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glossary

Numeric

4:1:1 - Image compression
4:2:2 - Image compression
4:4:4 - Image compression......er, well this actually means no image compresssion
4:3 - Aspect ratio
16:9 - Widescreen aspect ration
14:9 - Aspect ratio
1.33:1 - Aspect ratio, basically the same as 4:3
1.66:1 - Aspect ratio
1.78:1 - Aspect ratio
1.85:1 - Aspect ratio
2.35:1 - Anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio
24 fps - 24 frames per second -
25 fps - 25 frames per second -
24p - 24 frames per second
30p -
1080i -
8mm - A type of film media made popular in the 1960's, now having a bit of a rebirth in lo-budget film making.
16mm - See also Super16mm -
35mm - A high grade of film used to shoot for cinema screens.
65mm -
70mm -
3:2 Pulldown -
1st AD - 1st Assisant Director
2nd AD - 2nd Assisant Director
3 CCD -

'Above The Line' - See also 'Below The Line'
AB Roll Editing -
'Action!' - Shouted / said by the director or 1st AD when he / she wants the action in a scene to begin. The actors and crew continue with the scene until the director shouts / says 'cut!'.
Action Sequence - A film sequence which has lots of action in it, usually it will be storyboarded shot by shot. E.g. a car chase or a fight scene.
Actor [1] - A male who acts professionally in movies, commercials, television, and/or theatre. The term 'actor' extends to both male and females artistes when one is talking about them in general terms.
Actor [2] - A unisex term for a person who acts professionally in movies, commercials, television, or theatre.
ActorBase - The essential web resource for everything acting & film making related ;) - see www.ActorBase.com
Actress - A female who acts professionally in movies, commercials, television, or theatre. Sometimes the term 'Actor' is used for actresses too.
AD - Assistant Director - See Assistant Director
AFM - American Film Market -
Agent - A person who represents an actor, singer, entertainer, or performer, and whose job it is to find work / auditions for their clients, as well as negotiating fees on their behalf and weeding out dodgy projects. A good agent will have a range of contacts and will screen potential projects and negotiate the best fee possible for their clients. Agents get paid a percentage of their clients earnings, usually 10% or 15%.
Anamorphic -
Arri -
Artist / Artiste - Pretentious but correct term for an actor, singer, performer, or entertainer.
Aspect Ratio -
Assistant Director - AD - A person who assists the director on a film set. Usually an AD is very loud and shouts alot, he/she is like a go-between between the director and the crew leaving the director with more time to concentrate on directing. An AD sorts out and organises what the director asks him / her to do, for example organising the crew, part of their job involves second guessing what the director wants and also making sure the film schedule stays on track. On large film productions its quite common to have a 2nd AD as well and possibly even a 3rd AD.
Associate Producer -
Audition - aka Casting - Basically an actor's job interview. The actor is usually asked to read a script with the director or casting director (or both) or act out / improvise a scene. Often an audition is filmed so the tape can be reviewed at a later time and shown to other members of the production team. Sometimes an audition is merely an informal chat.
Auditorium -
Avid -

Background Artiste -
Backstage - The area behind the stage (in a theatre) which is not visible to the audience. Backstage is the area which the actors and staff have access to and includes dressing rooms and so forth.
BAFTA - British Academy of Film & Television Arts -
BECTU -
'Below The Line' - See also 'Above The Line'
Betamax - A very old video format from the 80s which is no longer available. Apparently recording quality was better than VHS however Betamax never caught on in the same way and disappeared within a few years.
Black Balance -
Blond - A type of light used on a film set.
Body Double -
Bollywood - A term for the Indian film industry. Bollywood turns out many more films per year than Hollywood does!
'Break A Leg' (in the theatre) - To wish an actor 'good luck' when he / she is about to go on stage.
Broadcast Quality - A term referring to the quality of a piece of footage meaning that the it is of suitable quality to be broadcasted, both image and sound.
Bullet Time - A slow motion technique made famous by the movie 'The Matrix'.
Buy-Out - A one off payment to an actor or artiste to buy the rights to their performance outright (often for a specified amout of time or type of use).
B/W - B&W - Black & White - As in a black & white film, television, photograph.

