Cinema Glossary

Cue that starts performance or movement at the beginning of a take.

Sequence and media reference exchange format used notably to transfer a timeline to sound post-production.

Academy Color Encoding System: a color management framework designed to organize color transforms from capture to deliverables.

Re-recording of dialogue in studio while synchronizing it to the visible lips or gestures on screen.

Video access model whose financing relies notably on advertising.

Major division of a dramatic structure, defined by its function and turning points rather than by a fixed duration.

Professional supporting the preparation or interpretation of a role according to the production's needs.

Work giving a structural place to confrontations, races, chases or other physical actions.

Person who embodies a character on screen — through the voice or through a captured performance.

Translation of an existing work into cinema with choices specific to the new medium.

Authorizations to transform and exploit a pre-existing work in a new medium within a defined scope.

Number of tickets sold or attendances counted for a film's screenings.

Story organized around a quest, journey or exploration that exposes characters to new environments and dangers.

Per-pixel data representing transparency in compositing operations.

Framing of a character from roughly head to mid-thigh, historically associated with the western.

Detailed shot-by-shot description of an excerpt, with durations, framings, movements and sound.

Lens using optical elements to produce a squeezed image, with characteristic visual effects.

Optical horizontal compression of the image at capture, followed by de-squeezing during playback.

Film made primarily with animation techniques; it may belong to any narrative genre.

Storyboard assembled as video with timings, simple motion and optional sound, used to test a scene's pacing.

Cinema whose motion is built through a succession of produced or transformed images rather than the continuous capture of live action.

Preparation of composition, sets and character placements for each animated shot.

Mechanized character or element capable of controlled physical movement on set.

Work composed of distinct stories linked by a theme, frame or shared construction.

Preparatory movement that signals or emphasizes the main action to come.

Setting of the lens opening size, which influences the amount of light and depth of field.

Move in which the camera travels in an arc around a subject.

Coordination of the film's visual choices — sets, objects, materials and sometimes costumes — within the responsibilities defined by production.

Category of theaters and film recommendations supported in France under the schemes and criteria of the CNC.

Ratio of an image's width to its height, such as 1.85:1, 2.39:1 or 16:9.

Assists the location manager in carrying out and coordinating logistical tasks.

Juxtaposition of images evoking a new idea through their relation rather than literal continuity.

Practical effect using smoke, haze, dust or rain to alter the appearance of the filmed space.

Narration of essential visual information inserted into available portions of the soundtrack to improve access for blind and partially sighted audiences.

Session used to evaluate an interpretation or performance proposal for a role.

Expression emphasizing the stylistic and thematic singularity of a filmmaker, without constituting a genre or a single financing model.

Light already present at a location, used without systematically adding artificial lighting.

Person appearing on screen to populate a location or situation without carrying a major individualized dramatic role.

Light placed behind the subject relative to the camera, used to rim or silhouette.

Set of permanent or modular outdoor standing sets owned by a studio.

Storage area for clips, sounds and other media within an editing system.

Work dramatizing the life or a period in the life of a real person.

Number of bits used to encode pixel components, influencing the fineness of possible gradations.

Amount of data used per second to represent a stream, influencing file size and compression constraints.

Alternative shape of a model used to interpolate between expressions or transformations.

Organization of the positions and movements of performers and their relationship to the camera.

Blue surface filmed to ease background extraction and replacement in post-production.

Aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas, linked notably to lens design and aperture.

Technician who positions and moves a microphone on a pole to capture voices and sounds outside the camera frame.

Rod holding a microphone near the source while keeping it out of frame.

Measure of a film's theatrical run, expressed by market as revenue or admissions.

Amounts collected from cinema ticket sales before distribution among stakeholders.

Sheet grouping the elements needed to prepare a given scene.

Expense exceeding the approved or estimated cost for a line item or the whole film.

Environment fabricated or assembled to meet the needs of a scene.

Cue signaling the end of the take and the expected stop of recording according to the team's protocol.

Charge-coupled device: an electronic sensor technology used in many historic cameras.

Images generated by computer, in 2D or 3D, integrated into a film or forming its entire image.

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor: an addressable-pixel sensor technology widely used in contemporary digital cameras.

Conventional measure of how faithfully a light source renders colors under defined conditions.

Daily document listing schedules, calls, locations, planned scenes, weather and useful contacts.

Orientation of the camera's view relative to the subject — eye level, high angle or low angle, among others.

Direction in which the camera points at the subject; crossing the axis changes spatial relationships on screen.

Main body of the camera that accepts the lens, captures or advances the image and manages recording parameters.

Remotely piloted aircraft carrying a camera for aerial shots, subject to applicable regulations.

Stock exposed during the shoot, carrying a negative image and serving as the source for further printing or scanning.

Handles the camera and composes the frame during the take under agreed artistic direction.

Log of shooting information, media, settings and notes used to locate recorded material.

Mount allowing a camera to be fixed to a suitable surface, for example a prepared vehicle.

Recording testing a performer, makeup, costume or visual setup under filming conditions.

Reconstruction of camera motion and sometimes scene geometry from filmed footage.

Number of frames recorded each second by the camera.

Financial contribution effectively paid into a production project.

Schedule of incoming and outgoing funds needed to actually pay production expenses.

Process of searching for and selecting performers for the roles of a film.

Searches for, proposes and organizes the selection of performers with the director and production.

Historic transparent sheet on which animated elements are painted to be composited over a background.

Set of contracts and supporting documents demonstrating that a production holds the rights needed to exploit the work.

Evolution of a character through the narrative — moral, emotional or behavioral.

Conception of a character's visual appearance, from silhouette to expressions and accessories.

Extraction of a defined color, usually green or blue, to isolate a subject and replace the background.

Color fringing caused by different wavelengths of light focusing at different distances.

Art and set of techniques for creating works from moving images, usually accompanied by sound, and presenting them to an audience.

Documentary current in which the relationship between filmmaker, apparatus and subjects may become an explicit component of the work.

Set of strategies producing a particular relation to reality; it is not reducible to documentary capture or to the absence of artifice.

Design and supervision of the lighting and photographic aesthetic, in collaboration with the director and other departments.

Historic apparatus capable of filming and projecting moving images; the term is associated notably with the Lumière brothers.

