capture.

Rushes
See dailies.
Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - S
Sabre Artist
A member of the production team utilizing a combination of software programs to create special effects.
Safe Area
A camera's viewfinder actually shows (and records on film stock) a greater area of the scene than will appear in the final product. Markings are etched in the viewfinder to indicate to the camera operator the extents of the "viewable" film (called the live area). An area beyond that (called the safe area) is also marked; it is in this area that the production sound mixer might direct the boom operator to place the boom microphone.

Scene
A continuous block of storytelling either set in a single location or following a particular character. The end of a scene is typically marked by a change in location, style, or time.

Scene Chewing
AKA: Chewing the Scenery
An extreme, over-the-top performance that dominates the screen. "Chewing the scenery" suggests that actors are so engaged in their histrionic portrayals that furniture pieces and backdrops are left with big dental impressions.

Scenic Artist
A member of the crew responsible for work which includes the preparation, painting and/or coloration of all textures, plastering, appliqueing on scenery, sets, and properties; the application of all decorative wall or surface coverings; all lettering and sign work (including signs and murals; miniature sets and/or models and properties and the painting and aging in the (construction) studio or on the set of costumes and costume accessories as specified by the cosume designer.

Science Fiction
AKA: Sci-Fi, SF

Score
The musical component of a movie's soundtrack. Many scores are written specifically for movies by composers.

Screen Test
A form of audition in which an actor performs a particular role on camera, not necessarily with the correct makeup or on the set.

Screening
An exhibition of a movie, typically at a cinema. See also feature presentation, supporting feature, double bill, trailer.

Screenplay
A script written to be produced as a movie.

Screenwriter
A writer who either adapts an existing work for production as a movie, or creates a new screenplay.

Script
A general term for a written work detailing story, setting, and dialogue. A script may take the form of a screenplay, shooting script, lined script, continuity script, or a spec script. A script is often sold for a particular price, which is increased to a second price if the script is produced as a movie. For example, a sale may be described as "$100,000 against $250,000". In this case, the writer is paid $100,000 up front, and another $150,000 when the movie is produced. See also advance.

Script Department
The section of a production's crew responsible for the script of a movie. Consists of writers, script editors, and prompters.

Script Editing
AKA: Script Editor, Script Doctor, Story Editor
A process whereby a script is reviewed and changed, based on input from various sources such as the director or producer. Writers who specialize in script editing are called "script doctors", and are frequently uncredited.

Script Supervisor
A person who tracks which parts have been filmed, how the filmed scenes deviated from the script; they also make continuity notes, creating a lined script.

Seamstress
A person who makes the costumes.

SECAM
AKA: Sequential Couleur avec Mémoire, Système Electronique Couleur avec
The standard for TV/video display in France, the Middle East, much of Eastern Europe, and some African countries. Delivers 625 lines (formerly 819 lines) of resolution at 50 half-frames per second. See also NTSC and PAL.

Second Assistant Camera
AKA: 2nd Assistant Camera, 2nd Assistant Cameraman, Second Assistant Cameraman
An assistant to the assistant cameraman.

Second Assistant Director
AKA: 2nd Assistant Director
An assistant to the assistant director. Duties include overseeing the movements of the cast, and preparing call sheets.

Second Second Assistant Director
AKA: 2nd 2nd Assistant Director, Third Assistant Director, 3rd Assistant Director
An assistant to the second assistant director; responsible for (among other things) directing the movements of extras.

Second Unit
AKA: 2nd Unit
A small, subordinate crew responsible for filming shots of less importance, such as inserts, crowds, scenery, etc.

Second Unit Director
AKA: 2nd Unit Director
The director of the second unit.

Sequel
A movie that presents the continuation of characters and/or events of a previously filmed movie. See also series, serial, contrast with prequel.

Serial
A multipart film that usually screened a chapter each week at a cinema. The story structure usually has each chapter ending with a cliffhanger to ensure the audience would like to watch following chapter at its release. Contrast with series.

