Glossary

Action: the word the director says to instruct the cast and crew to begin the scene. 

Actor/Actress: one who represents a character in a dramatic production [Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary]

Angle: refers to the perspective from which a camera depicts its subject [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Background: the part of a scene or picture that is farthest from the viewer; the part of a scene that is behind a main figure in a painting, photograph, etc. [Merriam-Webster Dictionary] 

Blocking: originally a theater term that refers to the positioning and movement of the actors on the stage. In cinema, camera and lights are added to the equation. [The Elements of Cinema Blog&Podcast]

Boom: a pole, usually extensible, carrying an overhead microphone and projected over a film or television set. [The Free Dictionary]  

Call sheet: a daily schedule of filming for a movie or television show. [Merriam-Webster Dictionary]  

Camera: a device for recording visual images in the form of photographs, film, or video signals. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Cast: (1) the actors taking part in a play, movie, or other production;(2) assign a part in a play, movie, or other production to (an actor). [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Character: (1) a person in a novel, play, or movie; (2) a part played by an actor. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Cinematographer: The person expert in and responsible for capturing or recording-photographing images for a film, through the selection of visual recording devices, camera angles, film stock, lenses, framing, and arrangement of lighting. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Cinematography: refers to the art and technique of film photography, the capture of images, and lighting effects. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Close-up shot (CU): a photograph or movie picture taken very close to an object or person. [Merriam-Webster Dictionary]

Costume: refers to the garments or clothing worn by actors/performers in a film. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Crew: refers to those involved in the technical production of a film who are not actual performers. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Cut: the word the director says to instruct the cast and crew to stop filming; make (a movie) into a coherent whole by removing parts or placing them in a different order [New Oxford American Dictionary]; the most common way to join two shots. In essence, it is the continuation of two different shots within the same time and space. Shot A ends and Shot B abruptly begins. [Wikipedia] 

Cutaway: a film transition in which the filmmaker is moving from the action to something else, and then combing back to the action. Cutaways are used to edit out boring shots or add action to a sequence by changing the pace of the footage. [Mental Floss] 

Dialogue: refers to the spoken words assigned to a single performer; also refers to the full complement of spoken words in a film or stage script; also known as lines. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Director: the creative artist responsible for complete artistic control of all phases of a film’s production (such as making day-to-day determinations about sound, lighting, action, casting, even editing), for translating/interpreting a script into a film, for guiding the performances of the actors in a particular role and/or scene, and for supervising the cinematography and film crew. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Dissolve: an editing technique where one clip seems to dissolve or fade into the next. As the first clip is fading out, getting lighter and lighter, the second clip starts fading in, becoming more and more prominent. The process usually happens so subtly and so quickly, the viewer isn’t even aware of the transition. [Mental Floss] 

Dolly: a small platform on wheels used for holding heavy objects, typically film or television cameras (noun); to be moved on a mobile platform in a specified direction (verb). [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Editing: the activity of selecting the scenes to be shown and putting them together to create a film. [The Free Dictionary] 

Editor: a mechanic who removes the unneeded and fits pieces of a film together to make a finished movie. He or she is a collaborator who works with cinematographers and sound editors to bring sight and sound together. He or she is also an artist who captures a director’s vision and tells a compelling story. [How Stuff Works – Entertainment]

Equipment: the necessary items for a particular purpose. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Establishing Shot (or ESTAB.): a usually long shot in film or video used at the beginning of a sequence to establish an overview of the scene that follows. [Merriam-Webster Dictionary] 

Exposition: the conveyance (usually by dialogue or action) of the important background information for the events of a story; or the set up of a film’s story, including what’s at stake for the characters, the initial problem, and other main problems. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

EXT.: an exterior scene, filmed outside. [Wikipedia]

Extra(s): a person who appears in a movie in a non-specific, non-speaking, unnoticed, or unrecognized character role, such as part of a crowd or background, e.g., a patron in a restaurant, a soldier on a battlefield. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Fade in/out: this type of film transition occurs when the picture gradually turns to a single color, usually back, or when the picture gradually appears on screen. Fade ins generally occur at the beginning of a film or act, while fade outs are typically found at the end of a film or act. [Wikipedia]

Film: (1) as a verb, to record a scene or make a motion picture; (2) as a noun, refers to a motion picture, or (3) the thin strip of material on the film negative that is used to create images through light exposure [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks] 

Filmmaker(s): a collective term used to refer to a person(s) who have a significant degree of control over the creation of a film: directors, producers, screenwriters, and editors. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Film transition: a technique used in the postproduction process of film editing and video editing by which scenes or shots are combined. Most commonly this is through a normal cut to the next shot. [Wikipedia]

Final Cut Pro: one of the most popular brands of software for editing films on a computer, particularly on a PC or Android. 

