Glossary
For further information, see index.
A
Adaptation The unique way each person adapts to the changing obstacles that prevent him or her from gaining his ends. Prime component in externalizing a person’s conflicts.
Addressable timecode A camera or other timecode having a settable starting point.
ADR Automatic dialogue replacement. See Postsynchronization.
AFI American Film Institute.
Agenda What a character is trying to get, do, or accomplish—often unconsciously.
Ambient sound Sound naturally occurring in any location.
Amp Ampere, a measure of electrical current flow.
Analog recording Sound or picture recording whose waveforms are recorded as analog voltages rather than in digital representation.
Angle of acceptance (lens) Height and width of an image, expressed in degrees or as measurements, filmed by a particular lens at a given distance in a given aspect ratio.
Angle of acceptance (microphone) Narrow or very wide, according to how much the microphone’s design discriminates against off-axis sound.
Anticipating When an actor (or documentary participant) speaks or acts in advance of the appropriate moment.
Anticipatory sound Sound brought in ahead of its accompanying picture.
Aperture (lens) Area of lens in use, expressed as an f-stop, which determines the amount of light transmitted.
Artifacts Tendency for digital imagery to render diagonal lines as jagged rather than straight.
Aspect ratio The size of a screen format expressed as the ratio of the width in relation 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 atmosphere (caf é, railroad, beach, or rain, for example).
Attack (sound) The beginning portion of any sound.
Audio sweetening The adjusting of level and equalization that accompanies sound mixing.
Auteur theory The misleading concept that one mind controls the creative identity of a film.
Axis The imaginary line between scene participants that helps determine the direction they face on-screen. See Camera-to-subject axis, Subject-to-subject axis, and Scene axis.
B
Baby legs A miniature tripod for low-angle shots.
Back lighting Lighting from behind the subject.
Back story The events stated or implied to have happened prior to the period covered in the story.
Balanced line A three-wire audio cable incorporating a noise-canceling design.
Bars Standard color bars generated in video systems, usually by the camera.
BCU Big close-up.
Beat Point in a situation where a buildup of pressure produces a major and irreversible change in at least one character’s consciousness (theater term).
Behalfer Someone who makes a film on behalf of someone else and elects to speak for those supposedly without a voice of their own.
BG Background.
Blocking Choreographic arrangement of movements by participants and camera in relation to the location.
Boom Support pole (or fishpole) permitting a microphone to be suspended close to speakers.
Bounce light Light directed off a reflected surface such as a wall, ceiling, or bounce card.
Boxcar cutting Method of assembling sound and action segments as level-cut segments for speed and convenience.
Broad lighting Lighting that produces a broad band of highlight on a face or other three-dimensional object.
Buzz track See presence.
C
Camera left/right Movement or placement of objects in relation to the camera. Also expressed as screen left or right.
Camera motivation Each shot or a camera movement should be justified in terms of the scene or story.
Camera-to-subject axis The invisible line between the camera and the subject of its composition.
Capturing See Digitizing.
Cardioid microphone One having a heart-shaped pickup pattern that favors on-axis sound.
Character generator An electronic program for producing video titles.
Cheating The practice of moving participants, furniture, or other objects in relation to each other to minimize shadows or other impediments. If this is evident, you are no longer cheating effectively.
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 closing bar permits easy synchronization with sound. Also called the slate.
Climax The dramatic apex or turning point of a scene.
Closed question A question that manipulates the person replying into providing a certain form of answer.
Codec Digital compression formula applied to sound or imagery that saves storage space by removing duplicate information. See also Lossy codec.
Color bars Standard electronic video color test, usually generated by the camera.
Color temperature Light color quality, measured in degrees Kelvin.
Comm Commentary.
Committing action Action that establishes what a character is trying to get, do, or accomplish.
Complementary shot A shot compositionally designed to intercut with another.
Completion money Additional funds required to bring a project to completion.
Composite print A film print combining sound and picture.
Compression Sound with a wide dynamic range can be proportionately compressed so the loudest and softest sounds are closer in volume.
Concept A simple, direct statement of a project’s contents, purpose, and intentions.
Confrontation Bringing into final collision those people or forces that represent the dramatic situation’s main conflict.