Series
AKA: Franchise
A sequence of films with continuing characters or themes, but with little other interdependence, especially with respect to plot or significant character development. Until the advent of television series, there were various film series such as The Thin Man and Blondie that were started with the intention of making more than one. In subsequent years, the term would apply to features such as Star Trek: The Motion Picture or Dr. No that made more than one sequel. In modern times, the term ``franchise'' has been used (perhaps cynically) to describe to the practise of creating a movie and product-marketing package which is contingent on commercial success. Batman and its sequels are typically used as an example of a franchise. Contrast with serial.

Set
An environment used for filming. When used in contrast to location, it refers to one artifically constructed. A set typically is not a complete or accurate replica of the environment as defined by the script, but is carefully constructed to make filming easier but still appear natural when viewed from the camera angle.

Set Decorator
AKA: Set Decoration
A person who has total charge of decorating the set with all furnishings, drapery, interior plants, and anything seen on indoor or outdoor sets. The set decorator has authority over a leadman. See also set dresser.

Set Designer
The person responsible for translating a production designer's vision of the movie's environment into a set which can be used for filming. The set designer reports to the art director.

Set Dresser
A person who maintains the set per the Set Decorator's requirements, placing elements such as curtains and paintings, and moves and resets the set decoration to accomodate camera, grip and lighting setups. Contrast with set decorator, property master. Responsible for set continuity with script supervisor and property master.

Set Medic
The set medic provides for the medical needs and emergency medical logistics of the entire cast and crew and is the safety liason between production/construction and various agencies. This person may be an emergency medical technician, paramedic, nurse, or physician. Most often the set medic is involved in the production from the beginning of preproduction or construction through filming or production through striking the set or post-production.

Shooting Script
The script from which a movie is made. Usually contains numbered scenes and technical notes. See also lined script.

Short Subject
AKA: Short
A movie that is shorter than 45 minutes. Contrast with feature.

Shot
A continuous block of unedited footage from a single point of view. See also scene, take, frame rate.

Shot Composition
The arrangement of key elements within the frame. See also shot selection.

Shot list
A list given to the film production crew which indicates the sequence of scenes being shot for the day. This list may include the scene number, the location of where the scene is being shot, a description of the scene, the length of a scene (listed by number of pages from the script), a list of actors who will be involved in the scene, and, special notes to all departments of what will be needed or required for a particular scene being shot.

Shot Selection
AKA: Camera Angle
The location of the camera, and what can be seen with it. See also shot composition, POV, mise-en-scene.

Shot/Reverse Shot
A sequence of three shots: 1) a person's face; 2) what that person is looking at; and 3) the person again, giving the audience a chance to process the person's reaction to what (or who) s/he is seeing. See also reverse shot.

Shutter Speed
The length of time that a single frame is exposed for. Slower shutter speeds allow more light to enter the camera, but allow more motion blur. See also aperture, depth of field, go motion.

Sign writer
The person in charge of writing and making signs shown in a production; possibly part of the set designer's team.

Silent Film
AKA: Silent
A film that has no synchronized soundtrack and no spoken dialogue. It was a form predominate in film until the late 1920's when practical synchronized soundtrack technology was developed and its use became popular. See also intertitles.

Silk
A large section of translucent white cloth used to filter and soften a hard-light source.

Singer
A featured vocalist; often the person who sings a film's theme song.

Singing Voice
Someone who performs an actor's vocal parts. Marni Nixon was the singing voice for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964); during post-production, Nixon's voice was dubbed over Hepburn's for the musical numbers.

Situation Comedy
AKA: Sitcom
A comedy in which humor is derived from people being placed in uncomfortable, embarrassing, or unfamiliar situations.

Sketch
An short scene that typically lasts less than 15 minutes that is typically shown as part of a TV series' content. It is typically used in comedies that feature these productions such as "Saturday Night Live" (1975) and "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969).