Cable TV -
Camcorder -
Camera - A device used to capture images. Cameras can capture single images (i.e. Stills Camera) or moving images (i.e. Film Camera or Camcorder).
Camera Angle -
Camera Rig -
Canned Laughter - Pre-recorded audience laughter added to various sitcoms to cue the television audience where the jokes are.
Cannes Film Festival -
Cast [1] -
Cast [2] -
Casting [1 - Noun] - a.k.a. Audition. See Audition
Casting [2 - Verb] -
Casting Agent -
Casting Director -
Casting Suite - A place where auditions and castings are held, often the suite itself contains camera and recording facilites to tape the auditions so that directors, casting directors and producers can review the footage at a later time.
CCD - Charged Coupled Device - The chip inside a digital camera or camcorder.
CG - Computer Graphics - Computer generated special effects.
CGI -
Chat Show - A television show (usually filmed in front of a live studio audience) where the host interviews various famous people. Sometimes the show will feature topical bands between interviews. There are many different types of chat show format, the chat show is constantly being reinvented.
Chat Show Host - The host of a chat show, often a comedian or specialist in the topic of conversation (e.g. sport).
'Check the gate' -
Cinema -
Cinematographer -
'Cock Doc' - A documentry which features lots of nudity, breasts or sexy women in skimpy bikini's. For example a documentry following holiday goers or holiday reps clubbing in Ibiza or Agia Napa.
CODEC -
Colour Correction - A process performed in post production where by the footage is colour corrected so that the footage colouring is consistent and the images appear well.
Completion Bond -
Contact Sheet -
Continuity -
Corpse - When an actor forget his lines.
Clapper Board - a.k.a. Slate -
Clip - A short piece of footage from a film or tv series used to promote the production, usually between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long.
Close Up - CU - A type of camera shot where the subject (or part of the subject) takes up the whole screen.
Crane -
Crash Zoom -
CU - Close Up - See Close Up -
Curtain Call -
'Cut!' [1] - What the director shouts when he wants a shot or scene to end, it signals to the whole crew to stop - stop filming, stop recording, stop acting, etc. Everyone keeps going (actors, crew etc) in a scene until the director says 'cut' or something goes very wrong (e.g. a bit of set falls over or an actor fluffs his/her lines.
Cut [2] -

Dailies -
'Darling' - A fairly camp word to describe a fellow actor or artiste. Most commonly used in theatreland but also in the film world too.
DCVPro -
Digi -
DigiBeta -
Digital Video - DV -
DBS - Direct Broadcast Satellite -
Director - The person in charge of the look and feel of a film or play, whose job it is to bring the script to life. The director influences most aspects of a production, from the look and feel to the acting to the technical problems to ideas. A director's job may look easy to some ('pah, he just sits there bossing everyone around and shouting 'action!' and 'cut!' from time to time') however it is usually the one of the most demanding jobs on a film set. A director needs to know how to work with actors and get the best out of them, he/she needs to be able to visualise a whole story, scene by scene, and bring it to life, he needs to visit film locations, he needs to organise crew, he needs to try to keep everything to schedule, to solve technical problems. The director must be onset everyday, throughout the entire shoot. On a big production the director will usually have an 'assistant director'. See Assistant Director.
Director Of Photography -
Docu - Short for Documentary
Documentary -
Dolly - A camera rig on wheels which allows the camera to be moved smoothly along on rails or just a flat surface. Often includes a seat for the camera operator and a sturdy camera mount.
DOP - Director Of Photography -
Double Dipping -
Downstage (in the theatre) - The front area of the stage. Many theatre stages are on a slope (high at the back, low at the front) to enable the audience to see the action better.
DP - Director Of Photography -
Drag Queen - A man who dresses up as an extravagent, extraverted, flirtatious woman, often with a very deep voice (e.g Lily Savage, Dame Edna). Costumes are often very colourful and extravagant.
Dubbing -
Dutch Head -
DV - Digital Video - see Digital Video -
DVC - a.k.a. Mini-DV -
DVCam -
DVPro -
DVPro-50 -
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc -

EBR -
ECU - Extreme Close Up -
Edit [1] - The process of cutting a film or sequence of images together.
Edit [2] - A version of the film, usually the term 'edit' is referrred to in pre and post production, once the film is finished the edit is usually called the 'Final Edit' or 'Final Cut'.
Editor - The person who takes the raw film footage and cuts it together into sequences which are then put together to form the film / documentry / etc. Usually an editor will work with the director to produce several cuts of the film, starting with the rought cut and then working towards a final cut. Most edits these days are done on computer (see Non-Linear Editing).
EDL - Edit Decision List -
Electronic Beam Recorder - see EBR above
Electronic Press Kit - EPK - see EPK
Elecution Lessons -
EPK - Electronic Press Kit -
Equity -
Executive Producer -
EXT - Exterior - Abbreviation used on screen plays and scripts to indicate to the reader or film maker where a scene takes place.
Extra - a.k.a. Supporting Artiste - A background artiste who has little or no lines, e.g. crowd scenes, people in the pub standing behind the main actors or action, etc.

