GLOSSARY
A & B rolls Two or more rolls of film camera original from which release prints are struck.
acetate sheet Clear plastic sheet used as base for titles or animation “cel” frames. In traditional animation, each frame is painted onto cellulose acetate sheet.
action match cut Cut made between two different angles of the same action using the subject's movement as the transition.
AD Assistant director.
adaptation The unique way characters adjust to the changing obstacles that prevent them from gaining their ends and a prime component in externalizing their conflicts.
ADR Automatic dialogue replacement. See post-synchronization.
aerial shot Shot taken from the air.
AFI American Film Institute.
ambient sound Sound naturally occurring in any location. Even an empty, quiet room has its own special atmosphere because no space is truly silent.
analog recording Any sound or picture that records its waveforms in a proportional representation, rather than digitally in which the waveform is registered by digital numbers as in the coordinates for a graph.
angle of acceptance The height and width of the subject filmed by a particular lens at a given distance expressed in a lens table, either in degrees or as measurements. Photographed image also depends on aspect ratio of the format in use. Wide-screen format will have longer horizontal measurement.
anticipating Term used to describe when an actor speaks or acts in advance of the appropriate moment.
anticipatory sound Sound brought in ahead of its accompanying picture.
artistic process The manner in which a human being goes about making an artwork. This has common elements of discovery and experiment no matter what art form is in use.
aspect ratio The size of a screen format expressed as the ratio of the width to the height. Films made for television are photographed at a ratio of 1.33: 1. See also angle of acceptance.
atmosphere track Sound track providing a particular environment (cafe, railroad, beach, rain, etc.).
attack (sound) The beginning portion of any sound.
audio-sweetening The level and equalization adjustment process that accompanies sound mixing.
auteur theory The concept that one mind controls the creative identity of a film.
axis See scene axis, sound axis.
baby legs A miniature tripod for low-angle shots.
back lighting Lighting from behind the subject.
backstory The events stated or implied to have happened prior to the period covered in the screenplay.
barney A soft camera cover designed to muffle camera noise.
bars Standard color bars generated in video systems, usually by the camera.
BCU Big close-up.
beat Point in a scene where a buildup of dramatic pressure effects a noticeable change in one or more characters' consciousness.
best boy Assistant to the gaffer.
BFI British Film Institute.
BG Background.
blocking Choreographic arrangement of movements by actors and camera in relation to the set.
body copy Non-dialogue descriptive portion of screenplay, usually consisting of stage directions and physical description.
book, the Actors' name for the script.
boom Support pole suspending the microphone close to the speakers but just out of shot.
boxcar cutting Crude method of assembling sound and action as level-cut segments for speed and convenience.
breakaway properties Those properties that are broken in the course of a scene and for which replacements must be on hand for multiple takes.
broad lighting Lighting that produces a broad band of highlight on a face or other three-dimensional object.
business The in-character activity generated by actors to fill out their characters' behavior.
butt splice Taped film splice made without the overlap necessary for cement splicing.
buzz track See presence.
callback Second round of auditioning for actors who have successfully passed the first round.
call sheet Document issued by production office detailing what is being shot on a certain day, and who and what are required at the shoot.
camera left, camera right Method of specifying movement or the placement of objects in relation to the camera: “Davy turns away from camera and walks off camera left.” Also expressed as screen right or left.
camera motivation A shot or a camera movement must be motivated within the terms of the scene or story if it is not to look alien and imposed. Camera motivation is often answered by asking, “What is the point of view here?”
camera-to-subject axis The invisible line drawn between the camera and the subject in the composition. See also scene axis.
capturing See digitizing
cardioid microphone A directional microphone with a heart-shaped pickup pattern.
cattle call The call for a number of actors or dancers to try out, often simultaneously, for parts.
cel The clear cellulose acetate sheet used as a base for title lettering or for the painted frame of an animation sequence. The cel is clear so it can be laid as a foreground over a background.
cement splice A film splice made by cementing two overlapping portions of film together.