Slapstick Comedy
AKA: Slapstick
A comedy in which the humour is derived from physical interactions, often involving exaggerated but ultimately harmless violence directed towards individuals. Named after a device used by circus clowns - two boards which slap together loudly when swatted on someone's backside.

Slate
The recorded identification of scene and take numbers, usually done with a clapboard. Most takes are identified at the beginning; a "tail slate" marks the end instead. Also used in an audition, to identify an actor's name, representation (if any), and the scene they will be performing in the audition.

Sleeper
AKA: Sleeper Hit
An unpromising or unpublicized movie that suddenly attains prominence and success.

Slow Motion
AKA: Slow Mo, Slow-Mo
A shot in which time appears to move more slowly than normal. The process is commonly achieved by either repeating frames (see also freeze frame), or by overcranking. See also motion artifact, judder, frame rate, contrast with stop motion.

Slug Line
AKA: slug
A header appearing in a script before each scene or shot detailing the location, date, and time that the following action is intended to occur in.

Sneak Preview
AKA: Preview
An unannounced screening of a movie before the premiere, often used to gauge audience reaction and feedback for final editing. See also focus group.

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
AKA: SMPTE
An international technical society devoted to advancing the theory and application of motion-imaging technology including film, television, video, computer imaging, and telecommunications. The abbreviation also refers to various measurements and standards defined by the organization.
On the web: Official Home Page

Sony Dynamic Digital Sound
AKA: SDDS
Sony has produced a noise reduction and sound enhancement process. Competitors include Dolby Digital and DTS.

Sound Crew
AKA: Sound, Sound Engineer, Sound Assistant
The group of crewmembers directly involved with creating of a movie's soundtrack. Individual job titles include: sound designer, sound editor, sound effects, sound mixer, sound recordist, boom operator, re-recording mixer, music supervisor, and foley artist. See also MPSE.

Sound Designer
The conceptual chief of a movie's soundtrack, responsible for designing and creating the audio component of a movie.

Sound Editor
A member of the sound crew who performs editing on the soundtrack. See also dialog editor.

Sound Effects
Sounds added during post-production by the sound crew. Also used as a job title.

Sound Effects Editor
A sound editor who specialises in editing sound effects.

Sound Mix
AKA: Mix
The process of recording the production sound on the set at the time of shooting.

Sound Mixer
An audio engineer who works with a boom operator to record the production sound on the set at the time of shooting.

Sound Recordist
See tape recorder operator.

Soundstage
A large area (usually in a studio) where elaborate sets may be constructed. Soundstages allow filmmakers greater control over factors such as sound, lighting, temperature, spectators, and security.

Soundtrack
Technically, this term refers to the audio component of a movie. Popularly, it refers to a collection of songs which are heard during the movie, often sold as an album.

Source music
Music that originates from a source (e.g. an orchestra, a band, a radio) within the film scene. If there's a scene where a character turns on the radio and listens to music, that's source music. Also known as 'Foreground music' (as opposed to 'background music', i.e. the film's score).

Spaghetti Western
A western filmed in Italy, many times with American leading actors. This term appeared following the appearance of Clint Eastwood in a number of Sergio Leone movies.

Speaking Role
A speaking role is one in which the character speaks scripted dialogue. A non-speaking role is a character specifically mentioned in the script but who doesn't have any lines of dialogue in the finished film. Speaking roles typically pay much more than non-speaking roles. While extras may or may not be heard to speak in a film, they are not included as either speaking or non-speaking roles.

Spec Script
A script written before any agreement has been entered into ("on spec" or speculation), in hopes of selling the script to the highest bidder once it has been completed.

Special Effects
AKA: SFX, Special Effects Assistant, Special Effects Technician
An artificial effect used to create an illusion in a movie. Refers to effects produced on the set, as opposed to those created in post-production.

Special Effects Supervisor
AKA: Special Effects Co-Ordinator
The chief of a production's special effects crew.

