dress

en-verb

dress (third-person singular simple present dresses, present participle dressing, simple past dressed, past participle dressed or (obsolete) drest)

dresses (present singular third-person)
dressing (participle present)
dressed (past)
dressed (participle past)
drest (obsolete participle past)
dress (infinitive)
dress (first-person present singular)
dressed (first-person past singular)
dress (present second-person singular)
dressed (past second-person singular)
dresses (present singular third-person)
dressed (past singular third-person)
dress (plural present)
dressed (past plural)
dress (present subjunctive)
dressed (past subjunctive)
dress (imperative present)
dressing (participle present)
dressed (participle past)
drest (participle past)

→ Sranan Tongo: dresi

PIE word
 *dwís
The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *directiare (“to guide, direct”). Doublet of direct.
The noun is derived from the verb.

aantrek

to put clothes on (oneself or someone, etc.) — see also clothe

self aantrek

to put on clothes — see also get dressed

koristaa

to adorn or ornament (something) — see also adorn, ornament

siistiä

to fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose — see also get ready

whakahuene

referring to preparing rough sawn timber

To design, make, or prepare costumes (for a play or other performance); also, to present (a production) in a particular costume style.

Mallory, all night long, single-handedly painted and dressed the set so that at eight o'clock Sunday morning when we arrived to make breakfast in the kitchen, there she was sound asleep on the davenport in the set, every prop in place.

2012, Marvin Silbersher, chapter 22, in A Fistful of Stars, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 106:

To prepare (a set) by installing the props, scenery, etc.

lavastaa

to prepare (a set) by installing the props, scenery, etc.


dress

en-noun

dress (countable and uncountable, plural dresses)

→ Japanese: ドレス (doresu)

→ Korean: 드레스 (deureseu)

→ Norwegian: dress

→ Pennsylvania German: Dress

→ Scottish Gaelic: dreasa

(film, television, theater) Ellipsis of dress rehearsal.


practical

en-adj

practical (comparative more practical, superlative most practical)

more practical (comparative)
most practical (superlative)

theoretical

antonym(s) of “based on practice or action”

impractical

antonym(s) of “likely to be effective and applicable to a real situation”

From Middle English practical, practicale, praktycall, from Medieval Latin practicālis.

Practical lighting can help sell the illusion that the film is a real situation.

(film) Light fixtures used for set lighting and seen in the frame of a shot as part of the scenery.


practical

A naturalistic set is normally dressed with all the furnishings and props to be found in a real room. This includes electric light fittings which, when they actually light, are known as practicals.

2001, Francis Reid, The Stage Lighting Handbook, page 124:

(film) A light fixture used for set lighting and seen in the frame of a shot as part of the scenery.


traveller

travellers (plural)
traveler (alternative US)

From Middle English traveler, travelour, travailere, travailour (“worker", also "traveller”), equivalent to travel + -er. Compare Anglo-Norman travailur, travailour, Old French travailleor, travelleeur, travelier.

That would detract from the austerity of Rudkin's study, and a curtain on a traveler is always slid across the stage […]

1977, New York Theatre Critics' Reviews, volumes 38-39, page 134:

(television, theater) A rail or track for a sliding curtain.


opposite

From Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, perfect passive participle of oppōnō (“I oppose”). Compare oppose.

(television) On another channel at the same time.


opposite

The game show Just Men! aired opposite The Young and the Restless on CBS.


reveal

From Middle English revēlen, from Old French reveler, from Latin revēlāre (“to reveal, uncover”), from re- (“back, again”) + vēlāre (“to cover”), from vēlum (“a cloth, covering, curtain, veil, awning, sail”) (whence also English veil, English unveil, English voile, Russian вуаль (vualʹ), Russian завуали́ровать (zavualírovatʹ, “to veil”) (compare typologically)).
Also compare typologically English uncloak, unmask, Russian разобла́чать (razobláčatʹ) (akin to облаче́ние (oblačénije), срыва́ть покро́вы (sryvátʹ pokróvy) (покро́в (pokróv, “cover, covering”)).

cog

завуали́ровать

m+

разобла́чать

The comedian had been telling us about his sleep being disturbed by noise. Then came the reveal: he was sleeping on a bed in a department store.

A simple dolly or crane move can be used for an effective reveal. A subject fills the frame, then with a move, something else is revealed.

2002, Blain Brown, Cinematography, →ISBN:

Once you find out what’s going on—the girl is a “hungry,” this film’s term for zombies—it’s still interesting enough, if not quite as powerful. That’s basically what you’re in for with this British postapocalyptic survival horror tale, which starts off strong but dilutes its impact with every consecutive reveal.

2017 February 23, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The Onion AV Club:

Even Westworld—based on a science-fiction novel where robots run amok—ended its second season with the ultimate reveal: human beings are simpler and more predictable than the artificial intelligences we create.

2019, Douglas Rushkoff, “Survival of the Richest”, in Extinction Rebellion, editor, This Is Not A Drill, London: Penguin, →ISBN:

(cinematography, narratology, comedy, usually informal) A revelation; an uncovering of what was hidden in the scene or story.


gig

en-verb

gig (third-person singular simple present gigs, present participle gigging, simple past and past participle gigged)

gigs (present singular third-person)
gigging (participle present)
gigged (participle past)
gigged (past)

The etymology of the noun is unknown, but compare Old French gigue (“a fiddle”). The verb is derived from the noun.

The Rolling Stones were gigging around Richmond at the time.

(film, music, television, theater) To engage in a musical performance, act in a theatre production, etc.

keikkailla

to engage in a musical performance, act in a theatre production, etc.

მუსიკალურ წარმოდგენაში მონაწილეობა


frost

en-noun

frost (countable and uncountable, plural frosts)

frosts (plural)
froste (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English frost, from an unmetathesized variant of Old English forst (“frost”), from Proto-Germanic *frustaz (“frost”), from Proto-Indo-European *prews- (“to freeze; frost”). Cognate with West Frisian froast (“frost”), Dutch vorst (“frost”), German Frost (“frost”), Swedish frost (“frost”), Norwegian frost (“frost”), Icelandic frost (“frost”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost, frost, rime, snow”). Related to freeze.

cog

Frosts and diffusion are flame retardant and produce similar results except that some of the frosts are very subtle in their effects. For example: Hamburg Frost will soften the beam edge with little additional spread of the beam.

2013, Alan Bermingham, Location Lighting for Television, pages 9–26:


telescope

From tele- + -scope.
From Latin tēlescopium, from Ancient Greek τηλεσκόπος (tēleskópos, “far-seeing”), from τῆλε (têle, “afar”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “I look at”).
Coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for one of Galileo Galilei's instruments presented at a banquet at the Accademia dei Lincei. Doublet of Telescopium.

der

In some studios the telescopes are fixed to the lighting grid […]

1963, Television Engineering: Report, page 245:

(television) A retractable tubular support for lights.


acting

en-noun

acting (countable and uncountable, plural actings)

(uncountable, drama) The occupation of an actor.


out

outs (plural)
oute (alternative obsolete)

→ Greek: άουτ (áout)

→ Japanese: アウト (auto)

→ Korean: 아웃 (aut)

→ Spanish: out

From Middle English out, oute, from a combination of Old English ūt (“out”, preposition & adverb), from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic *ūt (“out”); and Old English ūte (“outside; without”, adverb), from Proto-Germanic *ūtai (“out; outside”); both from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“upwards, away”).
Cognate with Scots oot, out (“out”), Saterland Frisian uut, uute (“out”), West Frisian út (“out”), Dutch uit (“out”), German Low German ut (“out”), German aus (“out”), Norwegian/Swedish ut, ute (“out; outside”), Danish ud, ude (“out; outside”).

inh

It's an interesting film. I've always felt that he made it out of our outs [outtakes]: which was like he was trying to prove something.

2015, Keith Beattie, Trent Griffiths, D. A. Pennebaker: Interviews:


wallpaper

en-noun

wallpaper (countable and uncountable, plural wallpapers)

Scripts that include brief reference to a picture turn stock footage from 'wallpaper' to illustration.

1983, Av Westin, Newswatch: How TV Decides the News, page 88:

News bulletins on television may need general rather than specific footage. This is known as wallpaper — moving pictures over which the news item is read.

2002, Kathy Chater, Research for Media Production, page 75:

(television, slang) Generic footage of a building or location that may be used in the background of a related news report.


drop

en-verb

drop (third-person singular simple present drops, present participle dropping, simple past and past participle dropped or (archaic) dropt)

drops (present singular third-person)
dropping (participle present)
dropped (participle past)
dropped (past)
dropt (archaic participle past)
dropt (archaic past)

From Middle English droppen, dropen (“to fall in drops, drip or trickle down; to scatter, sprinkle; to be covered with a liquid; to give off moisture; of an object: to drop, fall; of a living being: to fall to the ground”) [and other forms], from Old English dropian, droppian (“to drop”), from dropa (“a drop”) (see further at etymology 1) + -ian (suffix forming verbs from adjectives and nouns).

спадам

to decrease, diminish, or lessen in condition, degree, value, etc.

laskea

to move to a lower position; to allow to hang downwards — see also lower

laskea

to lower (a sound, a voice, etc.) in pitch or volume

The album Hip-Hop Xmas dropped in time for the holidays.

(intransitive, computing, music, television, colloquial) Of a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.: to enter public distribution.

ilmestyä

of a programme, software, music, etc.: to enter public distribution

They dropped the album Hip-Hop Xmas in time for the holidays.

That hacker has been threatening to drop my docs [i.e. publish my personal information].

(transitive, computing, music, television, colloquial) To release (a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.) to the public.

julkaista

to release (a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.) to the public


NTSC

w:National Television Standards Committee

(television) Initialism of National Television Standards Committee, federal governmental committee of the US government.


NTSC

(television) Initialism of National Television Standards Committee, a North American TV standard for analog television.


NTSC

(television, slang, humorous) Initialism of never twice the same color, a variant of North American TV standard for analog television, drawing attention to the standard’s shortcomings.


PAL

en-noun

PAL (countable and uncountable, plural PALs)

(television, uncountable) Acronym of phase alternating/alternation/alternated line (TV standard).


redhead

Most [camera crews] carry two blondes and three redheads or their equivalents. Blondes are 2000 watt lamps traditionally with yellow heads (or shells) used to light fairly large areas — also referred to as 2Ks — and redheads smaller 800 watt lamps traditionally with red shells to light faces.

