Glossary

Know the Lingo: A Film and Broadcasting Glossary

Every career field has its own specialized language. Film and broadcasting has a particularly wide range of technical terminology. Many of the websites in CHRC’s “Want More Information” section provide glossaries for their particular career area, be it film, television, radio or internet broadcasting.

ADR (automatic dialogue replacement) supervisor
Re-records dialogue that wasn't recorded properly during the shoot.

Above-the-line expenses
The major expenses committed to before production begins, including script development or acquisition, and compensation for the executive producer, producer, director and main actors or performers. Everything else falls under below-the-line expenses.

Airplay
When a radio station plays a particular song.

Animation (for Screen-based media)
The process of creating the illusion of motion by drawing or photographing individual frames, as opposed to filming naturally-occurring action at a regular frame rate. Typical animation techniques include:

Stop: Also called “stop motion” animation, generally uses clay figures, or other 3-dimensional objects such as puppets, that are photographed against 2-dimensional backgrounds.
Flash: A digital 2-dimensional animation program that is easy to learn and inexpensive to produce.
Play: Animation that is triggered by a user selecting to run the animation sequence.
Maya: Top-of-the-line 3-dimensional animation program, widely used in the film and broadcasting industry.

Below-the-line expenses
Film budget expenses once production has begun, including technical staff, equipment and supplies, compensation for minor cast members, and all post-production and distribution costs.

Broadband
A wide band of frequencies that can transmit more information – data, audio, video, multimedia – over the wire or through the air in a given amount of time.

Co-production
Film or television productions resulting from the joint efforts of two or more production companies, often based in different countries.

File swapping networks
A peer-to-peer (P2P) global internet network that allows users to share text and audio files on their hard disks; first popularized by the famous Napster service.

HD
High definition; applies to ambiophonic and video broadcasts, where audio and video quality are sharper, faster and more clear as a result of technological advances in digital broadcasting.

Lighting
Artificial lighting, both on location or on a set, designed by the director of photography in consultation with the director. The electrical department is responsible for carrying out the lighting design.

Podcast
A web feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet. Podcasters' websites may offer direct download of their files, but the subscription feed of automatically delivered new content is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or live broadcast.

Television movie
A feature-length movie funded by a TV network, intended to be premiered on television.

User generated content
Online content generated by users and hosted or promoted by a third party website such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Flickr, and MySpace. Although user-generated content has the advantage of being very inexpensive, copyright issues regarding the content are not clear.

Virtual community web space
A specific website designed for individuals to be able to upload, view, and share video clips. Content includes clips from films and television programs, music videos, and homemade videos which are easily embedded on blogs and other websites (for example, see www.youtube.com).

VOD
Video-on demand services provided by various cable and satellite television providers and telephone companies, delivering a movie, sports event or other video program to a TV set whenever the customer requests it.

Webcast
To use the Internet to broadcast live or delayed audio and/or video transmissions, much like traditional television and radio broadcasts.

Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi provides "hotspots" of Internet connectivity, such as Internet radio, e-mail or browsing, in smaller areas like airports, restaurants, hotels, etc.

Wrangler
A person who is responsible for the care and control of animals or vehicles used on a set.