Commonly used terms and acronyms in film?

Azmyth

Azmyth

Veteran
I'm a noob...

so sometimes when trying to find info.. I see people using acronyms for this and that.. and I have no idea what they mean.

does anyone have a list of commonly used acronyms and their meanings as used in film..

for ex..

DP.. I am assuming this means.. "Director of Photography"?

whats ADR?
PA?
 
I've heard ADR is automated dialogue replacement, although there is nothing automated about it and additional makes so much more sense.
 
There's a part of the 'biz in which 'dp' means something else. An unfiltered google image search should provide the answers. :happy:

Warning... if you don't get the joke already, I highly suggest you don't follow the previous instructions.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
There's a part of the 'biz in which 'dp' means something else. An unfiltered google image search should provide the answers. :happy:

Warning... if you don't get the joke already, I highly suggest you don't follow the previous instructions.
Click to expand...


the good news is.. I actually know what that DP means without googling...

sad right?
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
There's a part of the 'biz in which 'dp' means something else. An unfiltered google image search should provide the answers. :happy:

Warning... if you don't get the joke already, I highly suggest you don't follow the previous instructions.
Click to expand...

double........ Thats more in the acting department :thumbup:
 
ADR is also sometimes called "automatic" dialog replacement, but as Ryan pointed out, there's nothing automatic about it. It's when you bring actors into a recording studio or (much less often) location, show them the original footage with the (presumably unusable) original dialog and have them re-record it in sync with the picture so it matches. Why it was ever called "automatic" or "automated" is beyond me...

A funny side note: Dov Simens, in his otherwise generally excellent filmmaking DVD set (see www.webfilmschool.com), makes the bizarre assertion that ADR exists for the purpose of correcting the 'throw distance' from a cinema screen to the audience. Like, a speed of sound-based time delay compensation scheme, in other words. Um...sorry Dov, but thanks for playing 'Let's Make An Idiot Of Ourselves In (Semi) Public'. How that got past everyone else who might have been involved in the production of the course is likewise beyond me...
 
No one is sure what the 'A' in ADR means. That's why we always use the acronym. As long as you know what it does.
 
Ted Spencer said:
ADR is also sometimes called "automatic" dialog replacement....
Click to expand...

Sometimes people call things by the wrong name. :) ( <- passive aggressive smiley to make my snarky comment ok.)

I've never heard automated... ever. I was taught 'additional' in film school, and have heard it ever since... which makes complete sense. I'm not a sound guy, but that's my experience. I have seen it written as automatic in text books, but I feel it's just a run-away misconception of the acronym.
 
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My favorites (and little known) are:
C47's - clothespins (grip department).
A "cowboy" - framing between a full body shot and a medium shot - from the knees up, so that in westerns, the guns and holsters would be included in the shot.
 
Hah. I remember learning some of the more (or less) obscure terms and thinking that people just made that stuff up to confuse people who are new to the business.

C47's....Pshh.

Stinger = Extension cord. (Presumably because of the number of gaffers/grips that have been zapped over the years)

Highhat = a stand for a light (or camera) that sits nearly on the ground. Really, guys?

M.O.S. = recording "mit out sound". Maybe I'll give that creedence, but it's still a little confusing.
 
"ADR"... I've always heard it was "automatic" dialogue replacement... but don't know why.
"C47"... was coined when a crew member need to order some clothes pins but accounting dept. had no catagory for them... so he made this up.
"MOS"... was indeed for "Mit Out Sound" because that's what a famous German director would say when he wanted to shoot a scene without sound.
"Foley"... Created sound effects to mimmick actually sounds. First done by a sound effect artist name Thomas Foley.
"Best Boy" was originally a kid hanging around the set who would be sent on errands or just be a great helper..."He's my best boy!"
Someone else can fill in on "Grips" and "Gaffers".
 
Here are some good ones...

A 'One T' framing is "Teeth" as in super tight close-up, also known as a 'Screamer' to refer to the shot in the old movie where someone screamed.
A 'Two T' framing is for "Tie" as in both your teeth and your tie are in the shot, aka standard close up.
A 'Three T' framing is for "Tits" as in a medium/Close shot that goes mid chest

Another good one is a "Mickey Rooney" shot, which refers to when you slowly push in or slowly pull out with the dolly... The name refers to the fact that that move is also known as a "Little Creep"... If you get it, you'll laugh your ace off, if you don't, don't blame me.

A short C-Stand is also called a "Gary Coleman"

I've got some more that are more offensive, but I think I'll save those for later.

"MOS" within the sound world has also been attributed to "Minus Optical Strip" for the days when there was optical sound printed to the release negative.

A Grip grips thing... aka in the United States the Grips job is to control light and control camera movement if it involves a dolly, jib or crane. By control light I mean set up flags (Large black cloth covered metal frames used to cut light off of backgrounds, subjects, etc.) and or soften the light beyond the barndoors of the light head itself. The order here generally goes Key Grip, Best Boy Grip, Dolly Grip, Company Grip/Grip.

The Gaffer/Lighting Designer and his/her Best Boy Electrician, Electricians, Rigging Electricians, Genny Operator etc. are collectively refered to as "Juicers". Their job is providing power to lights and setting lights up. Good Gaffers/L.D.s are artists themselves and contribute to the D.P. and Director's vision for the project.

The last shot of the day is called the Martini because this is when you bust the Martinis out. The shot before the last shot in most circles is called the Abbey Singer, though I don't know the full story here. I worked with a crew from Arkansas who called the Abbey Singer the Martini because they started drinking on the shot before the last shot.

Hope this helps.
 
"hollywood" as a verb. to hand-hold something that might normally be fixed to a stand - showcard, a flag, etc.

i actually haven't heard anyone other than me use this in a while. do people still use this term?

~~Dave

P.S. that Mickey Rooney shot has always been my personal favorite term :)
 
Grip is an old circus term adopted by the film/tv business (appropriate, huh?)

The word was olde-tyme slang for a tool case or bag; people who brought tools to work in order to perform their jobs came to called 'grips.'

A-Wind is film wound onto a core with the emulsion side facing in, toward the core's center. Presumably emulsion-out winding would be called B-Wind, but I have yet to hear anyone use the term.
 
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