Film [1] -
Film [2] - The celluloid images are captured on, comes in various size formats and qualities.
Film Camera - See Camera -
Film Festival - A festival where film fans, reviewers, distributers, etc can view new films and shorts. Festivals range from very small affairs right up to blockbuster size. Many independant film makers use the exposure from film festivals to get distributers interested.
Film Recorder -
Final Cut [1] -
Final Cut [2] / Final Cut Pro - A brand of editing software
Final Edit -
Focus - See also Pull Focus -
Focus Puller -
Focus Ring -
Footage -
fps - Frames Per Second - The number of frames in each second of a moving image.
Freeze - As in 'to freeze' on stage - when one forgets one's lines while acting in front of an audience.
Freeze Frame -
Frame [1] - A single 'image' in a film - film is usually shot at 24 frames per second, i.e. 24 single 'images' are displayed each second.
Frame [2] -
Full House - When every seat in a theatre or cinema is occupied by audience members.

Gaffer -
Gods (in the theatre) - The upper circle in a theatre, the highest seating available, often fairly cheap seats.
GoFor - See Runner -
Greasepaint -
Green Room - A backstage area reserved for actors, directors, etc, where they can relax, chat, and wait to be called.
Grip -

HD [1] - High Definition - See High Definition
HD [2] - Hard Drive -
HDCAM -
HDV -
Head Shot -
Hi-8 -
Hi Def - High Definition - See High Definition
High Definition -
Hollywood - America's movie capital, a seedy town in Los Angeles where most of the large studios are located. It is also where young actors go to be discovered or try to get into the film industry. Most poeple and businesses in Hollywood have something to do with acting or film making, be them agents, models, producers, directors, actors, or porn stars.
HS - Head Shot - See Head Shot

Idiot Board - When an actor is unable to remeber his or her lines an idiot board is sometimes used. Essentially its a large board with the actors lines written on it - a crew member holds it up off camera and the actor reads off the boards.
INT - Interior - Abbreviation used on screen plays and scripts to indicate to the reader or film maker where a scene takes place.
Interlaced -
Internegative -
Interpolate -
Interval - A break in a performance or play (usually half way through) to allow the audience and actors a short rest before carrying on with the second half of the show. It's a chance for the audience to visit the bar and restrooms and to discuss the performance among themselves thus far. An interval usually lasts between 15 and 20 minutes. Some shows, if really long, can have several intervals. Intervals are often used for large set and costume changes while the audience is out of the auditorium.

Jib -
Jib Arm -
Jump Cut -

Keyframe -
Kinescope -
Kino - A type of light used on a film set.

Lavaliere Mic - See Radio Mic
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display -
Lead -
Lead Actor -
Lead Role -
Lighting Director -
Line Manager -
Linear Editing -
Live Studio Audience - Just that, a live studio audience. Live studio audiences are predominantly involved with sitcoms, talk shows, game shows, sketch shows and stand up comedy shows - anywhere basically where the audience participation enhances the program be it through laughing and clapping, asking questions, or participating on set with the host(s) (e.g. on a game show).
Lo-Budget -
Location -
Long Shot -
'Luvvie' - A affectionate term to describe a fellow actor or artiste. Most commonly used in the theatre but used in the film world too.

'M&E Tracks' - Music & Effects Tracks -
Mac - Macintosh - see Macintosh below
'Macbeth' (in the theatre) -
Macintosh -
Make-Up Artist - A person who does the cast's make up.
Medium Shot -
Mic - Microphone -
Microphone - Mic - see Microphone -
Mid Shot -
MIFED -
Mini-DV - See DVC -
Monitor - The TV like object you're looking at right now! Resolution is far higher than that of a television. Monitors are available in a variety of sizes measured in inches - 15", 17", 19", 21", 24", 48", 52" - sizes are measured across the diagonal. They're available in a variety of technology formats, the older CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and the more recent flat panel monitors in LCD and Plasma form.
Monochrome - An image which is made up of two main colours, i.e. black and white (like a black and white TV), or green and black (like nightvision).
Monopod -
Motion Capture - A way of capturing motion for use in computer generated sequences and actions. The artist is usally covered in white balls which are tracked by computer and can be replayed inside the computer and mapped onto computer generated characters. E.g. The 'Golem' character in Peter Jackson's 'Lord Of The Rings' movies.
Motion Capture Artist -
Motion Control - Camera movement controlled by computer such that complex camera movement can be performed multiple times, identically each time. Used a lot for special effects shots.
Movie - An American term for a 'film'.
MPEG -
MPEG-2 -
Music & Effects Tracks - see M&E Tracks -

Negative -
Negative Pickup -
Night Shoot - Filming taking place in the evening, at night or very early in the morning - basically when it's dark.
Nightvision - A technology which allows a camera to 'see in the dark'. It magnifies very low levels of light, the result is usually a monochrome image, usually green and black.
No Budget -
Non-Linear Editing -
NTSC - National Television Systems Committee - United States, Canada, Central America, and Japan. a.k.a.'Never The Same Colour!'