chalk marks Temporary marks made on the floor to ensure that the actor or camera stops at a precise place.
character biography The biographical portrait an actor invents as background to the character he or she is to play.
character generator An electronic device for producing video titles.
checkerboarding The practice, during conforming, of alternating film scenes with black leader in each A & B roll of camera original. Sound tracks prior to mixing are likewise alternated between two channels, with silence separating sound segments. Both black frame and silence allow the operator a grace period in which to adjust printer or sound channel settings before the arrival of the next segment.
chippy Carpenter.
cinéma vérité Documentary shooting method in which the camera is subservient to an actuality that is sometimes instigated by the director.
clapper board Marker board used at the beginning of takes whose bar closing permits separate sound to be synchronized. Also called the slate.
climax The dramatic apex of a scene.
coincidence Dramatists in a tight spot make things happen or people meet “by coincidence,” a crutch overused at the dramatist's peril.
color bars Standard electronic video color test, usually generated by the camera.
color chart Chart attached to film slate board as color reference for laboratory processing technicians.
color temperature Light color quality is measured in degrees Kelvin (°K). Common light sources in moviemaking contain a different mix of colors. The eye compensates effortlessly, but film and video cameras (or lighting itself) must be adjusted to prevailing color temperature if white objects are to be rendered as white onscreen. Mixing daylight (around 5,400 °K) and studio lights (3,200 °K) in the same scene leads to an unnatural lighting effect. One source must be filtered to make its output match the other, and the camera must likewise be filtered or electronically color balanced for all scene colors to be rendered faithfully.
comm Commentary.
communion The principle by which actors react to the unforeseeable nuances in each other's performances to regain the spontaneity of real life during a rehearsed performance.
complementary shot A shot compositionally designed to intercut with another.
composite print A film print combining sound and picture.
compression Sound with a wide dynamic range can be proportionately compressed so that loudest and softest sounds are closer in volume. All TV transmissions and most radio transmissions, with the exception of high-fidelity music stations, are compressed. Cinemas usually give you the authentic range between whispers and the roar of battle.
concept The dramatic raison d'être underlying the whole screenplay.
conforming The process by which the film camera original is edited in conformity with the fine-cut workprint prior to making release prints.
confrontation Bringing into final collision those people or forces representing the dramatic piece's main conflict.
contingency percentage A percentage added to a budget to provide for the unforeseeable.
contingency planning Scheduling alternative shooting for any scenes that could be threatened by weather or other imponderables.
continuity Consistency of physical detail between shots intended to match.
continuity script Script made after postproduction as record of film contents. Useful in proving piracy or censorship.
continuity supervisor See script supervisor.
contrast Difference in brightness between highlight and deep shadow areas in an image.
contrast ratio Ratio of lightest to darkest areas in an image.
controlling point of view The psychological perspective (a character's or the Storyteller's) from which a particular scene is shown.
counterpoint The juxtaposing of antithetical elements, perhaps between sound and picture, to create a conflict of impressions for the audience to resolve.
coverage The different angles from which a given scene is covered to allow variations of viewpoint in editing.
crab dolly Wheeled camera support platform that can roll in any direction.
crane A boom supporting the camera that can be raised or lowered during the shot.
crash zoom Very fast zoom in or zoom out.
crib notes Director's notes listing intentions and don't forgets for a scene.
crossing the line Moving the camera across the scene axis. Can be problematic.
crossplot (or scene breakdown) A chart displaying the locations, characters, and script pages necessary to each scene.
CS Close shot.
CU Close-up.
cutaway A shot, often from a character's physical point of view, that allows us to cut away momentarily from the main action.
dailies The film unit's daily output, processed and ready to be viewed. Also called rushes because of the rush involved in readying them.
