National Film Theatre
AKA: NFT
Main showcase cinema in the UK. Located in London, England.

On the web: Official Home Page


National Organization of Theatre Owners
AKA: NATO

Native Resolution
The resolution at which a TV or monitor is designed to display images. Image signals higher or lower than a specified native resolution must be converted to be displayed accurately. For example, a TV with a native resolution of 1080i can display 1080i images but may upconvert 480p images to 1080i. In contrast, a TV with a native resolution of 480p must downconvert a 1080i signal to 480p for display. CRT-based projection TVs can have more than one native resolution, but fixed-pixel displays such as LCD and DLP are limited to display one resolution and convert all others. More info



NC-17: NO ONE 17 AND UNDER ADMITTED
AKA: NC-17, X-Rated, X Rated, X
A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that no person aged 17 or under will be allowed to attend a screening of the movie. This category was formerly called "X", but many people's mistaken association of "X" films with XXX films caused the MPAA to change this on September 27, 1990.

On the web: MPAA Ratings Explanation


Negative Cost
The cost of a movie through the production of a finished negative, not including the costs of print s, advertising, or distribution.

Negative Cutter
A person who matches the negative of a movie and conforms (matches) it to the final version of the film as decided by the filmmakers . From this negative the print s are made.

Negative Pickup
An agreement where a distributor acquires a finished negative and agrees to pay P&A and distribution costs. As opposed to deals where the distributor is involved during production .

Negative Print
AKA: Negative, Neg
A reverse light image capture. See also positive print .

NG
AKA: No good
An abbreviation of the phrase "no good", which can be used to describe various aspects of filmmaking, i.e. "a ng take".

Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema
AKA: NETPAC


Non-linear Editing
The computer-assisted editing of a movie without the need to assemble it in linear sequence. The visual equivalent of word processing.

NTSC
National Television Standards Committee, the FCC engineering group formed in 1940 to develop technical standards for black-and-white television (NTSC broadcasting began July 1, 1941) and color television (1953). NTSC is also the video-transmission standard used in the western hemisphere, Japan, and other Asian countries. NTSC standards are 525 lines of resolution transmitted within a 6MHz channel at 30fps.


Nut
Operating expenses to be recovered, often deductible in an exhibitor 's contract