Off Camera -
Off Screen -
Off Stage -
One Page -
Open Audition - An audition where anyone can turn up, professional actors, amateurs and first timers. Because they are open auditions they tend to be very busy affairs and auditionees may not get a great chance to demonstrate their talents.
Oscar - The most prestigeous award that can be awarded to an actor, director, or crew member. Awards range from 'Best Actor' to 'Best Soundtrack' to 'Best Special Effects' to 'Best Make-Up'. The Oscars take place once a year in Los Angeles, afterwards there are several very large parties for the celebs to go to and consume copious amounts of alcohol.
Overexpose / Overexposure -

PA - Production Assistant - See Production Assistant -
PACT -
PAL - Phase Alternating Line - Europe (incl Great Britain), Australia, and China.
Pan -
'Pan & Scan' -
Panavision -
'Pay or Play' -
Personal Manager -
Pilot - A one off episode for a potential series. Often before a series is completely signed off to be made a pilot episode will be made first. This pilot is shown either to a few select audiences or sometimes put out on television for the whole country to see. It is how this pilot is recieved by audiences and how well the concept works that ultimately decides whether a full series will be commissioned. Many series do not get further than a pilot before getting canned.
Pixel - A single dot on a computer or television screen.
Playwrite -
Post-Production -
Premiere [1] - The opening night of a film, the first time a film is publicly shown. Usually held at a prestigeous venue, with lots of specific people invited such as celebrities and industry bods.
Premiere [2] - Editing software made by Adobe
Pre-Production -
Presale -
Producer -
Production [1] -
Production [2] -
Production Assistant - PA -
Progessive / Progressive Scan -
Pull Focus -

QuickTime - A video format developed by Apple.

Radio Mic -
Recall - To be asked back for a second audition. Often travel expenses are covered for recalls.
Red Head - A type of light used on a film set.
Resolution - The clarity of a screen display, the higher the resolution the better the image quality. Generally measured in pixels, for example 800x600 or 1600x1200.
'RomCom' - Short for Romantic Comedy
Rough Cut -
Rough Edit -
Royalties - Payments made each time a piece of footage or music is used.
Runner - The lowest position on a film set, usually on a very low wage or no wage at all. Becoming a runner is a very common way for people to enter the film industry if they have little or no relevant experience. A runner has no specific task, he/she does what ever he/she is asked to do - for example making tea, carrying equipment, delivering messages, etc. Most runners are only runners for a few weeks or months before making enough contacts and getting employed in another position on set. Runners are sometimes called 'GoFor's as in 'go for this, go for that'.
Rushes - The rough, uncut footage from a days shoot. Sometimes viewed without sound, the point of rushes is to get an idea of how the production is looking so far and so that the director can see if he/she has enough footage to properly cut the scene.