DAT recorder Digital audio tape recorder.
day for night Special photography that allows a sunlit day shot to pass as moonlit night.
decay The tapering away of a concluding sound.
deep focus Photography that holds objects both near and far in sharp focus.
degradation Deterioration of a picture, either video or photo, when it passes through several generations of copying.
depth of field The depth of the picture that is in acceptably sharp focus. Varies widely according to lens and f-stop in use.
deus ex machina The improbable event imported into a story to make it turn out right.
diegetic sound Sound that characters can hear and which belongs naturally with what we can see in picture.
diffused light Light composed of disorganized rays that casts an indistinct shadow.
digitizing (or capturing) The process of turning an analog signal, whether audio or video, into a digital record. This usually involves using an algorithmic formulation to compress the information to avoid wasteful recording of similarities in one frame to the next.
direct cinema A low-profile documentary style of shooting that disallows any directorial intrusion to shape or instigate incidents.
discontinuity Form of storytelling in which time progression is deliberately confused or abridged.
dissolve Transitional device in which one image cross fades into another. Also called a lap dissolve. One sound can dissolve into another.
DOF Depth of field.
Dolby A proprietary electronic recording system that produces low-noise sound recording, that is, having a lowered systemic hiss.
dolly shot Any shot from a wheeled camera support.
double-system recording Camera and sound recorder are separate instruments.
DP Director of photography.
dramatic dynamics The ebb and flow of dramatic pressure through the length of a scene or of a whole piece.
dramatic interpretation The selection of a dominant meaning for a particular text.
drop frame An adjustment, which involves periodically dropping a frame, made in NTSC timecode to make it correspond with clock time. Non-drop frame is unadjusted NTSC code.
dry run A rehearsal for the camera that is not filmed.
dry sound One that is clean and not augmented by reverberant additions.
dub To copy from one electronic medium to another. Can be sound or video picture.
dupe Duplicate negative.
dutch angle Shot made with camera deliberately tilted out of horizontal.
dynamic character definition Defining a dramatic character by what he or she wants and is trying to accomplish.
dynamic composition Pictorial composition as it changes within a moving shot.
echo Sound reflections that return after a constant delay time.
edge numbers Code numbers imprinted on the edge of camera original film and printing through to the workprint.
edit decision list (EDL) Sound and picture edit decisions in a movie defined as a list of timecode or Keycode™ numbers. Taking camera originals and a standard EDL to a postproduction facility allows them to make a perfect facsimile of the workprint.
effects Sounds specially laid to augment the sound track of a film. Abbreviated as FX.
elision Omission of unnecessary elements in editing, usually to make a long process acceptably short.
emotional memory Actors who carefully devise specific actions to fit a particular character mood find, when they perform, that they spontaneously experience the characters' emotions.
emotional transition Emotional change during a scene. Scripts often challenge actors by calling for leaps from one mood to another in a shorter time than is normal in life.
energy level Both scenes and performances have their own energy levels. A director will often call for a change in energy level when a scene is not working or when actors are getting tired.
epic hero Larger than life main character with superhuman attributes.
equalizing (EQ) Using sound filters to reduce the discrepancy between sound tracks that are supposed to match and sound seamless.
establishing shot A shot that establishes a scene's geographical and human contents. See also master shot.
exposition The part of a scene or a story in which basic information is relayed to the audience. Good exposition is buried within action and goes unnoticed.
expressionism A mode in art in which verisimilitude is laid aside in favor of techniques that evoke the subjective vision of a character or the Storyteller.
ext Exterior.
external composition The compositional relationship between two images at the point of cutting between them.
eye light Low-wattage light mounted on camera to put a liquid sparkle in actors' eyes.
eyeline The visual trajectory of a character in a scene.
fade down To lower sound level.
fade to white To fade an image to white instead of black.
fade up To raise sound level.
falling action See resolution.
FG Foreground.
FI Fade in.
fill light Diffused light used to raise light level in shadows cast by key light.
fishpole A handheld microphone boom.
flash forward Moving temporarily forward in time, the cinematic equivalent of the future tense. This quickly becomes a new form of present.
flashback Moving temporarily backward in time; a cinematic past tense that soon becomes an ongoing present.
floor plan See ground plan.