Contingency percentage A proportion, usually between 3 and 5%, added to a budget to provide for the unforeseeable.
Contingency planning Alternative shooting scheduled for scenes threatened by weather or other imponderables.
Continuity Consistency of physical detail between shots intended to match.
Continuity script Record of a finished film’s contents; useful for proving piracy or censorship.
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 in order to allow variations of viewpoint in editing.
Crab dolly Wheeled camera support platform that can roll in any direction.
Craning A boom supporting the camera that can be raised or lowered during the shot.
Crawl titles Titles that scroll across the screen rather then rolling up or down it.
Creeping sync Mismatch in action and sound speeds that causes sync to progressively deteriorate.
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 problematical.
CS Close shot.
CU Close-up.
Cutaway A shot, often a character’s physical point of view, allowing you to cut away momentarily from the main action.
D
Dailies The film unit’s daily output, hurriedly synchronized for viewing. Also called rushes.
DAT recorder Digital audio tape recorder.
Day for night Special photography that allows a sunlit day shot to pass as moonlit night.
Decibel (dB) Logarithmic unit of sound measurement.
Decay The tapering away of a concluding sound.
Deep focus Photography that holds objects both near and far in sharp focus.
Demo reel Brief assembly of material on a DVD to best support your proposal or application.
Depth of field Depth of the picture in which objects are in acceptably sharp focus; varies widely according to lens and f-stop in use.
DF See Drop frame (timecode).
Dialogical discourse Narrative incorporating multiple, even contradictory voices and outlooks.
Diegetic sound Sound belonging in the on-screen world and audible to participants.
Diffused light Light composed of disorganized rays that cast an indistinct shadow.
Digitizing (aka capturing) Conversion of analog signal, either audio or video, into a digital equivalent for a computer. Usually uses algorithmic formulation to abbreviate recorded information. See also JPEG and MPEG.
Direct cinema A low-profile style of documentary shooting that disallows any directorial intrusion to shape or instigate incidents.
Discrimination (microphone) Ability to reduce sound levels coming from off-axis.
Dissolve Transitional device in which one image cross-fades into another. Also called a lap dissolve. One sound can dissolve into another, too.
Docudrama Use of dramatic reenactment in service of documentary purposes.
DOF Depth of field.
Dolby® A proprietary electronic recording system that reduces noise in sound recording.
Dolly shot Any shot on a wheeled camera support.
Double-system recording Camera and sound recorder used as separate instruments.
DP Director of photography.
Dramadoc See Docudrama.
Dramatic arc The build, crescendo, and decline of dramatic pressure through a scene or whole film. Also called dramatic curve.
Dramatic tension The unresolved knowledge, hopes, fears, and expectations that keep us wanting to know “and what happens next?”
Drop frame (timecode) Timecode that stays synchronous with clock time by periodically dropping a superfluous frame number.
Dub To copy from one electronic medium to another; can be sound or picture.
Dutch angle Shot made with camera deliberately tilted out of horizontal.
DV Digital video, or video and sound recorded digitally. Tape may be as small as 6 mm wide.
DVD Digital video disk.
Dynamic character definition Defining a participant like 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.
E
Echo Sound reflections that return after a constant time delay.
Edit decision list Sound and picture edit decisions in a movie, defined as a list of time-code or Keykode ® numbers.
EDL See Edit decision list.
EDV See Enhanced Definition Video.
Effects Sounds laid to augment the sound track of a film.
Ellipsis The removal of superfluous footage from a lengthy process to produce a shorthand version whose missing parts can be inferred by the audience.
Embedded values Deeply ingrained social assumptions that filmmakers manifest unaware.
ENG Electronic newsgathering.
Enhanced Definition Video Video superior to standard definition but inferior to HD (high-definition).
EQ See Equalizing.
Equalizing 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 geography and contents.
Exposition The part of a scene or a story that relays basic information to the audience.
Ext Exterior.
External composition The compositional relationship between two images (shots) at the point of transition between them—usually a cut.
Eyeline The visual trajectory of a character in a scene.
F
Fair Use Doctrine Documentary practitioner’s alleged rights in relation to copyright, as yet untested in court. See www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_in_online_video.
