A-level or A-list talent refers to top-tier actors/actresses who are paid upwards of $20 million per feature film. It can also refer to producers, directors, and writers who can be guaranteed to have a movie made and released.

The Abby Singer shot is a nickname for the second-to-last production shot of the day. The name was attributed to famed American production manager and assistant film director Abby Singer between the 1950s and 1980s. The last shot of the day is known as the "martini shot."

Abstract, or abstract form, is a type of film that rejects traditional narrative in favor of using a poetic form to convey its meaning or feeling (color, motion, sound, irrational images, etc.). Abstract is also referred to as "non-linear." See also avant-garde.

Originally a stage, philosophical and literary term adopted by filmmakers, absurdism or the absurd style is when ordinary settings become bizarre, illogical, irrational, unrealistic, meaningless, and incoherent.

The Academy Awards is the name given to the prestigious film awards presented each year by AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, or the Academy), a professional honorary organization within the industry, since 1927. The annual Academy Awards show, in slang, is sometimes referred to as a kudocast. See also Oscars.

Acquisitions is the act of distributors buying or acquiring films, often through major film festivals and markets.

Acts are the main division within the script/story where there are significant places of dramatic change. Long films are divided mid-way with an intermission.

Action is any movement or series of events (usually rehearsed) that take place before the camera and propel the story forward toward its conclusion. Action is also, the word called out (by a megaphone) at the start of the current take during filming to alert actors to begin performing. Can also refer to the main component of action films that often contain significant amounts of violence.

An actor is a male-identifying performer, or the broad term for any person who plays a character role in an on-screen film. Alternate gender-neutral terms include “player," “artist,” or “performer.”

Actor’s reel is footage featuring clips of a particular performer in film, television, or commercials roles used in casting submissions.

An actress is a female-identifying performer who portrays a role on-screen. Alternate gender-neutral terms include “player," “artist,” or “performer.”

Dialogue improvised by an actor during a performance is known as ad lib. It can be either unscripted or deliberate. Improvisation consists of ad-libbed dialogue (and action) that is invented or created by the performer.

Film story that is based upon, derived from other material is known as an adaptation (or adapted from). Adaptations can be based on a stage play, short story, book, article, history, novel, video game, comic strip/book, etc. and preserves both the setting and dialogue of the original. It can be in the form of a script (screenplay) or treatment.

Adjusted gross deal is the act of releasing money

An adjustment is a modification or note for the actor, usually from the director.

An aerial shot is a camera shot filmed in an exterior location from far overhead (from a bird's eye view), as from a helicopter (most common), blimp, balloon, plane, drone, or kite. Some aerial shots use miniatures or are created digitally with CGI. A variation on the crane shot. If the aerial shot is at the film's opening, it is also known as an establishing shot.

Affective memory involves the actor personally that they use as a tool to relive the needed emotion connected to the memory in a performance.

Against is a term for a deal where a screenwriter receives a script purchase price up front and will receive addition funds if the movie is produced.

Alan Smithee film is a project that uses the pseudonym Alan Smithee by directors who refuse to put their name on a film and want to disassociate themselves, usually when they believe their control or vision has been co-opted by the studio (i.e., the film could have been recut or altered against their wishes). Aka Alan Smithee Jr., Allan Smithee, or Allen Smithee.

Allegory is usually a literary term, but taken in filmmaking and screenwritign to mean a suggestive resemblance or correspondence between a visible event or character in a film with other more significant or abstract levels of meaning outside of the film. An extended metaphor.

Alliteration is a literary technique where two or more linked words share the same first consonant sound, such as “fish fry.”

Allusion is a direct or indirect reference, through an image or dialogue, to the Bible, a famous work, a person, a place, an external and/or real-life event, another film, or a well-known cultural idea.

Shooting (or re-shooting) of a film's ending for theatrical release is called an alternate ending and is usually enforced by the studio for any number of reasons (because of test audience preview results, controversial or unpopular subject matter, to provide a "happy" ending, etc.). See also director's cut.

Feeling or mood of a particular scene or setting.

Natural light (sun, moon, etc.) or pre-existing light in a location that is used before bringing in additional lighting is referred to as ambient lighting. Ambient lighting is typically soft, that exists around the subject of the scene. See also background lighting.

Ambiguity, or ambiguous, is a situation, storyline, scene, character, or other, in which there are apparent contradictions. Ambiguity is when an event (and its outcome) is deliberately left unclear, and there may exist more than one meaning or interpretation, it can be intentional or unintentional to provoke imaginative thinking or confusion deliberately.

An anachronism or anachronistic element is an artifact or element in a film belonging to another time or place. When unintentional, these anachronims are often called "film flubs."