Special Makeup Effects
An artist who combines knowledge of makeup and hairwork, with technologies of mold- making and synthetic skin materials (such as foam latex, gelatine and silicone). Many have an art or sculpture background and familiarity with puppeteering, animatronics and CGI.

Speed
An annoucement made by either the director of photography or camera operator indicating to the director that the camera is operating at the correct speed. Called just after lock it down, and just before action.

Spherical
AKA: Spherical Print
An optical system in which the magnifications of the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture are the same. See also aspect ratio, contrast with anamorphic.

Sprockets
A series of tiny, square holes (sprocket holes) on both edges of a piece of film fit onto notches on wheels (sprockets) similar to gears within a film projector, used to pull the film through the projector from one reel to the other.

Squib
A small explosive device, which - when detonated - will simulate the effect of a bullet/puncture wound or small explosion. When worn by actors, they typically include a container of blood which bursts upon detonation. See also special makeup effects.

Stand-In
AKA: Stand In
A person who has the same physical properties of a particular actor, and takes their place during the lengthy setup of a scene. This allows the actor to prepare for the filming itself. Contrast with stunt double and body double.

Standby Painter
A scenic artist available during filming for last minute changes.

Star
A famous actor.

Steadicam
A camera attached to a camera operator via a mechanical harness which reduces or eliminates the unsteadiness of the operator's motion.

Steadicam Operator
A camera operator who operates a Steadicam. See also Steadicam Operators Association.

Still Photographer
AKA: Stills Photographer
A person who photographs the action (often alongside the camera) to be used in publicizing the movie.

Stock Footage
For reasons of simplicity, time, or budget, some shots in a film may duplicated from other films or a film library. Such shots are called stock footage.

Stop Motion
AKA: Stop-Motion
A form of animation in which objects are filmed frame-by-frame and altered slightly in between each frame. See also go motion.

Storyboard
A sequence of pictures created by a production illustrator to communicate the desired general visual appearance on camera of a scene or movie.

Storyliner
Commonly working on television series, storyliners create the plot twists for a given story line, keeping in mind the past storylines for a given character or pairing, and the work with the writers to bring those new plot elements to life.

Story Producer
AKA: Story Editor
Nonstandardized reality television term for a writer/producer who may be involved (at any level of pre to post production) in producing/editing source footage to create and nuance story. Other duties may include writing host dialogue, VO and dialogue/action pickups. During the post-production process, most either work directly with editors or provide detailed paper edits for editors to work from.

Studio
A company that makes movies. Larger studios (such as the majors) have extensive in-house soundstages (also called "studio"s) where filming can be done.

Stunt
AKA: Gag
A non-trivial and often dangerous piece of physical action. Often performed by a stunt performer.

Stunt Co-Ordinator
A person who arranges and plans stunts.

Stunt Double
A stunt performer who specifically takes the part of another actor for a stunt. Stunt doubles rarely (if ever) speak, are typically chosen to resemble the actor that they are replacing as much as possible. Contrast with body double and stand-in.

Stunt Performer
AKA: Stunt Player, Stunts
A specialist actor who performs stunts.

Subtitles
Words which are superimposed over a film which mirror the dialog that is heard at the time. Most often subtitles are in a different language than that which is being spoken, but this is not always the case: Trainspotting uses subtitles for humourous effect. Contrast with dubbing, intertitles, close-captioned.

Supervising Sound Editor
A chief sound editor.

Supporting Feature
AKA: Supporting Attraction
A feature film which appears (typically in a double-bill) with a feature presentation.

Surround Sound
AKA: Surround
A sound system which creates the illusion of multi-directional sound through speaker placement and signal processing. See also Dolby, SDDS, DTS, THX.

Swing Gang
AKA: Carpenter
A group within the art department that construct and take down a set. The head of the swing gang is a leadman. Contrast with grips.