2012, Colin Hart, Television Program Making, page 63:

(film, television, theater) A kind of 800-watt lamp.


single

→ Dutch: single

→ Finnish: sinkku

→ German: Single

→ Indonesian: singel

→ Japanese: シングル (shinguru)

→ Korean: 싱글 (singgeul)

→ Polish: singiel

From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

But if the same scene is shot in singles (or “over-the-shoulder” shots where one of the actors is only a lumpy shoulder in the foreground), the editor and the director can almost redirect the scene on film.

1990, Jon Boorstin, The Hollywood Eye: What Makes Movies Work, page 94:


theme

-iːmi (for the sense dealing with the Byzantine empire only)

From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “I put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do). Doublet of thema.

der

(film, television, video games) A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.


first-person

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-first-person.wav

(film, television, video games) Visual presentation through the protagonist or principal character's own eyes.


package

en-noun

package (countable and uncountable, plural packages)

Equivalent to pack + -age. Possibly influenced by Anglo-Latin paccagium or Old French pacquage.

Attend a news conference, and prepare a wrap or package.

2005, Ted White, Broadcast News: Writing, Reporting, and Producing, page 245:

(television, radio) Synonym of wrap (“complete news report ready for broadcast”).


distant

en-adj

distant (comparative more distant, superlative most distant)

more distant (comparative)
most distant (superlative)
distaunt (alternative obsolete)
dystant (alternative obsolete)
dystaunt (alternative obsolete)

Inherited from Middle English distaunt, from Old French distant, from Latin distāns.

Any determination that a particular television signal is "distant" must, of course, be made with respect to its proximity to a specific local area, which we have termed the CATV community, […]

1973, Cable Television, Rand Corporation:

Finally, there will be those unusual situations where a signal is distant to part of a CATV system and local to the rest of it.

1983, Gary L. Christensen, Cable Television in a New Era, page 128:

(television, not comparable) Imported into a cable television system from a different market (and thus possibly incurring a copyright royalty).


chapter

chapters (plural)
chapiter (alternative)
chapitre (alternative)
chapiture (alternative)
chaptre (alternative)
chapyter (alternative)
chapytre (alternative)
chaptire (alternative)

→ Cebuano: tsapter

From Middle English chapitre, from Old French chapitre, from Latin capitulum (“a chapter of a book, in Medieval Latin also a synod or council”), diminutive of caput (“a head”); see capital, capitulum, and chapiter, which are doublets of chapter.

der

Detective novel writers try to keep up the suspense until the last chapter.

At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

(authorship) One of the main sections into which the text of a book is divided.

CHAPTER - One of the principal divisions of a book, and, in reference to the Bible, one of the larger sections into which its books are divided. This division, as well as that consisting of verses, was introduced to facilitate reference, and not to indicate any natural or accurate division of the subjects treated in the books.

1842, Walter Farquahar Hook, A Church Dictionary, published 1896:

At least thirty-two of the first forty-seven decretal chapters were received by English ecclesiastics,

1963, Charles Duggan, Twelfth-century Decretal Collections and Their Importance in English History, page 127:

il conclut: « No pope, no collection but the masters who served the one and commented on the other ultimately determined the content of this decretal chapter».

1983, Revue théologique de Louvain - Volume 14, page 127:

But unlike a similar annotation, it has not been turned into a chapter title because the annotation “de quodam hermita” (Of a certain hermit) immediately preceded it. If a scribe had also turned Liberauit Dominus hermitam into a chapter title, he would have created a chapter that consisted of a single sentence, which even for a rather dull scribe would seem unacceptable. […] While scribe A wrote the body of the text of the De nugis curialium, scribe X contributed the rubricated chapter headings.

2017, Joshua Byron Smith, Walter Map and the Matter of Britain, page 67:

While rubrics do not appear in paper manuscripts, eight paper manuscripts contain chapter titles, which serve the same function as the medieval rubrics.

2018, Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir, Emily Lethbridge, New Studies in the Manuscript Tradition of Njáls saga, page xvii:

Characteristics: parchment; 92 fols.; 260 × 180 mm.; 32 lines; Italy; ca. 1430; two hands: humanistic rotunda with some Gothic features; marginal notes by first hand and names by a second hand; space left for initials; rubric inscriptions; superscript variants by first hand; chapters marked in margin; horizontal catchwords; quaternions.

2018, David J. Hunt, A Textual History of Cicero's Academici Libri, page 152:

From canon law, he cited Gratian's Decretum, Gregory's Decretales, the Sexto and Clementines Decretales, and the Extravagantes, and specifically referred to “the rules for understanding the Law” in a decretal chapter on Propterea.

2021, David T. Orique, The Unheard Voice of Law in Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Brevísima Relación de la Destruición de las Indias, page 97:

A section of a work, a collection of works, or fragments of works, often manuscripts or transcriptions, created by scholars or advocates, not the original authors, to aid in finding portions of the texts.


junction

→ Bengali: জংশন (joṅśon)

→ Japanese: ジャンクション

/ˈd͡ʒʌŋkʃən/

From Latin iūnctiō (“union, joining, uniting”), from iungō (“join, attach together”). Equivalent to join + -tion.

Even rolling news has junctions to meet - headlines on the hour or half-hour, or links to live events, for example.

2007, Gary Hudson, Sarah Rowlands, The Broadcast Journalism Handbook, page 336:

Try to avoid becoming too predictable or repetitive, particularly at regular junctions.

2010, Peter Stewart, Essential Radio Skills: How to Present a Radio Show:

(radio, television) A point in time between two unrelated consecutive broadcasts.


prop

They used the trophy as a prop in the movie.

(theater, film) An item placed on a stage or set to create a scene or scenario in which actors perform.

реквизит

item placed on a stage to create a scene


runner

From Middle English rennere, rynner, urnare, equivalent to run + -er. Cognate with Old Norse rennari (“runner; messenger”). Displaced earlier Middle English runel (“runner”), from Old English rynel (“runner”; also “messenger, courier”).

vrapues

somebody who runs, who moves at a fast pace

махови́к

mechanical part intended to guide or aid something else to move

Agent noun of run; one who runs.
(film) An assistant.

Agent noun of run; one who runs.
An assistant.


Pluto

Borrowed from Latin Plūtō, borrowed from Ancient Greek Πλούτων (Ploútōn, “god of the underworld”). Venetia Burney is often credited as having suggested the name for the celestial body.

Ceres

most likely dwarf planets of the Solar System

(film, art) The American cartoon character created by Walt Disney and Norm Ferguson.

Pluto

animated dog in various Disney productions


programmer

/ˈpɹəʊɡɹæmə/

/ˈpɹoʊɡɹæmɚ/

*program + -er (US) / programme + -er (UK)

The handful of never-ending summer classics annually activated by rock-radio programmers.

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 151:

So if there is a real shortage of training material and opportunities for radio programmers, then let's write some.

(radio, television) One who decides which programs will be shown on a television station, or which songs will be played on a radio station.

ohjelmapäällikkö

one who decides which programs will be shown on a television station


hero

en-noun

hero (plural heroes or (sandwich sense) heros)

[ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ~ˈçɪə.ɹəʊ]

From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (“hero”), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”). Related to Latin servo (“protect”). Displaced Middle English heleð, haleð, from Old English hæleþ, hæle.

der

The preparation of the hero food involves any number of specialized techniques food stylists have developed to deal with the demands of photographing food.

2003, Solomon H. Katz, William Woys Weaver, Encyclopedia of Food and Culture:

Protect the hero food. Whether the hero items are on a table in the studio or in the refrigerator, freezer, etc., be sure they are identified as hero items and not for consumption.

2008, Linda Bellingham, Jean Ann Bybee, Brad G. Rogers, Food Styling for Photographers, page 8:

The food stylists this day had spent inordinate amounts of time preparing the hero product for a close-up scene.

2008, David Random, Defying Gravity, page 24:

(film, photography, chiefly attributive) The product chosen from several candidates to be photographed, as in food advertising, or with props used in a movie.


print

en-noun

print (countable and uncountable, plural prints)

cursive

antonym(s) of “writing without connected letters”

From Middle English *printen, prenten, preenten, an apheretic form of emprinten, enprinten (“to impress; imprint”) (see imprint). Compare Dutch prenten (“to imprint”), Middle Low German prenten (“to print; write”), Danish prente (“to print”), Swedish prenta (“to write German letters”). Compare also Late Old French printer, preindre (“to press”), from Latin premere (“to press”).

cog

(film) A copy of a film that can be projected.


fin

French language
fin
fin (disambiguation)

From French fin (“end”). Doublet of fine and finis.


v-chip

Stands for violence chip, coined and devised by Tim Collings, promoted by the William Jefferson Clinton Administration.

(television) Any censorship technology that allows parents to control the level of objectionable content that their children may see on television.


super

Supers are superimposed words that run across the TV screen and provide information such as the names of interview subjects. The newsroom sends a printed list of these supers to Perry.

2009, James Robert Parish, Jim Henson, page 114:

(television) A superimposed caption or image.


super

en-verb

super (third-person singular simple present supers, present participle supering, simple past and past participle supered)

supers (present singular third-person)
supering (participle present)
supered (participle past)
supered (past)

Even running a supered "Re-enactment" caption for a few seconds is poor policy, he feels […]

1987, Television Quarterly, volumes 23-24:


web

From Middle English webbe, from Old English webb, from Proto-Germanic *wabją, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“weave”).

what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

[…] the first big move toward a contract for television performers was made Friday (20) when the webs agreed to pay them according to the length of the show. […] Altho the major TV webs — NBC and CBS — may fall in line soon, an agreement may possibly be held up by the opposition of DuMont […]

1950, Billboard, volume 62, number 43, page 9:

ABC-TV this week put into effect its long anticipated plans to move into daytime programming in a bigger way by opening up its 4-5 across-the-board strip. The web is using its "Mickey Mouse Club," which is stoutly anchored in the 5-6 p.m. slot, as a backing up point for its afternoon expansion.

(dated, US, radio, television) A major broadcasting network.


goof

Perhaps from dialectal English goff (“foolish clown”), from earlier goffe, in which case further etymology is uncertain.
Perhaps from Middle English goffen (“to speak in a frivolous manner”), possibly from Old English gaf, ġegaf (“base; wanton; lewd”, adjective), ġegaf (“buffoonery; scurrility”, noun), gaffetung, golfettung (“buffoonery; mockery”). Compare English dialectal gauffin (“lightheaded; foolish; giddy”), Scots gaff, gawf (“to talk loudly; babble”), Scots gaffaw (“a loud laugh”).
Alternatively, perhaps from Middle French goffe (“awkward; stupid”). Compare also Spanish gofo, Italian goffo.

inh

(US, cinematography, informal) An error made during production which finds its way into the final release.

coquille

an error made during production which finds its way into the final release


portmanteau film

en-noun

portmanteau film (plural portmanteau films)

Allusion to the idea of a portmanteau in the linguistic sense.

