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 Shot
A shot in which both the foreground and the background are in focus. In other words, a shot with exceptional depth of field.
Denouement
The concluding scenes of a movie where the story elements are finished and the characters’ status after the climax is shown.
Depth of Field
AKA: DOF
A measure of the range along a camera’s line of site in which objects will be in focus. See also aperture, shutter speed.
Designer
Someone who creates plans for visual aspects of a production (e.g. costume designer).
Development
The process of working on a fleshing out a script, in hopes that it will be green lighted for production.
Dialect Coach
A person who helps train an actor in diction and/or the use of accents to suit the character an actor is playing.
Dialogue Editor
A sound editor who specializes in editing dialogue.
Dialog Editor
Please see Dialogue Editor
Dialogue Coach
AKA: Dialogue Director
A person who helps train an actor in diction and/or the use of inflections, so that his or her speech fits the character and situation.
Diegetic sound
AKA:Actual sound
A sound that is created by something or someone visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film.
Digital Compositing
A technique whereby separately filmed components are combined through digital editing. Contrast with optical printing.
Digital Compositor
A person who does compositing by digital means (at a computer), as opposed to using (pre-digital) optical or physical techniques.
Digital Editing
Editing a portion of a movie by digitizing one or more frames and altering them electronically or combining them with other digitized images, and then printing the modified frame.
Digital Imaging Technician
A person who provides on-set quality control, image manipulation & color correction, production continuity, trouble shooting and consultation to assist in fulfilling the requirements and vision of the cinematographer in film-style digital production.
Digital Theatre Systems
AKA: DTS
A company which has produced a digital soundtrack standard. Competitors include Dolby Digital and SDDS.
Digital Versatile Disc
AKA: Digital Video Disc, DVD
Digital Versatile Discs resemble audio CDs in appearance, but have a much higher storage capacity. Hence, they can store rich digital media such as video in addition to audio and computer software. DVD was once called “Digital Video Disc” but the name change reflects its wider uses. As a video medium, DVD offers full length feature films to be stored with exceptional picture quality accompanied by high end digital sound, such as Dolby Digital and DTS. Thanks to the huge capacity of discs, DVD movies are often sold with extra features such as the option to view the movie in widescreen or full screen, or the option to listen to the movie or director commentaries.
Directing Animator
The animator responsible for creating the key poses or key frames of an animation.
Director
AKA: Dir, Helmer
The principal creative artist on a movie set. A director is usually (but not always) the driving artistic source behind the filming process, and communicates to actors the way that he/she would like a particular scene played. A director’s duties might also include casting, script editing, shot selection, shot composition, and editing. Typically, a director has complete artistic control over all aspects of the movie, but it is not uncommon for the director to be bound by agreements with either a producer or a studio. In some large productions, a director will delegate less important scenes to a second unit.
Director of Photography
AKA: DP, DoP
A cinematographer who is ultimately responsible for the process of recording a scene in the manner desired by the director. The Director of Photography has a number of possible duties: selection of film stock, cameras, and lenses; designing and selecting lighting, directing the gaffer’s placement of lighting; shot composition (in consultation with the director); film developing and film printing.
Director’s Cut
AKA: DC
Contracts under the terms of the Hollywood Director’s Guild usually allow 6 weeks for a director to assemble a cut of the movie without studio interference as he or she would like it to be seen. This director’s cut is fully edited and has a synchronized soundtrack. This cut is usually not color corrected or density corrected and may not even have the final music and effects tracks. In more recent times the term Director’s Cut has taken on a popular meaning that implies a polished final cut of the movie that the director has complete artistic control over.
Dissolve
AKA: Lap Dissolve
An editing technique whereby the images of one shot is gradually replaced by the images of another.
Distributor
AKA: Distrib, Distribution
The organization responsible for coordinating the distribution of the finished movie to exhibitors, as well as the sale of videos, laserdiscs, and other media versions of movies.
Documentary
AKA: Docu
A non-fiction narrative without actors. Typically a documentary is a journalistic record of an event, person, or place. See also: cinema verit?.
Dolby Noise Reduction
AKA: Dolby, Dolby Labs, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR, Dolby 70mm, Dolby Stereo
Dolby Laboratories, Inc has produced a number of noise reduction and sound enhancement processes. Competitors include DTS and SDDS.
Dolly
AKA: Dolly Shot, Dolly Up, Dolly In, Dolly Back, Pull back
A dolly is a small truck which rolls along dolly tracks carrying the camera,some of the camera crew and occasionally the director. “Dolly” is also the action of moving the camera towards (dolly up/in) or away from (dolly/pull back) the object that it is pointing at. The term often appears in screenplays. There is a subtle difference between the results of a zoom shot and a dolly shot. In a zoom, the relative positions and sizes of all objects in the frame remains the same, whereas in a dolly shot this will change as the camera moves. Alfred Hitchcock’s much-imitated shot in Vertigo used a combination zoom-in and dolly back, resulting in a dramatic change in perspective.
Dolly Grip
A grip that moves a dolly.
Dolly Tracks
A set of tracks upon which a camera can be moved. See also dolly.
Dope Sheet
AKA: Camera Report
A list of scenes from the script that have already been filmed, or a list of the contents of an exposed reel of film stock. An accurate dope sheet is the responsibility of the assistant cameraman. See also clapboard, continuity report.
Double
An actor who stands in for another actor in certain scenes, some of which may involve dangerous circumstances or require special skills (e.g. a stunt double). Sometimes body doubles are used in scenes that call for nudity or intimacy. Contrast with stand-in.
Double Bill
Two movies shown consecutively, typically for a discounted single admission price. Often the movies are sequels or are otherwise related (by genre, eg). See also feature presentation, supporting feature, and trailer.
Draftsman
A person who creates the plans for set construction. See also swing gang, production designer, and art director.
Dresser
A wardrobe assistant who helps actors with their costumes.
Driver
AKA: Transportation Captain
A person who drives either equipment or passenger trucks, typically between location shootings, sets, and the studio. The chief driver is called the transportation captain. See also transportation coordinator.
Dubbing
AKA: Dubs, Dubbed
The technique of combining multiple sound components into one. The term is also used to refer to automatic dialog replacement of a new language.
Dutch Tilt
A shot composed with the horizon not parallel with the bottom of the frame. Used extensively in Batman, and frequently by Orson Welles.
