.

Above-the-Line Expenses

The major expenses committed to before production begins, including story/rights/continuity (writing); salaries for producers, director, and cast; travel and living; and production fees (if the project is bought from an earlier company). Everything else falls under below-the-line expenses.

Action

“Action” is called during filming to indicate the start of the current take. See also cut, speed, lock it down.

Actor/Actress

A person who plays the role of a character. Historically, the term “Actor” referred exclusively to males, but in modern times the term is used for both genders.

Additional Camera

An extra camera operator, often needed for complicated action sequences or stunts. Contrast with additional photography.

Additional Photography

AKA: Additional Photographer, Reshoots, Reshooting, Pickups
Focus group or studio reaction to some shots or scenes may be bad enough to convince the filmmakers to discard them. In some cases, actors are recalled and parts of the movie are refilmed. This is referred to as “Additional Photography”, “Reshoots”, or “Pickups”. Contrast with additional camera, pickups.

Agent

A person responsible for the professional business dealings of an actor, director, or other artist. An agent typically negotiates the contracts on behalf of the actor or director, and often has some part in selecting or recommending roles for their client.

Anamorphic

AKA: Cinemascope
An optical system which has different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture. See also aspect ratio, contrast with spherical. Cinemascope is a trade name of an anamorphic technique.

Answer print

The first graded print of a film that combines sound and picture, which is created for the client to view and approve before printing the rest of the copies of the film.

Aperture

AKA: F/Number, F-Stop, Effect Aperture, Relative Aperture
A measure of the width of the opening allowing light to enter a camera. The apparent diameter of a lens viewed from the position of the object against a diffusely illuminated background is called the “effect aperture”. The ratio of focal length of a lens to its “effective aperture” for an object located at infinity is called the “relative aperture”, or “f/number”. Larger apertures allow more light to enter a camera, hence darker scenes can be recorded. Conversely, smaller apertures allow less light to enter, but have the advantage of creating a large depth of field. See also shutter speed.

Armorer

A person who is responsible for weapons on the set of a movie or television show. Duties include providing the correct weapons to suit the era and style of the film, advising the director on use of weapons, choosing the correct blanks, creating a safe set for the use of said weapons, teaching actors about handling and using weapons, making sure use of all weapons is properly licensed, and ensuring the safety of everyone on the set while weapons are in use.

Art Department

The section of a production’s crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall “look” of the film (i.e. modern/high-tech, rustic, futuristic, etc.) as desired by the director. Individual positions within in this department include: production designer, production buyer, special effects supervisor, draftsman, art director, assistant art director, set decorator, set dresser, property master, lead man, swing gang, and property assistant.

Art Director

The person who oversees the artists and craftspeople who build the sets. See also production designer, set designer, set director, lead man, and swing gang.

Artifact

A visual defect in an image caused by limitations or the malfunction of imaging equipment. See also motion artifact, contrast with cinch marks.

Articulation Artist

A person who takes an artist’s designs and builds them in a computer, so that animators can manipulate the figures to tell the story of the film.

Aspect Ratio

AKA: Aspect, Academy Ratio
A measure of the relative sizes of the horizontal and vertical components of an image. “Academy Ratio” is 1.33:1. See also anamorphic.

Assistant Camera

AKA: Assistant Camera Operator, First Assistant Cameraman, 1st Assistant Cameraman, 1st Assistant Camera, Assistant Cameraman, Camera Assistant
A member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator. This person is responsible for the maintenance and care of the camera, as well as preparing dope sheets. In smaller camera crews, they may also perform the duties of clapper-loader and/or a focus puller. See also additional camera.

Assistant Director

AKA: AD, First Assistant Director, 1st Assistant Director, 2nd Assistant Director
An assistant director’s duties include tracking the progress of filming versus the production schedule, and preparing call sheets.

A First Assistant Director is responsible for the preparation of the shooting schedule and script breakdown used to plan the shooting of a film or television show. The AD works directly with the Director to manage of the minute to minute operations on the set during the process of filming, as well as coordinating the necessary communication of details of future operations as the filming progresses. Other duties include tracking the progress of filming versus the production schedule, observing all rules related to union crafts, labor contracts and location agreements, maintaining safety on the working set, and working with the Unit Manager to keep operational costs within the budgeted plan.