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 See Boom.
Flash forward Moving temporarily forward in time; the cinematic equivalent of the future tense. Quickly becomes a new form of the present.
Flash memory Nonvolatile computer memory that does not require power to maintain its data.
Flashback Moving temporarily backwards in time; a cinematic past tense that soon becomes an ongoing present.
Floor plan See Ground plan.
FO Fade out.
Focal distance Distance between subject and camera’s focal plane.
Focal length (lens) Distance in millimeters between lens’s optical center and image plane.
Focus (acting) Seeing, hearing, and thinking in character. A documentary participant loses focus when he or she becomes self-conscious and aware of participating in a make-believe world.
Foley Generic name for recreating sound to picture.
Foreshadowing 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.
fps Frames per second.
Frame rate Frames recorded per second.
Freeze frame A single frame arrested and held as a still picture.
f-stop (lens) See Aperture.
FTs Footsteps; sometimes recreated in stylized documentaries.
Fur mini-screen (sound) Fur cover for a microphone to reduce air current noises.
FX Sound effects.
G
Gaffer Works with director of photography; sets lights and arranges their power supply.
Generation Camera original is the first generation; copies become subsequent generations.
Genlock External signal allowing multiple cameras to remain in exact synchronization.
Genre A kind or type of film (for example, essay, reflexive, direct cinema in documentaries and horror, sitcom, cowboy, domestic drama, etc., in fiction).
Givens Drama term referring to the given circumstances within which a scene or drama takes place.
Grading See Timing.
Graduated tonality An image mostly of midtones with 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 Technician expert in handling lighting and set construction equipment.
Ground plan Diagram showing placement of objects and movements of actors on a floor plan.
Gun mike Ultradirectional microphone useful for minimizing invasive, off-axis noise.
H
Halation Image degradation resulting from bright light reflecting internally between lens elements.
Hard light See Specular light.
HD High-definition digital video.
Headroom Compositional space left above heads.
Hertz Unit of electrical or audio frequency that is synonymous with cycles per second.
High angle Camera mounted high, looking down.
High contrast Image containing 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 area in an image.
Hi-hat Ultra-low camera support resembling a metal top hat.
Holdover sound Sound in an overlap cut that persists into the next scene.
Hypercardioid Microphone with narrow pickup pattern that discriminates strongly against off-axis.
Hz See Hertz.
I
Ideation Vital phase during which the filmmaker conceives the idea and purpose for a narrative work.
Image stabilization Mechanical or electronic system compensating for camera unsteadiness.
Imaging chip The electronic receptor that converts a visual image into digital form.
Improv (improvisation) Interaction producing a spontaneously determined outcome.
Individual release form An agreement the participant signs assigning you specific rights and responsibilities.
Informed consent Permission given by those appearing in your film after you explain the consequences to them of doing so. You do this in terms that each person understands.
Insert A close shot of detail inserted into a shot providing a more comprehensive view.
Int Interior.
Interior monologue Interior “thoughts voice” used as narration.
Interlace recording Some video systems only draw a complete frame after two interlaced passes—first of odd lines, then of even. See Progressive recording.
Intern Temporary worker, often unpaid, who learns on the job much like an apprentice.
Internal composition Composition within a given frame.
Irony The revelation of a reality different from that initially apparent.
J
Jaggies See artifacts.
Jam sync (1) Copy method transferring all video, audio, and timecode data in one frame-accurate pass. (2) Synchronizing the clocks of, say, a smart slate board with a camera.
JPEG An electronic algorithm standard used to compress video up to a 20:1 ratio for recording. JPEG allows editing to any particular frame, but MPEG compression may not.
Jump cut Transitional device in which two similar images taken at different times are cut together so the elision of intervening time is apparent.
Juxtaposition The placing together of different pictorial or sound elements to invite comparison, inference, and heightened thematic awareness by the audience.
K
Kelvin Scale (deg K) Light color-reference scale based on thermodynamics of heating a theoretical black body.
Keykode® Kodak’s proprietary system for barcoding each film frame. This facilitates digitizing by assigning each frame its own unique timecode identity.
Key light A scene’s apparent source of illumination that creates the intended shadow pattern.
kW (kilowatt) One thousand watts of energy.
