Abby Singer
The second-to-last shot of the day. Named after production manager Abby Singer , who would frequently call "last shot of the day" or "this shot, and just one more," only to have the director ask for more take s. See also martini shot .

Above-the-Line Expenses
The major expenses committed to before production begins, including story/rights/continuity (writing); salaries for producer s, director , and cast ; travel and living; and production fees (if the project is bought from an earlier company). Everything else falls under below-the-line expenses

AC3
Audio coding 3 (see Dolby Digital ).

ACATS
Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service; special FCC committee that recommended DTV standards in 1997.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
AKA: AMPAS, The Academy
On the web: Official Home Page

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards
AKA: Oscars, Academy Awards
The term "Oscar" was coined by an anonymous person who remarked that the statue looked like their Uncle Oscar.
On the web: Complete List of Winners and Nominees , Official Home Page

Academy of Motion Picture Sound
AKA: AMPS
A UK-based organization whose aims are to promote and encourage the science, technology and creative application of all aspects of motion picture sound recording and reproduction, and to promote and enhance the status and recognition of the contribution of those therein engaged.
On the web: Official Home Page


Action
"Action" is called during filming to indicate the start of the current take . The director's cue to the actors to begin the scene. They don't yell 'lights, camera, action, anymore. These days it goes like this: The 1st Assistant Director yells "We are rolling." The camera operator repeats "rolling," and the film begins to roll. The clapper/loader claps the slate in front of the camera, which specifies which scene is being shot, and says 'marking.' The clap of the slate will be used to synchronize picture and sound later. The soundman will say "speed." The director will yell "background action," and the extras will begin to move. Then the director says "action," and the actors do their stuff.. See also cut , speed , lock it down .

Actor
AKA: Actress
A person who plays the role of a character. Historically, the term "Actor" refered exclusively to males, but in modern times the term is used for both genders.
On the web: Search for an actor
Factual Movie(s): Rhinoskin: The Making of a Movie Star (1995)


Additional Camera
AKA: B Camera
An extra camera operator , often needed for complicated action sequences or stunt s. Contrast with additional photography .

Additional Photography
AKA: Additional Photographer, Reshoots, Reshooting, Pickups
Focus group or studio reaction to some shot s or scene s may be bad enough to convince the filmmakers to discard them. In some cases, actor s are recalled and parts of the movie are refilmed. This is referred to as "Additional Photography", "Reshoots", or "Pickups". Contrast with additional camera , pickups .

ADR
Additional Dialogue Replacement. A voice-over narration added to a film is an example of this.

Advance
Of a composite print : the distance between a point on the soundtrack and the corresponding image. Of payment: an amount given before receipt of services. See also against.

After grayscale variation
Geek box term . After calibration , the average amount of variation from an ideal of 6,500K, measured over the entire range of the grayscale --typically 20 to 100 IRE in 10-IRE increments.

Agent
A person responsible for the professional business dealings of an actor , director , or other artist. An agent typically negotiates the contracts on behalf of the actor or director , and often has some part in selecting or recommending roles for their client.
Fictional Movie(s): Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Age Range
The range in the ages of characters which an actor can play believably. The actor's real age is usually somewhere in this range, but not always.

Alan Smithee
AKA: Allen Smithee
The sole pseudonym that the Directors Guild of America allows directors to use when they wish to remove their name from a film.

ALiS
ALiS (alternate lighting of surfaces) technology developed by Fujitsu/Hitachi for plasma panel displays. On a conventional plasma TV, all pixels are illuminated at all times. With an ALiS plasma panel, alternate rows of pixels are illuminated so that half the panel's pixels are illuminated at any moment, somewhat similarly to interlaced scanning on a CRT-type TV. This allows higher native resolution than designs with discrete pixels (typically 1,024x1,024 versus 1,024x768 for 42-inch plasmas), but ALiS has historically suffered in other areas, including black-level performance .

American Cinema Editors
AKA: ACE
Honorary society of film editor s founded in 1950 by Jack Ogilvie , Warren Low and others.