FO Fade out.
focal distance Distance between camera and subject.
focus (acting) Seeing, hearing, thinking in character. When an actor loses focus, he or she becomes self-conscious and aware of participating in a make-believe world.
Foley Generic name for a stage where sound is re-created to picture.
foreshadowing A somewhat fatalistic narrative technique by which an outcome is hinted at in advance. Helps to raise expectant tension in the audience. form The means and arrangement chosen to present a story's content.
freeze frame A single frame arrested and held as a still picture.
frontal lighting Key light coming from the direction of the camera and showing the subject virtually without shadows.
FTs Footsteps. Often must be recreated.
FX Sound effects.
gaffer Works closely with the director of photography. Sets lights and ensures their power.
generation Camera original (in film or video) is the first generation, and copies become subsequent numbered generations, each showing increased degradation of the original's fidelity.
genre A kind or type of film (horror, sitcom, cowboy, domestic drama, etc.).
givens Whatever is non-negotiably specified in a text.
gopher Junior production team member who has to go for this and go for that. Known as runner or dogsbody in England.
grading See timing.
graduated tonality An image composed of midtones and having neither very bright nor very dark areas.
gray scale Test chart useful to camera and lab technicians that shows the range of gray tones and includes absolute black and white.
grip Location technician expert in handling lighting and set construction equipment.
ground plan Diagram showing placement of objects and movements of actors on a floor plan. Also called floor plan.
gun/rifle mike Ultra-directional microphone useful for minimizing the intrusiveness of ambient noise.
hand properties Those props an actor handles.
hard light See specular light.
headroom Compositional space left above heads.
high angle Camera mounted high, looking down.
high contrast Image with large range of brightnesses.
high down Camera mounted high, looking down.
high-key picture Image that is overall bright with few areas of shadow.
highlight Brightest areas in picture.
hi-hat Ultra-low camera support resembling a metal top hat.
hypercardioid microphone One that is super-directional in its pickup pattern.
hyphenation Anyone who combines crafts, such as an actor-director.
improv Improvisation. A dramatic interaction that deliberately permits an outcome to emerge spontaneously. Improvs can involve different degrees of structure or may set a goal to be reached by an undetermined path.
insert A close shot of detail to be inserted in a shot containing more comprehensive action.
int Interior.
interior monologue The interior thoughts voice an actor will sustain to help stay in character and in focus.
internal composition Composition internal to the frame as opposed to the compositional relationship existing between adjacent shots, called external composition.
irony The revelation of a reality different from that initially apparent.
juicer Electrician.
jump cut Transitional device in which two similar images taken at different times are cut together so the elision of intervening time is apparent. From this the audience infers that time has passed.
juxtaposition The placing together of different pictorial or sound elements to invite comparison, inference, and heightened thematic awareness on the part of the audience.
Keycode™ Kodak's proprietary system for bar coding each camera original film frame. This facilitates digitizing by assigning each frame its own timecode. Later, after digital editing, the coding permits negative cutting (conforming) from a digitally produced edit decision list (EDL).
key light A scene's apparent source of illumination and the one creating the intended shadow pattern.
key numbers See edge numbers.
keystone distortion The distortion of parallel lines that results from photographing an object from an off-axis position.
knowing narrator Literary term for a narrator who is of superior knowledge and intelligence.
LA Low angle.
L Cut See overlap cut.
lap cut See overlap cut.
lap dissolve See dissolve.
lavalier mike Any neck or chest microphone.
lead space The additional compositional space allowed in front of a figure or moving object photographed in profile.
legal release A legally binding release form signed by a participant in a film that gives permission to use footage taken.
leitmotif Intentionally repeated element (sound, shot, dialogue, music, etc.) that helps unify a film by reminding the viewer of its earlier appearance. May represent a particular character or event.
lens speed How fast a lens is depends on how much light it transmits at its maximum aperture.
level Sound volume.
lighting ratio The ratio of highlight brightness to shadow illumination.
limiter Electronically applied upper sound limit, useful for preventing momentary transient sounds like a door slamming from distortion through over-recording.
line of tension Invisible dramatic axis, or line of awareness, that can be drawn between protagonists and important elements in a scene.
lip sync Re-created speech that is in complete sync with the speaker. Singers often lip sync to their recordings and fake a singing performance on television. looping See post-synchonization.
lose focus See focus.
low angle Camera looking up at subject.
low-contrast image Small differences of brightness between highlight areas and shadow.
low-key picture A scene that may have high contrast but which is predominantly dark.