We're so bombarded with images, it's a struggle to preserve our imaginations.' In response, he's turned to cinema, commissioning 11 film-makers to contribute to a portmanteau film, entitled '11'09"01' and composed of short films each running 11 minutes, nine seconds and one frame.

2002 December 11, Nick Bradshaw, “One day in September”, in Time Out, page 71:

(film, television) A film that combines two or more distinct stories, frequently connected by a single theme, premise, or author.


gate

From Middle English gate, gat, ȝate, ȝeat, from Old English ġeat (“gate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą (“hole, opening”).
See also Old Norse gat, Swedish and Dutch gat, Low German Gaat, Gööt.

After all, not using film has advantages other than cost: the curse of getting a hair in the gate (the rectangular opening at the front of a camera) is gone; the problem of getting dirt on the film swept away.

2023 March 16, John Boorman, “Today’s ‘films’ are nothing of the sort – so stop calling them that”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(cinematography) A mechanism, in a film camera and projector, that holds each frame momentarily stationary behind the aperture.


kine

(television) Clipping of kinescope (“type of recording”).


breakdown

breakdown (countable and uncountable, plural breakdowns)

breakdowns (plural)
break-down (alternative)

sınma

failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature

(uncountable) Separation of a thing into components; decomposition, fragmentation; (countable) an instance of this.

(film, television, countable) A detailed description of a forthcoming project or screenplay which identifies all the required elements, such as the cast, costumes, equipment, props, and special effects.


fade

From Middle English fade, vad, vade (“faded, pale, withered, weak”), from Middle Dutch vade (“weak, faint, limp”), from Old French fade (“weak, witless”), of obscure origin. Probably from Vulgar Latin *fatidus, from Latin fatuus (“insipid”).

(music, cinematography) A gradual decrease in the brightness of a shot or the volume of sound or music (as a means of cutting to a new scene or starting a new song).


noir

en-adj

noir (comparative more noir, superlative most noir)

more noir (comparative)
most noir (superlative)

Shortened from film noir, and from French noir. Doublet of negro.

As a neo-Sherlock Holmes, however, Mulder is also a very noir version of the classic detective (just as Scully is a very noir Watson).

2008, Jerold J. Abrams, Elizabeth Cooke, “Detection and the Logic of Abduction in The X-Files”, in The Philosophy of TV Noir, →ISBN, page 182:

(film, television) Of or pertaining to film noir, or the atmosphere associated with that genre


noir

en-noun

noir (countable and uncountable, plural noirs)

(film and television, uncountable) Film noir.

Several noirs, including “Raw Deal,” have been set here.

2007 January 29, Wendell Jamieson, “Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt, Nights Are Noir in Fog City”, in New York Times:

(film and television, countable) A production in the style of film noir.


avail

avail (countable and uncountable, plural avails)

From Middle English availen (“to be of use”), from Old French a (“to”) + vail from valoir (“to be worth”), from Latin valere (“to be worthy, strong”).

The salesperson at an affiliate TV station might prepare an avail which offers two weeks of spots in early and late news[…].

1994, Barry L. Sherman, Telecommunications Management: Broadcasting/cable and the New Technologies, →ISBN, page 353:

At an avail, the ad server plays out the MPEG-2 audio/video elementary streams.

2004, Walter S. Ciciora et al., Modern Cable Television Technology: Video, Voice, and Data Communications, →ISBN, page 123:

(television, advertising) An advertising slot or package.

(British, acting) Non-binding notice of availability for work.


spaghetti

spaghetti (usually uncountable, plural spaghettis)

The noun is borrowed from Italian spaghetti, the plural of spaghetto (“dish of spaghetti; (rare) strand of spaghetti”), from spago (“cord, string, twine; thread”) + -etto (diminutive suffix). Spago is derived from Latin spagus (“twine”), probably from Ancient Greek σφάκος (sphákos, “apple sage (Salvia pomifera)”), probably from Pre-Greek.
The verb is derived from the noun.

مَعْكَرُونَة

type of pasta made in the shape of long thin strings

spagetti

something physically resembling spaghetti (sense 1) in appearance or consistency, or in being tangled

spaghetti western
spaghetti western#English

(by extension, countable) Denoting Italianness.

(film) Ellipsis of spaghetti western (“a motion picture depicting a story of cowboys and desperadoes set in the American Old West, but produced by an Italian-based company and filmed in Europe, notably in Italy”).


crab

en-verb

crab (third-person singular simple present crabs, present participle crabbing, simple past and past participle crabbed)

crabs (present singular third-person)
crabbing (participle present)
crabbed (participle past)
crabbed (past)

From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ-. More at carve.
Cognates
See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba.
Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”) etc.

cog

If panning is not easy to make seem natural, crabbing the camera is even less like any action we perform with our eyes in the real world. There are a few circumstances in which we walk sideways: […]

1997, Paul Kriwaczek, Documentary for the Small Screen, page 109:

(transitive, film, television) To move (a camera) sideways.


foil

en-noun

foil (countable and uncountable, plural foils)

From Middle English foyle, from Middle French fueille, from Old French fueille (“plant leaf”), from Late Latin folia, the plural of folium, mistaken as a singular feminine.
The literary sense is from the practice of backing a gem with metal foil to make it shine more brilliantly.
Doublet of folio and folium, distantly also with phyllo and phyllon.

As Puss comes to realize his legendary status is not a substitute for interpersonal connection, his interactions with Kitty and the therapy dog start to take on a surprising amount of weight, while Goldilocks serves as a well-realized foil who has more in common with Puss that is at first apparent.

2022 December 20, Leigh Monson, “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish review: Antonio Banderas leads the best film yet in the Shrek franchise”, in AV Club:

(authorship, figuratively) In literature, theatre/theater, etc., a character who helps emphasize the traits of the main character and who usually acts as an opponent or antagonist, but can also serve as the sidekick of the protagonist.

contrastfiguur

character who helps emphasise the traits of the main character


frame

→ Korean: 프레임 (peureim)

→ Swahili: fremu

From Middle English frame (“profit, benefit, advantage; a structure composed according to a plan”), from the verb (above) and also from Old Norse frami (“advantage, fame, bravery, efficiency, privilege, honor”); and frame (“a framework or structure of any kind”) which is of uncertain origin. The latter is usually regarded as a derivative of former; however, compare the rare Anglo-Norman and Old French frame, fraine (“frame, framework”), itself of uncertain origin, which might be a borrowing from the English, from the Norse, or even possibly ultimately from Frankish *hramu (“frame”) related to Dutch raam (“window frame”).

der

(electronics, film, animation, video games) A division of time on a multimedia timeline, such as 1/30 or 1/60 of a second.


ingenue

Borrowed from French ingénue, the feminine form of ingénu (“guileless”), originally from the Latin ingenuus (“ingenuous”).

The intelligent and talented blonde who was fluent in English, French and Spanish was interested in art and joined a local theater group to work on set designs but wound up on stage playing an ingenue in Liliom and was spotted by director Vincente Minnelli.

2012, Thomas Lisanti, Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969, McFarland, →ISBN, page 396:

(theater, film) A dramatic role of such a woman; an actress playing such a role.

naiva

a dramatic role of such a woman; an actress playing such a role


tag

From Middle English tagge (“small piece hanging from a garment”), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Norwegian tagg (“point; prong; barb; tag”), Swedish tagg (“thorn; prickle; tine”), Icelandic tág (“a willow-twig”). Compare also tack.

cog

Often, the tag punctuates the "we're all in this together" theme and is topped with a laugh.

2006, Stephen V. Duncan, A Guide to Screenwriting Success, page 300:

(television) The last scene of a TV program, often focusing on the program's subplot.

Seems here like Russ would be speaking. You could use a tag here.

(Can we date this quote?), michael, alt.fiction.original (Usenet):

If you want to start with talk, stick a tag in right away

(Can we date this quote?), Jane MacDonald, alt.fiction.original (Usenet):

You could combine these two paragraphs, I think, and rewrite to lose the tag portion of the third sentence.

(Can we date this quote?), bart_...@hotmail.com, alt.fiction.original (Usenet):

(informal, authorship) An attribution in narrated dialogue (eg, "he said") or attributed words (e.g. "he thought").


clapboard

(film) A clapperboard; a device used in film production, having hinged boards that are brought together with a clap, used to synchronize picture and sound at the start of each take of a motion picture or other video production.


barrel

barrels (plural)
barrell (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English barel, from Anglo-Norman baril, Old French baril, bareil (“barrel”), of uncertain origin. An attempt to link baril to Old French barre (“bar, bolt”) (compare Medieval Latin barra (“bar, rod”)) via assumed Vulgar Latin *barrīculum meets the phonological requirement, but fails to connect the word semantically. The alternative connection to Frankish *baril, *beril or Gothic *𐌱𐌴𐍂𐌹𐌻𐍃 (*bērils, “container for transport”), from Proto-Germanic *barilaz, *bērilaz (“barrel, jug, container”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, transport”), is more plausible as it connects not only the form of the word but also the sense; equivalent to bear + -le. Compare also Old High German biril (“jug, large pot”), Luxembourgish Bärel, Bierel (“jug, pot”), Old Norse berill (“barrel for liquids”), Old English byrla (“barrel of a horse, trunk, body”). More at bear.

vat

round vessel made from staves bound with a hoop

Moreover, it adds to difficulties in adjusting/servicing lamps located over high scenery, ceilings etc., where the barrel networks cannot be lowered or reached.

2013, Gerald Millerson, Lighting for TV and Film, page 325:

The barrel, which is usually from 2.0 m to 2.5 m long, and capable of lifting loads up to 120 kg, is suspended from the main housing which contains the motor gearbox unit, etc.

2013, Brian Fitt, Joe Thornley, Lighting Technology, page 118:

(television) A ceiling-mounted tube from which lights are suspended.


editor

editors (plural)
ed. (alternative abbreviation)
edit. (alternative abbreviation)
Ed. (alternative)
editour (alternative obsolete rare)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-editor.wav

From Medieval Latin ēditor, from Late Latin ēditor, from ēditus, perfect passive participle of ēdō (“give out, put forth, publish”).

(television, cinematography) Someone who manipulates video footage and assembles it into the correct order etc for broadcast; a picture editor.

монтажи́ст

someone who manipulates video footage and assembles it into the correct order


bloom

en-noun

bloom (countable and uncountable, plural blooms)

From Middle English blome, from Old Norse blóm, from Proto-Germanic *blōmô (“flower”). Doublet of bloom (“spongy mass of metal”); see there for more.