L
LA Low angle.
Lap cut See Overlap cut.
Lap dissolve See Dissolve.
Latitude The ability to record detail in widely separated levels of illumination. Film currently has greater latitude than most video systems.
Lavalier mike A type of neck or chest microphone.
LCD Liquid crystal display panel.
Lead space The additional compositional space allowed in front of a figure or moving object photographed in profile.
Leading question One whose wording implies the expected answer.
Legal release A legally binding release form signed by a film participant that gives permission to use footage taken.
Leitmotiv Intentionally repeated element (sound, shot, dialogue, music, etc.) that helps unify a film by reminding the viewer of its earlier occurrence.
Level Sound volume.
Lighting ratio The ratio of highlight brightness to shadow illumination.
Limiter Electronically applied upper sound limit, useful for preventing distortion of transient sounds such as a door slamming.
Line of tension Invisible dramatic axes, or lines of awareness, that can be drawn between important elements and protagonists in a scene.
Lip sync Recreated speech that is in complete sync with the speaker.
Location release form Signed document permitting you to shoot at a given location.
Locking picture The moment when you decide that editing decisions are now complete.
Longitudinal study A study that follows its subjects and their development over an appreciable length of time, possibly decades.
Looping See Postsynchronization.
Lose focus See Focus.
Lossy codec One whose degree of compression impinges noticeably on sound or image fidelity.
Low angle Camera looking up at subject.
Low-key picture A scene that may have high contrast but that is predominantly dark overall.
Low cut (filter) Facility allowing reduction of low frequency levels during recording.
LS Long shot.
M
Macro (focusing) Additional range of focusing that permits a lens to focus extremely close.
Magazine Removable lightproof film container for a film camera.
Mannerisms An actor or documentary participant’s idiosyncratic habits of behavior that are difficult to change or suppress.
Marching ants See Zebra stripes.
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.
Match cut Transition between two different angles on the same action using the subject’s movement to facilitate the transition.
Matte box Device holding filters in front of camera lens. Usually incorporates a lens hood to shield lens from extraneous light sources.
MCS Medium close shot.
Memory stick Solid-state memory, about the size of a stick of chewing gum, plugged into a camera to store settings, information, or even whole images.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) A standardized digital control for electronic musical instruments.
Midtones The shades of gray lying between the extremes of black and white.
Mise-en-scène The totality of lighting, blocking, camera use, and composition that produces the dramatic image on film.
Mix The mixing together of sound tracks.
Mixer (location) Portable sound mixer allowing you to combine multiple sound channels.
MLS Medium long shot.
Mockumentary Fake documentary intended to amuse.
Modulations Any electrical or electronic waveforms by which sound or picture are relayed and recorded.
Monological (discourse) Narrative that speaks with a single unified outlook, unlike dialogical discourse.
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 silent. 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 Leitmotiv.
Motivation Whatever logic impels a character to act or react in a particular way.
MP3 Widely used digital encoding format for sound files.
MPEG An algorithm standard that maintains quality and achieves up to 100:1 compression. Unlike JPEG compression, each frame is not discrete; you may thus be unable to edit to a particular frame.
MS Medium shot.
Murphy’s Law “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.” Applies also to people.
Mus Music.
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.
N
Narr Narration.
Narrative compression Storytelling techniques used to highlight narrative essentials by abridging time and space.
Narrow lighting Lighting that in portraiture produces a narrow band of highlight on a face.
ND filter Neutral-density filter. These cut all colors of light equally.
NDF (timecode) Non-drop-frame timecode. Gives new number to each frame, but because NTSC video is slightly slower than 30 fps, it slowly departs from clock time. See Drop frame.
Negative cutting See Conforming.
Networking The process of going from person to person, using the roots and branches of human networks, in search of particular information or contacts.
Neutral density filter See ND filter.
Noise (sound) Noise inherent in a sound recording system itself.
Noise (picture) Image degradation that sets in when a low-light image must be amplified.
Noise reduction Recording and playback technique that minimizes system noise. See also Dolby.
Nondiegetic sound Authorially applied sound (such as theme music) that is inaudible to the film’s characters.