LS Long shot.
M and E track See music and effects track.
magazine Removable light-proof film container for a film camera.
mannerisms An actor's idiosyncratic and repeated details of behavior. Very hard to change or suppress.
master mix Final mixed sound, first generation.
master shot Shot that shows most or all of the scene and most or all of the characters.
matchback The process of conforming a film negative from numbers generated by a nonlinear video editing process.
match cut See action match cut.
MCS Medium close shot.
memory stick A solid state memory carrying setup information that can be plugged into a digital video camera. Useful for standardizing setup parameters from certain kinds of shots.
metaphor A verbal or visually implied analogy that ascribes to one thing the qualities associated with another.
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a connection system that enables computers to control musical instruments.
midtones The intermediate shades of gray lying between the extremes of black and white.
mimesis Action that imitates the actuality of life.
mise en scène The totality of lighting, blocking, camera use, and composition that produces the dramatic image on film.
mix The combining together of sound tracks.
mix chart Cue chart that functions like a musician's score to assist in the sound mix.
MLS Medium long shot.
montage Originally meant editing in general, but now refers to the kind of sequence that shows a process or the passage of time.
montage sequence See montage.
MOS Short for Mit out sound, which is what the German directors in Hollywood called for when they intended to shoot silently. In Britain this shot is called mute. motif Any formal element repeated from film history or from the film itself whose repetition draws attention to an unfolding thematic statement. See also leitmotif.
motivation Whatever plot logic impels a character to act or react in a particular way, usually a combination of psychological make-up and external events.
Murphy's law Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Applies also to people. mus Music.
music and effects track A mix of non-dialogue tracks to provide all background sound for a foreign version dub. Often called an M and E track.
music sync points Places in a film's action where music must exactly fit. Also called picture pointing and can be overdone.
mute shot See MOS.
naive narrator Literary term for a character, like Forrest Gump, whom the audience knows is less knowledgeable than they are.
narr Narration.
narrating point of view A literary term for the first person point of view telling the story.
narrow lighting Lighting in portraiture that produces a narrow band of highlight on a face.
negative cutting See conforming.
NLE Nonlinear editing.
noise Noise inherent in a sound recording system.
noise reduction Recording and playback technique that minimizes system noise. See also Dolby.
normal lens A lens of a focal length that, in the format being used, renders distances between foreground and background as recognizably normal.
NTSC (National Television Standards Commission) video The signal standard used in American broadcasting. Also known as composite video or RS-170A.
obligatory moment The moment of maximum dramatic intensity in a scene and for which the whole scene exists.
offline edit Manual, non-computerized video editing. See also online edit.
omnidirectional microphone One whose pickup pattern favors all directions equally.
omniscient point of view A storytelling mode in which the audience is exposed to the author's capacity to see or know anything going on in the story, to move at will in time and space, and to freely comment upon meanings or themes.
online edit Completion process that uses the offline edit's EDL to make a final computerized version at the highest possible resolution complete with opticals and titles.
on the nose Writing that is literal and overly explicit.
optical Any visual device, including a fade, dissolve, wipe, iris wipe, ripple dissolve, matte, superimposition, etc.
optical house A company specializing in visual special effects.
optical track A sound track photographically recorded.