Board identifying scene, shot and take, and providing a sync reference between image and sound.

Mode of storytelling and production historically associated with the American studios, often favoring causality, continuity and spatial clarity.

Stop-motion animation using malleable characters or objects.

Image of a set without the element to be removed or recomposited, used for VFX cleanup.

Moment of maximum tension or decisive confrontation in the dramatic progression.

Detailed analysis of specific choices in a shot or sequence to understand how they function.

Framing that isolates a face or important detail to focus attention.

Association of several partners that finance or produce a work under conditions fixed by contract.

Method for encoding and decoding image or audio data, lossy or lossless depending on the technology.

Technical adjustment of balance, exposure and contrast before or during the creation of the final look.

Sheet placed in front of a light to modify its color, diffusion or sometimes intensity.

Correction, harmonization and stylization of a film's colors and tonal values.

Set of methods intended to preserve coherent color transforms between sources, software and displays.

Continuity of tones or intentional colorimetric change between adjacent shots.

Model and reference that defines the representation of colors across capture, post and delivery.

Reduction of the resolution of chromatic information relative to luminance, e.g. 4:2:2 or 4:2:0.

Quantity expressed in kelvins characterizing the warmer or cooler appearance of a light source.

Specialist who harmonizes and shapes the colorimetric and tonal rendering of shots.

Film aimed primarily at producing comic effects through situations, characters or staging.

Story centered on the transition to a new stage of life and the inner transformation of a character.

Festival section whose films are eligible for one or more awards according to its rules.

Contractual mechanism securing the completion and delivery of a financed work.

Assembly of several image layers into a single visually coherent shot.

Organization of characters, volumes, lines, colors and movements within a frame.

Reconstruction of the edited sequence with original files and their parameters for finishing.

File structure holding encoded tracks and metadata, such as MOV or MP4.

Consistency of actions, positions, props, axes and references from one shot to another within a scene.

Visual, sound or narrative link ensuring the relation between two shots; the word also refers to the consistency of details from one take to another.

Set of rights granted to creators over their works, whose regime and ownership depend on the country and contracts.

Tracking of wardrobe and its condition to keep consistency between out-of-order takes.

Designs or supervises the characters' clothing, its making, upkeep and continuity.

Set of complementary shots filmed to allow multiple editing options in post.

Device lifting and moving the camera along three-dimensional trajectories.

Particularly fast focal-length change used to grab attention abruptly.

Sequence of titles identifying the film and its contributors, placed at the beginning, the end or both.

Story centered on crime, investigation or police institutions, with variable points of view.

Alternation between several actions often close in time that may converge narratively.

Procedural or assisted animation of a large number of characters or agents in a shot.

Animation of flat shapes that are cut out and moved frame by frame, either physically or digitally.

Shot inserted in the edit to show a detail or secondary action, hide a cut or provide context.

Large curved or seamless background that gives the impression of a space without visible corners.

Color space widely used for digital cinema projection and certain reference displays.

Standardized bundle of files and metadata intended for digital cinema distribution and theatrical projection.

Specialist in the on-set digital imaging chain, contributing notably to monitoring, on-set grading and media management.

Projector using digital micro-mirrors to modulate the light and produce the image.

Technician who organizes the offloading, copying and verification of recorded media according to the shoot's workflow.

Script or call sheet indications describing the time of a scene, without imposing the actual shooting time.

Technique of filming by day while seeking a nocturnal appearance through light, exposure and grading.

Producer exercising delegated responsibility for the project's manufacture and execution within the relevant production.

Processing that reduces electronic noise or unwanted grain while limiting loss of detail.

Extent of the scene perceived as acceptably sharp, between a near limit and a far limit.

Impression of distance and space built through perspective, relative sizes, sharpness, light and arrangement of subjects.

Project maturation phase: writing, research, initial financing and preparation for production.

Words of the characters captured on set or reconstructed in post-production.

World to which the characters and events of the fiction belong, including those that remain off-screen.

Sound whose source belongs to the world of the story, whether shown on screen or not.

Optical accessory that softens local contrast, highlights or detail.

Material placed in front of a light source to spread or soften its output.

Digital representation of a performer or character used for specific shots or moves.

Documentary approach attentive to recording events in situ, with variable practices of intervention.

Person leading the artistic design and execution of the film, coordinating performance and staging in particular.

Artistic and technical head of the image — lighting, exposure, camera and lens choices.

Text in which the filmmaker sets out their approach to story, image, sound and artistic choices.

Story organized around a natural, technical or collective disaster and the survival of the characters.

Number of frames displayed each second during playback or projection.

Transition in which two images progressively overlap, one replacing the other.

Contract defining the rights granted to the distributor, its territories, durations, expenses, revenues and obligations.

Company acquiring or managing rights and organizing the commercial availability of a film in given markets.

Form combining documentary treatment with acknowledged dramatized reconstruction or fictional narrative.

Work engaging with the real world — situations, testimony, archives — through an authored approach and form.

Proprietary HDR ecosystem using metadata to adapt rendering to compatible display capabilities.

Cart that allows controlled camera movement, on wheels or on tracks.

Camera movement toward the subject, capable of changing the depth relationships in the image.

Camera movement away from the subject, widening the visible spatial relations.

Elements forming a regular path intended for the movement of a camera dolly.

Combination of a camera move and an opposite zoom producing a perceptible change of perspective with the subject's size remaining relatively constant.

Story centered on human conflicts and emotional stakes, often treated on a serious register.

Opposition between desires, characters, constraints or values that produces narrative tension.

Situation in which the viewer possesses decisive information that a character ignores.

Result a character seeks to obtain and which organizes their choices in the action.

Replacement of original voices by an interpretation recorded in another language or for another need.

Framing with a deliberately canted horizon achieved by rotating the camera around its optical axis.

Range of luminance levels that a device can record or display with usable detail.

List describing the essential editing decisions to reconstruct a sequence between compatible systems.

Press kit: documents and media intended for journalists and partners — information, photos, excerpts and biographical material.

Digital sales model granting access rights to a work under the platform's conditions.

Structured file conveying part of the editing information between software, depending on a given schema and capabilities.

Expressive opposition between shots that builds meaning through their difference.

Member of the lighting crew in charge of installing, adjusting and ensuring the safety of light sources.

