ALPHABETICAL GLOSSARY
Above-the-line – Costs on a budget that are related to acting, writing, producing, and directing.
A camera – A designation used when more than one camera is involved in shooting a scene; one camera is called A camera and a second camera would be called B camera.
ADR – The process of rerecording dialogue that for one reason or another was not recorded properly during production; stands for automatic dialogue replacement; is also called looping.
Assistant editor – A person who prepares video material for the editor by doing such things as organizing it into logical files and making sure it plays well in conjunction with the computer system.
Avid – A brand of nonlinear editing software.
B camera – A designation used when more than one camera is involved in shooting a scene; one camera would be called A camera and the second camera would be B camera.
Below the line - Industry jargon for craft and technical production personnel.
Bin – A storage area on a computer for clips used in nonlinear editing.
Breakdown – To analyze a script to determine different elements needed.
Camera report – A sheet filled out during production that gives information about shots recorded on a reel of film and indicates which shots are to be printed so they can be used for editing.
Circle the takes – To make a mark (usually a circle) on a camera report that tells postproduction people which are the good takes that should be printed for the editing process.
Close up – A shot that isolates a subject in relation to the surroundings.
Continuity – Elements that must be correct in order for a movie or TV program to move consistently and unobtrusively from shot to shot in terms of such elements as screen direction, lighting, performance, props, audio, and costumes.
Cut – An instantaneous switch from one shot to another; an edit of an entire program that is the way a particular person thinks it should be, such as an editor’s cut or a director’s cut.
Dailies – The unedited copy of reels of film shots that comes from the lab each day of shooting, allowing the director and others to view their work to check it before the next day of production.
Director’s cut – An edit of an entire program that is what the director thinks the final version should look like.
Dolly – Moving a camera and its supporting device forward or backward; the wheeled cart that is used to move the camera.
Editor’s cut – Usually the initial edit that is completed for a program by the editor and is then shown to the director.
Final mix – Recording together dialogue, sound effects, and music so that they blend together properly.
Lined pages – The pages of script that the script supervisor prepares that have lines on them to show which camera got shots of which lines of dialogue; the script supervisor also writes descriptions of the shot.
Lock – The point at which a program has been edited into its final state and no more changes will be made.
Looping – See ADR.
Medium shot – A shot that gives a sense of the subject and the subject’s surroundings.
Pacing – The overall feel of how fast things are moving in a program or a scene, often enhanced by the number of edits per minute; many quick edits give a fast pace while fewer edits give a slower pace.
Pan – Moving a camera left or right on a tripod or by hand.
Park – Placing footage from a particular shot at a point near what is going to be used to edit; usually used when several angles of the same scene are available for editing and the editor wants to be able to view them all on the TV monitor.
Pilot – The production of one representative program for a proposed TV series.
Prep – To prepare; usually refers to the time the director and crew have to get ready for shooting.
Pre-time – What the script supervisor does to get the approximate time that a script will run.
Prime lens – A single-focal-length lens that cannot zoom.
Scene – A shot or series of shots presenting a unified action and occurring in a single place and time.
Script supervisor – The person in charge of seeing that all parts of the script are actually shot and that continuity is correct.
Second unit – A crew (usually small) who shoot scenes that do not involve the principal actors, such as stunts or scenery shots.
Shot – An element of a program that begins when the camera starts running during production and ends when it stops, or one edit cut from the middle of the camera run.
Sound report - A sheet filled out during production that gives information about sound that is on a particular reel of tape so that the sound can match the film that was printed for dailies.
Split screen – A visual effect where one or more pictures are shown simultaneously on different parts of the screen.
Stand-in – Someone who goes through movements and positioning that a principal actor would go through while lights and other equipment are being set so that the actor can be off doing something else, such as learning lines.
Steadicam – A counterweighted camera mounting device that fits on a person’s body to allow for smooth hand-held camera operation.
Tail away (T.A.) – A shot from behind a person.
Temp music – Music that is placed in a program just to give it the right feel; later it will be replaced by music the composer prepares.
Track – Moving a camera and its mounting device to the left or right; the rails (similar to train track) that are laid so the camera support can be placed on them and the camera can be moved smoothly.
Trim – To change an edit point slightly so that the clip is a little longer or a little shorter.
Two-shot – A shot that includes two people.
Wide shot – A shot that emphasizes the surroundings and the subject’s placement in them.
Zoom lens – A complex lens that can vary focal length, having a close-up one moment and a wide shot the next.