(television) An undesirable halo effect that may occur when a very bright region is displayed next to a very dark region of the screen.


wrap

wrap (countable and uncountable, plural wraps)

From Middle English wrappe, from the verb (see above).

This is a news report from the scene of the event. When a voicer and an actuality are combined into one complete story, it's known as a wrap.

2005, Alan R. Stephenson, David E. Reese, Mary E. Beadle, Broadcast Announcing Worktext, page 164:

Attend a news conference, and prepare a wrap or package.

2005, Ted White, Broadcast News: Writing, Reporting, and Producing, page 245:

(television, radio) A complete news report ready for broadcast, incorporating spoken reporting and other material.


rom com

rom coms (plural)
romcom (alternative)
rom-com (alternative)


blimp

Origin not entirely certain. However, most historians believe that it is onomatopoeia for the sound a blimp makes when thumped. Although there is some disagreement among historians, credit for coining the term is usually given to Lt. A. D. Cunningham of the British Royal Navy in 1915.
There is an often repeated, but false, alternative explanation for the term. The erroneous story is that at some time in the early 20th century, the United States military had two classes for airships: Type A-rigid and Type B-limp, hence “blimp”. In fact, A. D. Topping reports on the “Etymology of ‘Blimp’”, in the AAHS Journal, Winter 1963, that:
: “there was no American ‘A-class’ of airships as such—all military aircraft, heavier or lighter-than-air were designated with ‘A’ until the appearance of B-class airships in May 1917. There was an American B airship—but there seems to be no record of any official designation of non-rigids as ‘limp’. Further, according to the Oxford Dictionary, the first appearance of the word in print was in 1916, in England, a year before the first B-class airship.”

onom

onomatopoeia

You can create your own blimp or barney with anything that will deaden the camera noise, such as a changing bag, foam rubber, […]

2015, Peter W. Rea, David K. Irving, Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, page 209:

(film, television) A soundproof cover for a video camera.


prime

composite

prime element of a mathematical structure

From Middle English prime, from Old French prime and its etymon, Latin prīmus (“first”), from earlier prīsmos < *prīsemos < Proto-Italic *priisemos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“beyond, before”). Doublet of primo and primus.
The noun sense "apostrophe-like symbol" originates from the fact that the symbol ′ was originally a superscript Roman numeral one.

der

Tomlinson, Shawn M. (2015) Going Pro for $200 & How to Choose a Prime Lens, →ISBN, page 72: “By the time I shifted to my first autofocus film SLR with the Pentax PZ-10, primes were considered things of the past”

(film) Contraction of prime lens, a film lens.


master

masters (plural)
maistre (alternative archaic)
Marse (alternative Caribbean US dialectal obsolete)
marse (alternative Caribbean US dialectal obsolete)
mas'r (alternative)
Master (alternative)
mastre (alternative obsolete)
maister (alternative obsolete)
mayster (alternative obsolete)
Massa (alternative)
massa (alternative)
massah (alternative)
massy (alternative)
masta (alternative)
Mastah (alternative)
mastah (alternative)
mastuh (alternative)
measter (alternative UK obsolete pronunciation-spelling)
mester (alternative dialectal)
mister (alternative dialectal)

Sranan Tongo: masra

→ Catalan: màster

→ Finnish: master

→ French: master

→ German: Master

→ Polish: master

→ Portuguese: máster

→ Spanish: máster

→ Turkish: master

From Middle English maister, mayster, meister (noun) and maistren (verb), from Old English mǣster, mæġster, mæġester, mæġister, magister (“master”), from Latin magister (“chief, teacher, leader”), from Old Latin magester, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s, (as in magnus (“great”)) + -ester/-ister (compare minister (“servant”)). Reinforced by Old French maistre, mestre (noun) and maistriier, maister (verb) from the same Latin source. Compare also Saterland Frisian Mäster (“master”), West Frisian master (“master”), Dutch meester (“master”), German Meister (“master”). Doublet of maestro, magister, and meister.

doublet

Southern US, African-American Vernacular, obsolete

use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house

(film) The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.


narrator

Morgan Freeman was the narrator of March of the Penguins.

(film and television) The person providing the voice-over in a documentary.


fill

en-noun

fill (countable and uncountable, plural fills)

From Middle English fille, vülle, fülle, from Old English fyllu, from Proto-West Germanic *fullī, from Proto-Germanic *fullį̄ (“fullness”). Cognate with German Fülle.

(film, television) Ellipsis of fill light.


lav

When you’re recording interviews, it’s best to use a lav.

lavalier microphone
lavalier microphone#English

(film, informal) Clipping of lavalier microphone.


spud

From Middle English spudde (“small knife”). Origin unknown; probably related to Danish spyd, Old Norse spjót (“spear”), German Spieß (“spear; spike; skewer”). Compare English spit (“sharp, pointed rod”). The use of the term for a potato was perhaps first used in New Zealand and Australian dialect and slang.

This spigot (spud) is used to support the lamp, and allows it to be turned from side to side. The spud fits into a socket in a bracket (receptable^([sic])) or a C-clamp. This fixture enables you to suspend the lighting fixture from an overhead bar […]

1991, Gerald Millerson, The Technique of Lighting for Television and Film, page 299:

(film, television) A short central rod in a lighting fixture, for attachment to the light.


cutaway

cutaways (plural)
cut-away (alternative)

fraklip

the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else

the director struggles to jazz up his stilted blocking with clumsy montage cutaways, which are only effective in the upbeat, darkly funny number “Sincerely, Me,” in which Evan dreams up a dance-filled fantasy of his fake friendship with Connor.

2021 September 22, Caroline Siede, “Dear Evan Hansen is a misfire on just about every level”, in AV Club:

(television) The interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else.

Despite a pre-debate “memorandum of understanding” between the Bush campaign and the Kerry campaign that there would be no televised “cutaways” or reaction shots […]

(television) A cut to a shot of person listening to a speaker so that the audience can see the listener's reaction.

plan de coupe

a cut to a shot of person listening to a speaker


bloop

en-verb

bloop (third-person singular simple present bloops, present participle blooping, simple past and past participle blooped)

bloops (present singular third-person)
blooping (participle present)
blooped (participle past)
blooped (past)

onom

Imitative

Optical track can be blooped by using blooping tape, which is available from motion picture equipment dealers.

1979, John Mercer, An Introduction to Cinematography, page 96:

(television, transitive) To cover up splices in a soundtrack tape to eliminate the unwanted noise they may produce.


iris

irises (plural)
iris (plural)
irides (plural)

From Middle English [Term?], from Latin īris, from Ancient Greek ἶρις (îris, “rainbow”). Presuming an earlier form *ϝῖρις (*wîris), possibly from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *w(e)ih₁-ro- (“a twist, thread, cord, wire”), from *weh₁y- (“to turn, twist, weave, plait”). If so, it would be cognate to English wire.

der

(photography, cinematography) A diaphragm used to regulate the size of a hole, especially as a way of controlling the amount of light reaching a lens.


nodder

(television) Synonym of noddy (“cutaway scene of an interviewer nodding”).


tenner

The basic 10K, known as a tenner or studio 10K, has a 20-inch fresnel. The big daddy of the group is the Big Eye tenner, which has a 24-inch lens.

2008, Blain Brown, Motion Picture and Video Lighting, page 11:

(film, slang) A kind of 10-kilowatt lamp.


banner

From Middle English baner, from Old French baniere (Modern bannière), of Germanic origin. More at band.

(Internet, television) A type of advertisement on a web page or on television, usually taking the form of a graphic or animation above or alongside the content.


brute

From Middle French brut, from Old French brut, from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid, insensible”), an Oscan loanword, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”). Cognate with Ancient Greek βαρύς (barús), Persian گران (gerân) and Sanskrit गुरु (gurú) (English guru).

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-bruit.wav

For a scene like the Highgate exhumation night sequence suitable equipment would consist of: two brutes on Molevators, three 10 K lights also on Molevators and, for good measure, two 5 Ks, four 2 Ks, two pups (1000 W), two North lights […]

1976, A. Arthur Englander, Paul Petzold, Filming for Television, page 191:

At the other extreme, with limitless budgets all they have to do is dream up amazing lighting rigs to be constructed and operated by the huge team of gaffers and sparks, with their generators, discharge lights, flags, gobos and brutes.

1999, Des Lyver, Graham Swainson, Basics of Video Lighting, page 103:

(film, television) A kind of powerful spotlight.


dolly

Welsh: doli

From doll + -y, from the given name Dorothy, originally applied either to a woman or female pet or to a children's toy, and expanded to refer to various types of contrivances or devices. The Online Etymology Dictionary, while considering the reason for applying it to such devices unobvious, compares how the names jack, jenny and jimmy are also applied to devices.

rattaat

term not specific to bridge construction

(film) A specialized piece of film equipment resembling a little cart on which a camera is mounted.


drift

en-noun

drift (countable and uncountable, plural drifts)

From Middle English drift, dryft (“act of driving, drove, shower of rain or snow, impulse”), from Old English *drift (“drift”), from Proto-Germanic *driftiz (“drift”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”). Equivalent to drive + -t; cognate with North Frisian drift (“drift”), Saterland Frisian Drift (“current, flow, stream, drift”), Dutch drift (“drift, passion, urge”), German Drift (“drift”) and Trift (“drove, pasture”), Danish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Swedish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Icelandic drift (“drift, snow-drift”).

cog

There is another form of drift when playing in a scene with other actors.

1970, Michael Pate, The Film Actor: Acting for Motion Pictures and Television, page 64:

(uncountable, film) The situation where a performer gradually and unintentionally moves from their proper location within the scene.


elimination

en-noun

elimination (countable and uncountable, plural eliminations)

(television) The act of voting off or throwing off a contestant in a reality television competition.


extra

(acting) A supernumerary or walk-on in a film or play.


gritty

en-adj

gritty (comparative grittier, superlative grittiest)

grittier (comparative)
grittiest (superlative)

(film, literature) Intense and starkly realistic; depicting harsh reality, especially violence.

drsný

intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent


premise

premises (plural)
premiss (alternative)
præmise (alternative archaic)
præmiss (alternative archaic)

From Middle English premise, premisse, from Old French premisse, from Medieval Latin premissa (“set before”) (premissa propositio (“the proposition set before”)), feminine past participle of Latin praemittere (“to send or put before”), from prae- (“before”) + mittere (“to send”).
The sense "a piece of real estate" arose from the misinterpretation of the word by property owners while reading title deeds where the word was used with the legal sense.

der

In 1949, the simple premise of discovering ordinary people who have hidden, extraordinary talents came to prominence in the UK with Opportunity Knocks, which started out as a nationwide touring radio show, before moving onto TV in 1956.