Narrative leap that omits a stretch of time or action without necessarily recounting it.

Assembly that omits intermediate durations or actions to accelerate the narrative.

Photosensitive layer of film stock whose properties determine speed and grain among other characteristics.

Story multiplying protagonists and crossing several trajectories without necessarily following a single hero.

Concluding segment after the main resolution, showing a consequence or providing a final perspective.

Work developing a subjective reflection through the association of images, sounds and sometimes essayistic speech.

View that geographically situates a scene or clarifies the spatial relations between its elements.

Structured estimate of costs across development, prep, shoot, post-production and delivery.

Responsible for the practical and operational execution of a production, depending on usage and contracts; the English sense of "executive producer" can differ.

Company or organization running screenings and welcoming audiences in one or more cinemas.

Set of practices exploring cinema's forms, supports, perceptions and conventions beyond usual narrative structures.

Provision of the information needed to understand the story, distributed through action or dialogue.

Passage that provides necessary information about the world, the characters or the initial situation.

Amount of light received by the sensitive surface, determined by aperture, shutter speed and illumination.

Tolerance of a stock or sensor to exposure variations while preserving a usable image.

Frame-by-frame chart listing drawings, durations, dialogue, movements and production information for an animated sequence.

Script indication specifying that a scene takes place outdoors.

Close view of an object or body part with informational or expressive value.

Very tight framing on a detail; more broadly, an insert is a shot inserted to show a specific element.

Very wide framing situating a location and its spatial relationships, in which characters may occupy only a small part.

Camera placement approximately at a character's eye height.

Consistency of the direction of gazes between shots in order to clarify relations between characters and objects.

Ratio between focal length and the diameter of the entrance pupil; a smaller number corresponds to a wider aperture.

Linear channels streamed over the internet and financed mainly by advertising.

Transition that gradually darkens the image to black; the reverse is a fade up from black.

Display mode that encodes brightness levels using colors to quickly identify exposure zones.

Category in which an apparently supernatural event disturbs a familiar frame, according to variable critical traditions.

Genre set in a world where the supernatural and the imaginary structure the world and events.

Playback of an action at an apparent speed faster than its real-time unfolding.

Film of at least 60 minutes in the general CNC classification in France; other bodies may use different thresholds.

Portion of space represented within the frame.

Relation of visibility and contrast between the main subject and what surrounds it.

Light used to reduce or control the shadows created by the key light.

Audiovisual work conceived as a unit, whether shot on film stock or produced digitally.

Study of the sensitive and formal choices of image, sound, rhythm and staging.

Methodical study of form, narrative, sound and their effects from a work or excerpts.

System assigning age ratings or advisory notices to a work according to the rules of the territory.

Chemical process that reveals and stabilizes the images recorded on the film stock.

Event presenting a selection of films, sometimes in competition, with artistic and professional objectives.

Category built from narrative, iconographic or emotional conventions recognized by audiences and the industry.

Random texture characteristic of photographic emulsions, which can also be simulated digitally.

Professional gathering where sellers, buyers and producers negotiate projects and rights.

Historic and stylistic category associated notably with certain 1940s–1950s American crime films, their pronounced shadows and fatalistic worlds.

Deliberate and recognizable reuse of an image, device or scene from another work.

Frame-by-frame digitization of a film stock for restoration, editing or digital distribution.

Approach studying how film produces signs and constructs meaning through its forms.

Flexible photosensitive medium on which the images of a film are recorded successively.

Authorization required to film in certain locations or under certain conditions; its nature depends on the regulations and the site.

Assembly of resources used to develop, prepare, shoot and finish a film.

Table of confirmed or pursued financing sources and their allocation.

Edit whose shot choices, cuts and pacing are nearly final, awaiting final sign-off.

Primarily handles focus and contributes to camera preparation and technical support.

Coordinates the operational preparation and running of the set, notably calls and adherence to the shooting schedule.

Opaque panel used to cut a portion of a light beam or to cast shadow.

Narrative anticipation showing an event located after the present moment of the story.

Narrative return showing events prior to the story's current point.

Computation of the visual behavior of liquids or gases for animation and effects.

Focal distance of a lens, expressed in millimeters, which together with the capture format determines the angle of view.

Adjustment determining the distance at which the subject appears sharp.

Apparent variation of framing when the focus distance is changed.

Synchronized recreation of action, footstep and prop sounds, usually performed to picture in post-production.

Continuation of certain parts of a character's motion after the main movement has stopped.

Arrangement of subjects at different distances to create deceptive proportions in the image.

Partially visible element in the foreground that helps locate the eye; in film, also refers to the leader at the head or tail of a reel.

Clue placed earlier to discreetly or overtly set up a later event.

Device presenting images as recovered recordings or as captured by the characters themselves.

Convention separating the world of the fiction from the audience; breaking it means explicitly addressing or acknowledging the viewer.

Limits of the image that determine what the camera shows and what it excludes.

Individual still image forming part of the moving image sequence on film or in a video file.

Use of an inner frame — such as a door or a window — to frame a subject inside the image.

Number of frames displayed or captured per second; 24 fps is a common cinema rate but not the only one.

Sustained still image held within the running film.

French movement from the late 1950s linked to new shooting and editing practices and a strong conception of authorship.

Fixture using a concentric-ring lens to direct an adjustable beam.

Framing in which the character is generally visible from head to toe.

Head of the lighting electrical crew, executing the Director of Photography's lighting choices.

Transfer function describing how coded values translate into luminance levels, depending on the technical context.

Set of colors that a system or color space can represent.

Historic film movement favoring stylized sets, distortions and expressive contrasts.

Motorized multi-axis support that compensates certain camera rotations during movement.

Capture mode that exposes or reads pixels within a common time window, limiting rolling-shutter distortions.

Shoot in front of a uniform green surface intended to be replaced through keying.

All the supports, mounts and devices used to move and stabilize the camera; "grip" can also refer to the professionals handling them.

Recorded income before deduction of defined expenses and levies.

Pipeline enabling, on compatible devices, greater luminance range and levels than usual SDR references.

HDR format notably using a PQ curve, static metadata and a defined colorimetric representation.

Presentation at a frame rate higher than a chosen reference, often above 24 fps in cinema.

HDR transfer curve designed notably to ease certain broadcast uses.