Non-drop-frame (timecode) See NDF.
Normal lens A lens of a focal length that, in the format being used, renders distances between foreground and background as recognizably normal.
NTSC Television standards developed for North America by the National Television System Committee.
O
Obligatory moment In documentary, as in drama, the moment of maximum dramatic intensity in a scene, for which the whole scene exists.
Observational cinema Filming observationally like an anthropologist and trying to keep equipment and personnel from intruding upon (and thus altering) what one is filming.
Off-axis sound Any sound arriving at a directional microphone away from its optimal pickup axis.
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.
On-axis sound That arriving from the direction of a mike’s axis.
One-liner or tagline A phrase that sums up the premise and intention of your film in a single line.
Open question A value-neutral question that avoids implying the reply you may expect. See also Closed question.
Operative words In editing, when language is set against images, the word hitting the beginning of each new image tends to play a big part in how we interpret it. A trained editor will pick important words in speech or narration and make cuts against them, knowing that they have a reinforcing effect.
Optical Visual device, such as a fade, dissolve, wipe, matte, or superimposition.
OS Off-screen.
Overlap cut Any cut in which picture and sound transitions are staggered instead of level cut.
P
Parallel storytelling Two intercut narratives proceeding in parallel through time.
Pan Short for panorama; horizontal camera movement.
Participant Someone taking part in a documentary who, in a fiction film, would be an actor.
Personal release form Signed form by which a participant allows you to use their voice and image.
Perspective Size differential between foreground and background objects, causing us to infer receding space.
Phantom power Mike operation power (usually 48 volts) delivered through mike cable as a tiny current from the camera or mixer board.
Phasing (sound) Sound picked up by two microphones at unequal distances will in some frequencies be out of phase. This causes some sound to cancel itself out—with disconcerting results.
Pickup pattern (microphone) Design determining whether a microphone picks up all incoming sound equally or discriminates against sound arriving off-axis.
Picture lock See Locking picture.
Picture pointing Making music fit picture events. Walt Disney films used the device so much that its overuse is called Mickey Mousing.
Picture texture A hard image has large areas in sharp focus and tends toward contrastiness, while a soft image has areas out of focus and lacks contrast.
Pitching The oral presentation of a film proposal in a brief, comprehensive, and attractive form.
Pixels Picture elements, the individual cells of the picture that emerge under enlargement.
Playwriting In drama, one actor’s tendency to take control of a scene, particularly in improv work, and to manipulate other actors into a passive relationship. Happens in documentaries, too.
Plot Arrangement of incidents and logic of causality in a story.
PM Production manager.
Point of view Sometimes literally what a character sees (e.g., a clock approaching midnight) 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).
Postsynchronization Dialogue or effects shot to sync with existing action. Abbreviated as “postsync.” See also ADR and Foley.
POV See Point of view.
Practical Any light source visible in the frame as part of the set.
Premise See Concept.
Premix Subsidiary sound elements mixed together in preparation for the final mix.
Preroll The amount of time a camcorder or video-editing rig needs to reach running speed prior to recording or making a cut.
Presence Location atmosphere gathered to augment “silent” portions of track. Every location has its own unique presence.
Prime lens Fixed (non-zooming) camera lens with few elements and superior resolution.
Privileged moment Jean Rouch’s term for a special, unrepeatable moment in documentary when a participant says or does something that is moving and humanly revealing.
Prosumer Equipment that is somewhere between consumer and professional in capacity and durability.
Progressive recording Principle by which a complete video frame is recorded in a single pass. “24p” means 24 frames per second of progressive recording. See Interlace recording.
Psychoacoustics A term for the effect on us of a particular sound, as opposed to its literal cause. A sound can have emotional and cultural associations that go far beyond its cause.
R
Rack focus Altering focus between foreground and background during a shot.
Radio microphone A microphone system that transmits its signal by radio to the recorder and is therefore wireless.
Raise the stakes Expression borrowed from betting that signifies raising the importance of whatever a protagonist is struggling to get, do, or accomplish.
Raw data Torrent of uncompressed information available from some professional cameras.
Reconnaissance Careful examination of locations prior to shooting. See also Scouting.
Reenactment Practice in documentary of reenacting situations when necessary.
