A
Ambient Light: General room light.
Ambient noise:General sound in a given are which is peculiar to that space (room tone).
Aperture: A variable opening inside a lens that regulates the amount of light reaching the sensor. Also known as an iris.
Apple Box: A box built of a strong wood which is capable of supporting weight. These may be of various sizes. Small apple boxes are also called ‘pancakes’ because they are nearly flat.
ASA (ISO): The exposure index or speed rating of film or a digital sensor.
Associate Producer: This is normally the person who acts as the go between for the production company and the various personnel involved in the post production process.
B
Baby (Spot): A 500-to-1,000w Fresnel light.
Baby: Usually a 1K light unit. It is also used to describe any light unit which is smaller than a standard size unit of light (i.e. baby 1K, baby 2K, baby 5K, etc.). For grips, it refers to anything with a 5/8 inch stud (i.e. baby plate).
Baby Legs: A short tripod.
Bazooka: Similar to a 2K stand, but without support legs.
Black Wrap: Black Aluminum foil which is used for wrapping lights, to control light spill, and for making small flags.
Blocking: Planning actor, camera and microphone placement and movement in a scene.
Blonde: An open face 2K lighting unit. Also known as a Mighty.
Bobbinet: Black mesh cloth which is used for grip scrims. It is also used for darkening windows.
Bottom Chop: A flag or cutter which is used to keep light off of the floor or the lower part of a scene.
Backlight: A light which is generally mounted behind a subject to light the subject’s hair and shoulders.
Barn Doors: Folding doors which are mounted on to the front of a light unit in order to control light spill and direction.
Beefy Baby: A heavy duty 2K stand without wheels.
Best Boy: The assistant lighting technician or the assistant to the key grip.
Box Rental: A fee or allowance paid to a crewmember for providing his/her own equipment for use in a production.
Branch Holder: A pipe-like unit with a locking nut which is used to hold branches, wooden poles, or other items.
Broad: A rectangular open-faced light which is used for general fill or for cyc illumination.
Brute: A brute arc light, usually 225 amps DC powered.
Butthead: A producer who thinks he/she knows more about a film technician's job than the tech knows.
Ballast: A device used to start and operate Discharge Lamps. It may include a Dimmer.
Bank Several Lights: Lights grouped together to create a larger or more powerful source. Tip: use soft lights or heavy Diffusion to avoid Multiple Shadows.
Batten: A pipe, pole, or wooden strip used to support lights.
Blooming: The spreading of strong Highlights into surrounding areas of the image.
Boom: An adjustable arm, usually positioned on top of a stand, that extends a light or microphone over a subject. Also used when moving camera up and down on a hydraulic dolly (i.e. Boom UP or Boom Down)
Booster Light: The fixture or light source that helps to balance out of balance exterior light.
Bounce Card / Bounce Board: A white reflecting panel used for Fill or subtle Kicks.
Bounce Light: A super soft source produced by reflecting lights off white panels or walls.
C
C-47: Ordinary wooden clothespins which are used to secure gels to barn doors. They are also known as a #1 wood clamp.
California Scrim Set: A scrim set with two doubles.
Call Sheet: A sheet which refers to all of the scenes to be filmed and all of the personnel and equipment required for shooting on that day.
Camera Angle: The view point chosen from which to photograph a subject.
Camera Blocking: The process of changing position of the camera, lens size, and focus during a particular scene
Camera Wedges: Small wooden wedges, usually 4 inches long by 1/2 wide at the thickest end.
Canted Frame: Often described as a ‘Dutch Angle’ or ‘Dutching’. This is a device or process whereby the camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.
CC Filters: Colour compensating filters made in precise density values of the primary and secondary colours.
Celo: A type of cookie which is made from wire mesh coated with plastic.
Century Stand (C-Stand): A multipurpose grip stand.
Combo Stand: A heavy duty 2K stand without wheels. It is called a combo because it can be used for both reflectors and lights.
Cookie: A perforated material which is used to break up light or create a shadow pattern. Think of it as a cookie cutter which can cast shapes.
Coverage: A number of more detailed shots which are intended to be intercut with a master shot or scene.
Cover Set: A location which is kept as a backup plan to serve as an alternate shooting site in case the chosen shooting site is unusable or unavailable.
CP Filters: Colour printing filters made in precise density values for the colours; yellow, cyan, and magenta.
Cribbing: Short pieces of lumber which are used for various grip purposes.
Cup Blocks: Wooden blocks with a dish or indention in the center which are used to keep the wheels of light stands from moving.
Cutaway: A single shot inserted into a sequence of shots that momentarily interrupts the flow of action, usually introducing an important detail or clue.
Cyc Lights (generally some type of soft bank lights or Kinos): Row lights for evenly illuminating a cyclorama or other background.
D
Deal Memo: A form which lists the pertinent details of salary, guaranteed conditions, and other essentials of a work agreement negotiated between a member of the cast or crew and a production company.
Deep Focus: A style of cinematography that uses various wide angle lenses and small apertures by keeping objects in the extreme background and foreground focused at the same time.
Depth of Field: The amount of space within lens view which will keep acceptable focus at given settings (i.e. camera speed, film speed, lens aperture).
Deuce: A 2K fresnel (pronounced Fre-nel) lighting unit.
