Production (On-Set)

The Assistant Director (AD) is one of the most critical roles on a film or video production set. The First AD is responsible for managing the day-to-d...

"Above The Line" is a budgeting and production term that refers to the key creative contributors whose fees are negotiated and locked in before the pr...

"Action" is the verbal command given by the director (or first assistant director) to signal that filming has begun and that the cast and crew should ...

Ambient Light refers to the general, non-directional light that exists naturally in an environment — the overall illumination level of a scene that ha...

An Apple Box is a sturdy, hollow wooden box manufactured in four standard sizes: full, half, quarter, and pancake (the thinnest). They are one of the ...

The Best Boy is the first assistant to either the Gaffer (in which case they are the "Best Boy Electric") or the Key Grip (in which case they are the ...

The Boom Operator is a member of the sound department responsible for physically operating the boom microphone — a highly directional microphone mount...

A B-Camera (or "B-Cam") is a second camera unit that operates simultaneously with the primary camera (the "A-Camera") during a shoot. Using a B-Camera...

"Below The Line" refers to the technical and craft crew members whose costs are calculated based on the number of days they work, as opposed to the fi...

Blocking is the process of planning and rehearsing the precise movements and positions of the actors and the camera within a scene. Before filming beg...

B-Roll is supplemental or secondary footage that is intercut with the primary footage (the "A-Roll") to provide visual context, cover edits, and enhan...

A Backlight (also called a "hair light," "rim light," or "kicker") is a light source positioned behind and above the subject, pointing toward the came...

Barn Doors are adjustable metal flaps attached to the front of a lighting fixture that can be opened and closed to control the spread and direction of...

A Bounce Board (or "bounce card") is a reflective surface — typically a white foam core board, a silver reflector, or a purpose-built reflector panel ...

The Cinematographer, also known as the Director of Photography (DP or DoP), is the chief creative and technical officer responsible for the visual ima...

The Camera Operator is the crew member who physically operates the camera during filming, executing the movements and framings specified by the direct...

The Clapper Loader (also known as the Second Camera Assistant or 2nd AC) is responsible for operating the clapperboard (slate) at the beginning of eac...

Craft Services (often abbreviated as "Crafty") refers to the food and beverage service provided on a film or video production set throughout the day. ...

Call Time is the specific time at which a cast or crew member is required to report to the set or location. Call times are specified on the call sheet...

Camera Angle refers to the position and orientation of the camera in relation to the subject being filmed. The choice of camera angle is one of the mo...

A Camera Report is a written log maintained by the camera department (typically the clapper loader or 2nd AC) that records detailed information about ...

Coverage refers to the collection of different camera angles and shot sizes used to film a scene. A typical coverage plan for a dialogue scene might i...

Continuity refers to the consistency of all the visual and narrative details of a film across different shots and scenes. Continuity encompasses the p...

A Close-Up (CU) is a shot in which the subject fills the majority of the frame, typically showing a person's face from the chin to the top of the head...

A Cutaway is a shot that interrupts the main action of a scene to show something else — a reaction, a related detail, or an entirely different locatio...

A Crane Shot is a camera movement achieved by mounting the camera on a mechanical crane or jib arm, allowing it to move through a large vertical and h...

Color Temperature is a measurement of the color of light, expressed in degrees Kelvin (K). Lower color temperatures (around 2700K–3200K) produce warm,...

A C-Stand (short for "Century Stand") is a heavy-duty, adjustable metal stand used by the grip department to support a wide variety of equipment, incl...

Chroma Key is a visual effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on color hues. A su...

The 180-Degree Rule is a fundamental principle of film grammar that states that two characters (or a character and an object) in a scene should mainta...

The Director is the primary creative authority on a film or video production. They are responsible for translating the written script into a visual an...

The Director of Photography (DP), also known as the Cinematographer, is the head of the camera and lighting departments on a production. The DP is res...

The Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) is a specialized camera department crew member responsible for managing the digital workflow on a production. The...

The Dolly Grip is the specialized grip responsible for operating the camera dolly and laying the dolly track. This is a highly skilled role requiring ...

"Day for Night" is a filmmaking technique in which scenes intended to appear as if they were filmed at night are actually filmed during the day, using...

A Double is a person who substitutes for an actor in certain situations. A "stunt double" performs dangerous physical actions (fights, falls, car chas...

A Dutch Angle (also called a "Dutch tilt" or "canted angle") is a camera technique in which the camera is tilted on its axis so that the horizon line ...

A Dolly is a wheeled platform on which the camera (and often the camera operator) is mounted, allowing for smooth, controlled horizontal camera moveme...

