Video Production Glossary

C-47’s are simply standard wooden clothespegs used in the video industry for video production or film making, to secure lighting gels to barndoors. They are sometimes called a number one wood clamp. (Grip / lighting)

A Californian Scrim Set is a standard scrim set with two doubles. (Lighting / Grip)

Commonly used by video production services organisations and film companies, the Call is the name given to the sequence ‘roll sound, roll camera, mark it and action’. (Film & video production)

The general form used by video production services companies and film companies during corporate video production, film making or specialist events such as product launches, employs the use of a Call Sheet. The Call Sheet lists every scene planned for filming on a given day and it also contains vital information such as the talent, staff and equipment required. (Film and video production)

A Cameo is generally a non-speaking acting role of short duration, played by an individual who is famous. The most famous of all Cameo roles were those played by Alfred Hitchcock, during his film-making of many of his classics. Cameo roles have been played by famous politicians, sports stars, acting celebrities and other celebrities. (Film making)

The Camera Angle in cinematography refers to the view point selected to film a subject or object. This term is a very important one used often by video production companies and documentary makers. (Cinematography)

Camera Blocking is the overall process of recording in detail, camera position, lens size, and focus during a scene. (Production / Camera crew)

A Camera Log is an official record containing scene or shot details, for a roll of negative. (Camera crew / lab)

A Camera Report is the same as a Camera Log. It is an official record noting shots taken, together with useful notes for the film processing lab or for. Every roll has its own unique Camera Report. Reports can instruct the lab to check colour, keep colour as filmed, or to check for particular problems noted by the camera crew. A Camera Report is also useful during the editing process, to help with film editing. (Camera crew / labs / film editing)

Every roll of film is defined as a Camera Roll. CR is used to abbreviate the term when film is forwarded to the lab, for example CR12 is the 12th roll of film from the camera. Video services and film companies regard it as vital within the film editing process when assembling the footage. (Camera crew / labs / film editing)

Camera Stock is another phrase for film. It is referred to as Camera Stock by film or video producers to ensure that it is never confused with Print Stock. Manchester and London branches of thinktank video services carry specialist camera stock when shooting on set. (Camera crew)

Similar to Gaffer’s Tape, Cloth Tape is used on film shoots by video services organisations. It is approximately 1 inch wide and used for labelling magazines, noting emulsion type and CR (Camera Roll) number. Gaffer’s tape and Cloth Tape are identical, differing only in description dependent on their use in film production. There are many suppliers to the video services trade and film industry in Manchester, London and throughout the UK. (Camera crew / labs)

Video services companies use Camera Wedges. The wooden wedges are around 10 x 1 cm, in a wedge shape. (Camera crew)

A Cam-Lok is a feeder cable connector containing an integral locking mechanism. (Grip/Lighting)

A Candela (also called Foot Candela) is a unit of light intensity, equal to one standard candle. This is known in the video services industry as one candela. (Lighting)

Cans are another word used by film services companies for what people call headphones. (Sound)

Also called Dutch Angle. A Canted Frame uses a camera angle which at an angle to the ground or horizon. It gives a certain feel to a video services production – a kind of edginess. Thinktank’s UK Manchester and London production teams choose the technique of using the Canted Frame in certain styles of production. (Camera crew / production)

The ability of a component to hold charge (using capacitors). (Electrical)

Capture is the process of recording a signal from Broadcast TV, DVD or a video camera. Capture is essential in video editing as it digitizes the film to allow the footage to be transferred and converted into a format which can be used by video editors. Thinktank’s Manchester video editing team capture footage daily, from camera crew in the production management process. (Consumer)

The Carpenter on a film services or video set is also called the Chippie. The Carpenter builds wooden fixtures and furniture on set, for example, they hang doors used in film making or video production. (Tradesmen)

For a successful production as in a feature film, corporate video, training video, product demonstration video, educational video or scientific film, casting is an essential part of the preproduction. When making corporate video or educational video productions, casting can help improve credibility for a company, with trained actors being used to present a corporate or educational message. A video production services organisation will often use its own network or even refer to reliable casting agencies for selecting talent for a corporate or educational video. Manchester and London offices of thinktank video have their own casting services for UK clients. (Pre-production)