Family of discharge lamps used to obtain powerful lighting close to certain daylight color temperatures.

Object handled by a performer during the action and subject to continuity constraints.

Shot made with a camera supported directly by the operator, allowing more or less organic movement to show through.

Lighting producing sharp-edged shadows, typically from an apparently small source.

Programming that highlights catalogue films, classics and works already in release.

Angle in which the camera looks down at the subject from an elevated position.

Aesthetic with extended lighting and rather moderate contrast, associated with many bright moods.

Graph showing the distribution of pixels by their brightness or color values.

Film depicting an era or past events, with variable degrees of reconstruction and fiction.

Reference intended to salute an artist, a work or a cinematographic tradition.

Work building fear, unease or dread through real, supernatural or psychological threats.

Focus distance that, for a given aperture and circle of confusion, extends depth of field to infinity.

Input transform translating camera data into a defined working space within a compatible pipeline.

Large-format film system using 70 mm stock running horizontally with fifteen perforations per frame.

Sensitivity index or setting used to determine exposure and signal amplification according to the capture system.

Delivery format that may combine channels and sound objects carrying spatial metadata.

Frame or pose created between key poses to build the continuity of motion.

Visual effect achieved or finalized directly in the captured image, rather than only created after the shoot.

Provision of know-how, services or non-cash resources under defined contractual conditions.

Event that disturbs the initial situation and sets the story in motion.

Expression denoting a more autonomous production or distribution relative to the major studios or groups, under variable criteria.

Input and preparation of media into an editing environment — copying, verification and logging according to the workflow.

Detail shot recorded separately to complete or clarify a scene.

Script indication specifying that a scene takes place indoors.

Intermediary in charge of commercializing a film's rights in given territories or with given broadcasters.

Set of image or sound materials prepared to allow linguistic adaptations without remaking the entire film.

Intermediate negative element made notably from an interpositive to produce release prints.

Intermediate positive element made from a negative to preserve the original and prepare duplicates.

Relations a film establishes with other works through quotation, reuse, allusion or transformation.

Text presented between images or on a dedicated card, historically important in silent cinema for dialogue and indications.

Person who prepares and oversees intimate scenes in consultation with the team and performers.

Approach to cuts and spatial organization that minimizes the viewer's attention to the editing itself.

Transition that opens or closes the image through a circular shape or other evolving mask.

Post-war movement attentive to social realities, real locations and sometimes non-professional performers.

Framing of a character roughly from head to calves; a denomination less systematically used.

Edit in which the audio of the following shot starts before its picture appears.

Small crane or counterweighted arm used for vertical and arc-shaped camera moves.

Edit creating a perceptible temporal or spatial break, often between two similar framings of the same subject.

Message containing the information and keys authorizing the playback of an encrypted DCP on a defined device over a defined period.

Coordinates the crews and equipment needed to support and move the camera.

Supervises hairstyles and wigs, and their continuity between takes.

Source that primarily structures the lighting of a subject and establishes the dominant direction.

Designs and leads the makeup work, from natural looks to complex transformations depending on the project.

Essential state of a motion or transformation to which intermediate positions are tied.

Calculation of a transparency mask based on criteria such as color, luminance or dedicated information.

Phenomenon by which the meaning attributed to a face or image depends strongly on the surrounding shots.

Edit in which the audio of the previous shot continues after the next picture has begun.

Light source made of light-emitting diodes, often adjustable in intensity and sometimes in color.

Array of LED display surfaces showing an environment synchronized with the camera, used to film subjects against a virtual set.

Predefined transformation of colorimetric values used to view, convert or stylize an image; it does not replace full color grading.

Projection whose light source relies on laser technology, which alone does not define the film format.

Sideways translation of the camera following a subject or exploring a set.

Small microphone placed on wardrobe or body, often concealed, used to record dialogue.

Image directions that lead the eye toward one or several points of perspective convergence.

Recurring musical motif associated with a character, idea, place or situation.

Optical assembly that forms the image on the sensor or film.

Geometric deformation produced by a lens, for example barrel or pincushion distortion.

Stray reflections and veiling glare — sometimes used aesthetically — caused by strong light sources inside the lens.

Filmed comparison of the rendering of several lenses: sharpness, contrast, distortion, flares and depth of field.

Presentation of a wide image with horizontal bars inside a narrower frame.

Optical distance measurement used notably to obtain geometric scans of a set.

Device or natural element emitting the light that illuminates the set or the subject.

Difference in luminance between areas of a scene or a face, used to shape the image.

Consistency or intentional evolution of lighting between shots of the same situation.

Ratio between the luminance levels of chosen areas, for example between the lit and shadow side of a face.

Person who substitutes for a performer to set up lighting and framing before the actor arrives.

Initial distribution on a small number of theaters or geographic areas.

Adjustment of mouth movements to recorded or planned speech.

Real place used as a filming location, interior or exterior.

Organizes the logistics of locations, transport, facilities and practical needs of the shoot.

Visit and assessment of potential locations with regard to creative, technical, logistical needs and authorizations.

Logarithmic image encoding intended to efficiently distribute a wide range of luminance values.

Viewing and sorting of recorded takes to identify usable material.

One- or two-sentence formulation of a story's central dramatic premise.

Shot long enough to develop a complete action or dramatic unit without a visible cut.

Coherent set of choices in exposure, contrast, color, texture and light giving a work its visual identity.

Development of a coherent visual rendering that can guide shooting, effects and final grading.

Framing in which a subject looks directly into the lens, by staging choice or by accident.

Direct gaze addressed to the lens, capable of producing complicity, confrontation or a break of convention.

Data reduction that allows exact reconstruction of the original data.

Data reduction that discards information deemed less necessary to reconstruction.

Standardized measure of perceived sound level over time, used to control deliverables.

Angle in which the camera looks up at the subject from a low position.

Lighting aesthetic favoring dark areas and pronounced contrast; it is not simply underexposure.

Sound version containing music and effects without the main dialogue, used notably for dubbing.

Object or objective that sets the plot in motion while potentially being of little intrinsic importance to the film's meaning.

Test to verify the appearance, hold and compatibility of makeup with lighting, wardrobe and shooting conditions.

Documentary or content retracing the production process of a film.