A Second Assistant Director is responsible for information distribution and reporting, cast notification and preparations during the shooting process, recording of all data relative to the working hours of the crew and cast, management of the background cast (atmosphere or “extras”), preparation of call sheets, production reports,and other documentation. When needed, the Second Assistant Director can assume the duties of the First Assistant Director on a temporary basis.

Assistant Film Editor

AKA: Assistant Picture Editor, Assistant Sound Editor, Assistant Editor, First Assistant Editor, Second Assistant Editor, Apprentice Editor
Editing room crewmember responsible for providing any and all required logistical assistance to the editor(s). Duties vary, depending on whether the assistant is working with a picture or sound editor and whether the show is being edited on film or on a non-linear editing system. On a film-edited show, assistant picture editors will, during production: liaise with the film lab and sound transfer facility regarding the processing of dailies; leader, sync and edge code the dailies rolls; coordinate and take notes during dailies screenings; organize and maintain camera reports, sound reports, script notes, and lined script pages from the set, as well as lab reports and sound transfer reports; log all dailies footage; and reorganize footage for editing, if necessary. Ongoing, and during post-production, they will: reconstitute trims; locate and pull trims requested by the editor; check sync, clean, measure, re-splice, and add change-over marks to cut reels; coordinate screenings of cut work; take notes during screenings. Once the sound department begins work, the assistants produce change sheets detailing each day’s changes to the work print and production track and send them, along with any necessary duplicate trims, to the sound department. Assistants may be permitted by the editor to do some creative work, such as commenting on the editor’s work; cutting temporary (“temp”) sound effects and music into the track; and sometimes even editing scenes. After picture lock, the assistant: oversees the creation of optical effects such as fades, dissolves, etc. and cuts them into the work print; continues to work with the sound department as necessary; and in some cases oversees the final stages of post-production, all the way through sound mix, negative conforming, and the production of final prints. The assistant editor chain of command consists of the First Assistant Editor(s), who bears the most responsibility for the smooth performance of the assistant team; the Second Assistant Editor(s); and the Apprentice Editor(s).

Assistant Production Manager

AKA: Assistant Production Coordinator
An assistant to the production coordinator. See also production secretary.

Associate Producer

An individual who performs a limited number of producing functions delegated to her/him by a producer, under the direct supervision and control of that producer. The term may also refer to a person who would qualify as an executive producer of a project, but for the fact that (s)he acts on behalf of a production company which is subordinate to another one on that project. See also co-producer and line producer.

Automated Dialogue Replacement

AKA: Automatic Dialogue Replacement, ADR, Dialogue Looping, Dialog Looping, Looping
The re-recording of dialogue by actors in a sound studio during post-production, usually performed to playback of edited picture in order to match lip movements on screen. ADR is frequently used to replace production track of poor quality (e.g., due to high levels of background noise) or to change the delivery or inflection of a line. ADR can also be used to insert new lines of dialogue which are conceived during editing, although such lines can only be placed against picture in which the face of the actor speaking is not visible.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Editing

AKA: Automatic Dialogue Replacement Editing, ADR Editing
The process of editing sound during Automatic Dialogue Replacement.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Editor

AKA:Automatic Dialogue Replacement Editor, ADR Editor
The person who performs ADR Editing.

Automated Dialogue Replacement Mixer

AKA:Automatic Dialogue Replacement Mixer, ADR Mixer
The person who mixes the sound during Automated Dialogue Replacement.

AVID

Manufacturer of a popular non-linear editing system. Often used to refer to the system itself, as “AVID editor”. Competitors include Lightworks and Apple’s FinalCut Pro.

Axis of Action

In the continuity editing system, the “Axis of Action” is an imaginary line that passes through the two main actors of a scene, defining the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or left. The camera is not supposed to cross the axis at a cut and thus reverse those spatial relations. Also called the “180? line.”