CATV was originally used although has now been superseded in the UK and across the world by the term Cable TV. It stands for Community Antenna Television. (Broadcast TV)

CC Filters compensate for colour and as you’d expect, are filters! (Camera crew)

A CCD or Charged-Coupled Device is a common feature of scanners, cameras and video cameras. Many adverts for consumer video cameras use the terms single or triple CCD. The CCD used in a video camera converts the image and interprets it directly into digital information. (Consumer & professional video equipment)

The shortened name of the International Radio Consultative Committee, the committee responsible for developing the 625 line standard used in European video signals. (Broadcast TV)

CD is an abbreviation for Compact Disc. A CD is a disc, generally recorded at a sample rate of 44.1kHz and used for music. (Sound)

A CD-ROM is a form of Compact Disk (CD) having Read Only Memory. A CD-ROM can be used to store, transfer or playback music or digital information such as computer files. (Consumer)

A Celo is a plastic coated wire mesh cookie. (Grip / lighting)

Film Classification Boards determine the level of censorship required for a particular film, video or video games production. Video services companies and film productions must be careful when producing films to make sure that it meets the criteria of the Film Classification Board, otherwise a feature film may not be allowed. In the UK there are around 12,000 films sent for classification every year with only a handful (usually less than ten films every year) which are rejected. Examples of Censorship classifications are U = unclassified, PG = parental guidance, 12 = at least 12-years old, 15 = at least 15-years old or 18 = at least 18-years old. (Distribution)

A standard position for the placement of the audio signal on magnetic film is the Centre Track. It is a narrow band centred between the edges of film. (Sound)

A Century Stand - also know in the video services industry as a C-Stand, is a grip stand used for holding and securing flags, cookies or scrims. (Grip / lighting)

See Computer Generated Imaging (Post Production)

A Chain Vice Grip is simply a grip with a chain which is used by film production units or video production companies to clamp objects to pipes with a diameter of up to 6 inches, when using a baby receiver. (Grip)

A Changeover Cue (also called a Cue Dot) is a visual mark on a film reel used by film companies, indicating the point where the next reel must be introduced on an adjacent projector to allow continuity between film reels running a film. (Distribution)

A DVD Chapter is used on a DVD or Blue-Ray to indicate a new scene in a movie. There are generally between 10-50 chapters in the average DVD or Blue-Ray movie on average. (Distribution)

A Character is a real or invented person, played by an actor, who appears in a significant part of a film or video production. Characters can be used in feature films, corporate videos, training videos, sports videos or educational video productions. (Cast)

Actor A well-known actor who is recognised by the public for portraying a certain style of personality in a film production or video production. (Cast)

Taking a second shot at a different angle in order to change the composition of the scene is called a Cheat. The technique is used in Corporate, Music, Sports, Documentary and Film productions to insert, involve or remove an actor or object. Items or actors are Cheated in or out of scenes using this technique - this is a very common term used by video production companies. (Production)

A Cheater Cut should never be confused with a Cheat. The Cheater Cut is the portion of video footage inserted at the beginning of a TV series (it can be used from the end of episode one as a preview but is generally regarded as being used to show a previous episode summary). The Cheater Cut is a short summary of the key events from the previous episode and is used as a reminder to series viewers or as a brief intro to the public tuning in to the series for the first time (or if they have missed a episode of the TV series. (Broadcast TV)

Checkerboard Cutting is the technique used in film production and video production by film and video services organisations, where A and B rolls are assembled in a manner in which the splices cannot be seen. (Film & video editing)

Checking the Gate is a film term used by camera crew for looking for hairs in the Gate, the part of the camera which exposes film to outside light. Hairs are small pieces of celluloid which sometimes fall off the film through excess friction. Hairs can be difficult to remove, therefore the camera crew , (normally the Focus Puller), checks the gate for hairs following every shot. The Gate may be accessed by removing the lens and moving the shutter out of the way. This is commonly used when making feature films. (Camera crew / film & video production)