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
AKA: AFTRA
An association with jurisdiction over some works that can be recorded by picture or by sound. See also the Screen Actors Guild .
On the web: Official Home Page

American Society of Cinematographers
AKA: ASC
An organization founded in 1919 and dedicated to advancing the art of cinematography through artistry and technological progress, to exchange ideas and to cement a closer relationship among cinematographer s. Membership is international and by invitation based on an individual's body of narrative filmwork. Use of the abbreviation ASC, e.g. for on-screen credits, indicates membership in the society. The society publishes "American Cinematographer" magazine.
On the web: Official Home Page

Analog hole
A perceived chink in the armor protecting copyrighted content from unauthorized distribution--for example, over the Internet. Currently HDTV and other high-bandwidth content can be converted from analog to digital format and distributed widely. The MPAA wants to "plug" the analog hole by placing watermark detection capability in analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), which convert analog audio and video into digital form.

Anamorphic
AKA: Cinemascope
anamorphic - Adopted from the film technique of shooting a wide-screen image on a square 35mm frame, it's the process of compressing wide-screen images to fit into the squarer standard 4:3 television signal. The images are then expanded for viewing in their original format on a wide-screen display device. Wide-screen or letterboxed DVDs that are not anamorphic have less detail when projected on a wide-screen monitor. In other words, a nonanamorphic wide-screen DVD is designed to be shown letterboxed on a standard "square" TV but appears with a black box all around the image when shown on a larger 16:9 wide-screen TV. To fill a 16:9 screen, a nonanamorphic DVD has to be blown up, resulting in loss of resolution and detail. Conversely, a DVD that is anamorphic, enhanced for 16:9, or enhanced for wide-screen delivers 33 percent more resolution than regular letterboxed transfers, is designed to be shown on a 16:9 TV, and does not need to be blown up. When one of these DVDs is shown on a "square" TV, it is often subject to anamorphic downconversion artifacts unless the TV has a vertical compression feature.
See also aspect ratio , contrast with spherical . Cinemascope is a tradename of an anamorphic technique.

Anamorphic Widescreen
AKA: 16:9 Enhanced
DVD mastering process whereby a film source with an aspect ratio greater than 4:3 (usually also greater than or equal to 16:9) is transferred to the DVD video master in such a way that the picture is vertically stretched by a factor of about 1.33 (e.g. if the picture had an aspect ratio of 16:9, it now has one of 4:3). The idea is to use as much resolution of the video master as possible so widescreen pictures use the 4:3 frame optimally, gaining another 33% of vertical resolution and looking markedly sharper. When playing a DVD with anamorphic widescreen the display (16:9 capable TV or projector and screen) has to vertically squeeze the picture by a factor of 0.75 so a circle is still a circle. If the display cannot do this the DVD player will do the squeezing and add black bars on the top and bottom of the picture. In that case the additional 33% resolution are not available.

Anamorphic downconversion
Processing present in all DVD players that converts the image from an anamorphic DVD for display on a regular 4:3 TV. In the initial setup of a DVD player is a choice between a 16:9 or a 4:3 TV; the 4:3 options engage this processing, which often introduces artifacts such as jaggies and undulations during pans.

Anamorphic squeeze See vertical compression .

ANSI
American National Standards Institute, a professional measurements and standards group.

ANSI lumens
Light-output specification set in 1993 used mainly to measure brightness of front-projection televisions; more exact than undefined lumens . The average 7-inch, CRT front-projection television is capable of between 150 and 175 ANSI lumens, while 9-inch CRT sets emit between 200 and 240. DLP and LCD projectors range from 600 to 7,000, depending on the model.

Animation
AKA: Animated, Animator
The process of creating the illusion of motion by creating individual frame s, as opposed to filming naturally-occuring action at a regular frame rate . See also computer generated animation, claymation , time lapse. Contrast with motion capture , rotoscoping .

Anime
A style of animated movie which had its roots in the comic books of Japan. Animation enjoys an immense variety of subject matter and audiences in Japan. Outside of Japan, "Anime" is often used to describe only the adult oriented science fiction and fantasy entries in the field.
On the web: List of Anime titles at the IMDb.

Answer print
The first graded print of a film that combines sound and picture, which is created for the client to view and approve before printing the rest of the copies of the film.

Aperture
AKA: F/Number, F-Stop, Effect Aperture, Relative Aperture
A measure of the width of the opening allowing light to enter a camera . The apparent diameter of a lens viewed from the position of the object against a diffusely illuminated background is called the "effect aperture". The ratio of focal length of a lens to its "effective aperture" for an object located at infinity is called the "relative aperture", or "f/number". Larger apertures allow more light to enter a camera , hence darker scene s can be recorded. Conversely, smaller apertures allow less light to enter, but have the advantage of creating a large depth of field . See also shutter speed .

