The A to Z of Film and Video Production

A to Z

All the way from Alan Smithee to Zolly. Enjoy.

A is for Alan Smithee

A prolific director with a diverse yet staggeringly poor range of credits. It's not all it seems.

A is for Autocue

An autocue, or teleprompter, is a device used to help people appearing on television remember their lines.

A is for Action!

What does “Action” really mean? Who is it intended for? And is it the director who actually says it?

B is for B-roll!

B-roll is any topical, but non-specific, material used to establish context or mood or to support the narrative contained in the main footage or dialogue.

C is for Crossing The Line

The ultimate guide to keeping people on the right side of the frame. Or not.

C is for Clapperboard

Filming can’t proceed until the little white-and-black board has been snapped shut in front of the camera.

D for Dolly

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

D is for D.I.T.

A digital imaging technician (DIT) is a product of the post-film age. A DIT is responsible for backing up any and all digital footage.

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.

G for Gaffer Tape

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

H is for Hair in the Gate

Before the rise of digital cameras, these words would have caused an entire crew to tear their hair out.

H is for Horror!

Lock the door. Get the popcorn. Did you hear something?

I for Inciting Incident

It may well sound like a euphemism you'd find in a clumsily-worded police report, but the inciting incident is, if not the most important part of a story, certainly one of the crucial ones.

J is for Jump Cut

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

K is for Knock it Down

Lights! Camera! Hairspray! Action!

L is for Lunch

Life on set can get strange sometimes. Especially when you're having lunch at Midnight. We explain everything.

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.

M is for Magic Hour

The sun’s just come up, or just about to go down. Action!

M is for Montage

Want to go from just a beginner to a pro? You need a montage

N is for Noddies

The devious art of filming a two-person interview with just one camera. Yes, yes, that's really interesting.

O is for The Oscars

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

O is for One-Shot

A one-shot film is either filmed in a single take or shot and edited to look like it was.

P is for Propaganda

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

Q is for Quota Quickies

In 1927, British filmmaking was still centred around smaller studios working with contracted technicians and in competition with the more dominant theatre world.

R for Rear Projection

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

R for Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a way of dividing the field of an image to aid in composition.

S is for Split Screen

You can probably guess what ‘split screen’ means at first glance, but the reasons for using it and how it’s achieved deserve a closer look.

S for Shot Size

The size of a shot is an important part of visual storytelling, and a variety are used to different ends.

S is for Storyboard

Storyboards are illustrations used to plan and develop a story before it’s filmed.

T for Glorious Technicolor!

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.

W for Winnebago

Winnebago is a generic name for any caravan or RV, frequently used as private quarters on film sets.

X is for X Rated

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

Y is for YouTube

You might think this one doesn't even need any explanation. We all know what YouTube is, don't we? It's that website where we get our funny videos of cats for free.

Z is for Zolly

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

A to Z

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