Chemistry on screen refers to the way actors work together – giving off a certain type of energy. The term is also called Screen Chemistry, by film, TV production companies or video producers. Screen Chemistry is perceived by viewers as a convincing performance by the public. (TV, Film & Video Production / Broadcast TV)

A Chewey is another name for the Director’s Finder – a term used in the film industry. The Chewey is used by the Director and the Director of Photography and is used for using the correct lens for the shot, without having to change lenses on the camera. (Production)

Chiraoscuro originates from the 17th Century renaissance painters. The word is a combination of two Italian words, chiaro meaning clearly and the word scuro meaning dark – ‘clearly and dark’. The term is used in by film producers and the video services industry to mean a film or scenes which make dramatic use of light and dark contrast, via use of skilled lighting techniques. Generally it is used in greyscale or monochromatic style video or film productions (Lighting / film & video production)

A young actor who remains famous into adulthood, however can be termed, ‘Started out as a child actor’. (Cast)

A Chinese Lantern is used during film production, making documentaries or corporate video. The Chinese Lantern generates a, diffuse light in every direction and therefore can be used for creating ambient room lighting when the room light is not directly seen during a scene. This is an authentic method of lighting used by video services companies (Lighting)

The person responsible for instructing cast members within a film production, video production or TV production such as a musical, training video, music video etc, to dance, fight or co-ordinate other body actions.

Chroma is a truncated term for chrominance. Chroma means the colour component of the video signal. Chroma is used in phrases such as Chroma Keying – the process of using Bluescreen or Greenscreen to separate a subject from its background and place on a new video background. (Production / post-production / special effects)

The term Chroma Bug describes a video artefact which can be seen on screen as distortion within the Chroma channel. The effect is marked on diagonal edges and can be seen clearly when viewing using a high definition display or large projector. The Chroma Bug is a specific artefact of MPEG encoding. (Distribution)

Chroma Key is a common special effects technique (used in video production or film production) also sometimes referred to a Bluescreen or Greenscreen keying, where a subject is placed in front of a background which is generally blue or green during video or film making, then the person is extracted from the background and superimposed on top of a different video background. The technique of Chroma Keying was first introduced 80 years ago and was a time consuming process called Travelling Matte. The technique of Chroma Keying can be called colour keying, Bluescreen, Greenscreen or CSO (colour separation overlay). Whilst Bluescreen and Greenscreen backgrounds are used because they are most likely to be colours which are not found in common skin tones, Magenta or Magic Pink backdrops can also be used. Virtually any colour can be used, with the caveat that the background should be a colour that the subject is not wearing. For special effects which require a part of the body or clothing to be missing, such as with the magic cloak effect in the harry potter movies, the actor wears clothes which are the same colour as the background. The use of Bluescreen was originally better when using traditional film techniques, however Bluescreen requires better lighting and has now been largely replaced by video or film production companies who now use Greenscreen. Greenscreen is the preferred format for digital technologies as modern day digital cameras are more sensitive to green light, therefore the lighting with Greenscreen is not as critical. During the past decade, movies such as the Matrix, have predominantly used Greenscreen for Chroma Keying. Chroma Keying in Greenscreen or Bluescreen is a very useful tool in the production of music videos, corporate videos, educational videos, news-style presentations, educational productions, TV commercials, viral advertising campaigns or feature films where CGI is employed by the film or video production company. Chroma Keying is often used for live broadcast TV in situations where backdrops are required for news or weather presenters. (Special effects / production / post-production / broadcast TV)

A Chroma Keying Service is provided by a video production company specialising in Chroma Keying or Bluescreen & Greenscreen Chroma Keying – thinktank video provides Bluescreen and Greenscreen services. (Production / post-production / special effects)

Chromakeying or Chroma Keying is the process whereby the subject is separated from the Bluescreen or Greenscreen background before mixing or placing the subject onto another background. The Chroma Keying process used by video production companies providing Bluescreen services can be realtime or non-linear, where computer software is used to very accurately remove and comp the subject away from the original Bluescreen or Greenscreen and mix with a new video backdrop. (Production / Post-production / Special effects)