2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC:

(authorship) The fundamental concept that drives the plot of a film or other story.


redress

en-verb

redress (third-person singular simple present redresses, present participle redressing, simple past and past participle redressed)

redresses (present singular third-person)
redressing (participle present)
redressed (participle past)
redressed (past)
re-dress (alternative)

Meanwhile the actors rearranged themselves into a different blocking, as the prop department redressed the set.

1989, American Cinematographer, volume 70, Hollywood, Calif.: ASC Holding Corp., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 90:

[Val] Lewton would redress standing sets, turning a church into an insane asylum or the staircase for Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons into the staircase for the young girl's apartment in Cat People. […] [Y]ou should be thinking about trying to reuse every location you have as another location, either by using another room or another angle or re-dressing what's already there.

2004, Michael P. DiPaolo, “How to be a Guerrilla Filmmaker”, in The Six Day Horror Movie: A No-Nonsense Guide to No-Budget Filmmaking, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 120:

(film) To redecorate a previously existing film set so that it can double for another set.


redress

redresses (plural)
re-dress (alternative)

The Honeydukes set in this film is a redress of the set of Flourish and Blotts that was seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which, in turn, was a redress of the Ollivander's set from the first film.

c.''' 2008, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, in Wikipedians, editors, Harry Potter: The Complete Guide, [Mainz, Germany]: PediaPress, page 595:

(film) The redecoration of a previously existing film set so that it can double for another set.


reel

From Middle English reel, reele, from Old English rēol, hrēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hrehul, from Proto-Germanic *hrehulaz, *hrahilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *krek- (“to weave, beat”). Cognate with Icelandic ræl, hræll.

der

(film) A short compilation of sample film work used as a demonstrative resume in the entertainment industry.


scene

scenes (plural)
scæne (alternative archaic)

From Late Middle English scene, from Middle French scene, borrowed from Latin sc(a)ena, from Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “scene, stage”). Doublet of scena and skene.

The play is divided into three acts, and in total twenty-five scenes.

The most moving scene is the final one, where he realizes he has wasted his whole life.

There were some very erotic scenes in the movie, although it was not classified as pornography.

Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

(theater, film, television, radio) A part of a dramatic work that is set in the same place or time. In the theatre, generally a number of scenes constitute an act.

տեսարան

(theater, film, television, radio) part of a dramatic work that is set in the same place or time


scene

scene! (canonical)
scæne (alternative archaic)

Near-synonym: cut!

(film and television) A notice to actors that their performance has ended


vestige

From French vestige, from Latin vestīgium (“footstep, footprint, track, the sole of the foot, a trace, mark”).

[J]ust a trace, or vestige, of the other sideband is included. In the receiver detection circuitry the vestige of the lower sideband is added to the upper sideband.

2003, Tarmo Anttalainen, Introduction to Telecommunications Network Engineering, page 133:

(television, radio) The remaining portion of a partially suppressed sideband.


mai

(anime, manga, fandom slang, Internet slang) Alternative form of my (used in the expressions mai waifu and mai husbando)


jerk off

en-noun

jerk off (countable and uncountable, plural jerk offs)

jerk offs (plural)
J-O (alternative abbreviation)
J/O (alternative abbreviation)

He became one of the industry's top horsemen, specializing in Running Ws, pit falls, and cable jerk-offs.

2014, Gene Scott Freese, Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s:

(film) A stunt in which the performer is suddenly pulled off a horse, etc. by means of a cable.


triptych

triptychs (plural)
triptich (alternative)

From Ancient Greek τρίπτυχος (tríptukhos, “consisting of three layers, threefold”), from τρι- (tri-) + πτυχή (ptukhḗ, “a fold”).

uder

Hieronymus Bosch
The Garden of Earthly Delights
triptych

The centerpiece of the show is a poised, luminous, tender, and diabolically clever video installation, “Le Triptyque de Noirmoutier” (The Noirmoutier Triptych), which Varda shot on 35-mm. film[…]. The man gets himself a bottle of beer; the older woman heads with dishes from the sink toward the cupboard—and crosses the dividing line of the triptych exactly like crossing a threshold.

2017 March 27, Richard Brody, “Agnès Varda’s Art of Being There”, in The New Yorker:

(by extension) A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme.

(film) A film or video sequence intended to be shown on a triple screen with the use of linked projectors.


PTA

The result is a film that certainly does amaze, and bears several of the PTA hallmarks: breathtaking confidence, a love of acting and of visual beauty, and an exceptional grasp of the art of storytelling.

2008 January 4, Ed Pilkington, “'Tell the story! Tell the story!'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Paul Thomas Anderson
w:Paul Thomas Anderson

(film) Initialism of Paul Thomas Anderson, American filmmaker.


variety

en-noun

variety (countable and uncountable, plural varieties)

varieties (plural)
variete (alternative)
varietie (alternative)
variëty (alternative)

From Middle French varieté (“variety”) (modern French variété (“variety; genre, type”)) or directly from its etymon Latin varietās (“difference; diversity, variety”) + English -ty (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives); by surface analysis, various + -ety. Varietās is derived from varius (“different, diverse, various; variegated”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to abandon; to give out; to leave”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being). The English word displaced the native Old English mislīcnes.
Sense 1.3.2 (“total number of distinct states of a system; logarithm to the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system”) was coined by the English psychiatrist William Ross Ashby (1903–1972) in his work An Introduction to Cybernetics (1956).
Cognates
* Galician variedade (“variety”)
* Italian varietà (“difference; variety”)
* Portuguese variedade (“variety”)
* Spanish variedad (“breed; variety”)

der

(radio, television, theater) Ellipsis of variety performance or variety show (“a type of entertainment featuring a succession of short, unrelated performances by various artistes such as (depending on the medium) acrobats, comedians, dancers, magicians, singers, etc.”).

variety performance
variety performance#English

variety performance or variety show

(radio, television, theater) The kind of entertainment given in variety performances or shows; also, the production of, or performance in, variety performances or shows.


prompt

en-verb

prompt (third-person singular simple present prompts, present participle prompting, simple past and past participle prompted)

prompts (present singular third-person)
prompting (participle present)
prompted (participle past)
prompted (past)

The adjective is from Middle English prompte, from Middle French prompt and its etymon Latin prōmptus (“visible, apparent, evident”), past participle of prōmō (“to take or bring out or forth, produce, bring to light”), from prō (“forth, forward”) + emō (“to take, acquire, buy”). Doublet of pronto.
The verb is from Middle English prompen, apparently from the adjective. The noun is from the verb.

der

If he forgets his words I will prompt him.

(transitive, theater and television) To show or tell (an actor/person) the words they should be saying, or actions they should be doing.

sufloj

to show or tell an actor/person the words they should be saying, or actions they should be doing


MGM

(film) Initialism of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a US movie studio.


rock and roll

/ˈɹɒk ən(d)ˈɹəʊl/

From rock (move back and forth) + and + roll; originally a verb phrase common among African Americans, meaning "to have sexual intercourse"; it was an euphemism that appeared in song titles since at least 1914 (Trixie Smith's "My Man Rocks Me With One Steady Roll").
As a name for a specific style of popular music from the early 1950s, popularized by disc jockey Alan Freed in reference to the euphemistic use in song titles.

rock-and-roll (alternative)
rock'n'roll (alternative)
rock 'n' roll (alternative)
rock n roll (alternative)
rock 'n roll (alternative)
rock-n-roll (alternative)
rock-'n'-roll (alternative)
rock & roll (alternative)

The dubbing theatre is a viewing theatre equipped for running the picture with a great many tracks interlocked to run synchronously. Once laced up, they can be run forwards or backwards remaining in synch; when it was first introduced this system was given the name 'rock and roll'.

2004, Robert Angell, Getting Into Films & Television, page 56:

It is very rare that an entire commentary is recorded in one take. If you need to stop for some reason — the performance isn't quite right, there's a rustle of papers, etc — you can always go back on the recording and pick it up from the point at which it went wrong. This is known as rock and roll.

2012, Colin Hart, Television Program Making, page 196:

An alternative method is the use of ADR (automated dialogue replacement), which consists basically of a high speed rock and roll dubbing system and a programmable locating device.

2014, K. G. Jackson, G. B. Townsend, TV & Video Engineer's Reference Book, pages 38–7:

(film, television) The ability to run the picture and audio back and forth in synchronization, allowing the correction of mistakes during dubbing.


CV

en-noun

CV (countable and uncountable, plural CVs)

CVs (plural)
C.V. (alternative)
C. V. (alternative)

Abbreviation
* (anime, Japanimation): From Japanese CV (CV), from English character+voice
* (aircraft carrier): Initialism of cruiser (“croiseur”) + French voler (“to fly”).

initialism

(anime) character's voice (“voice actor”)


post

we'll fix it in post

Admittedly many of these can be fixed in post, but this may limit your flexibility in other areas.

2013, Bruce Mamer, Film Production Technique: Creating the Accomplished Image:


rushes

(cinematography) Unedited footage; film material as recorded to tape etc.


screen

en-verb

screen (third-person singular simple present screens, present participle screening, simple past and past participle screened)

screens (present singular third-person)
screening (participle present)
screened (participle past)
screened (past)
skreen (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English scren, screne (“windscreen, firescreen”), from Anglo-Norman escren (“firescreen, the tester of a bed”), Old French escren, escrein, escran (modern French écran (“screen”)), from Middle Dutch scherm, from Old Dutch *skirm, from Proto-West Germanic *skirmi, from Proto-Germanic *skirmiz (“fur, shelter, covering, screen”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut, divide”).
Cognate with Dutch scherm (“screen”), German Schirm (“screen”). Doublet of scherm.
An alternative etymology derives Old French escren, escran from Old Dutch *scranc (“barrier”) (compare Middle Dutch schranc, schranke (“palisade, trellis, grid”), German Schrank (“cupboard, cabinet”), German Schranke (“fence”)), from Proto-West Germanic *skrank, from Proto-Germanic *skrankaz.

der

The news report will be screened at 11:00 tonight.

(film, television) To present publicly (on the screen).

上映

film, television: to present publicly (on the screen)


western

From Middle English westerne, from Old English westerne, from Proto-Germanic *westrōnijaz.
Morphologically west + -ern.

(film) A film, or some other dramatic work, set in, the historic (c. 1850–1910) American West (west of the Mississippi river) focusing on conflict between whites and Indians, lawmen and outlaws, ranchers and farmers, or industry (railroads, mining) and agriculture.


strip

en-noun

strip (countable and uncountable, plural strips)

Brill Publishers
en:strip (disambiguation)

From alteration of stripe or from Middle Low German strippe, of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps derived from a lost strong verb Proto-Germanic *strīpaną, with no clear cognates outside of Germanic except for Irish sríab (“line, stripe”).