OS Can mean offscreen, or overshoulder, depending on context.
over the top Expression signifying a performance carried out with a surfeit of emotion.
overlap cut Any cut in which picture and sound transitions are staggered instead of level-cut.
parallel storytelling The intercutting of two separate stories proceeding through time in parallel. Useful for abridging each and for making ironic contrasts.
pan Short for panoramic. Horizontal camera movement.
perspective The size differential between foreground and background objects that causes us to infer receding space. Obviously distorted perspective makes us attribute subjective distortion in the point of view being expressed.
picture pointing Making music fit picture events. Walt Disney films used the device so much that its overuse is called Mickey Mousing.
picture texture This can be hard or soft. A hard image has large areas in sharp focus and tends to be high contrast, while a soft image has areas out of focus and lacks contrast.
playwriting One actor's tendency to take control of a scene, particularly in improv work, and manipulate other actors into a passive relationship.
plot The arrangement of incidents and the logic of causality in a story. Plot should create a sense of momentum and credibility and act as a vehicle for the thematic intention of the piece.
plot-driven narrative Story strategy that may depart from chronology to reveal the events according to the story's type and plot strategy. Plot-driven narrative sets out to entertain by generating tension.
PM Production manager.
point of view Sometimes literally what a character sees (a clock approaching midnight, for instance) but more usually signifies the outlook and sensations of a character within a particular environment. This can be the momentary consciousness of an unimportant character or that of a main character (see controlling point of view). It can also be the Storyteller's point of view (see omniscient point of view).
post-synchronization Dialogue or effects shot in sync with existing action.
POV Point of view. When abbreviated thus in a screenplay it nearly always means a shot reproducing a character's eyeline view.
practical Any light source visible in the frame as part of the set.
premise See concept.
premix A preliminary pass in which subsidiary sound elements are mixed together in preparation for the final mix.
preroll The amount of time a video-editing rig needs to get up to speed before it can safely make a cut.
presence Specially recorded location atmosphere to authentically augment “silent” portions of track. Every space has its own unique presence.
progressive scan The drawing of a complete video frame from top to bottom in one scan instead of the conventional interlace method in which odd lines and even lines are drawn in two separate passes.
prop Property or object used for set dressing or by actors. See also hand, stage, and breakaway properties.
property Physical object handled by actors or present for authenticity in a set. A term also used for a script to which someone has secured the rights.
psychoacoustics Human perception and evaluation of sounds in contrast to their scientific evaluation.
rack focus Altering focus between foreground and background during a shot. Prompts or accommodates an attention shift (a figure enters a door at the back of the room, for instance).
radio frequency interference Sound system intrusions that have their origins in radio transmissions. Also called RF.
radio microphone A microphone system that transmits its signal by radio to the recorder and is therefore wireless. Famous for picking up taxis and CB enthusiasts at inopportune moments.
reader's script Transcript of a finished film presented in a publisher's format that makes maximum use of the page.
recall The faculty of selective memory that is useful to writers because memory tends to drop what is unnecessary or uninteresting.
reconnaissance Careful examination of locations prior to shooting. See also scouting.
reflected sound Sound thrown back by sound-reflective surfaces.
release print Final print destined for audience consumption.
research Library work and observation of real life in search of authentic detail to fill out fictional characters and situations.
resistance Human evasion mechanisms that show up in actors under different kinds of stress.
resolution The wind-down events following the plot's climax that form the final phase of the plot's development. Also called falling action.
reverberation Sound reflections returning in a disorganized pattern of delay.
RF See radio frequency interference.
rising action The plot developments, including complication and conflict, that lead to a plot's climax.
room tone See presence.
running lines The action of actors rehearsing lines before a take, usually done with the script supervisor.
rushes Unedited raw footage as it appears after shooting. Also called dailies.
rushes book Log of important first reactions to performances in rushes footage.
scene axis The invisible line in a scene representing the scene's dramatic polarization. In a labor dispute scene this might be drawn between the main protagonists, the plant manager and the union negotiator. Coverage is shot from one side of this line to preserve consistent screen directions for all participants. Complex scenes involving multiple characters and physical regrouping may have more than one axis. See also crossing the line.