Art Department
The section of a production 's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director , the art department is responsible for arranging the overall "look" of the film (i.e. modern/high-tech, rustic, futuristic, etc.) as desired by the director . Individual positions within in this department include: production designer , production buyer , special effects supervisor , draftsman , art director , assistant art director , set decorator , set dresser , property master , leadman , swing gang , and property assistant .

Art Director
The person who oversees the artists and craftspeople who build the set s. See also production designer , set designer , set director, leadman , and swing gang .

Artifact
Any abnormality in a video image; typically results from digital processing, the interlaced -scanning method, the conversion from one video format to another, or signal transmission issues.
See also motion artifact , contrast with cinch marks .

Articulation Artist
A person who takes an artist's designs and builds them in a computer, so that animators can manipulate the figures to tell the story of the film.

Aspect Ratio
AKA: Aspect, Academy Ratio
A measure of the relative sizes of the horizontal and vertical components of an image. "Academy Ratio" is 1.33:1. See also anamorphic . The relationship between the width and height of an image; the standard DTV wide-screen ratio is 16:9 (1.78:1), as compared to the squarer NTSC ratio of 4:3 (1.33:1).

Assistant Art Director
An assistant to the art director .

Assistant Camera
AKA: Assistant Camera Operator, First Assistant Cameraman, 1st Assistant Cameraman, 1st Assistant Camera, Assistant Cameraman, Camera Assistant
A member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator . This person is responsible for the maintenance and care of the camera , as well as preparing dope sheet s. In smaller camera crew s, they may also perform the duties of clapper-loader and/or a focus puller . See also additional camera .

Assistant Director
AKA: AD
Short for Assistant Director. The A.D. is the 1 st A.D., the one who co-ordinates the hundreds of details involved in a day's shooting, thus freeing the director to be creative. There is also a Second Assistant Director, who is primarily an extras wrangler. On some days with big crowd scenes there may also be a 'second second.'
First Assistant Director, 1st Assistant Director
An assistant director's duties include tracking the progress of filming versus the production schedule , and preparing call sheet s.
Fictional Movie(s): Living in Oblivion (1995)

Assistant Film Editor
AKA: Assistant Picture Editor, Assistant Sound Editor, Assistant Editor, First Assistant Editor, Second Assistant Editor, Apprentice Editor
Editing room crewmember responsible for providing any and all required logistical assistance to the editor (s). Duties vary, depending on whether the assistant is working with a picture or sound editor and whether the show is being edited on film or on a non-linear editing system. On a film-edited show, assistant picture editors will, during production : liase with the film lab and sound transfer facility regarding the processing of dailies ; leader, sync and edgecode the dailies rolls; coordinate and take notes during dailies screening s; organize and maintain camera reports, sound reports, script notes, and lined script pages from the set , as well as lab reports and sound transfer reports; log all dailies footage; and reorganize footage for editing , if necessary. Ongoing, and during post-production , they will: reconstitute trims; locate and pull trims requested by the editor; check sync, clean, measure, re-splice, and add change-over marks to cut reel s; coordinate screening s of cut work; take notes during screening s. Once the sound department begins work, the assistants produce change sheets detailing each day's changes to the workprint and production track and send them, along with any necessary duplicate trims, to the sound department. Assistants may be permitted by the editor to do some creative work, such as commenting on the editor 's work; cutting temporary ("temp") sound effects and music into the track; and sometimes even editing scene s. After picture lock, the assistant: oversees the creation of optical effects such as fade s, dissolve s, etc. and cuts them into the workprint; continues to work with the sound department as necessary; and in some cases oversees the final stages of post-production , all the way through sound mix , negative conforming, and the production of final print s. The assistant editor chain of command consists of the First Assistant Editor(s), who bears the most responsibility for the smooth performance of the assistant team; the Second Assistant Editor(s); and the Apprentice Editor(s).

Assistant Production Manager
AKA: Assistant Production Co-Ordinator
An assistant to the production co-ordinator. See also production secretary .