ABC-TV this week put into effect its long anticipated plans to move into daytime programming in a bigger way by opening up its 4-5 across-the-board strip. The web is using its "Mickey Mouse Club," which is stoutly anchored in the 5-6 p.m. slot, as a backing up point for its afternoon expansion.

(television) A television series aired at the same time daily (or at least on Mondays to Fridays), so that it appears as a strip straight across the weekly schedule.


strip

en-verb

strip (third-person singular simple present strips, present participle stripping, simple past and past participle stripped)

strips (present singular third-person)
stripping (participle present)
stripped (participle past)
stripped (past)

From Middle English strepen, strippen, from Old English strīepan (“plunder”), from Proto-Germanic *strēpōną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ter(h₁)- (“to be stiff; be rigid; exert”). Probably related to German Strafe (“deprivation, fine, punishment”).

cog

(television, transitive) To run a television series at the same time daily (or at least on Mondays to Fridays), so that it appears as a strip straight across the weekly schedule.


cutter

→ Catalan: cúter

→ Korean: 커터 (keoteo)

From Middle English cutter, cuttere, kutter. By surface analysis, cut + -er.

Flags and other cutters allow the DP or gaffer to throw large controlled shadows on parts of the scene.

2012, John Jackman, Lighting for Digital Video and Television, page 86:

(television) A flag or similar instrument for blocking light.


dresser

From Middle English dresser, equivalent to dress + -er.

(theater, film, television) A wardrobe assistant (who helps actors put on their costume).


fringe

From Middle English frenge, from Old French frenge, from Vulgar Latin *frimbia, a metathesis of Latin fimbriae (“fibers, threads, fringe”, plural), of uncertain origin. Compare German Franse and Danish frynse. Eclipsed native Middle English fnæd (“fringe”), Middle English byrd (“fringe”), Middle English fasel (“fringe”) from Old English fæs (“fringe”), and Old English fnæs (“fringe”). Doublet of fimbria.

der

(television, radio) A daypart that precedes or follows prime time.


crawl

→ Portuguese: crol, crawl

From Middle English crawlen, crewlen, creulen, crallen, *cravelen, from Old Norse krafla (compare Danish kravle (“to crawl, creep”), Swedish kravla, kräla (“to creep, crawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *krablōną (compare Saterland Frisian krabbelje, Dutch krabbelen, German Low German krabbeln, German krabbeln), frequentative of *krabbōną (“to scratch, scrape”). Compare also Saterland Frisian krauelje (“to crawl, scuttle”), West Frisian kreauwelje (“to crawl”), Dutch krevelen, krieuwelen (“to crawl”), German Low German kribbeln, German kribbeln (“to creep, crawl, tingle”). See also crab, crabble.

cog

22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/
The opening crawl (and a stirring propaganda movie) informs us that “The Hunger Games” are an annual event in Panem, a North American nation divided into 12 different districts, each in service to the Capitol, a wealthy metropolis that owes its creature comforts to an oppressive dictatorship.

(television, film) A piece of horizontally or vertically scrolling text overlaid on the main image.


outline

(film) A prose telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay; generally longer and more detailed than a treatment.

juoni

(film industry) a prose telling of a story intended to be turned into a screenplay


cutting

en-noun

cutting (countable and uncountable, plural cuttings)

(uncountable, cinematography, sound engineering) The editing of film or other recordings.


catharsis

catharsis (countable and uncountable, plural catharses)

/kəˈθɑɹˌsɪs/

From Ancient Greek κάθαρσις (kátharsis, “cleansing, purging”), from καθαίρω (kathaírō, “I cleanse”). Coined in the dramatic-emotional sense by Aristotle.

uder

True, as the show has entered its later years, there have been more inspired moments of catharsis, but fewer unpredictable arcs and story beats, as a narrative nearing its conclusion is no longer attempting to shock.

2019 April 14, Alex McLevy, “Winter is Here on Game of Thrones’ Final Season Premiere (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-12-18:

(drama) A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy).


cinema

en-noun

cinema (countable and uncountable, plural cinemas)

→ Bengali: সিনেমা (śinema)

→ Gujarati: સિનેમા (sinemā)

→ Hindi: सिनेमा (sinemā)

→ Kannada: ಸಿನಮಾ (sinamā)

→ Lao: ຊິເນມາ (si nē mā)

→ Malayalam: സിനിമ (sinima)

→ Punjabi: ਸਿਨਮਾ (sinmā)

→ Sinhalese: සිනමාහල (sinamāhala)

→ Tamil: சினிமா (ciṉimā)

desc

→ Telugu: సినిమా (sinimā), సైన్మ (sainma), సీన్మ (sīnma) — Telangana

→ Urdu: سِنیما (sinemā)

→ Welsh: sinema

→ Yoruba: sinimá

Borrowed from French cinéma, clipping of cinématographe (term coined by the Lumière brothers in the 1890s), from Ancient Greek κίνημα (kínēma, “movement”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write, record”). Compare German Kino (“cinema”), ultimately from the same Greek source.

der

Despite the critics, he produced excellent cinema.

In the long history of Spanish cinema[…].

Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:

(film, uncountable) The film and movie industry.

Throughout the history of cinema, filmmakers[…].

The French and Italian cinemas can seem to persist autonomously—in the sense of being spaces of separate development and marked difference from Hollywood and other national cinemas.

2005, Tom O'Regan, Australian National Cinema, page 79:

(film, countable, uncountable) The art of making films and movies; cinematography


comedy

en-noun

comedy (countable and uncountable, plural comedies)

comedies (plural)
comedie (alternative)
comœdie (alternative obsolete)
comœdy (alternative archaic)

drama

antonym(s) of “light, humorous, or satirical work”

→ Japanese: コメディ (komedi)

→ Korean: 코미디 (komidi)

From Middle English comedie, from Middle French comedie, from Latin cōmoedia, from Ancient Greek κωμῳδία (kōmōidía), from κῶμος (kômos, “revel, carousing”) + either ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”) or ἀοιδός (aoidós, “singer, bard”), both from ἀείδω (aeídō, “I sing”). Doublet of commedia.

(countable, drama) a dramatic work that is light and humorous or satirical in tone


gallery

From Middle English galery, gallerye, from Middle French galerie, gallerie, from Old French galerie, gallerie (“a long portico, a gallery”), from Medieval Latin galeria (“gallery”), of unknown origin. Perhaps an alteration of Latin galilea (“church porch”), probably from Latin Galilaea, Galilee, region of Israel. More at Galilee.

unk

unknown origin

en:production control room, in television program creation

(television) The production control room.


praxis

en-noun

praxis (countable and uncountable, plural praxes or praxises)

Partly from Latin prāxis and partly from its etymon Ancient Greek πρᾶξις (prâxis, “action, activity, practice”).

bor

(drama) The deliberate action of a rational being.

ihmistoiminta

drama: deliberate action of a rational being


FPS

frames per second
frame per second#English

(film, television, computing) Initialism of frames per second.


background

en-noun

background (countable and uncountable, plural backgrounds)

backgrounds (plural)
back ground (alternative obsolete)

(film) An extra who appears in the background, with no speaking role.


lines

I have yet to learn my lines.

(film, theater) Words spoken by the actors.


dissolve

en-verb

dissolve (third-person singular simple present dissolves, present participle dissolving, simple past and past participle dissolved)

dissolves (present singular third-person)
dissolving (participle present)
dissolved (participle past)
dissolved (past)

Recorded since c. 1374 (displacing Old English toliesan) as Middle English dissolven, from Latin dissolvere (“to loosen up, break apart”) but with the sense from Anglo-Norman dissoldre (variant of Old French dissoudre), itself from dis- (“apart”) + solvere (“to loose, loosen”). By surface analysis, dis- + solve.

ərimək

intransitive: to be disintegrated into a solution by immersion

(cinematography, intransitive) To shift from one shot to another by having the former fade out as the latter fades in.


dissolve

While most of the film is done in medium and long shots (connected with dissolves and wipes which lend a lovely period effect)

1986 April 19, Michael Bronski, “Two Views on Desert Hearts: Sexy? or simply Slow?”, in Gay Community News, page 9:

(cinematography) a form of film punctuation in which there is a gradual transition from one scene to the next


film noir

en-noun

film noir (countable and uncountable, plural film noirs or films noirs)

film noirs (plural)
films noirs (plural)

Borrowed from French film noir (“dark film”, literally “black film”), attributed to French film critic Nino Frank (1946).

bor

During this period his own films were being studied alongside classic film noir together with European arthouse cinema and the works of directors from around the world.

2017, Ian Brookes, Film Noir: A Critical Introduction, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN:

(film, uncountable) A film genre characterized by low-key lighting, a bleak urban setting, and corrupt, cynical or desperate characters.


previously

(television) Recapitulating the preceding episodes of a series.

az előző részek tartalmából

recapitulating the preceding episodes of a series


mature

en-adj

mature (comparative more mature, superlative most mature)

more mature (comparative)
most mature (superlative)

From late Middle English mature, from Middle French mature, from Latin mātūrus. Doublet of maduro. Partially displaced ripe, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”).

/məˈt͡ʃʊ(ə)ɹ/

mature content

(television, film) Suitable for adults only, due to sexual themes, violence, etc.


trombone

/ˌtɹɒmˈbəʊn/

Borrowed from Italian trombone, from tromba (“trumpet”) + -one (augmentative), literally “large trumpet”.
The telecommunications sense alludes to the shape of the musical instrument.

affix

The trombone […] permits an instrument to be positioned over a studio set wall, enabling the set wall to support the weight of the instrument.

1983, Alan Wurtzel, Television Production, page 131:

The two secondary controls are the trombone handle and the focus knob.

2013, Harry Box, Set Lighting Technician's Handbook, page 480:

(film, television) A kind of extendable support for attaching lighting elements to a set.


trombone

en-verb

trombone (third-person singular simple present trombones, present participle tromboning, simple past and past participle tromboned)

trombones (present singular third-person)
tromboning (participle present)
tromboned (participle past)
tromboned (past)

/ˌtɹɒmˈbəʊn/

[…] do things wrong (like rotating the lens turret while shooting or backwinding and doing multiple passes on the same strip of film or doing in-camera fades with the variable shutter or tromboning a zoom lens like a teenager on acid, etc., etc., etc.) […]

2015, Kathryn Ramey, Experimental Filmmaking: Break the Machine, page 357:

He recalls (email to editor, 2 December 2012) that Durgnat 'shouted out' in response to his 'tromboning' the zoom-lens at the film's 1967 London Film Festival screening: […]

2014, Henry K. Miller, The Essential Raymond Durgnat, page 71:

(film, slang, transitive) To extend and retract (the zoom lens); to use it too enthusiastically.


watershed

Compound of water + shed. Calque of German Wasserscheide.

