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| The American Standards Association. Establishes measurement standards for still and motion picture film stocks. Usually refers to the light sensitivity of the film stock. Same as ISO (International Standards Organization) and EI (Exposure Index). |
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| Second to the last shot of the day. Named after the legendary producer. |
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| Objects actually used (or handled) by performers in a film. |
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| Director's command indicating actors are to begin performance. |
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| A moving shot usually taken from a helicopter or airplane; essentially a variation of the crane shot. |
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| Photographing inanimate objects or individual drawings frame by frame, with each frame differing minutely from its predecessor. When combined and projected at the standard speed of24 frames per second, the resulting effect makes the images appear to move, and hence, seem "animated". |
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| First trial film print, a composited print including sound of an edited, dubbed and scored motion picture. |
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| An adjustable diaphragm or iris located in the camera lens. This iris controls the amount of light allowed to pass through the lens to the film plane or digital chip. |
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| A sturdy wooden box (8" high, 12" wide, 18" deep), used on film sets to achieve a desired position for an actor or object in a camera shot. |
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| A powerful lighting instrument used in projectors or studio lights in which the source of illumination is an electrical discharge across a gap between two carbon arc poles. Arc lights have been essentially replaced by HMls. |
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| The ratio between the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the film or video frame. The shape of the frame of a motion picture or video. |
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| 1.) An extra or non-descript (nd) person who walks through the scene during a take. 2.) The area behind the principle actors. |
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| Procedure to determine the movements of the cast and camera prior to shooting a particular scene. |
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| An overhead, telescoping pole which carries a microphone, allows synchronous recording of sound w/o restricting the actors' movements. |
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| Sound technician responsible for the operation of the microphone boom. |
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| A small explosive charge placed behind or beneath a surface and electrically discharged to give the appearance of a bullet having struck and exploded on that surface. |
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| Slang. A specific bit of action within the scene. |
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| A fussy or ornate background that detracts from the foreground action. |
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| A small metal or plastic trash can, originally used for cigarette butts. |
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| Cathode Ray Tube. Vacuum tube used in television monitors and receIVers. |
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| Person in charge of handling cables usually for the sound department. |
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| An elaborate form, part of the paperwork within the assistant director's area of responsibility. It announces the daily work schedule for cast and crew, including names, call times, locations, special equipment, etc. |
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| The person who actually operates the camera by panning and tilting during a take and states emphatically whether the shot was good or no good as soon as the director says "Cut!" |
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| The set, props and actors are ready for the scene to be shot. |
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| 1.) Direction given by director or cameraperson while blocking a scene into desirable patterns of motion. 2.) The right side of the camera as one faces the set from the camera position. Also Camera left. |
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| A crane, used as a platform for positioning a light up very high. |
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| In charge of the physical building of the set. |
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| 1.) A detailed plan or notes of the production consisting of both the action and dialogue in the order in which they will be seen. 2.) The person in charge of taking notes on the set. Aka, script-supervisor. |
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| Sync pulse recorded onto the videotape which serves to control transport speed during playback. |
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| The person in charge of acquiring and fitting the clothes worn in a film by having them made, buying them ready-made, renting them, or obtaining them from the studio's wardrobe department, aka the costume designer. |
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| General shots of an event or scene, to insure a smooth continuity in the editing in the event that the anticipated continuity will not cut as planned. |
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| A location, usually weather protected, prepared to serve as an alternate set for the scheduled work in case of inclement weather conditions. |
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| Detailed shots, close-ups, reactions or points-of-view, filmed to intercut with the master scene. |
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| A shot taken from a device (crane) that resembles a huge mechanical arm. The crane carries the camera and cameraperson or an electronically remote controlled head for camera movement. |
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| A notification to personnel of the time and place to report for the day's film work. |
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| An actor's movement from one side of the set to the other in a camera shot, performed usually in a horizontal line before the camera. |
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| The alternating of shots from two sequences, often in different locales, to suggest the sequences are taking place simultaneously. |
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| A moving shot accomplished by physically moving the dolly about the set with the camera mounted on It. Aka, dolly shot. |
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| The front area of the stage, nearest to the camera or audience. |
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| Refers to a car that passes in front of the camera and out of the frame. |
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| The process of rerecording several sound tracks into one composite track. |
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| The compression of time in a movie created through editing techniques. |
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| A clapperboard held upside down and used to mark the end of a take instead ofthe beginning. |
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| Usually an extreme long shot shown at the beginning of a scene or sequence providing the viewer with the geographic location or the context of the subsequent closer shots. |
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| The person in charge of the financial affairs or gathering of financial resources for a motion picture production. |
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| The length of time that light is allowed to strike the film emulsion or digital chip. |
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| An actor who plays a very minor role in a film production, has no lines and often appears in crowd scenes, also referred to as 'background'. |
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| A minute detailed view of an object or person. An extreme close-up of an actor generally includes only his eyes or mouth. |
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| A panoramic view of an exterior location photographed from a great distance. |