Anamorphic, related to different optical imaging effects, refers to a method of intentionally distorting and creating a widescreen image with standard film, using a conversion process or a special lens on the camera and projector to produce different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture; usually appears "squished" horizontally, while retaining its full vertical resolution. Many studios produced anamorphic lenses, using other trade names such as Panavision, Technovision, and Technirama. On the right are examples of anamorphic imaging effects from the film Blade (1998) (with an aspect ratio of 2:35.1). See also aspect ratio and the trade name CinemaScope.

Ancillary markets are non-theatrical markets for feature films, such as streaming, airlines, and VOD, among others.

Ancillary rights are contractual agreement where a percentage of the profits are received by individuals, or derived from the sale of action figures, posters, CDs, books, T-shirts, etc.

Angle refers to the perspective from which a camera depicts its subject. “Angle on” refers to directing the camera to move and focus onto a specific subject. See camera angle and other specific shots (high, low, oblique, etc.).

Animation or animated films are a type of filmmaking in which individual images of inanimate, static objects are filmed one frame at a time, creating the illusion of movement. Can be hand-drawn or CGI drawings or other media, such as claymation. Famous animated films include "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "The Lion King." See also CGI, claymation, stop-motion, time-lapse.

Anime is a distinctive style of animated film that has its roots in Japanese comic books (known as manga) and covers a wide range of genres, such as romance, action/adventure, drama, gothic, historical, horror, mystery, erotica (hentai), children's stories, although most notably sci-fi and fantasy themes. Anime exists in a wide variety of storylines and settings, but recognizable and characterized by heavily stylized backgrounds, colorful images and graphics, highly exaggerated facial expressions with limited facial movement, simulation of motion through varying the background behind a static character or other foreground elements, and frequently, oversize-headed characters with prominent, child-like eyes.

An antagonist is the primary story character, person, group, society, nature, force, spirit world, bad guy, or villain of a film or script in adversarial conflict with the film's protagonist. Antagonists are also sometimes termed the heavy.

Anthology films are multi-part film segmented with a collection or series of tales, sometimes linked together by a theme or wraparound tale. The stories are often directed by different directors or scripted by various screenwriters and are in the horror film genre. Anthology film may also refer to a full-length, compilation-documentary film of excerpted segments or clips from other films (i.e. "That's Entertainment" (1974)). Also known as an episode film or omnibus film. Also known as omnibus film or package film. See also portmanteau film and wraparound.

Anthropomorphism is when animated films give creatures or objects human-like qualities, abilities, and characteristics.

Anything in a film or script, usually following the story’s high point, zenith, apex, crescendo, or climax, in which there is an unsatisfying and disappointing let-down of emotion, or what is expected doesn't occur is known as an anti-climx or anti-climactic.

Principal protagonist of the plot who lacks the attributes or characteristics of a typical hero archetype but with whom the audience identifies are called an anti-hero. The anti-hero is often confused or conflicted with ambiguous morals, or character defects and eccentricities, and lacks courage, honesty, or grace (e.g., Walter White in Breaking Bad). The anti-hero can be tough yet sympathetic or display vulnerable and weak traits. Specifically, the anti-hero often functions outside the mainstream and challenges it.

Aperture refers to the measurement of the opening in a camera lens that regulates the amount of light passing through and contacting the film. Part of the exposure triangle with shutter speed and ISO.

An apple box is wooden box used in production for various purposes. Different-sized apple boxes are referred to by their size an shape, such as quarter, half, full, or pancake.

An arc shot is a shot in which an encircling or moving camera photographs the subject(s). See the dizzying shot during the prom scene in “Carrie” as an example of an arc shot. 

An archetype is a character, place, or thing repeatedly presented in scripts with a particular style or characterization. Archetype usually applies to a specific genre or type classification. For example, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is an archetype.

An arrest is a French word meaning "halt" or "stop." Arrest refers to the in-camera trick technique of stopping the camera, then removing or inserting an object, then restarting the camera to have an object magically disappear or appear. It is one of the earliest techniques of silent film.

The art director is a member of the film's art department responsible for the design, construction, look, and feel of a film's set, including the number and type of props (furniture, windows, floors, ceiling dressings, and all other set materials), and their placement. The art director may be called a set designer on a smaller crew.

Art house refers to the niche motion picture theater that shows foreign, low-budget, or non-mainstream independent films, often refers to films considered high-brow, "art," or art-house films.

Art-house films are films noted for having artistic merit, aesthetic pretensions, and are shown in an art-house theatre. It usually includes foreign-language films, independent films, low-budget films, non-mainstream (sometimes anti-Hollywood) films, shorts, documentaries, explicitly erotic films, and other under-appreciated cinema of low mass appeal. Art-house films began appearing in the 1950s and provided a distinct contrast to commercial films.

The art PA is the assistant to the art department and will have some knowledge and skills specific to the art department.

An aside is when a character in a film breaks the "fourth wall" and directly addresses the audience with a comment (ie. Frank Underwood in "House of Cards" and the title character in "Deadpool").