Sword and Sandal Epic
A colloquialism for an epic film with biblical or fantasy elements; named for the weapons and costumes that the characters typically wear.

Sword and Sorcery
A colloquialism for a genre of film, usually set in days of old with magic as well as sword fighting

Syndication
A package of off network programs sold or bartered to individual television stations in a local market, either strip (daily) or weekly episodic (series). A package of titles may require cash purchase, bartered or sponsored programming. Most packaged syndicated contracts offer exclusivity to a market for limited number of airings. Contracts are generally designed for one to two full season runs.

Synopsis
A summary of the major plot points and characters of a script, generally in a page or two. Contrast with treatment.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - T
Take
A single continuous recorded performance of a scene. A director typically orders takes to continue until he or she is satisfied that all of his or her requirements for the scene have been made, be they technical or artistic. For interesting exceptions, see the trivia entries for Stagecoach, The Gold Rush, , Rope, Shi di chu ma, Some Like It Hot, and The Usual Suspects. A continuity report stores the status of each take. Of the ones that don't contain obvious errors, the director will order some to be printed. See also out-take, hold.

Talent
A general, informal term for actors (and possibly extras).

Talkie
An early term for a film with sound and especially recorded spoken dialogue. It is typically used today to make a distinction between silent and sound films made in the late 1920's and early 1930's when sound films establishing their marketplace dominance.

Tape Recorder Operator
AKA: Sound Recordist
A member of the sound crew responsible for operating the audio recording equipment on a set. See also boom operator.

Teaser Trailer
A short trailer that is generally released many months before a movie is actually released, to give a brief peek at what the movie will be like, and to build audience anticipation. Teaser trailers are usually much shorter than the final trailer, which reveals more of the storyline of the film. See also trailer

Technical Advisor
AKA: Consultant
A person with expertise in a particular field who provides advice for the production.

Telecine
The process of transferring moving images from film to a video signal, including frame rate and color corrections. Also the equipment or facility used to do it.

Teleplay
A script written to be produced for television.

Television Movie
AKA: TV Movie, Telepic
A feature-length movie funded by a TV network, intended to be premiered on television.

Television Series Pilot
A TV series episode for a proposed television series which is produced for the benefit of the production company, TV network executives and/or syndication customers. The purpose behind is to show the prospective customers how a series' premise and characters would typically be presented to an audience.

Television Special
AKA: Special
A television production of a singular event (such as an awards show or concert) as opposed to a regularly scheduled series. Contrast with series and television movie.

Television Spot
AKA: Commercial, Ad
A brief advertisement or public service announcement show between TV programs.

Telewriter
A writer who either adapts an existing work for production on television, or creates a new teleplay.

Terra-Flite
A cross between a steadicam and a louma crane, used to steady images of running horses or cars driving over gravel.

THX
AKA: THX Division
A subdivision of Lucasfilm, Ltd dedicated to improving picture and sound for the cinema and the home.

Tilt
The action of rotating the camera either up or down. See also dutch tilt, pan.

Time Lapse Photography
AKA: Time Lapse
A form of animation in which numerous single frames are filmed spaced at a given interval to show a process that would take a very long time to occur. i.e. a flower blooming, or the motion of the stars.

Timecode
Electronic guide track added to film, video or audio material to provide a time reference for editing, synchronization, etc.

Title Design
AKA: Title Designer, Title Sequence, Titles
The manner in which title of a movie is displayed on screen is widely considered an art form. Saul Bass is considered a master title designer.

Topline
To star in a motion picture; this can sometimes include the placement of a performer's name before the title on the credits and promotional items.

Track
A single component or channel of a soundtrack. See also sound mix.

Tracking Shot
AKA: Tracking, Trucking
The action of moving a camera along a path parallel to the path of the object being filmed. See also dolly tracks.

Trailer
An advertisement for a movie which contains scenes from the film. Historically, these advertisements were attached to the end of a newsreel or supporting-feature, hence the name. Doing this reduced the number of reel changes that a projectionist would have to make. See also teaser trailer.