scene breakdown (or crossplot) A chart displaying the locations, characters, and script pages necessary for each scene.
scene dialectics The forces in opposition in a scene that usually require externalizing through acting, blocking, composition, visual and aural metaphors, etc.
scene geography The physical layout of the location and the placing of the characters when they are first encountered. See also master shot.
scouting Careful examination of locations prior to shooting. Also called reconnaissance.
screen direction The orientation or movement of characters and objects relative to the screen (screen left, screen right, upscreen, downscreen).
screen left, screen right Movement or direction specifications. See screen direction.
screenplay Standard script format showing dialogue and stage direction but no camera or editing instructions.
script supervisor Also called continuity supervisor, this person notes the physical details of each scene and the actual dialogue used so that complementary shots, designed to cut together, will match.
segue (pronounced seg-way) Sound transition, often a dissolve.
set light A light whose function is to illuminate the set.
setup The combination of particular lens, camera placement, and composition to produce a particular shot.
SFX Sound effects.
shooting ratio The ratio of material shot in relation to its eventual edited screen time. 8: 1 or higher is usual for dramatic film.
shooting script Screenplay with scenes numbered and amended to show intended camera coverage and editing.
side coaching During breaks in a scene's dialogue, the director can quietly feed directions to the actors who incorporate these instructions without breaking character. Most often used when shooting reaction shots.
sightlines Lines that can be drawn along each character's main lines of vision and influence the pattern of coverage in order to reproduce the feeling of each main character's consciousness.
silhouette lighting Lighting in which the subject is a dark outline against a light background.
simple narrative Primarily functional and supplies an exposition of events, usually in chronological order. Simple narrative exists to inform.
single shot A shot containing only one character.
single-system recording Sound recording made on film or video that also carries the picture. See double-system recording.
slate See clapper board.
slate number Setup and take number shown on the slate, or clapper, which identifies a particular take.
soft light Light that does not produce hard-edged shadows.
sound axis The direct line between the microphone and the source of sound such as speech. Directional microphones favor sounds on axis and discriminate against sound that is off axis.
sound dissolve One sound track dissolving into another.
sound effects Non-dialogue recordings of sounds intended either to intensify a scene's realism or to give it a subjective heightening.
sound mix The mixing together of sound elements into a sound composition that becomes the film's sound track.
sound perspective Apparent distance of sound source from the microphone. Lavalier mikes, for instance, give no change of perspective when characters move or turn because they remain in a fixed relationship to the wearer.
soundscape The aural picture built in the audience's imagination by skillfully deployed sound tracks.
sparks Electrician.
specular light Light composed of parallel rays that casts a comparatively hard-edged shadow.
split-page format A script format that places action on the left side of the page and its accompanying sound on the right.
stage directions Non-dialogue screenplay instructions, also known as body copy.
stage properties Those properties that are used to dress the stage but are not handled by characters.
stand-in Someone who takes the place of an actor during setup time or for shots that involve special skills, such as horseriding, fights, etc.
static character definition Giving a character static attributes instead of defining him in terms of dynamic volition.
static composition The composition elements in a static image.
Steadicam Proprietary body-brace camera support that uses counterbalance and gimbal technology so the camera can float while the operator walks.
step outline Synopsis of a screenplay expressed as a series of numbered steps, preferably including a definition of each step's function in the whole.
sting Musical accent to heighten a dramatic moment.
storyboard Series of key images sketched to suggest what a series of shots will look like.
strobing The unnatural result onscreen resulting from the interaction of camera shutter speed with a patterned subject such as the rotating spokes of a wheel or panning across a picket fence.
structure The formal organization of the elements of a story, principally the handling of time, and their arrangement into a dramatically satisfying development that includes a climax and resolution.
style An individual stamp on a film; the elements in a film that issue from its makers' own artistic identity.
subjective camera angle An angle that implies the physical point of view of one of the characters.
subtext The hidden, underlying meaning to the text. It is supremely important and actors and director must often search for it.