Aspect ratio is the term for the relative length and width of an image on the screen based on how it was shot. The most common or standard aspect ratio in early films were called Academy Aperture (or ratio), at a ratio of 1.33:1 (the same as 4:3 ratio on a non-widescreen TV). Normal 35mm films are shot at a ratio of 1.85:1; new widescreen formats and aspect ratios were introduced in the 1950s, from 1.65:1 and higher. CinemaScope (a trade name for a widescreen movie format used in the US from 1953 to 1967) and other anamorphic systems (such as Panavision) have a 2.35:1 AR, while 70mm formats have an AR of 2.2:1; Cinerama had a 2.77:1 aspect ratio; letterboxed videos for widescreen TV's are frequently in 16:9 (or 1.77:1) AR.

Assembly is the first stage or step of editing in which the shots are arranged in script order.

Asynchronous or asynchronous sound refers to audio-track sounds that are mismatched or out of conjunction or unison with the images in the visual frame (or screen). Asynchronous sound can be intentional or unintentional. Also known as non-synchronized.

Atmosphere refers to any concrete or nebulous quality or feeling that contributes a dimensional tone to a film's action.

Above-the-line individuals who sign on for a project are said to be attached or are called attachments. Term is used to help sell a film.

Audience refers to spectators, viewers, participants. The audience serves as a measure of a film's success; although usually audiences are viewed in universal terms, they can also be segmented or categorized (e.g., art-house film audiences, chick flick audiences, etc.).

Audience analysis is one of three ways to project revenue for a film. It’s based understanding the spending power of your audience and creating a market share analysis based on that.

Audio is any sound component of a film. Audio can be diegetic sound (e.g., dialogue, Foley sound, etc.) or non-diegetic sound (e.g., scored music, narration, etc.).

Audio bridge is outgoing sound, such as music or dialogue, in one scene that continues over into a new image or shot. In this case, the audio bridge is the soundtrack, not a visual image, connects the two shots or scenes. Also known as a lightning mix.

An audition is the practice whereby an actor or performer reads from a prepared script or does a “cold reading” or a portion of dialogue. The performer may receive a call-back for additional auditions.

Auteur is a French word for “author.” Auteur often refers to a director with a distinct or signature style. Directors are often seen as the “authors” of the film due to the amount of creative control they hold overall processes held within. In film criticism, used in the terms auteurism or auteur theory, denoting a critical theory (originally known as la politique des auteurs or "the policy of authors") popular in France in the late 1940s and early 1950s that Francois Truffaut introduced and the editors (including legendary film critic and theorist Andre Bazin) of the celebrated French film journal Cahiers du Cinéma (literally 'cinema notebooks'). Their ideas were subsequently enlarged upon in the 1960s by American critic Andrew Sarris, among others. The theory ascribed overall responsibility for creating a film and its personal vision, identifiable style, thematic aspects and techniques to its filmmaker or director, rather than to the collaborative efforts of all involved (writers, actors, producer, production designer, special effects supervisor, etc.).

Naturally-occurring light you find on the film location is referred to as available light. It helps enhance a film’s sense of realism. Available light exists in contrast to artificial light a film crew would generally utilize.

Avant-garde refers to an experimental, abstract, or highly independent, non-independent film that is often the forerunner of a new artistic genre or art form. Avant-garde films self-consciously emphasize technique over substance. Also loosely applies to a group of French and German filmmakers in the early 20th century and some modern American experimental filmmakers (e.g., Andy Warhol), and their film movement that challenged conventional filmmaking techniques. See also cinema verite, surrealism, and abstract form.

The axis of action is the imaginary or invisible line (or axis) that passes through two main subjects filmed in a scene, facing each other. Conventionally, the camera must maintain that left-right relationship or orientation to avoid disorienting or distracting the viewer with a reverse angle shot (although sometimes this effect is intentional). See also 180-degree rule (or line).

Stage 32 Glossary

A-level (A-list)

Abby Singer (shot)

abstract (form)

absurd (absurdism)

Academy Awards

acquisitions

act

action

actor

actor’s reel

actress

ad lib

adaptation

adjusted gross deal

adjustment

aerial shot

affective memory

against

against type

Alan Smithee film

allegory

alliteration

allusion

alternate ending

ambiance

ambient light

ambiguity

anachronism

anamorphic

ancillary markets

ancillary rights

angle (angle on)

animation (animated films)

anime

antagonist

anthology film

anthropomorphism

anti-climax

anti-hero

aperture

apple box

arc shot

archetype

arret

art director

art-house

art-house film

art PA

aside

aspect ratio

assembly

asynchronous (sound)

atmosphere

attach (attachment)

audience

audience analysis

audio

audio bridge

audition

auteur (auteur theory)

available light

avant-garde

axis of action