Trainer
Someone who conditions animals to perform various behaviors on cue.

Transportation Coordinator
AKA: Transportation Manager
The person responsible for managing drivers and co-ordinating the transporation of a production's cast, crew, and equipment from the various locations and sets used for filming.

Travelling Matte Shot
AKA: Travelling Matte, Bluescreen, Blue screen
A shot in which foreground action is superimposed on a separately filmed background by optical printing or digital compositing.

Treatment
An abridged script; longer than a synopsis. It consists of a summary of each major scene of a proposed movie and descriptions of the significant characters and may even include snippets of dialogue. While a complete script is around 100 pages, a treatment is closer to 10.

Trilogy
A series of three movies that are closely connected by plot. Often, a storyline from the first film of a trilogy is altered, twisted or modified by the second or third part of the series.

Turnaround
A state of limbo that a movie enters after a studio decides to drop it. In turnaround, the producers have a chance to set the project up with another studio or with different talent. In union contracts, the time between when someone leaves work and when they start work the next day, or when someone is receiving compensation for not being given the contractual amount of time, it is sometimes said that they are in turnaround.

Two-Shot
A medium close-up shot of two subjects, usually framed from the chest up.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - U
Undercranking
The process of slowing the frame rate of a camera down, so that when the captured pictures are played at the normal frame rate the action appears to be in fast motion. Historically, cameras were operated by turning a crank at a constant speed; hence "undercranking" refers to turning the crank too slowly. See also overcranking, frames per second, judder.

Unit Production Manager
AKA: Unit Manager, UPM
An executive who is responsible to a senior producer for the administration of a particular movie. Unit Production Managers only work on one film at a time. Only DGA members can be called Unit Production Managers. See also line producer.

Unit Publicist
Member of the publicity department who works on location during the production of a movie. Duties includes working with the residents of the location where the film is being made, as well as setting up press visits and electronic press kit interviews. In addition, the unit publicist assembles the biographical materials and notes about the making of the movie that are later turned into the movie press kit. Unit publicists are itinerant -- they move from production to production and are on the production payroll. They report to the filmmakers and, if the film has a releasing studio, they also report to the publicity directors. Once principal photography is over, the unit publicist moves on to another job.

Utility Person
The person responsible for various manual tasks, running errands, or performing whatever jobs other members of their crew assign them.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - V
V

AKA: Video, Direct to video

VG
AKA: Video game

Vertigo effect
A camera technique created by Alfred Hitchcock during his film Vertigo that involves tracking backwards while simultaneously zooming in, making the person or object in the center of the image seem stationary while their surroundings change.

Video Assist
Motion picture cameras often include a video camera that allows instant review of a scene to monitor framing, focus, and performance. Both this system and the person operating it are referred to as video assist.

Video Cassette Recorder
AKA: VCR
A common household appliance for recording and/or playing prerecorded video tapes. See VHS, NTSC and PAL.

Videographer
A person who works in the video medium - recording moving images and sound onto linear analog or digital tape, non-linear digital disc, or any other digital recording media, such as memory cards. On a set, he or she may be responsible for the lighting as well as the audio and images captured by the video camera/camcorder. Videographers differ from cinematographers because they record using video cameras/camcorders while cinematographers use film cameras to shoot film footage onto motion picture film stock. The development of high definition digital cinematography, however, is quickly blurring this distinction.

Video Home System
AKA: VHS
Video Home System is a popular format for VCR systems worldwide. See also DVD.

Visual Effects
Alterations to a film's images during post-production. Contrast with special effects (except in UK television, where visual effects and special effects are sometimes the same).

Visual Effects Supervisor
AKA: Visual Effects Director
The chief of a production's visual effects crew.

Voice-Over
AKA: Voice Over, VO
Indicates that dialogue will be heard on a movie's soundtrack, but the speaker will not be shown. The abbreviation is often used as an annotation in a script.