Foley: related to or concerned with the addition of recorded sound effects after the shooting of a film. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Foreshadow(ing): to supply hints (in the form of symbols, images, motifs, repetition, dialogue, or mood) within a film about the outcome of the plot, or about an upcoming action that will take place, in order to prepare the viewer for later events, revelations, or plot developments; also, ominous music often foreshadows danger or builds suspense. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Grip: a member of a camera crew responsible for moving and setting up equipment. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

iMovie: one of the most popular software programs for editing films on a computer, particularly on an Apple device.  

INT.: an interior scene, filmed inside. [Wikipedia]

Fade: fade in and fade out usually signal the 

Filming permits: permits issued by governments to allow the filming of motion pictures. Every city and state has some sort of council or office that handles filming permits. Obtaining film permits is part of the process of location scouting, and they are usually the responsibility of the location manager. Permits are issued prior to the shooting with details about location, date, time, equipment, personnel, special effects, actions, and stunts. [Wikipedia]

Frame: refers to a single image, the smallest compositional unit of a film’s structure, captured by the camera on a strip of motion picture film – similar to an individual slide in still photography; also refers to the rectangular area within which the film image is composed by the film-maker – in other words, a frame is what we see (within the screen). [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Keyword: an informative word or phrase used in an information retrieval system (such as Google, a newspaper search, or an academic database) to indicate the content of a document and find it [New Oxford American Dictionary]

L cut: a film editing technique in which the audio from a preceding scene overlaps the picture from the following scene, so that the audio cuts after the picture and continues playing over the beginning of the next scene. [Mental Floss] 

Lighting: refers to the illumination of a scene, and the manipulation of light and shadows by the cinematographer. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Lines: refers to the spoken dialogue belonging to a single performer; also refers to the full complement of spoken words in a film or stage script; also known simply as dialogue. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Location scouting: the process of looking for locations in which to film your video production. [Steve’s Digicams] 

Logistics: the detailed coordination of a complex operation involve many people, facilities, or supplies. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Logline: a short, introductory summary of a film, usually found on the first page of the screenplay, to be read by executives, judges, agents, producers and script-readers; all screenwriters use loglines to sell their scripts. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Long shot:  a view of a scene that is shot from a considerable distance, so that people appear as indistinct shapes. An extreme long shot is a view from an even greater distance, in which people appear as small dots in the landscape if at all (e.g. a shot of New York’s skyline). [Purdue Narratology Terms]

Medium shot (med): a camera shot in which the subject is in the middle distance, permitting some of the background to be seen. Compare with close-up shot and long shot. [Dictionary.com]

Microphone: an instrument for converting sound waves into electrical energy variations, which may then be amplified, transmitted, or recorded. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Narration: a commentary delivered to accompany a movie, broadcast, etc. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Point of view (POV): the perspective from which the film story is told. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks] 

Postproduction: work done on a film or recording after filming or recording has taken place. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Preproduction: work done on a product, especially a film or broadcast program, before full-scale production begins. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Producer: the chief of a movie production in all logistical matters (i.e., scheduling, financing, budgeting) save the creative efforts of the director; raises funding and financing, acquires or develops a story, finalizes the script, hires key personnel for cast, crew, and director, and arranges for distributors of the film to theaters; serves as the liaison between the financiers and the film-makers, while managing the production from start to finish [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Props: abbreviation for “properties” – refers to the furnishings, fixtures, hand-held objects, decorations, or any other moveable items that are seen or use on a film (or stage) set but that are not a structural part of the set; usually the responsibility of the prop man or property master. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

PSA: A public service announcement (PSA) or public service ad, is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge, with the objective of raising awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue [Wikipedia]

Rehearse: practice (a play, piece of music, or other work) for later public performance; supervise (a performer or group) that is practicing in this way. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Research: the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Rolling: the word the director says to let the cast and crew know the cameras are rolling, usually before calling “action” to begin the scene. 