Associate Producer
An individual who performs a limited number of producing functions delegated to her/him by a producer , under the direct supervision and control of that producer . The term may also refer to a person who would qualify as an executive producer of a project, but for the fact that (s)he acts on behalf of a production company which is subordinate to another one on that project. See also co-producer and line producer .

Association Internationale du Film d'Animation
AKA: ASIFA, International Animation Association
ASIFA was founded in 1960 in France, chartered under UNESCO, as a membership organization devoted to the encouragement and dissemination of film animation as an art and communication form.
On the web: International Home Page

Association of Film Commissioners International
AKA: AFCI
WWW: http://www.afci.org A non-profit educational organization founded in 1975 to serve the needs of on-location film, television and commercial production.

Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers
On the web: International Home Page
A membership organization serving local and international film and videomakers—from documentarians and experimental artists to makers of narrative features

Atmosphere
The extras in a film/TV production who appear in a scene to help establish the time, place, or mood of a scene.

ATRC
Advanced Television Research Consortium, an organization of several large consumer electronics companies, research facilities, and broadcast entities that developed U.S. high-definition television (HDTV) standards.


ATSC
Advanced Television Systems Committee, a government-sanctioned, industry-led standard-setting body that adopted the official DTV standard for the United States in 1997. The acronym also refers to the DTV and HDTV standards.

ATVEF
Advanced Television Enhancement Forum, a coalition of broadcasters as well as hardware and software makers that created a standard for interactive data broadcasting, most of which would be broadcast as part of HD transmissions. These standards are currently under consideration by Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). The group discontinued operations on November 1, 2003.

Australian Screen Editors
AKA: ASE
A cultural, professional and educational organisation, dedicated to the pursuit and recognition of excellence in the arts, sciences and technology of motion picture film and televisual post-production . It aims to promote, improve and protect the role of editor as an essential and significant contributor to all screen productions.

Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers
AKA: AMPTP

Australian Screen Editors
AKA: ASE
A cultural, professional and educational organisation, dedicated to the pursuit and recognition of excellence in the arts, sciences and technology of motion picture film and televisual post-production . It aims to promote, improve and protect the role of editor as an essential and significant contributor to all screen productions.

Australian Screen Directors Association
AKA: ASDA
The Australian Screen Directors Association (ASDA) is an industry association representing the interests of film and television directors, documentary filmmakers, animators and independent producers throughout Australia.
On the web: Official Home Page

Australian Society of Cinematographers
AKA: ACS
Use of the abbreviation after a name indicates that the person is a member of the ACS. On the web: Official Home Page


Auteur
A filmmaker, generally a director , who creates a body of work with a unified sensibility that reveals, through the interplay of themes and styles, a personal worldview. The term originated with François Truffaut , whose 1954 essay "Une certaine tendence du cinéma français" put forth the idea that the most interesting films were those that functioned as a medium of personal expression--and therefore bore the distinctive imprint of their "author." American critic Andrew Sarris later translated and expanded this idea into an "auteur theory," which proposed an evaluation of films based on their context within the filmmaker's oeuvre, rather than for their technical proficiency or greater historical significance. The term "auteur" later came to refer to any filmmaker who performed or was intimately involved in all aspects of the moviemaking process (writing, directing, producing, editing, etc.).

Automated Dialogue Replacement
AKA: Automated Dialogue Replacement, ADR, Dialogue Looping, Dialog Looping, Looping
The re-recording of dialogue by actor s in a sound studio during post-production , usually performed to playback of edited picture in order to match lip movements on screen. ADR is frequently used to replace production track of poor quality (e.g., due to high levels of background noise) or to change the delivery or inflection of a line. ADR can also be used to insert new lines of dialogue which are conceived during editing , although such lines can only be placed against picture in which the face of the actor speaking is not visible.
Fictional Movie(s): Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Automatic Dialogue Replacement Editing
AKA: ADR Editing
The process of editing sound during Automated Dialogue Replacement .

Automated Dialogue Replacement Editor
AKA: ADR Editor
The person who performs ADR Editing.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Mixer
AKA: ADR Mixer
The person who mixes the sound during Automated Dialogue Replacement .

Avail
A non-binding term for an actor who is available (and usually eager) for a role.

AVID
Manufacturer of a popular non-linear editing system. Often used to refer to the system itself, as "AVID editor". Competitors include Lightworks.