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| A small, basic, camera, used during stunt shots when a regular production camera might be put in jeopardy. |
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| The slow brightening of the frame from black to normal screen brightness. |
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| The slow fade of the frame from normal screen brightness to black. |
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| Editing technique which suggests the character's past or a previous time. |
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| An editing technique which suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future. |
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| The degree of acceptable sharpness and clarity in a film image. "Out of focus" means the images are blurred and lack acceptable linear definition. |
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| Under union conditions, when a person is recalled to work before a minimum number of hours have elapsed to constitute an acceptable rest period, resulting in varying financial penalties. |
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| An individual section of film that includes one separate exposure. In video, one complete picture consisting of two fields. |
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| A shot composed of a single frame that is reprinted a number of times on the filmstrip, which when projected gives the illusion of a still photograph. |
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| A term used meaning to repeat the performance or a portion thereof. |
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| Refers to the amount of film in the camera or prop gun. |
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| The chief lighting technician in charge of the lighting crew and lighting equipment. |
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| The level of signal amplification. |
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| A term used to describe the'number of duplications from the original recording. |
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| The locking of one video system to the sync signal of an incoming signal. |
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| A recognizable type of film which depends on certain established conventions. The most common American genres are westerns, thrillers, musicals and historical spectaculars. |
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| Slang term for picture or action disruption. |
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| Between seasons; a break in production of a television series or movie. |
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| A style of lighting emphasizing harsh shafts and dramatic streaks of light and dark. Often used in tragedies and melodramas. See high key. |
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| A shot in which the subject is photographed from above. |
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| A lighting style emphasizing bright, even illumination with few conspicuous shadows. Used generally in comedies, musicals and light entertainment films. See high contrast, low key. |
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| Predetermined place on a set for an actor to stand near where light, sound, and cameras have been optimized for executing the scene. |
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| Bathroom and/or dressing room and/or make-up trailer. |
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| A person who functions in two or more capacities on a film production: e.g., writer-director or actor-writer-director. |
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| A type of forklift. Operated by a Teamster. |
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| International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The collective bargaining agent for most ofthe film technicians throughout the U.S. |
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| Resistance to the flow of an electrical current. |
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| A car or truck specially equipped to carry the camera, lighting gear and crew members for shooting while the vehicle is in motion. |
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| Close-up of an object; i.e. book, etc., used to call attention to the object. |
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| A small moveable arm mounted on a dolly to enhance camera movement. |
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| Electric current. Slang term. |
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| An electrician who is responsible for the DC current. |
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| Changing the lighting arrangement for the next shot. |
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| A bona fide electrician, not a crewmember, who handles the practical lights, generators, etc. Responsible for the AC current. |
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| The control of all entrances and exits (doorways, roadways, walkways, alleys, etc.) in the vicinity of the shooting set to prevent unwanted visitors or bogies from entering the frame. Can be exterior or interior. |
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| Shot taken at a distance from the subject. |
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| Known formally as ADR, or automatic dialogue replacement, where an actor recreates dialogue on the sound stage in sync to the picture. |
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| A style of lighting emphasizing diffused shadows and atmospheric pools oflight. Often used in mysteries, thrillers, and films noir. See high key. |
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| The command to widen the framing of a particular camera shot. |
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| Refers to outdoor filming that has to be discontinued due to loss of natural light. |
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| A component of a video signal describing what its brightness equivalent would be in black and white rather than in color. |
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| The light-proof container that feeds and takes up film stock in a motion picture camera. |
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| Dusk, aka Golden Hour, sunset, when the sun is no longer in the visible sky and the light is diffused through the atmosphere. (approx 20 minutes). |
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| A production craftsperson who applies a performer's make-up, does not include body make-up. |
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| The last shot of the day. |
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| The shot that covers all or most of a scene. |
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| Keeping track of extras' movements to match for the next shot for continuity. |
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| "mit out sound." Used to notate a shot to be filmed without sync sound. |
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| National Television Systems Committee. The engineering group that developed the U.S. television specifications (ca 1950) currently in use. |
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| Non descript; used to describe general background physical traits. |
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| Non-deductible breakfast given to an actor to avoid a meal penalty. |
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| Raw film stock when exposed and properly developed contains a reversed density image, dark for light, light for dark. |
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| The final shot of the day, i.e. the martini shot. |
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| Shooting during the night with the scene lit to look like daytime. |
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Definition
| Distortions in an electronic signal characterized by 'snow' in a video signal or 'hiss' in an audio signal. |
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| Non-synchronous sound (F) |
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Definition
| Sound and image are not recorded simultaneously, or the sound is detached from its source in the film image. Music, for example, is usually non-synchronous in a movie. |
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| Term sometimes used by a crewmember referring to something being out of their jurisdiction. Sarcastic term. |