Voice-Over Artist
The unseen person who does the speaking necessary to create a voice-over.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - W
Walk-On
A minor role, usually without speaking lines.

Walla
AKA: Rhubarb
Background conversation. Historically, when a script called for "crowd unrest" or "murmuring", the extras would be required to mumble the word "rhubarb", as this produced the required effect.

Wardrobe Department
The section of a production's crew concerned with costumes. Individual job titles include: costume designer, costumer, and costume supervisor.

Wardrobe Supervisor
The head of the wardrobe department.

Western
AKA: Oater, Oat Opera
A movie set in the "Wild West" of the late 19th-century United States.

Whip Pan
AKA: Whip-pan
An extremely fast pan, incorporating much motion blur. The term refers to the "whipping" action that the camera operator uses to move the camera.

Widescreen
A movie which has an aspect ratio which is greater than academy ratio when projected.

Wild Sound
AKA: Wild Track, Wild Sound, MOS, Mit Out Sound
Scenes that are filmed without the sound being recorded at the same time. Dialog and/or sound effects may be dubbed in later.

Wilhelm Scream
Originally recorded as a sound effect for the film Distant Drums in 1951 and named after the character who yelped it out, this distinctive scream was archived in the Warner Brothers sound effects library, and was subsequently used in countless films, first simply as a generic stock scream, and later because sound supervisors and directors used it in their films (including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Toy Story and Pirates of the Caribbean) as a sort of touchstone or homage to earlier films. Though no specific documentation lists the identity of the screamer, sound designer Ben Burtt's research of Warner Brother's recording logs indicates that singer/actor Sheb Wooley is likely the source, as he was one of the bit actors contracted to record sound effects for Distant Drums, and had been known to specialize in yells, laughs, and screams.

Wipe
An editing technique in which images from one shot are fully replaced by the images of another, delimited by a definite border that moves across or around the frame.

Word-of-mouth
Moviegoers can't help warning their friends to avoid or not miss the movie they saw recently. After an opening weekend there's often enough feedback circulating from such warnings that it has a significant effect on how many more people go to see the movie. Negative word-of-mouth is often attributed to highly publicised movies doing poorly after the opening weekend, while positive word-of-mouth can provide a poor opener with legs.

Working Title
The name by which a movie is known while it is being made. This is sometimes different from the title with which it is released.

Wrangler
AKA: Animal handler, vehicle wrangler
A person who is responsible for the care and control of entities used on a set that can't be spoken with. This person is typically a professional, certainly with expertise in handling the item, often with expertise in handling the item on a movie set.

Wrap
AKA: Windup, Wind, Wind Roll and Print
To finish shooting, either for the day or the entire production.

Writer
A general term for someone who creates a written work, be it a novel, script, screenplay, or teleplay. See also Writers Guild of America.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - X
Xerography
The technique using an electrostatic process to copy or transfer an image, commonly found in office copiers and used in cartoon production.

XXX
An informal voluntary certificate for a pornographic film, indicating large amounts of explicit sex. Contrast with NC-17.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - Y
Yarn
Slang for an apocryphal story.

Movie Terminology Glossary
letter - Z
Zoom Shot
AKA: Zoom, Zoom In, Zooming, Zoom Back, Zoom Out
A shot in which the magnification of the objects by the camera's lenses is increased (zoom in) or decreased (zoom out/back). There is a subtle difference between the results of a zoom shot and a dolly shot. In a zoom, the relative positions and sizes of all objects in the frame remains the same, whereas in a dolly shot this will change as the camera moves. Alfred Hitchcock's much-imitated shot in Vertigo used a combination zoom in and dolly back, resulting in a dramatic change in perspective.

Zoopraxis
AKA: Zoopraxis-scope
An early movie process developed by Eadweard Muybridge in the 1870's, which involves a disc that includes serial pictures being rotated in front of a light source, to create a sense that the objects projected were moving.

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