Dolly Track (also called "track" or "rails") consists of specially designed metal rails laid on the floor (or on a raised platform) along which the ca...

Depth of Field refers to the range of distance within a shot that appears acceptably sharp and in focus. A "shallow" depth of field (achieved with a w...

An Establishing Shot is typically a wide-angle shot used at the beginning of a scene to show the audience the location and spatial relationships of th...

An Extreme Close-Up (ECU) is a shot that frames a very small detail of a subject — a single eye, a pair of lips, a finger on a trigger, a drop of swea...

An Eye-Line Match is an editing technique based on the principle that if a character looks off-screen in one shot, the following shot should show what...

The First Assistant Camera (1st AC), also known as the Focus Puller, is responsible for maintaining sharp focus on the subject throughout every shot. ...

A Fish-Eye Lens is an ultra-wide-angle lens that produces strong visual distortion, creating a wide panoramic or hemispherical image with a characteri...

Focal Length is a measurement (in millimeters) of the optical distance between the lens's optical center and the camera's image sensor when focused at...

A Follow Focus is a mechanical or electronic device attached to the camera that allows the focus puller (1st AC) to precisely control the focus of the...

The F-Stop is a numerical measurement of the aperture — the opening in the camera lens through which light passes to reach the sensor or film. F-stop ...

Frame Rate is the number of individual frames (still images) that are displayed per second in a video or film. It is measured in frames per second (fp...

A Fill Light is a secondary light source used to illuminate the shadow side of a subject — the side not lit by the key light. The fill light reduces t...

A Flag is a rectangular piece of opaque black material (typically mounted on a metal frame) used to block, shape, or control light on a film set. Flag...

The Gaffer is the head of the electrical department on a film or video production and is the chief lighting technician. Working directly under the Dir...

Grips are the crew members responsible for building and maintaining all the equipment used to support and move the camera, as well as managing non-ele...

A Gel (short for "gelatin," though modern gels are made of polycarbonate or polyester) is a thin, transparent sheet of colored or diffusion material p...

A Green Screen is a large, uniformly colored green background used in film and video production to enable the Chroma Key compositing technique, in whi...

A High Angle Shot is a camera angle in which the camera is positioned above the subject and pointed downward. High angle shots make the subject appear...

Handheld refers to a camera operating technique in which the camera operator holds the camera on their shoulder or in their hands, without any mechani...

An HMI (Hydrargyrum Medium-Arc Iodide) is a type of gas-discharge lamp widely used in professional film and television lighting. HMIs produce a very b...

An Insert Shot is a close-up shot of a specific object, detail, or action that is "inserted" into a scene to provide important information or emphasis...

In production, "Interior" (abbreviated as "INT." in a screenplay) refers to any scene that takes place inside a building or enclosed space. Interior s...

A Jump Cut is an abrupt, jarring edit between two shots of the same subject filmed from slightly different angles or at slightly different times, crea...

The Key Light is the primary, dominant light source in a scene. It is the main light that illuminates the subject and defines the overall look and moo...

A Long Shot (LS), also called a "wide shot" or "full shot," is a camera framing in which the subject (typically a person) is shown in full, from head ...

A Low Angle Shot is a camera angle in which the camera is positioned below the subject and pointed upward. Low angle shots make the subject appear lar...

A Lens Flare is an optical phenomenon that occurs when a bright light source (such as the sun or a lamp) shines directly into the camera lens, causing...

MOS refers to a shot filmed without recording any sound. The term is believed to derive from early German-speaking directors in Hollywood who would in...

The Martini Shot is the last shot of the production day. The term is a piece of film industry slang that suggests the next "shot" after the Martini Sh...

Magic Hour (also called "Golden Hour") refers to the brief period of time shortly after sunrise or shortly before sunset when the sun is low on the ho...

A Master Shot (or "master") is a continuous shot that covers the entire action of a scene from a single camera position, typically a wide or medium-wi...

A Match Cut is an editing technique in which two shots are joined by matching the action, composition, or graphic elements of the two shots, creating ...

A Matte Box is a device that attaches to the front of the camera lens and serves two primary purposes: it holds optical filters (such as ND filters, p...

Principal Photography refers to the main phase of filming during which the primary cast and crew capture the majority of the footage for the project. ...

A Practical Light (or "practical") is a light source that is visible within the frame of the shot and appears to be part of the natural environment of...

The Slate (also called a clapperboard, clapper, or sticks) is a hinged board used at the beginning of each take to identify the scene, take number, ro...

Timecode is an electronic signal used to identify a specific frame of video by its position in time. It is expressed as hours:minutes:seconds:frames (...

Video Village is the area on a film set where the director, producers, and other key creative personnel gather to watch the video feed from the camera...