SAG - Screen Actors Guild -
Satellite TV -
Scratch Disk -
Screen - The big thing you look at in the cinema, the thing where the pictures appear.
Screen Actor - An actor who specialises in TV and cinema, i.e. not theatre.
Screen Play -
Script -
Script Writer - A person who writes film or television scripts.
SECAM - France, Iran, and Iraq
Sequence -
Set Designer - The person in charge of designing film or theatre sets.
SFX - See Special Effects -
Short - A short film, usually 3 to 30 minutes long.
Shot -
Show Business - A broad term given to the entertainment industry.
Show Reel - A portfolio piece of film which actors, presenters, directors and film makers use to promote themselves, their professional experience, and their skills.
Sitcom - Situation Comedy - a half hour comedy usually filmed in front of a live studio audience inside a television studio.
Slamdance Film Festival -
Slate - a.k.a. Clapper Board - See Clapper Board -
Soundman - The person responsible for capturing the sound while filming, be it background noise, on set sound effects, dialogue or action. The soundman (and his team) will make sure the sound is recorded at the best possible quality and at the right levels, they capture the various sounds using a selection of mics and mixers.
Sound Track - The music which accompanies a film, tv or theatre show
Special Effects -
Special FX - See Special Effects -
Spotlight - A type of light usually used in theatres. A spotlight is able to produce a narrow beam of light to illuminate one or more people or objects on a stage.
Spotlight, The - A photo directory of actors
Stage Door - The door leading from outside a theatre to the backstage area. Often famous actors will leave via this door after a performance to avoid the fans in the main entrance.
Stage Left (in the theatre) - The audiences right, the actors left (if facing the audience)
Stage Right (in the theatre) - The audiences left, the actors right (if facing the audience)
Stage Manager -
Stage Name - A name used professionally by an actor, artiste, singer, or performer. For example, The Great Soprano, Madonna, Sting, Puff Daddy, Elton John and Engleburt Humperdink are all examples of stage names.
Stand-In - A person who is of similar height, build and looks to the actor he or she is standing in for. Stand-ins are used for lighting a set if the actor is working on another set or is resting between scenes.
SteadiCam -
Still(s) -
Stills Camera - See Camera -
Stop Frame Animation -
Storyboard -
Storyboarding -
Stunt Double - A stunt person who doubles for an actor whom he or she resembles to do a stunt.
Stuntman - A man who performs dangerous or risky actions in the movies. See 'Stuntperson' for further info.
Stuntperson - A person who performs dangerous or risky actions in the movies. For example falling off a building, jumping off a bridge, crashing a car, performing motorcycle stunts, being set on fire and so forth.
Stuntwoman - A woman who performs dangerous or risky actions in the movies. See 'Stuntperson' for further info.
Sundance Film Festival -
Sun Gun -
Super 8mm -
Super 16mm -
Super 35mm -
Supporting Artiste - See Extra -
Supporting Actor -
S-VHS -
S-Video -
Synthespian - A term derived from the words 'synthetic' and 'thespian' reffering to a computer generated actor. Examples include all the characters featured in the computer generated film 'Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within', 'Ja Ja Binks' and 'Sebulba' from George Lucas's 'Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace' and 'Golem' in the recent 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Often a technique known as 'Motion Capture' is used to give the characters more life-like movement. See Motion Capture.

Talk Show - See Chat Show
Telecine -
Telecine Machine -
Television - The square box couch potatoes watch!
Telly - Slang for TV
Thespian -
Tilt -
Timecode -
Track [1] -
Track [2] -
Track [3] -
Trailer [1] -
Trailer [2] -
'Tread The Boards' / 'Trod The Boards' -
Trinescope -
Tripod - A camera mount with three legs which allows the camera to be secured stabily and rotated smoothly. The individual legs can be adjusted independently to various lengths in order to position the tripod over rough ground or at various heights. Some tripods include a built in spirit level to allow the user to see when the tripod head is perfectly level. Most tripods will allow the camera to pan left & right, up & down, and some will also allow sideways rotation, sometimes known as a 'dutch head'. See Dutch Head.
Two Shot -
TV - 'television' -
TV Spot -

UHF - Ultra High Frequency -
Underexpose / Underexposure -
UPM -
Upstage [1] (in the theatre) - The rear area of the stage. Many theatre stages are on a slope (high at the back, low at the front) to enable the audience to see the action better.
Upstage [2] (as in 'to upstage another actor') - To steal the attention of the audience from another actor, usually by giving a fantastic performance thus drawing the audience attention away from others cast members. One can also upstage another by speaking louder than or being in front of another actor.
UV Light - Ultra Violet Light - A violet coloured light which causes white and flourescent objects to glow brightly in the dark. Often found in clubs or bars.

VariCam -
VCR - Video Cassette Recorder - Basically a video!
VHF - Very High Frequency -
VHS - A type of video format.
Video -
Viewfinder - The bit you look through on a camera / camcorder (not the LCD flip out screen).
VO -
Voice Over -
Voice Over Artist -

WA - Wide Angle - See Wide Angle
Web TV -
WGA - Writers Guild of America -
Wide Angle -
Wide Angle Lens -
Wide Angle Lens Adapter -
Widescreen -
Wide Shot -
Wild Walls -
Wipe -
Wireframe - The most basic way to view or render a 3D model, the object is drawn just using lines and faces. Wireframe is used when working with 3D objects as it requires far less computations to represent and can thus me manipulated and manouvered far faster by a computer. It also allows the user to easily see which objects are behind which in a scene.
White Balance -
Wrap - As in 'it's a wrap!' - what the director or 1st AD shouts when a day's shooting is complete, after which the crew pack up their gear and go home.
Writer - A person who writes scripts, screenplays, jokes, or dialogue for a production.

XLR -
XLR Adapter -
XLR Input -

Y/C -
YUV -

Zoom -
Zoom Lens -
Zoom Range -
Zoom Ratio -
Zoom Rocker -

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