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G A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that a film is suitable for all ages. See also PG. Gaffer AKA: Chief Lighting Technician The head of the electrical department, responsible for the design and execution of the lighting plan for a production. Early films used mostly natural light, which stagehands controlled with large tent cloths using long poles called gaffs (stagehands were often beached sailors or ...

Dailies AKA: Rushes The first positive prints made from the negatives photographed on the previous day. During filming, the director and some actors may view these dailies as an indication of how the filming and the actors’ performances are progressing. Day-For-Night A shoot done during that day, that simulates night time, using filters, underexposure, and other techniques to create a feeling of darkness. Deep focus ...

Macguffin AKA: Weenie A term used by Alfred Hitchcock to refer to an item, event, or piece of knowledge that the characters in a film consider extremely important, but which the audience either doesn’t know of or doesn’t care about. Examples: the engine plans in The 39 Steps, the statue with the microfilms in North by Northwest, and the contents of the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Magic hour The minutes just ...

Layouts AKA: Blocking A person responsible for working out the action before filming begins, including where the characters should be, and the camera angles. Layout Artist A person responsible staging every shot and plotting the action that will take place within each scene, whether it be live action or CGI-based. Lead Character Technical Director Oversees the work of a team of character technical directors, partners ...

Key Grip A general adjective denoting importance. Key Grip AKA: Key The key grip works closely with the director of photography and the gaffer to sculpt the desired look of a film by diffusing and cutting the light. The key grip is also in charge of camera movement whether on a dolly, camera crane or mounted on the hood or bumper of a vehicle. Kickoff The start of production or principal photography. ...

Jib The arm of a mechanical crane. Judder An instability introduced when images sampled at one frame rate are converted to a different frame rate for viewing. This effect is most noticeable when frames are repeated or deleted in order to obtain slow motion or fast motion. See also motion artifact. Jump Cut A cut involving an interruption to the continuity of time, where the image in a shot closely matches the image of the ...

Independent Film AKA: Indie A movie not produced by a major studio. Ingenue A young actress. Also, a type of role played by a young actress, generally implying a young, fresh-faced, naive character. studio. Ink Verb: to sign a contract. Noun: press coverage. Inning A period of time. Insert A close-up shot of an object, often produced by the second unit. The term probably came about to reflect the fact that this shot will ...

Hairstylist AKA: Hairstyles, Hair stylist, Hairdresser, Hair dresser, Hair Styles Person responsible for maintaining actors’ hairstyles during filming. Hardtop Slang for a normal indoor theatre. See also ozoner. Hays Production Code AKA: Hays Code, Hays Production Office, Hays Office In the 1920s, the American public became alarmed at the increasingly frequent portrayal of violence, sex, and lawlessness on movie ...

Fade AKA: Fade To Black, Fade In, Fade Out A smooth, gradual transition from a normal image to complete blackness (fade out), or vice versa (fade in). Fake Shemp AKA: Shemp Anyone appearing on screen whose face is not seen (either because of heavy makeup or camera angles) and who has no lines; can include stand-ins and extras. The term originated with Sam Raimi and his colleagues, who borrowed it from Hollywood lore about ...

Xerography The technique using an electrostatic process to copy or transfer an image, commonly found in office copiers and used in cartoon production. Yarn Slang for an apocryphal story. Zoom Shot AKA: Zoom, Zoom In, Zooming, Zoom Back, Zoom OutA shot in which the magnification of the objects by the camera’s lenses is increased (zoom in) or decreased (zoom out/back). There is a subtle difference between the results of ...