Proportion of a market attributed to a film, company or category over a defined period and indicator.

Reference file or set of files from which distribution and archival versions are derived.

Take covering the entire action of a scene, used as a possible editing base.

Transition based on a similarity of shape, movement or composition between two shots.

Cut made on a movement to preserve its fluidity or to connect two camera positions.

Mask defining a region of an image that is visible, transparent or to be processed.

Device placed in front of the lens holding filters and limiting stray light.

Painted or digital image representing all or part of an environment, integrated with live action or animation.

Organization of the delays before works are made available through their various windows of exploitation in a territory; mechanisms evolve over time.

Framing of a character approximately from the chest up.

Intermediate framing showing part of the set while giving more presence to the characters.

Common designation for a film of intermediate duration between short and feature, without a standalone CNC category.

Dramatic form emphasizing emotional conflicts, dilemmas and the expression of feelings.

Film taking cinema, its conventions or its production as the object of its representation and reflection.

Editing approach based primarily on the measurable duration of shots, notably in certain Soviet theories.

Reduced or physical reproduction of a set or object filmed to represent an element difficult to build full size.

Shortest distance at which a lens can render a sharp image of the subject.

Contractual sum advanced against revenues or for the acquisition of distribution rights, depending on the contract.

Device in which a work contains a representation or reflection of its own making, form or story.

Expressive organization of actors, movements, sets, props, costumes, light and space in front of and for the camera.

Balancing and processing of dialogue, music and effects to obtain a coherent soundtrack.

Fiction adopting the presentation codes of documentary to produce a real or satirical effect.

Reference sheet fixing a character's proportions, expressions and angles for visual consistency.

Extended utterance by a single character, addressed to someone else, to themselves or to the viewer.

Condensed series of shots that summarizes an evolution, a learning or a passage of time.

Assembly of images, colors and textures intended to share an aesthetic direction.

Visual trail produced by motion integrated during exposure, or simulated at render time.

Recording of a subject's movements to drive a digital character or object.

Robotic system capable of precisely reproducing a camera move for multiple takes or composite effects.

Lighting designed to appear to come from a plausible source within the scene.

Camera attached to a vehicle, object or body to record from its motion.

Promotional visual identifying a film and presenting its world, talent or release.

Editing that synchronizes several filmed angles to choose the views within a single continuity.

Distribution of sound across several playback channels, such as 5.1 or 7.1.

Device separating layers of artwork to create depth and parallax effects through their relative movement.

Cinema complex with several auditoriums, generally aimed at frequent and varied programming.

Verification and acquisition of the rights needed to use a composition and, when relevant, its recording in a film.

Cinema form in which song and dance play an essential role in the narrative or spectacle.

Work integrating sequences of music, and often song or dance, into its narrative or form.

Filter that reduces the amount of light without altering color, used to control exposure and aperture.

Shot aimed vertically upward from below the subject.

Instance that narrates or verbally organizes events; it is not necessarily the author nor the voice-over.

Beginning of the commercial run of a film across all or an organized part of a national territory.

Light from natural sources — primarily the sun and the sky — direct or reflected.

Placement of dark surfaces to reduce bounced light on one side of the subject and increase contrast.

Relatively empty area around a subject, used for balance, anticipation or compositional meaning.

Rights that may benefit notably performing artists and producers over given performances or recordings.

Later reinterpretation of the narrative or aesthetic conventions of film noir.

Amounts remaining after the deductions defined by accounting or contractual rules; the definition must be specified.

Period of renewal in American cinema — roughly late 1960s to early 1980s — marked by new voices and narrative forms.

Sound that does not belong to the characters' world, such as comment music not heard by them.

Narration that does not present events in chronological order.

Output transform adapting a working image to the characteristics of a display or delivery medium.

Shot that is not presented explicitly as a character's subjective view.

Approach favoring the recording of situations and behaviors without continuous explanatory commentary.

Difficulty opposed to a character's goal, capable of transforming their decisions.

Ratio of occupied seats to available seats for given screenings.

Part of the filmed universe lying beyond the visible edges of the frame, but possibly suggested by action, gaze or sound.

Sound from the represented universe whose source lies outside the frame.

All films chosen by a festival within a defined editorial or competitive framework.

Editing on working — often lightweight — media, before re-cutting with original elements.

Sound emitted by a source visible on screen at the moment it is heard.

Technique of holding a drawing for one or two frames of projection, depending on the chosen frame rate.

Finishing on full-quality media, notably conform, retouching and master preparation.

Conclusion that deliberately leaves a significant share of events or their meaning unresolved.

Version using a taller image area than the originally intended framing, when the capture allows it.

Variable-focal-length lens allowing framing to change without physically moving the camera.

Agreement reserving, for a defined period, the possibility of acquiring certain adaptation or exploitation rights.

Starting point of a project, before it is developed into story, characters and scenes.

Music composed specifically for a film; "bande originale" may also refer to the album of music and songs.

Framing past a shoulder or head in the foreground to show the interlocutor or action.

Capture excessively exposed relative to intent, possibly clipping highlights.

Framing that approximates the character's point of view, without covering every aspect of narrative viewpoint.

Standardized HDR transfer curve designed to encode luminance levels in a way suited to human perception.

Removal of a cable, object or flaw by retouching and background reconstruction.

Rotation of the camera on its vertical axis, left to right or right to left, without moving its position.

Relation of two image series to create comparison, opposition or resonance, without requiring simultaneity.

Imitation that transforms a work or convention to produce a comic or critical effect.

Approach in which the filmmaker's presence and interventions are part of how the film is constructed.

Computation of systems made of many elements, used for smoke, dust, sparks or similar phenomena.

Recognizable imitation of a style or form, not necessarily critical.

Return or resolution of an element prepared earlier in the narrative.

Genre of historical or mythological spectacles frequently set in Antiquity.

Combined recording of body, face or other performance components to transfer them onto a digital character.

Maintained consistency of gestures, positions and intentions from one take to another.

Reconstruction of shapes or surfaces from multiple photographs taken at different angles.

Targeted re-shoot of a fragment of performance or action rather than of the whole scene.

Selection, organization and adjustment of takes to build the story, its associations of ideas and the film's rhythm.

Professional who assembles takes and builds the rhythm, continuity and structure of the film.