superobjective The overarching thematic purpose of the director's dramatic interpretation.
surrealism Also a movement in art and literature. Concerned with the free movement of the imagination particularly as expressed in dreams, where the dreamer has no conscious control over events. Often associated with helplessness.
sweetening See audio-sweetening.
sync coding Code marks to help an editor keep sound and action in sync.
synecdoche A literary figure of speech in which a part stands for a whole. In film, you might use a revolving blue light to stand for the police.
tag An irreducibly brief description useful for its focus upon essentials.
take One filmed attempt from one setup. Each setup may have several takes.
telephoto lens Long or telescopic lens that foreshortens the apparent distance between foreground and background objects.
tense, change of Temporary change from present to either past, future, or conditional tenses in a film's narrative flow. Whatever tense a film invokes speedily becomes a new, ongoing present. For this reason screenwriting is always in the present tense.
thematic purpose The overall interpretation of a complete work that is ultimately decided by the director. See superobjective.
theme A dominant idea made concrete through its representation by the characters, action, and imagery of the film.
three-shot (3S) Shot containing three people.
thumbnail character sketch Brief character description useful either in screen writing or in recruiting actors.
tilt Camera swiveling in a vertical arc, tilting up and down to show the height of a flagpole, for instance.
timebase correction Electronic stabilization of the video image, particularly necessary to make it compatible with the sensitive circuitry used in transmission over the air.
timecode Electronic code number unique to each video frame.
timing The process of examining and grading a negative for color quality and exposure prior to printing. Also called grading.
tracking shot Moving camera shot in which the camera dolly often runs on tracks like a miniature railroad.
transitional device Any visual, sound, or dramatic screen element that signals a jump to another time or place.
treatment Usually a synopsis in present-tense, short-story form of a screenplay that summarizes dialogue and describes only what an audience would see and hear. Can also be used to refer to a puff piece designed to sell the script rather than give comprehensive information about content.
trucking shot Moving camera shot that was originally shot from a truck. The term is used interchangeably with tracking.
two-shot (2S) Shot containing two people.
ultra-directional microphone See hypercardioid microphone.
unit The whole group of people shooting a film.
VCR Videocassette recorder.
verbal action Words conceived and delivered so as to act upon the listener and instigate a result.
video assist or video feed Video taken from the film camera's viewfinder and displayed on a monitor, usually for the director to watch during film shooting.
visual rhythm Each image according to its action and compositional complexity requires a different duration onscreen to look right and to occupy the same audience concentration as its predecessor. A succession of images, when sensitively edited, exhibits a rhythmic constancy that can be slowed or accelerated like any other kind of rhythm.
VO Voice-over.
volition The will of a character to accomplish something. This leads to constant struggle of one form or another, a concept vital in making dramatic characters come to life.
VCR Videocassette recorder.
VT Videotape.
VTR Videotape recorder.
WA Wide angle.
walk-through The stage during lighting setup when actors or stand-ins are asked to walk through their physical movements.
whip pan Very fast panning movement.
white balance Video camera setup procedure in which circuitry is adjusted to the color temperature of the lighting source so a white object is rendered as white onscreen.
wide-angle lens A lens with a wide angle of acceptance. Its effect is to increase the apparent distance between foreground and background objects.
wild Not in sync.
wild track A sound track shot alone and with no synchronous picture.
window dub A transfer made from a timecoded, video camera original that displays each frame's timecode number in a window near the bottom of frame.
wipe Optical transition between two scenes that appears onscreen as a line moving across the screen. An iris wipe makes the new scene appear as a dot that enlarges to fill the screen. These effects are overused on the TV screen.
wireless mike See radio microphone.
workprint A film print made for the express purpose of editing.
wrap End of shooting.
WS Wide shot.
WT Wild track.
XLS Extra long shot.
zoom lens A lens whose focal length is infinitely variable between two extremes.
zoom ratio The ratio of the longest to the widest focal lengths. A 10 to 100mm zoom would have a 10: 1 zoom ratio.