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| A scene photographed with a tilted camera. When this image is projected onto the screen, the subject itself seems to be tilted on its side. |
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| A small metal arm mounted to the dolly used to offset the camera and gearheadfrom a central position; also used with lighting equipment. |
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| Sometimes called a work edit or scratch tape editing; preliminary editing, usually and low cost editing system where decisions can be made prior to an expensive on-line edit session. |
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| Notification on the set that a shot is about to commence or is in progress. |
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| part of AD's paperwork. Helps identify the scenes with a one line description and is a schedule of the day's work, includes shooting day, date, day, page count, scene numbers, and address oflocations. |
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| Fades, dissolves and other effects created in an optical printer. |
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| A medium shot useful in dialogue scenes in which one actor is photographed head-on from over the shoulder of another actor. |
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| Any vehicle to be photographed. |
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| Yet another of the AD's many pieces of paperwork. A detailed form that lists all performers and crew used on a specific day, their work time, amount of footage shot, and other information useful to the producer in determining the progress of the production. It is a legal document. |
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| The crew-member responsible for providing the necessary props. |
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| A craftsman, usually a carpenter, who constructs,special props needed in a specific scene or scenes. |
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| Different trade names for dressing room trailers. Prowler: nicest. Layton: OK. Scotty: not so nice. |
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| A technique used to surprise the viewer by moving the camera in a scene to reveal an object or character that was previously out of the frame. |
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| Command given by the director, assistance director, or anyone else with a loud voice to request silence on the set for filming. |
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Definition
| Red, green, blue - the component parts of a color video signal. |
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| To shift focus from one focalplane to another which forces the viewer's attention to "travel" in sequence to the next area of the frame in which the image becomes distinct or "in focus". |
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| A microphone attached to an actor that transmits sound through radio waves for use in difficult or dangerous shots. |
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Definition
| Unexposed film, can be negative or positive film stock. |
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| A shot of a character reacting to the content of the preceding shot within the scene. |
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| The accurate alignment of RGB images to form a faithful reproduction of the original scene's colors and lines. |
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Definition
| A device on which the camera can be mounted and electronically controlled (pan/tilt) from a distance. |
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Definition
| A device on which the camera can be mounted and electronically controlled (pan/tilt) from a distance. |
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Definition
| A device on which the camera can be mounted and electronically controlled (pan/tilt) from a distance. |
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Definition
| Permission to use an individual's likeness, voice or performance. |
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| The person who keeps a record of the details of each take during film production so continuity can be maintained when edited in the correct sequence in the movie. Official time keeper on the set. Aka Continuity. |
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| Term for the stand ins when lighting or blocking the scene (see first team). |
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| Best Boy Grip. Keeps the grip department paperwork, ordering additional grip equipment and is in charge of repair of broken grip equipment. |
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Definition
| Claps the slate prior to the beginning of each shot. Keeps track of camera reports, slate, paper work and film stock inventory, can load film into camera magazines and will pull focus in the absence of the first assistant camera person. Aka Clapper/Loader |
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| A unit of action where there is no lapse of time, sometimes containing several scenes. |
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Definition
| Any item used as set decoration, i.e., furniture, drapery, carpeting, and hand props which are not designated by the script or director as part of a specific action. |
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Definition
| The position of the camera and lights for a specific shot. |
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| Command by the director to film the rehearsal. |
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Definition
| Unexposed film, too short to be used, near the end of a reel of raw stock. |
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Definition
| A camera car/crane. Can be used as a crane, an insert car, or it can tow. |
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Definition
| Those images on film or video recorded continuously from the time the camera starts to the time it stops. An unedited, uncut strip of film. Areas just out of sight from the camera. |
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Definition
| The line of sight for the actor. |
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Definition
| A person who should bear some physical resemblance to a lead performer and is used as a substitute during the set up time for lights and camera equipment prior to the actual shooting of a scene. |
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Definition
| A set that is used continuously in a television series. |
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Definition
| A moving camera shot, made by a camera operator with an apparatus used when a dolly is too cumbersome to perform the move. |
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Definition
| A still photographer assigned to the film crew to take still photos of the actors and the crew during production for use later in advertising. |
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Definition
| The raw unexposed footage of a film. There are many types of movie film stocks, including those highly sensitive to light ("fast"), and those with less sensitivity to light ("slow"). |
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Definition
1, To dismantle and store props or equipment used on a set.
2. A legal action taken by a union when contractual agreements are not upheld, faithfully negotiated, or are otherwise broken by the producers. |
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Definition
| A board-certified teacher, present on the set who conducts school for the minors when school is normally in session. |
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| An actor who doubles for the lead performer and performs the dangerous work in a movie or television show. |
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| Term used in story, comedy or drama, to signify dramatic implications beneath the spoken words of a play or movie. Often the sub-text concerns ideas and emotions that are totally independent of the language of a text. |
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| Production crew members who work the swing shift. |
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| Also known as a flash or zip pan; a swish pan is a horizontal movement of the camera usually around its horizontal axis at such a rapid rate that the subject blurs on the screen. |
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