Validation of shot durations and positions, used as a stable reference for further sound and picture work.

Time alignment of sound tracks and images of the same take or scene.

Presentation of a narrower image with vertical bars inside a wider frame.

Very brief presentation highlighting a film's situation, protagonist, stakes and singularity.

Documents presenting a project's concept, vision, proposed team and sometimes visual references.

Frame-by-frame animation of real people photographed in successive poses.

Tracking of a surface through its perspective transformations, useful for integrating screens and textures.

Base footage shot serving as a support for visual effects integration.

Organized chain of actions and causal relations composing a story.

Event that significantly changes the story's direction and opens a new dramatic stage.

Position from which a situation is given to be perceived; it may belong to a character's gaze or to the narrative construction.

Filter that reduces certain reflections and modifies saturation or the appearance of the sky depending on the light orientation.

Critical perspective developed notably in 1950s France, analyzing certain directors as authors of a coherent body of work.

Consistency of the placement of subjects or objects from one shot to the next.

Story set after a major upheaval that has durably disorganized the depicted world.

All steps after the shoot: editing, sound work, visual effects, color grading and creation of final versions.

Lamp visible on camera and integrated into the set, sometimes reinforced by off-camera lighting.

Effect achieved physically during the shoot — rain, smoke, mechanism, controlled explosion, etc.

Commitment to acquire broadcast or exploitation rights before the film is finished.

Track already composed and integrated into the film after obtaining the necessary rights for the use.

Work telling events that take place before those of an already released film.

Public or professional showing of a film before its usual release in the territory.

Digital or filmed simulation of a scene before shooting, common for complex sequences and visual effects.

Correction applied to the whole image, as opposed to adjustments on selected areas or colors.

Lens whose focal length does not vary during use.

Take deemed usable or preferred by the director, without prejudging final selection in the edit.

Person or entity initiating, organizing and assuming the production of a work according to their contractual and financial role.

Identifiable integration of a brand or product into the work under given editorial and contractual conditions.

All planned or committed expenses to manufacture a film up to agreed deliverables.

Entity that carries the manufacture of a film and brings together the necessary artistic, material and financial resources.

Professional assisting the administrative, logistical and financial preparation and follow-up of a project.

Designs and supervises the material universe of the sets — their construction, transformation or adaptation.

Document itemizing expenses line by line, before or during production.

Contract covering defined risks during production; coverage and exclusions vary by policy.

Responsible for the physical organization, manufacturing budget and operational follow-up of the shoot.

Overall chronology of the film's stages, milestones and resources.

Recording of voices and noises during the shoot, synchronized or synchronizable with picture.

Responsible for sound capture on set and for the technical quality of direct recordings.

Facility designed to host shoots in a technically controllable environment.

Professional selecting the films and screenings offered by a cinema, festival or specialized programming.

Introductory segment preparing the stakes or the world before the main development of the story.

Prepares, sources and tracks the objects handled or used in scenes, including their continuity matches.

Transformation of the face or body using applied pieces, foams, silicones or appropriate materials.

Lighter working copy of a source media, used to ease editing and later relinked to the originals.

Supervised professional use of fire or explosion effects on a shoot.

Technical verification of deliverables: image, sound, subtitles, synchronization, file integrity and required compliance.

Cue to start the recording devices in certain on-set protocols.

Capture data kept in a relatively unfinished processing state, offering variable flexibility depending on format and camera.

Side-by-side display of red, green and blue levels useful for analyzing color casts.

Deliberate shift of focus from one subject or depth plane to another during a take.

Professional who balances and spatializes the various sound components in the final version.

Shot showing how a character reacts to a line of dialogue or an event.

Projection of an image behind the actors to simulate an environment during the shoot.

Restart of a universe or franchise redefining all or part of its continuity.

Recommendation describing notably an extended color space for ultra-high-definition systems.

Recommendation used as a major reference for SDR high-definition television imagery.

Priority recovery of certain advances or expenses from revenues in the order set by contracts.

Clue designed to temporarily steer the viewer's interpretation in the wrong direction.

Display used to evaluate framing, sharpness, exposure and image rendering on set.

Surface that bounces light toward a subject without itself producing the originating light.

Prior work on movement, text, performance and coordination before recording a take.

Film print intended for theatrical screening with positively rendered colors and values.

Period or stage during which a given form of distribution is authorized or prioritized by contract or regulation.

New production of a previous film, distinct from a restoration or a re-edit of that film.

Motorized support that remotely controls camera orientation and sometimes settings.

Render layers separating information such as reflections, shadows or depth to ease compositing.

Calculation of final images from a virtual scene and its lighting, camera and material parameters.

Additional shooting of a scene or shots already recorded, often decided after evaluation of the footage.

Number of pixels composing a digital image, to be distinguished from its actual sharpness or perceived quality.

Part where the story's major conflicts are resolved or reconfigured.

New execution of an already shot take to correct or modify its result.

Compensation based on a defined share of revenues or proceeds under contractual conditions.

Playback of a shot in the reverse temporal order from its recording.

Shot taken from an axis opposite or complementary to a previous shot, often in a conversation.

Organization of durations and cuts according to a deliberate visual or sound cadence.

Set of prerogatives concerning the use of a person's image, whose application depends on context and applicable law.

Contract transferring or authorizing the exploitation of defined economic rights within agreed limits and conditions.

Light producing a luminous outline along the edges of a subject.

Film built around a geographical journey that transforms the characters and the narrative.

Line-by-line sensor readout that can distort fast subjects or movements.

Story pairing the development of a romantic relationship with comic conventions.

Film whose main axis rests on romantic relationships and their evolution.

Recording of a location's sound without main action, used to reconstruct or match its atmosphere in the edit.

Manual or assisted cutout of silhouettes and objects in a sequence to produce tracked mattes.

Animation technique drawing over filmed images used as references for movement or outlines.

Already structured but still provisional edit, leaving major changes open.

First approximate assembly of takes in narrative order, before refining cuts and pacing.

Composition guide dividing the image into three horizontal and vertical bands to place visual elements.

Raw images and sounds from the shoot, before selection and final editing.

Correct matching of images with their corresponding sound tracks using timecode, slate or waveform.

Subtitles adapted for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, including depending on format sound and speaker identification.