Dingle: Branches which are placed in front of a light as a cookie used to cut the light and provide a shadow pattern.
Dolly Shot: Any shot made from a moving dolly. These may also be called tracking or traveling shots.
Dots: Small nets and flags used to control light.
Duvetyne: A heavy black cloth, treated with fire proofing material, which is used for blacking out windows, making teasers, hiding cables, and hundreds of other uses.
F
FAY: A 650 watt PAR light with daylight balance dichroic filter.
Feather: Moving a ‘flag’ closer to or further away from a light source that it is in front of will feather (soften/harden) the shadow on the surface upon which the light falls.
Filter: A material having the ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light and transmit others.
Fingers: Small flags used to control light.
Focus Pull: The refocusing of a lens during a shot to keep a moving subject in focus or to change the person or object of attention
Foley: Creating sound effects by watching picture and mimicking the action
Frame Rate: The frequency at which film or video frames run (i.e. 24 fps; 29.97 Hz in NTSC; 25 Hz in PAL European format).
Fresnel: A stepped convex lens. It is most commonly used to describe tungsten-incandescent lamps.
G
Gaffer: The chief lighting technician for a production who is in charge of the electrical department.
Gobo: A grip head or “C” stand head used as a clamping device for holding other equipment.
Grifflon (Griff): A durable material made of three ply high density rubber. The material is attached within a frame and used as either a soft reflector of sunlight or to cut or soften direct sun. It generally comes in three sizes: 6′ X 6′, 12′ x 12′, and 20′ x 20′.
Grip Tape: This is Duct tape style tape, also known as gaffer’s tape or cloth tape.
J
Japanese Lantern: A paper-covered wire frame globe into which a socket and bulb may be placed.
Jib Arm: A mechanical arm which is supported on a dolly, tripod, or other device, which is counterweighted to hold a camera for an increased range of motion.
Juicer (called a Spark in Europe): An electrician.
Junior: A 2K fresnel light unit. It may also mean any 1 1/8 inch spud or mounting pin or any 1 1/8 inch female receiver
K
Key Grip (Can be split into two positions of Dolly Grip for camera dept. and Key for lighting): The chief grip who works directly with the gaffer in creating shadow effects for set lighting and who supervises camera cranes, dollies and other platforms or supporting structures according to the requirements of the director of photography.
Key Light: The main light on a subject.
Kick: An object with a shine or reflection on it from another object.
Kiss: A light that gently brushes a subject.
L
Lamp: A reference to the bulb inside a lighting unit, but may sometimes be used to refer to the entire lighting unit.
Latitude: The range between overexposure and underexposure in which a shot will still produce usable images.
Lavalier Mic: A small microphone that can be easily hidden on a piece of clothing so as not to be seen by the camera.
Lowkey: A high contrast lighting style with lost of shadows and large areas of darkness.
P
Pan: A horizontal movement of a camera on a fixed axis.
PARS (Parabolic reflector lamps): PAR64– 1000 W 500 W 250 W (ACL) PAR56– 500 W 300 W 200 W PAR38 –150 W 100 W 75 W (used a lot in stage and theatre lighting)
Parallels: Temporary Scaffolding, used as a platform for the camera, lighting, or other rigging.
Pick-up Shot: Reshooting a portion of a scene, the rest of which was acceptably filmed in a previous take.
Plate: A background for any type of process shot. Used for green screen or special effects laden shots.
Practical: Any light that appears in the scene.
Process Shot: A shot that will be composed from two other shots. The background part of this process is called a ‘plate’.
R
Rim: A hard backlight, is generally on the same level as the subject, that casts more light than the key light.
Riser: (1) A cylindrical metal device placed between the dolly head and the camera base to raise the camera. (2) A pre-built platform used to raise the set, camera, or lights.
Room Tone: The “noise” of a room, set or location where dialog is recorded during Production. Used by film and dialog editors as a “bed” to form a continuous tone through a particular scene. This is often confused with ambience, which might be sound effects and/or reverberation added when the dialog is mixed.
S
Scrim: A metal ‘window screen’ that can be placed in front of a lighting unit to decrease the lighting intensity.
Second Unit: A photographic team that shoots scenes which do not involve the principal cast, such as stunts, car chases, or establishing shots.
Senior: A 5K fresnel lighting unit.
Senior Stand: A braced junior stand sufficiently rugged for large lights such as a 5K, 10K
Set Up: Each discrete position of the camera, excluding those in which a dolly or crane is used to move the camera during filming.
Shiny Boards: A grip reflector used for re-aiming sunlight to provide a key or fill light.
Showcard: A white artists’ cardboard which is used as a reflector or for making other special rigs. It is easily cut and formed.
Siamese: A splitter that divides a power line into two parts.
Silk: A lighting diffusion or reflective material.
Spill: Light that is escaping from the sides of a lighting unit, or any light that is falling where it is not wanted.
Spot: On a lensed light, the smallest beam spread.
W
Walla: Background ambience or noises added to create the illusion of sound taking place outside of the main action in a picture.
Wedges: Wood wedges cut from 2×4 lumber which is used for levelling and stabilizing.
Western Dolly: A dolly with four large soft tires, which is used as a camera dolly on smooth floors or on plywood. It is also used to transport other equipment.
Wild Track: Audio elements that are not recorded in sync with the picture.