Film glossary

Film talk has its own vocabulary. Each term below gets a short, plain-English definition, with a link to the full guide where we have one.

73 terms

A

Above the line

Costs for key creative people such as writers, directors, producers and lead actors, set before filming starts.

Academy ratio

The roughly 1.37:1 frame shape standardized for sound films in 1932. See aspect ratios.

ADR

Automated dialogue replacement: actors re-record lines in a studio after filming. See sound.

Anamorphic

A lens that squeezes a wide image onto a standard frame, unsqueezed when projected.

Aspect ratio

The width of the picture divided by its height.

Auteur

A director seen as the main creative author of a film, with a recognizable personal style.

B

Below the line

Costs for the crew, equipment, sets and other production expenses.

Best boy

The chief assistant to the gaffer or key grip.

Blockbuster

A big-budget film designed for very wide audiences. See the blockbuster era.

Blocking

Planning where actors move and stand in a scene.

Box office

Money earned from ticket sales. See how the box office works.

B-roll

Supplementary footage cut into a film or documentary between main shots.

C

Call sheet

The daily schedule telling cast and crew when and where to report.

Cameo

A brief appearance by a well-known person.

Cinematographer

The head of the camera and lighting departments, also called the director of photography or DP.

Close-up

A shot showing a face or object in detail.

Color grading

Adjusting the color and contrast of footage after filming. See color grading.

Continuity

Keeping details consistent between shots, such as props, costumes and positions.

Coverage

All the shots filmed of a scene from different angles, giving the editor choices.

Crane shot

A shot from a camera on a crane, often rising or sweeping.

Cut

An instant change from one shot to the next.

D

Dailies

The raw footage from a day's shooting, reviewed by the director and team.

DCP

Digital Cinema Package: the set of files used to project a film digitally in cinemas.

Deep focus

Keeping both near and far parts of the frame sharp at once.

Depth of field

How much of the image, from front to back, is in focus.

Diegetic sound

Sound that exists in the story world, such as dialogue or a radio playing.

Director's cut

A version of a film edited to the director's preference.

Dissolve

A transition where one shot fades into the next.

Dolly

A wheeled platform for moving the camera smoothly.

Dutch angle

A tilted camera angle that suggests unease.

E

Establishing shot

A wide shot that shows where a scene takes place.

Extra

A background performer without lines.

F

Fade

A transition to or from black or another color.

Final cut

The right to decide the final version of a film.

Foley

Recreating everyday sounds such as footsteps in a studio, in sync with the picture.

Frame rate

The number of images shown per second. See frame rates.

G

Gaffer

The chief lighting technician. See lighting.

Green screen

A colored backdrop replaced with other imagery in post-production.

Grip

A crew member who builds and moves camera support and rigging.

H

High frame rate (HFR)

Projection above the standard 24 frames per second, such as 48 or 120.

I

IMAX

A large-format film and projection system. See IMAX.

J

Jump cut

An abrupt cut within the same shot that makes time appear to jump.

K

Key light

The main light illuminating a subject.

L

Letterbox

Black bars above and below a widescreen image on a narrower screen.

Long take

A single shot that runs for a long time without a cut.

M

MacGuffin

An object or goal that drives the plot but matters little in itself.

Matte painting

A painted background combined with live action footage.

Mise-en-scene

Everything placed in the frame: sets, actors, props, costumes and lighting.

Montage

A sequence of short shots that compresses time or builds an idea.

Motion capture

Recording an actor's movements to animate a digital character.

N

Non-diegetic sound

Sound outside the story world, such as the musical score.

P

Pan

Turning the camera horizontally from a fixed position.

Post-production

Everything after filming: editing, sound, effects, music and grading.

Practical effect

An effect created physically on set rather than digitally.

Premiere

The first public screening of a film.

Pre-production

Planning before filming: casting, locations, design and scheduling. See pre-production.

R

Rough cut

An early assembled version of the edit.

S

Score

The original music written for a film. See film scoring.

Screenplay

The script, with dialogue and descriptions of action.

Second unit

A smaller crew that films stunts, inserts and scenery away from the main unit.

Shot reverse shot

Alternating shots of two characters during a conversation.

Slate

The clapperboard used to label takes and sync sound.

Steadicam

A body-worn stabilizer for smooth handheld camera movement.

Storyboard

Drawings that plan a film shot by shot.

T

Take

One recorded attempt at a shot.

Theatrical window

The period a film plays only in cinemas before home release.

Tracking shot

A shot where the camera moves alongside the action.

Treatment

A prose summary of a film's story, written before the screenplay.

V

VFX

Visual effects, usually created digitally. See visual effects.

Voice-over

Narration heard over the images.

W

Wide release

A film opening in a large number of cinemas at once.

Wrap

The end of filming for a day or for the whole production.

Z

Zoom

Changing the focal length of a lens during a shot to move closer or farther.