Image pipeline with standard dynamic range, with defined luminance levels and delivery parameters.

Access to a catalog of content in exchange for a subscription, under the service's rights and conditions.

Additional recording kept as an alternative in case the chosen take proves problematic.

Critical representation of behaviors or institutions, notably using irony, caricature or humor.

Dramatic unit occurring within a relatively continuous place and time; it may include several shots.

Narrative imagining scientific, technological or social transformations and their consequences.

Reference recording used to ease synchronization or editing, not necessarily kept in the final mix.

Maintenance or controlled transformation of a subject's direction of travel between two shots.

Screening of a film or program at a given time in a theater or other venue.

Reference text presenting scenes, actions and dialogue for the production of a film.

Scene-by-scene analysis of the script to inventory characters, sets, costumes, props, effects and constraints.

Person responsible for continuity tracking, timing and information about takes useful to editing.

Document recording notably shots, takes, continuity and notes for the crew and post-production.

Verbal exchange between characters as planned in the script, before interpretation and recording.

Handles camera equipment management, media changes and often slate identification.

Supports the practical coordination of crews and performers, notably calls and logistics.

Targeted modification of part of the image using color selections, masks or tracking.

Photosensitive electronic surface that converts incoming light into a digital signal.

Work continuing a story or universe after a previous film, not necessarily fully chronologically later.

Set of shots or scenes forming a narrative or expressive unit; its scope depends on the film's breakdown.

Document gathering the rules of a universe, characters and reference material for a project, notably a series or franchise.

Working space in which a team prepares and shoots takes.

Selects and arranges furniture and decorative elements in keeping with the art direction.

Installation of objects, textiles and details that give the set its personality and believability.

Object installed to compose the environment without necessarily being handled in the action.

Digital extension of an existing set beyond what was actually built or filmed.

Cue asking to limit background noise during a sound take.

Program or model describing how the appearance of a surface is computed, notably its reactions to light.

Processing that enhances the perceived sharpness of edges, with a risk of artifacts if excessive.

Phase during which the images and sounds planned for the film are recorded.

Shot-by-shot description of the shooting intentions: framing, axis, movement and relevant requirements.

Shooting calendar distributing scenes across locations, availabilities and production constraints.

Version of the script detailing the scenes in order, with action descriptions and dialogue.

Film of less than 60 minutes in the general CNC classification in France; festival criteria may differ.

Portion of film recorded or presented as a continuous unit of images between two cuts; the term may also refer to a framing scale.

Operational inventory of the shots to be filmed, often with priorities and equipment indications.

Classification of framings by how much of the body or setting is visible, from extreme wide to extreme close-up.

Editing pattern alternating complementary views, typically of two characters in conversation.

Highly directional microphone used to isolate a sound source in the direction it is pointed.

Configuration where the camera body rests on the operator's shoulder for mobility.

Device or setting determining the duration during which each frame receives light.

Way of expressing per-frame exposure time in degrees, inherited from the rotary shutter of film cameras.

Period and forms of cinema without synchronized dialogue tracks recorded on the film, often accompanied by music or live commentary.

Performer identifiable on screen whose contractual classification depends on professional practice.

Binding of a 3D model's geometry to a skeleton so that deformations propagate correctly.

Horror subgenre generally based on a succession of murders and the threat of a recurring attacker.

Verbal statement of the shot and take identifiers, usually given alongside the clapper.

Small portable rail on which a camera can perform limited translational moves.

Playback of an action at an apparent speed slower than its real-time unfolding.

Drawing deliberately stretched or distorted in a fast phase to convey motion.

Harness fixing the camera to a performer's body so they remain stable in frame while the background moves.

Lighting producing gradual transitions between light and shadow, typically from an apparently large source.

Sound crossing a cut to link two shots or two scenes and prepare a transition.

Cinema incorporating synchronized recording and playback of speech, progressively generalized from the late 1920s.

Creation of a film's sonic identity through the choice, transformation and organization of sounds.

Professional who selects, cleans and organizes dialogue, ambiences and sound effects before mixing.

Added or processed sound representing an action, object or phenomenon.

Link ensuring the continuity of an ambience, a line of dialogue or a sound event between images.

All the sound elements of a work: voices, noises, ambiences, effects and music.

Set of 1920s practices and theories granting creative power to the association of shots.

Progressive or segmented variation of playback speed within a single shot.

Film centered on a character, location or aspect of an already established universe.

Cutting out a subject using animated curves following its contours frame by frame.

Simultaneous presentation of several images in distinct portions of the frame.

Film whose plot is structured by the practice, competitions or milieu of a sport.

Working meeting determining the points in the film that will receive specific music or sound treatments.

Work organized around intelligence, secret missions and conflicts of loyalty.

Animation principle consisting of squashing and stretching volumes to suggest mass, flexibility and dynamics.

What characters risk gaining, losing or transforming over the course of the story.

Person who temporarily replaces a performer for an action, presence or shooting need.

Shot made without intentional camera movement or rotation during the take.

Mechanically stabilized body-worn system allowing smooth camera moves; Steadicam is a brand name.

Separate sub-mixes of the final mix, e.g. dialogue, music and effects, delivered to ease adaptations and versions.

Document ordering and summarizing a story's sequences before dialogue writing.

Presentation of distinct images to each eye to produce an impression of depth.

Animation achieved by successively photographing physical objects moved between exposures.

Series of drawings previsualizing the shots, their framings and sometimes their movements.

Immediate transition from one shot to another, without a gradual effect.

Industrial organization integrating film production and, historically, parts of talent and distribution within major studios.

Professional who prepares and executes specific physical actions under controlled safety conditions.

Secondary narrative line that accompanies or contrasts with the main plot.

Intentions, emotions or ideas suggested beneath the explicit words and actions of a scene.

Creation and time-alignment of texts transcribing or translating dialogue and useful information on screen.

Variant of 16 mm using a wider image area suited notably to widescreen framings.

Work centered on characters with extraordinary abilities, identities or missions, drawing notably on comics conventions.

Visible overlapping of several images within the same shot or as a transition effect.

Effect produced by an event the viewer was not prepared for.

Tense anticipation tied to a danger, a decision or an outcome still uncertain.

Balanced and mirrored arrangement of elements around an axis in the image.

