A to Z of Film & Video Production

We love films and we love making films. So it is with great pleasure that we bring you NextShoot's A to Z of Film & Video Production.

This site will help you navigate an industry full of buzzwords and specialists where you really ought to know your Best Boy from your Dolly Grip, recognise your Flip from Flop, and never again muddle your over-cranking with your underscoring.

We hope you’ll find it both entertaining and informative.

And when you do come to commission that video, we’d be delighted if you’d keep us in mind. As you’ll see, we’ve got it covered from A to Z.

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D for Dolly

A dolly is a piece of kit for smoothly moving a camera either on rails or wheels.

E is for Exposure

Isn’t exposure that thing that’s offered instead of pay to freelancers?

F is for Foley

This is another one of those film techniques that you probably didn’t know had a name.

is for Zolly

Made famous by 'Jaws' (1975), the 'Dolly Zoom' was first used in Alfred Hitchcok's 'Vertigo' (1958).

G for Gaffer Tape

Holding the film industry together since 1959. Where would be without it?

K is for Knock it Down

Lights! Camera! Hairspray! Action!

M is for Match Cut

To string together a smooth narrative requires careful editing. A film can’t simply go from one image to a completely different one without a good reason.

for Jump Cut

This technique was frowned upon in editing, until Jean-Luc Godard made extensive use of it in his masterpiece 'Breathless' (1960).

O is for The Oscars

I'd like to thank my agent, my drug dealer and my plastic surgeon.

P is for Propaganda

"You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince by logic."

R for Rear Projection

Mastering this quite simple technique allowed cinematographers to put their stars in previously unimaginable situations.

for Glorious Technicolour!

In 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939) Dorothy left the monochrome behind and stepped out into a brave new world of colour cinema.

U for Undercranking

Undercranking refers to the effect the mechanical operation of the camera has on the speed of a film.

V for Vox-Pop

Lazy, cheap journalism getting the 'man on the street' to do your job for you with often hilarious consequences.

W is for Wilhelm Scream

If you don’t recognise this phrase, you’ve almost certainly heard the scream it describes.

is for X-Rated

The history of cinema classification is long and complicated. But you need to know your R from your X.

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