Reflected sound See Reverberation.
Reflexive cinema Type of film that includes evidence of its own process and the effect, say, on the participants of the filmmaking process.
Release form See Personal release form.
Release print Final print destined for audience consumption.
Rendering Process during editing when a computer combines materials such as titles and backgrounds, and overlaps to create new files. Animation files can take hours to process.
Research Library work and observation of real life in search of authentic detail to fill out one’s knowledge of participants, situations, and events.
Resonance The tendency for recording spaces to resonate to particular vocal or musical frequencies.
Resistance Human evasion mechanisms that show up in actors under different kinds of stress. Similar situations happen in shooting documentary.
Resolution The wind-down events following the film’s climax that form the final phase of its development. Also called falling action.
Reverberation Sound reflections returning in a disorganized pattern of delay.
Riding gain The risky practice of manually adjusting levels as the recording proceeds.
Rising action Documentary story developments, including complication and conflict, that lead to a scene or a film’s climax.
Risk Whatever makes the protagonist’s journey more difficult (and therefore more interesting) or whatever makes the film more challenging to its makers (which lends it more dramatic tension).
Rolling off Reducing the volume of certain frequency bands; for example, you would use a mike’s bass cut switch to roll off heavy traffic background during a street interview.
Room tone See Presence.
Rushes Unedited raw footage as it appears after shooting. Also called dailies.
Rushes book Log of important first reactions to rushes footage.
S
Sampling rate The speed at which a digital audio system draws new points along an audio waveform. Faster is better; for example, 48k (48,000 redraws per second) produces better sound than 32k.
Saturation (sound) Level at which signal distortion sets in.
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 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 In fiction, a chart displaying the locations, characters, and script pages necessary for each scene. Used in complex reenacted documentaries or any film using actors.
Scene dialectics Forces in opposition, likely in documentary to be externalized through body language, action, and behavior. A sense of the pressures in each scene, even one lacking human presence, is invaluable to documentary makers.
Scene geography The physical layout of the location and the placing of the participants. See also Master shot.
Scouting (locations, etc.) Reconnaissance to discover location or other characteristics.
Scratch (music) Temporary music laid in to test its effect.
Scratch (narration) Written narration recorded quickly to test its effectiveness.
Screen direction The orientation or movement of characters and objects relative to the screen (screen left, screen right, up screen, down screen).
Screen left/screen right Movement or direction specifications. See also Screen direction.
SD Standard-definition television (already obsolescent).
Segue (pronounced “seg-way”) Sound transition, often a dissolve.
Self-reflexive cinema A documentary form that allows not only the process of filmmaking but also the authorial process to come under the film’s scrutiny.
Setup (camera) Combination of lens, camera placement, and composition to produce a particular shot.
Setup (narrative) Establishing the sequence of events by which the characters have arrived at their present circumstances.
SFX Sound effects.
Shock mount Flexible mount that inhibits handling noise from reaching the microphone.
Shooting ratio Material shot for a scene in relation to its eventual edited length. 8:1 is a not unusual ratio for dramatic film, and 20:1 or above is common for documentary.
Shotgun microphone See Gun mike.
Shoulder brace Bracket worn on the body to provide support for a handheld camera.
Shutter speed Rate at which each frame is taken, its duration expressed in fractions of a second.
Side coaching In drama the director, during breaks in a scene’s dialogue, quietly feeds directions to the actors, who incorporate these instructions without breaking character. Rarely used in documentary, but everything is possible.
Sightlines Lines that can be drawn along each character’s main lines of vision that influence the pattern of coverage so it reproduces the feeling of each main character’s consciousness.
Signal-to-noise ratio The level of a desired signal in relation to other background noise.
Silhouette lighting Lighting in which the subject is a dark outline against a light background.
Single shot A shot containing only one character.
Single-system recording Sound and picture recording made by single instrument. 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 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 of sound elements into a sound composition that becomes the film’s sound track.
Sound perspective Apparent distance of sound source from the microphone.
Specular light Light composed of parallel rays that cast a comparatively hard-edged shadow.
Speed (lens) A fast lens can transmit a relatively large amount of light.