Sound whose timing corresponds to the action or image being recorded.

Narrative summary of a film's essential events, more or less detailed depending on the professional use.

Aperture rating accounting for the light actually transmitted by the lens, useful to match multiple optics.

Access to a work through individual purchase or rental.

Group reading of the script to test the dialogue, pacing and relationships between characters.

Recording of a given execution of a shot; several takes can be made to obtain the desired result.

Short promotional content intended to spark interest without necessarily presenting the story in detail.

Meeting between department heads to resolve practical constraints and coordinate intentions.

Technical preparation computing positions, lenses, dimensions or camera paths from a previsualization.

Transfer of film images to a video signal, historically using specialized devices.

Long-focal-length lens providing a narrow angle of view and magnifying subjects in frame.

Provisional music placed in the edit to test pacing or guide the final composition.

Geographic area in which a partner is authorized to exploit the granted rights.

Image or data applied to the surface of a 3D model to define its visual details.

Period during which the theatrical window benefits from exclusive treatment defined by applicable contracts or rules.

Administrative authorization framing the public theatrical exhibition of a film in France, with a classification where applicable.

Common method combining key light, fill and back light to shape the subject.

Genre built on tension, threat, uncertainty and the expectation of a resolution.

Rotation of the camera on its horizontal axis, looking up or down without moving its pivot.

Recording of images at spaced intervals to condense long phenomena on playback.

Digital reference combining hours, minutes, seconds and frames to precisely identify a moment in media.

Clapperboard displaying or receiving a timecode to ease media identification and synchronization.

Chronological representation of the tracks and clips of an editing project.

Frame-by-frame drawn or painted animation, historically on paper then on cels and now also digital.

Narrative form confronting characters with a conflict that may lead to a destructive or irreversible outcome.

Promotional edit presenting a film ahead of its release or during its run.

Physical displacement of the camera in space — forward, backward or laterally.

Prose document developing a story, its characters and progression before the full screenplay is written.

Story giving a central place to a legal proceeding, its arguments or its consequences.

Revelation or event that significantly changes the interpretation of what came before.

Framing including two characters in the same image.

Consumer video format commonly referring to an image of 3,840 × 2,160 pixels.

Capture insufficiently exposed relative to intent, resulting in dark areas and sometimes loss of detail.

Use of a real-time engine to previsualize or produce environments, sometimes synchronized with an LED volume.

Narrating instance whose statements or perceptions must be questioned by the viewer.

Sound version performed in French, which may be the film's original language or a dubbed adaptation.

Images or elements created, modified or combined in post-production to achieve results impossible or difficult to capture directly.

Coordinates the design and execution of visual effects from the set through post-production.

Version presenting dialogue in the work's reference language or languages.

Presentation keeping the original voices and adding subtitles in the target language.

Graphic visualizing the chrominance or the hue and saturation relations of a video signal.

Data copy verified, ideally by checksum comparison, to reduce the risk of corruption or loss.

System allowing images captured by the camera to be viewed on monitors during the shoot.

Instruments displaying signal levels and distributions, such as waveform, RGB parade or vectorscope.

Area gathering monitors and the people watching the take at a distance from the camera.

Video monitoring station where the director and certain departments view the on-set image.

Progressive darkening of the corners of an image, optical in origin or added in post.

Image or composition expressing an idea through analogy rather than direct statement.

Recurring shape, color, gesture or object that acquires expressive value over the course of the film.

Use of objects, gestures, colors or shapes beyond their literal function to suggest ideas.

Voice heard without its speaking source being visible in frame; its source may or may not belong to the diegesis.

Vocal narration superimposed on the images, often external to the depicted scene; terminology varies.

Framing of a character approximately from the waist up.

Film whose narrative and representation are structured by an armed conflict and its consequences.

Instrument showing the distribution of video signal levels to help set exposure and contrast.

Genre tied notably to the myths, conflicts and spaces of the North American westward expansion.

Very fast horizontal rotation creating motion blur, sometimes used as a transition.

Adjustment or processing that interprets a reference light as neutral and balances the colors.

Release of a film on a large number of screens or cinemas in a territory.

Wide view presenting characters and environment in a single composition; usages vary by school.

Lens providing a wide angle of view for a given capture format.

Sound recorded independently of the main image, intended to complete the soundtrack.

Viewer's provisional agreement with the conventions of a fictional universe despite its implausible elements.

Protection that reduces wind effect on a microphone, from foam to synthetic fur systems.

Transition in which one shot reveals or pushes out another along a moving boundary.

Digital removal of cables or rigging devices visible in a shot.

Microphone-transmitter and receiver set transmitting audio without a cable linking the performer to the recorder.

First announced public screening of a film at international level under the event's rules.

Image encoding the distance of elements from the camera, usable for depth-based treatments.

Assist pattern overlaid on areas reaching a defined luminance threshold.

Shot aimed vertically downward at the ground, above the subject.

Change of focal length modifying the angle of view without necessarily moving the camera.

Widescreen aspect ratio common in theatrical cinema projection.

Narrow-gauge film format widely used in documentary, experimental and some fiction filmmaking.

Widescreen ratio widely used for television, web and digital media.

Convention keeping the camera axes on the same side of an axis of action to preserve screen direction of gazes and movement.

Very wide ratio common in so-called "scope" theatrical presentations.

Creation of movement from graphic elements organized primarily in a two-dimensional space.

Control structure used to animate and deform two-dimensional graphic elements.

Tracking of positions of points or patterns in the image to attach a graphic element or treatment.

Family of digital cinema projection resolutions of approximately 2,000 pixels wide, depending on the container used.

Guideline inviting a sufficient change of angle on the same subject to avoid an unintentional jump cut in editing.

Historic film gauge widely used in professional cinema, supporting several image formats.

Creation of movement from characters and objects defined in a digital three-dimensional space.

Construction of a digital geometric representation of an object, character or environment.

Setup of a skeleton and controllers used to deform and animate a digital model.

Ratio of approximately four units of width to three of height, historically common.

Family of digital cinema projection resolutions of approximately 4,000 pixels wide, distinct from consumer-grade UHD designations.

Family of large formats where the camera negative may be 65 mm and certain prints distributed in 70 mm.

Family of small-gauge film formats associated with amateur filmmaking and contemporary artistic practices.