If you don’t know your MCUs from your POVs, or GVs from your Recces, here’s a glossary of terms we’ve compiled to help breakdown widely used production industry terms.
Published: 23rd September 2020
BLOCKING
Planning where contributors/performers will stand, tape will be marked on the floor to keep continuity.
BOOM
An extendable pole that is fitted with a cradle to hold a microphone. This enables the Sound Operator to record the contributor whilst maintaining a safe distance.
CALL SHEET
A daily schedule of important information for cast, crew and clients. It includes a breakdown of locations, times and risk assessments.
CONTINUITY
The importance of maintaining consistency of dialogue, movement and wardrobe across scene which may be filmed out of sequence and at different times.
CU / MCU / LS
These are acronyms for framing guides to help crew understand the desired look, therefore ‘Close up’, ‘Medium Close up’ and ‘Long shot’.
DEPTH OF FIELD
The distance between the closest and farthest object which allows the Camera operator to decide where the focus lies within the frame.
GVs
General visuals of action, locations etc to help build narrative and tell the story, sometimes referred to as b-roll.
ILLUSTRATION
The creation of designs, or animation assets, is carried out by an Illustrator using software to visualise and draw the required elements.
POV
An acronym for a particular type of shot, filmed from a contributors ‘Point of View’ perspective.
PULL FOCUS
A camera technique where the Operator draws focus from one point within the frame to another. Depending on the depth of the lens this can give the illusion of bringing a subject into focus whilst blurring the background.
RECCE
In the planning stages of a production the Producer and or Director will be keen to look at possible filming locations, scoping out access and logistics for filming.
RUSHES
This is a common term for the raw unedited footage captured in the camera, harking back to the Golden age of cinema when rolls of film were the traditional medium for recording.
SYNC PULL
This is an early draft of your edit timeline, where you can arrange all the rushes into a rough cut, throw away the bad takes and begin to hone in on the good material.
VOICEOVER
Scripted narration delivered over the top of the film by an off-screen artist, added in post-production.
WRAP
At the end of a shoot the Director calls the working day to a close by declaring it a wrap, not to be confused with the soft flatbread rolled around a filling.