(Canada, British, television, radio) The time during the day which material of a more adult nature (e.g., violence, swear words, or sex) may be broadcast on television or radio, either one permitted by law or one contrived from convention (e.g. when children are not watching).

dos rombos

time after which adult material may be broadcast


MLS

en-noun

MLS (countable and uncountable, plural MLSs)

(television) Initialism of medium long shot.


black box

black boxes (plural)
blackbox (alternative)

black box
black box#History
flight recorder#Terminology
gray-box testing
white box (software engineering)

* Since circa 1945 in both main senses (that is, event recorders and objects with unknown innards), which are historically related to each other; for details, see black box § History and flight recorder § Terminology.
* (type of theater): Such theaters are often painted black.

(drama) A type of theater characterized by a lack of decoration or complex mechanisms.


ED

From Japanese ED(エンディング) (endingu), from English ending.

(films, television) Abbreviation of ending theme (end title sequence).


facial

Early 17th century, borrowed from Medieval Latin faciālis (“face-to-face, direct, open”), from faciēs (“form, configuration, figure; face, visage, countenance”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

af

But in facials, moving picture technology also enabled an exaggeration of this performance tradition, bringing a new emphasis to the details […]

2004, Simon Popple, Joe Kember, Early Cinema: From Factory Gate to Dream Factory, page 92:

(film) A kind of early silent film focusing on the facial expressions of the actor.


treatment

en-noun

treatment (countable and uncountable, plural treatments)

From treat + -ment. Compare French traitement.

(countable, film) A brief, third-person, present-tense summary of a proposed film.


bleacher

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bleacher.wav

From Middle English blechere, equivalent to bleach + -er. Compare Dutch bleker, Swedish blekare. The seating was so named because the boards were bleached by the sun.

In practice, audience members often have badly obstructed views of the sets—whether due to obstructive camera dollies and production personnel or viewers sitting in the bleachers off to the side of the set that is currently being used.

2010, Jeremy G. Butler, Television Style:

(US, television, usually in the plural, by extension) The tiered seating provided for the audience at a television filming.


stock character

stock character (plural stock characters)

(writing, theater, film) Any fictional character drawn from some stereotype who is instantly recognizable.

ամպլուա

fictional character based on a recognizable stereotype


hosepipe

en-verb

hosepipe (third-person singular simple present hosepipes, present participle hosepiping, simple past and past participle hosepiped)

hosepipes (present singular third-person)
hosepiping (participle present)
hosepiped (participle past)
hosepiped (past)

(film, television) To film with erratic panning movements of the camera.


hamartia

en-noun

hamartia (usually uncountable, plural hamartias)

/ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə/

/ˌhɑːˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə/

From Ancient Greek ἁμαρτία (hamartía, “tragic failure, sinful nature”), from the verb ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō, “to miss the mark”).

der

Creon's main hamartia was his excessive pride.

Understanding hamartia as “ignorance of the injurious act,” Lacan distinguishes Greek tragedy from the Renaissance version on the basis that the latter supplants hamartia with the hero's privileged knowledge.

2006, David Ratmoko, On Spectrality: Fantasies of Redemption in the Western Canon, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 71:

The plot and the tragic figure at its center, destroyed through an act of hamartia, should be tailored to the production of pity and fear. Oedipus is not so much a person as he is a hamartia delivery system, a moving, empty center within the motions of the play, who through his vulnerability to hamartia and its disastrous consequences reveals the pitiable and the fearful to the audience.

2008, Daniel Greenspan, The Passion of Infinity: Kierkegaard, Aristotle and the Rebirth of Tragedy, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 81:

But ever since the concept of "hamartia" recurred through Aristotle's Poetics, in an attempt to describe man's ingrained iniquity, our impulse has been to identify a telling defect in those brought suddenly and dramatically low.

2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years […] ”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):

(Greek drama) The tragic flaw of the protagonist in a literary tragedy.


optical

It is a glossy film with gross, opulent opticals and little comic, or any, relief; it has the jaundiced complexion of an early 60s underground film, which it is; it is ponderous, Wagnerian, and feels about five hours long (its running time is about an hour).

1976 August 14, Gary Jane Hoisington, “Locker Room As The Site Of Religious Ecstasy”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 7, page 9:

If you plan to output back to film, opticals and effects can be shot on film or generated by computer and then transferred to film.

2006, David K. Irving, Peter W. Rea, Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, page 294:

(film) Any special effect requiring laboratory work on the film.


A roll

en-noun

A roll (usually uncountable, plural A rolls)

(television, film) The primary footage for non-narrative or interview-based film, usually involving talking heads or footage that directly relates to the moment.


caption

Borrowed from Latin captiō (“deception, fraud”), from the past participle of capiō (“I take, I seize”) (English capture). Compare Middle English capcioun (“seizure, capture”).

cog

(theater, performance production) By analogy, text in a similar system used in a performance venue for transcription of a live event.

(cinematography, television) A piece of text appearing on screen as a subtitle or other part of a film or broadcast, describing dialogue (and sometimes other sound) for viewers who cannot hear.

надписи

piece of text appearing on screen as part of a film or broadcast

sous-titrage pour sourds et malentendants


ghosting

en-noun

ghosting (countable and uncountable, plural ghostings)

(electronics, television) The blurry appearance of a television picture resulting from interference caused by multipath reception.

Geisterbild

appearance of ghosts on a television screen


multiplex

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-multiplex.wav

From multi- + -plex or multi- + complex.

(television) A grouping of program services as interleaved data packets for broadcast over a network or modulated multiplexed medium.


supernumerary

From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.

refn

From Joseph C. Hughes (1897 September) “Supernumerary Finger Growing from First Metacarpal Bone”, in James Moores Ball, editor, Tri-State Medical Journal and Practitioner, volume IV, number 9, St. Louis, Mo.: [s.n.] 3509 Franklin Avenue, →OCLC, figure 2, page 436.

bor

[A] minor actor or supernumerary often has a better opportunity to watch great actors than the great actors themselves.

1983, H[endrik] B[rugt] G[erhard] Casimir, “Introduction”, in Haphazard Reality: Half a Century of Science (A Sloan Foundation Book), New York, N.Y.: Harper and Row, →ISBN; republished Amsterdam: Amsterdam Academic Archive, Amsterdam University Press, 2010, →ISBN, page 1:

Though little is known about Noble Luke Usher before his first recorded performance in Washington, D.C., in 1800, it is certain that he made the rounds of the eastern theatres as a supernumerary before as well as after that year.

2009, West T. Hill, Jr., “The First Western Circuit”, in The Theatre in Early Kentucky 1790–1820, paperback edition, Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 72:

(film, theater) An extra or walk-on, often non-speaking, in a film or play; a spear carrier.


kill off

en-verb

kill off (third-person singular simple present kills off, present participle killing off, simple past and past participle killed off)

kills off (present singular third-person)
killing off (participle present)
killed off (participle past)
killed off (past)

The writers are killing off lots of people in the soap opera.

television series
television series#English

(film, television, literature) Of writers or producers, to permanently take a character out of a television series or other work by purposefully and deliberately having them killed within the plot.


knockdown

en-noun

knockdown (countable and uncountable, plural knockdowns)

We shot 'The Caterpillar' at General Service Studios, and the dressing rooms for the actors were what they call knockdowns: wooden frames covered in grungy, dirty red canvas. It looked like a circus tent.

1999, Scott Skelton, Jim Benson, Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-hours Tour, page 294:

(film, television) A shelter erected for use as a temporary dressing room.


insert

From Latin insertus, past participle of inserō, from in- + serō (“join, bind together, connect, entwine, interweave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, put together, to line up”). Compare exsert.

der

(television) A pre-recorded segment included as part of a live broadcast.

[…] close-ups of her legs on the escalator, an insert of the emergency stop button (ARRET D'URGENCE), intercut close-ups of her glance and the cinema sign, […]

2013, David Bordwell, Narration in the Fiction Film, page 316:

(film, television) A close-up shot used to draw attention to a particular element of a larger scene.


tramline

tramlines (plural)
tram line (alternative)

The tramline is therefore much less obvious on the screen. Also, if the scratch is on the base (i.e., on the back of the film), then it will not be in sharp focus.

1984, Movie Maker, volume 18, number 2, page 47:

(film) A scratch on a film, usually vertical, that extends through multiple frames.


pancake

en-noun

pancake (countable and uncountable, plural pancakes)

pancakes (plural)
pan cake (alternative)

→ Cantonese: 班戟 (baan¹ gik¹)

→ Mandarin: 班戟 (bānjǐ)

→ Cebuano: pankeyk

→ French: pancake

→ German: Pancake

desc

→ Hijazi Arabic: بانكيك (bānkēk, pānkēk)

→⇒ Irish: pancóg

→ Japanese: パンケーキ (pankēki)

→⇒ Khmer: នំផេនខេក (num pheenkheek)

→ Korean: 팬케이크 (paenkeikeu)

→ Nauruan: epankeik

→ Portuguese: panqueca, (dated) panqueque, (dated) pancake

→ Russian: панкейк (pankejk)

→ Spanish: (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay) panqueque, (Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico) pancake, (Venezuela) panqueca

→ Thai: แพนเค้ก (pɛɛn-kéek)

→ Turkish: pankek

→ Azerbaijani: pankek

→ Yoruba: pan̄kéèkì

Inherited from Middle English pancake, panne cake, pankake, ponkake, equivalent to pan + cake.
Perhaps adapted from Middle Low German pankôke, pannekôke, from Old Saxon *pannakōko (suggested by derivatives Old Saxon pannakōkilo and pannakōkilīn), where the compound is much older; compare Old High German phankuohho (8th century), whence Middle High German phankuoche, German Pfannkuchen (“pancake”); further
Saterland Frisian Ponkouke, Ponkuuke (“pancake”), West Frisian pankoek (“pancake”), Dutch pannenkoek (“pancake”), German Low German Pannkook (“pancake”).
The juggling sense is by analogy with a pancake being tossed in a pan.