Split-page format Script format placing action on the left-hand side of the page, sound on the right. Enables a precise transcription of relationships among words, sounds, and images.
Spotting session A session spent deciding where music or other special features are needed.
Spreader or spider Three-armed bracket under a tripod that prevents its legs splaying.
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 supporting a camera; uses counterbalance and gimbal technology so the camera floats as the operator walks.
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 on-screen caused by the interaction of camera shutter speed with a patterned subject, such as the rotating spokes of a wheel or panning across a picket fence.
Subjective camera angle An angle that implies the physical point of view of one of the characters.
Subject-to-subject axis Sightlines between two or more scene participants. If you ignore these when blocking a scene, its edited version is likely to be spatially incoherent. See Scene axis.
Subtext The hidden, underlying meaning to anything said or done. It is supremely important, and the director must usually search for it.
Superobjective Overarching thematic purpose of the drama director’s interpretation. Documentarians make similar deductions, but from life instead of a text.
Synecdoche Showing a part of something as shorthand for the whole.
T
Tagline An irreducibly brief description useful for its focus on essentials.
Take One filmed attempt from one setup. Each setup may have several takes.
TC Timecode.
Telephoto lens Long or telescopic lens that foreshortens the apparent distance between foreground and background objects.
Temp (music) Temporary music laid in to test its effect.
Tension See Dramatic tension.
Thematic purpose The overall interpretation of a complete work that is ultimately identified and decided by the director. See also 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 writing documentary proposals.
Tilt Camera swiveling in a vertical arc—for example, tilting up and down to show the height of a flagpole.
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.
Tone Constant sound, generated to assist in setting up levels.
Tracking/trucking shot Moving camera shot made from tracks or a truck.
Transition Any visual, sound, or dramatic screen device that signals a jump to another time or place.
Transparent film One minimizing evidence that anyone knew they were being filmed. Transparent documentary is rather like the invisible wall between players and audience in the theater.
Treatment Usually a synopsis in present-tense, short-story form of an intended documentary. It summarizes expected dialogue and describes only what an audience would see and hear. Can also be a puff piece designed to sell the idea rather than to give comprehensive information about content.
Tungsten Light produced by any tungsten filament source.
Two-shot/2S Shot containing two people.
U
Unit The whole group of people shooting a film.
Unreliable narrator Point of view character whose observations are limited by youth, age, bias, emotion, inexperience, etc. The diametric opposite is the authoritative, omniscient narrator, whose views we are supposed to trust.
UPM Unit production manager.
V
VCR Videocassette recorder.
Verbal release Practice of filming a participant rendering verbal permission rather than securing a signed individual release form.
Video assist A video feed taken from the film camera’s viewfinder and displayed on a monitor, usually for the director to watch during shooting.
Visual rhythm Each image, depending on its action and compositional complexity, requires a different duration on-screen to look right and merit 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 See Voice-over.
Voice-over Practice of using a participant’s “thoughts voice” or interior monologue rather than a talking-head interview or narrator.
Volition The will of a character to get, do, or accomplish something.
VT Videotape.
Vox populi Literally, the “voice of the people.” Often shot as street interviews and used as a chorus of opinion.
VU meter Used to monitor volume units in sound. Peak-reading and averaging VU meters give a different picture.
W
WA Wide angle.
Whip pan Very fast panning movement.
White balance Video camera setup procedure whereby circuitry is adjusted to the color temperature of the lighting source and a white object appears white on-screen.
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 Nonsync.
Wild track A sound track shot alone and with no synchronous picture.
Windscreen Protection around a microphone to prevent air currents from rattling its diaphragm.
Wireless mike See radio microphone.
Working hypothesis Working definition of one’s underlying intentions while making a documentary. To grasp how your film has evolved, periodically revisit what you decide.
Wrap The end of a shooting session.
WS Wide shot.
WT Wild track.
X
XLR Sturdy three-connector audio plug or socket.
XLS Extra long shot.
Z
Zebra stripes Selectable viewfinder facility that displays moving stripes wherever the image is overexposed. Also called marching ants.
Zeppelin Light, rigid windscreen mounted around a microphone to shield it from air currents.
Zoom lens 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 100 mm zoom would be a 10:1 zoom.