Scene: usually a shot (or series of shots) that together comprise a single, complete, and unified dramatic event, action, unit, or element of film narration, or block (segment) of storytelling within a film, much like a scene in a play; the end of a scene is often indicated by a change in time, action, and/or location[Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks] *students’ PSAs will likely have no more than three scenes. 

Schedule: a plan for carrying out a process or procedure, giving lists of intended events and times. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Screenwriter: a person who writes a screenplay. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Screenplay: the script of a movie, including acting instructions and scene direction. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Script: the written text of a movie, play, or broadcast. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Script supervisor: a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup, and the actions of the actors during a scene. The notes recorded by the script supervisor during the shooting of a scene are used to help the editor cut t he scene. They are also responsible to keep track of the film production unit’s daily progress. [Wikipedia] 

Set: a collection of scenery, stage furniture, and other articles used for a particular scene in a play or film. [New Oxford American Dictionary] 

Set dressers: people who arrange objects on a film set before shooting. Set dressers place furniture, hang pictures, and put out decorative items. [Wikipedia] 

Shoot: the process of filming or photographing any aspect of a motion picture with a camera; the plan for a shoot is termed a “shooting schedule.” [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Shot: a film sequence photographed continuously by one camera. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Shot list: A shot list is a document that lists and describes the shots to be filmed. [The Elements of Cinema Blog & Podcast]

Slow motion (or slo-mo): the action of showing film or playing back video more slowly than it was made or recorded, so that the action appears slower than in real life. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Slug line: also called a master scene heading, occurs at the start of every scene, and is usually made up of three parts. Part one states whether the scene is set inside (interior/INT.), outside (exterior/EXT.), or both. Part two states the location of the scene. Part three, separated from part two by a hyphen, refers to the time of the scene. Each slug line begins a new scene. In a shooting script the slug lines are numbered consecutively. [Wikipedia] For example, “EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD – AFTERNOON” could be the slug line for the AT&T “The Unseen – It Can Wait” PSA. 

Sound: refers to everything we hear in a movie—words, sound effects, and music. Sound is used in a film to heighten a mood, provide us with information about the location of a scene, advance the plot, and tell us about characters in the story. [The Cinematheque] When referenced on a script, “Sound” lines do not include spoken dialogue, but other components such as ambient noise, sound effects, and music. 

Sound effect: a sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, movie, or other broadcast production. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Sound mixing: taking all the elements of the film’s soundtrack, i.e. dialogue, sound effects, Foley, and music, and mixing them together to create something that sounds good. [5J Media]

Special effect: an illusion created for movies and television by props, camerawork, computer graphics, etc. [New Oxford American Dictionary]

Storyboard: a sequential series of illustrations, stills [static images], rough sketches, and/or captions (sometimes resembling a comic or cartoon strip) of events, as seen through the camera lens, that outline the various shots or provide a synopsis for a proposed film story (or complex scene) with its action and characters; the storyboards are displayed in sequence for the purpose of visually mapping out and crafting the various shot divisions and camera movements in an animated or live-action film; a blank storyboard is a piece of paper with rectangles drawn on it to represent the camera frame (for each successive shot). [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Stunt: an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theater, or cinema. [Wikipedia]

Take: a single continuously-recorded performance, shot, or version of a scene with a particular camera setup; often, multiple takes are made of the same shot during filming, before the director approves the shot. [Film Site Film Terms Glossary from AMC, Written and Edited by Tom Dirks]

Title card: A printed narration or portion of dialogue flashed on the screen between the scenes of a film. [American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language] 

Treatment: a summary of a screenplay, TV show, novel, or other story, sometimes in the form of an outline. Treatments can be used as a tool of development for the writers or used as a marketing tool. [WikiHow] 

Video village: the cluster of electronic equipment on a set. [High Definition Postproduction: Editing and Delivering HD Video, by Steven E. Browne]

Wipe: a type of film transition where one shot replaces another by traveling from one side of the frame to another or with a special shape. [Wikipedia]