(countable, film, slang) A box on which an actor stands to make them appear taller.


wide-angle

en-adj

wide-angle (comparative wider-angle, superlative widest-angle)

wider-angle (comparative)
widest-angle (superlative)

(cinematography, photography) Of or pertaining to a short focal length lens that has an angle of view greater than about 70°; of or pertaining to an image produced with such a lens.


dodge

en-verb

dodge (third-person singular simple present dodges, present participle dodging, simple past and past participle dodged)

dodges (present singular third-person)
dodging (participle present)
dodged (participle past)
dodged (past)

Likely from dialectal dodge, dod, dodd (“to jog, trudge along, totter", also "to jerk, jig”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from unrecorded Middle English *dodden, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dud- (“to move”), related to Old English dydrian, dyderian (“to delude, deceive”), Middle English dideren (“to tremble, quake, shiver”), English dodder, Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).

cog

(photography, videography) To decrease the exposure for certain areas of an image in order to make them darker.

varjostaa

photography: to decrease the exposure for certain areas of a print


overnight

overnights (plural)
over night (alternative)
overnite (alternative informal)

Inherited from Middle English overnyght, from Old English ofer niht (“through the night, overnight”), equivalent to over + night. Verbal use (late 19th c.) may have been influenced by German übernachten (16th c.), though it could also have developed independently.

inh

Word spread that Barney was on his way out to the location and that the Nielsen overnights had been terrific, or why else would he come.

2000, Dorothy C. Swanson, Story of Viewers For Quality TV: From Grassroots to Prime Time:

The TV critic had the results of the June rating survey by Arbitron and Nielsen. […] He has the hard numbers on the June book plus the recent Nielsen overnights.

(television, in the plural) Viewership ratings for a television show that are published the morning after it is broadcast, and may be revised later on.


playback singer

en-noun

playback singer (plural playback singers)

(singing, cinematography) A singer whose songs are pre-recorded for use in films, especially Bollywood musicals, where actors lip-sync them.

নেপথ্য গায়ক

singer whose songs are lip-synced by an actor


matt

(film) Alternative spelling of matte (“background, often painted or created with computers”).


soliloquy

soliloquy (countable and uncountable, plural soliloquies)

Augustine of Hippo
Hamlet
Soliloquiorum libri duo
To be, or not to be
William Shakespeare

1595–1605; From Late Latin sōliloquium in the title of St. Augustine's Soliloquiorum libri duo ("Two Books of Soliloquies"), from sōlus (“only, sole”) + loquor (“I speak”).

At the end of the second act the main villain gave a soliloquy detailing his plans to attack the protagonist.

Yet if I were to say […] that Hamlet's soliloquy had been much over-rated, it would not be said, on this account, that I was unable to appreciate Shakespeare.

1901, Edmund Selous, Bird Watching, J.M. Dent & Co, London, Chapter XII: Watching Blackbirds, Nightingales, Sand-martins, etc., page 315:

(drama) The act of a character speaking to themselves so as to reveal their thoughts to the audience.

The feeling of Singleton's bosom grew heightened in its tone of melancholy, and a more passionate emphasis of thought broke forth in his half-muttered soliloquy:— ¶"How I remember as I look […]

1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XI, page 135:

Here is a very over-simplified example, this time expressed in the form of a subjective soliloquy rather than a computer simulation.

1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 126:

(authorship) A speech or written discourse in this form.


lector

lectors (plural)
lectour (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English lector, lectoure, lectour, from Late Latin lēctor, from legō (“I read”). “Voice-over” sense probably adapted from Polish lektor.

The Hungarian viewer of The Colbert Report wants to experience authentic American comedy, and the lector—like an interpreter performing chuchotage at a high-level meeting of heads of state—serves primarily as a check on the viewer's grasp of the real thing.

2011, David Bellos, chapter 12, in Is that a Fish in Your Ear?:

(television, film) A person doing voice-over translation of foreign films, especially in Eastern European countries.


shojo

/ˈʃəʊˌd͡ʒəʊ/

/ˈʃoʊˌd͡ʒoʊ/

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From Japanese 少女(しょうじょ) (shōjo, “young woman”).

shōjo (alternative)
shoujo (alternative)

(anime, manga) A style of anime and manga intended for young women.


shojo

en-adj

shojo (comparative more shojo, superlative most shojo)

more shojo (comparative)
most shojo (superlative)
shōjo (alternative)
shoujo (alternative)

/ˈʃəʊˌd͡ʒəʊ/

/ˈʃoʊˌd͡ʒoʊ/

(anime, manga) Being in the style of shōjo manga or anime.


wigging

en-noun

wigging (countable and uncountable, plural wiggings)

“So why are there so few women in the stunt industry? Many point to the practice of “wigging” – which is when male stunt actors play female characters.”

2018, Daniel Lavelle, “Why stuntwomen are angry about 'wigging' – and are changing the industry from within”, in The Guardian:

(film) The practice of male stuntmen performing for actresses.


unity

unity (countable and uncountable, plural unities)

Etymology tree
Middle English unite
English unity
From Middle English unite, from Anglo-Norman, Old French unité, from Latin ūnitās, from ūnus (“one”) + noun of state suffix -itās, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one, single”), hence distantly related to one and an. Displaced native Old English ānnes (literally “oneness”).

der

(drama) Any of the three classical rules of drama: unity of action (nothing should be admitted not directly relevant to the development of the plot), unity of place (the scenes should be set in the same place), and unity of time (all the events should be such as might happen within a single day).

eenheid

drama: any of the three classical rules of drama


montage

en-noun

montage (countable and uncountable, plural montages)

, La matière denaturalisée. Destruction 2. (Denatured Matter. Destruction 2.; c. 1923), from the collection of the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands. The work is a collage, a type of montage.]]
Unadapted borrowing from French montage (“assembly, set-up”).

ubor

THE MYTH: Training montages are inspiring, harmless fun. At some point in any sports movie, the grossly unqualified underdog will start training to the sound of some inspirational rock song.

2013 October 29, Cracked.com, The De-Textbook: The Stuff You Didn't Know About the Stuff You Thought You Knew, Penguin, →ISBN, page 177:

Unfortunately, nothing much happens in the rest of the episode either. It gets to the point where a montage is devoted to establishing Sam's monotony at Oldtown.

2017 July 16, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and Dragons Come Home to Roost on Game of Thrones (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-12-04:

The day after that, I was still in pain, so I cycled. The day after that, the pain was manageable, so I ran again because I love to run. This was my training montage all the way up to the paratriathlon.

2020 11, Paul D. Lowe, and 21 Global Authors, Mastering The Game Of Life: World Game-Changers Sharing Their Inspirational Stories Of Transformation, Paragon Publishing, →ISBN, page 141:

(countable, television and film) A sequence of brief clips, often set to music, used to compress a long event or series of events into a short scene.


baka

en-adj

baka (comparative more baka, superlative most baka)

more baka (comparative)
most baka (superlative)

Borrowed from Japanese 馬鹿(ばか) (baka, “stupid”).

(anime manga, fandom slang, endearing) Stupid, silly.


baka

(anime manga, fandom slang, endearing) A foolish person, a dummy, a silly goose.


ATV

Associated Television
w:Associated Television

(broadcasting, television) Initialism of Associated Television.

Asia Television Limited
w:Asia Television Limited

(broadcasting, television) Initialism of Asia Television Limited.

(broadcasting, television) Initialism of ATV (Austria).


ATV

en-noun

ATV (countable and uncountable, plural ATVs)

(broadcasting, television) Initialism of amateur television.


thriller

/ˈt̪ʰɾi.ləɾ/

(film, literature) A suspenseful, sensational genre of story, book, play, film.

إِثَارَة

a suspenseful, sensational genre of fiction


blaxploitation

Blend of black + exploitation (from exploitation film) or blend of blax + exploitation.

(film) A genre of exploitation films of the 1970s that starred black actors.


overplay

en-verb

overplay (third-person singular simple present overplays, present participle overplaying, simple past and past participle overplayed)

overplays (present singular third-person)
overplaying (participle present)
overplayed (participle past)
overplayed (past)

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overdrijven

To present something more dramatically than necessary

When Chris overacted his part again, the director warned that anyone overplaying would be barred from the next production.

Nevertheless, 3 Body Problem does well to pull us onward, as much through the relentless, but never overplayed, suffering and hardening of Ye Wenjie as she endures her effective imprisonment in the project grounds – and the stealing of her work by others – as by the present day mystery.

2024 March 21, Lucy Mangan, “3 Body Problem review – the creators of Game of Thrones have done it again”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(ambitransitive, acting) To overdo or overact one's effect or role.


shooting

en-noun

shooting (countable and uncountable, plural shootings)

From Middle English shoting, schoting, from Old English scotung (“shooting”), from Proto-Germanic *skutungō, equivalent to shoot + -ing. Cognate with Dutch schieting, German Erschießung (“shooting”), Swedish skjutning (“shooting”).


retrace

From French retracer, from Middle French retracier.

(television) The period when the beam of the cathode-ray tube returns to its initial horizontal position in order to start the next line of the display.


persuader

These electrons are guided to the second dynode by the resultant electric field of this dynode and the persuader.

1953, Stanley William Amos, D. C. Birkinshaw, Television Engineering, Principles and Practice, page 108:

One who, or that which, persuades, literally or figuratively.

(television) An electrode that directs electrons into a multiplier.


behind the scenes

behind-the-scenes (alternative)
BTS (alternative)

Many videos come with features that show what went on behind the scenes to make the movie and special effects.

The men who stood behind the scenes and worked the religious puppet-show by hidden wires to the awe and astonishment of the gaping vulgar.

1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 134:

(idiomatic, theater, film) behind the scenery and stage area; backstage; among the actors; during the production or rehearsal


ham it up

en-verb

ham it up (third-person singular simple present hams it up, present participle hamming it up, simple past and past participle hammed it up)

hams it up (present singular third-person)
hamming it up (participle present)
hammed it up (participle past)
hammed it up (past)
ham up (alternative)

Near-synonym: camp it up

You can count on him to ham it up for the camera.

(idiomatic, acting) To deliberately exaggerate one's emotions or movements, or to overact or act hammily.

有意誇張 /有意夸张

performing arts: exaggerate one's emotions or movements


junket

From Middle English jonket (“basket made of rushes”), from Medieval Latin iuncta, possibly from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”) and therefore a possible doublet of jonquil.
Meaning shifted to “feast or banquet” by 1520s, probably via the notion of a picnic basket. This in turn led to the sense of “pleasure trip” (1814), and then to specifically to “trip made ostensibly for business but which entails merrymaking or entertainment” by 1886 in American English.

der

An entertainment reporter who is a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Freeman made comments about her skirt and her legs during two different junkets.

2018 May 24, An Phung, Chloe Melas, “Women accuse Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior, harassment”, in CNN entertainment:

Every time anything of note happens – any time there is a junket or a new actor is cast – the issue will be front and centre.

2025 June 11, Stuart Heritage, “‘Please walk away from Harry Potter’: why the stars of HBO’s new TV show are in for decades of social media hell”, in The Guardian, →ISSN: