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A-Z of Aussie Filmmaking Jargon.
NUM | 2048 x 1080 pixels | NUM | |
4096 x 2160 pixels | |||
8192 x 4320 pixels | |||
A |
The company used to send TV commercials to the networks for broadcast |
A |
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From above, usually using a drone or a crane |
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Special effects and motion graphics software |
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Where the camera is positioned for filming the shot |
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The shape of the frame, usually 16:9 or slightly wider, but can be vertical, square, and so on |
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Audio editing and mastering software |
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B |
Light from behind the subject to make them stand out from the background |
B |
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A tiny unit of measurement, usually referring to moving a frame very slightly, or someone or something inside the frame |
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The amount of colour information recorded by the camera - the higher the bit depth the more information and the less chance of issues when colour grading the picture (issues like ‘banding’). I record at a minimum of 10 bit 422HQ, but usually 10 bit 444 in ProRes format. |
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2000W open faced light |
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The extendable pole which the microphone is mounted on to hold it out of the frame but still close to the talent |
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The camera physically moves up or down on its Y axis to get a higher or lower point of view |
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Behind the Scenes - usually pictures or video of the production process |
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C |
Short for ‘Century Stand’, and used to hold just about everything you can think of, from lights, to mics, to flags to props, etc |
C |
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The review board of Australian TV commercials who give each commercial a rating and a code, now called Clear Ads |
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Person responsible for operating the camera (Aussie slang) |
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On screen subtitles for the hearing impaired. Can be closed captions (the user can toggle them on and off) or open captions (also called ‘burnt in) where they’re added to the actual frames of video |
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To move the person or object being filmed in a way not noticeable to the audience but which gives a better end shot |
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Shot, scene and take description plus a visual and audio sync marker to line up visual and audio files |
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A section of the film |
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A full face shot |
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Usually an H264 or H265 .mp4 file used for distribution on the web and internal players, while called 'compressed' these files are very high quality but don't take up anywhere near as much storage space or data transfer allotments as ProRes |
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Sideways movement of the camera |
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Switching between shots during the edit |
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D |
Digital Cinema Package - the file that you need to supply the cinema with if you want them to show your advert or film - let me know if you need this done, I can arrange it for you |
D |
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Used to refer to a battery that’s been depleted and needs recharging |
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The different sizes of fluffy grey cover which sit over the microphone which prevents wind from making a noise on the audio recording |
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Platform on wheels to put the camera onto, to give nice smooth 'tracking' shots |
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Talent directly looking at the camera to address the audience |
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E |
Part (but not the whole) of the Post Production stage where the raw shots are added together into a sequence and then into a story |
E |
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A piece of glass placed in front of the lens to create a specific look or correct a problem on set (neutral density filter, for example, reduces the amount of light entering the lens) |
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F |
The material recorded on the shoot |
F |
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Placement of people and objects on the screen |
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Number of frames recorded per second - usually 25 for most projects, sometimes 50+ to allow for slow motion |
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A battery that’s fully charged and ready to use |
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The scale measurement of the size of the opening of the iris (the opening that lets light in) on a lens; common f-stops are 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, and 22; the smaller the number, the larger the opening, and the more light that is allowed |
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Short for ‘effects’ (could be SFX - sound effects, or VFX - visual effects) |
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G |
Pieces of plastic material placed in front of lights to change the colour being generated |
G |
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Can be a background of any colour, but green and blue are common. It allows for the screen to be digitally replaced in the edit |
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Mechanical stabiliser for the camera to remove physical bumps and jolts which happen when filming handheld |
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General Views - used mainly in the UK, and used interchangeably with B-roll (which is used more in the USA) and Overlay (used more in Australia) |
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H |
Data transfer and checking application |
H |
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1920 x 1080 pixels - High Definition |
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I |
Technique of having the interviewee look ‘down the barrel’ while they’re also able to see and talk to the interviewer |
I |
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J |
When two shots follow each other but the framing or subject remains in a similar position - usually a mistake but can be used stylistically if desired |
J |
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The very subtle and slight movement of the camera in one direction - AKA a ‘little creep’ (hence the name - John Howard) into the shot |
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K |
General lighting terms used on a shoot to describe various lighting methods and positions, mostly relating to the 3 or 4 point lighting technique |
K |
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L |
Short for lavalier microphone, usually wireless and worn by the talent or hidden on their body out of view of the camera |
L |
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Bringing the raw footage into the edit suite and reviewing the shots while making notes or adding markers for content, uses, people on screen, etc |
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Logarithmic Colour recording - this allows me to shoot with the highest possible latitude (lots of information in the white and black parts of the picture) and then extract the bits we want to focus on when it comes to the colour grade |
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Full body is in frame |
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Look Up Table - this is applied sometimes to a Log recording for you to view in a 'normal' colour space so it doesn't look too washed out and 'flat' |
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Short for ‘low’ or ‘limited’ quality, usually used to refer to a quick low res export of an edit |
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M |
One continuous take of the action in a scene, usually a big wide shot where everything and its relationship to everything else can be seen |
M |
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Mounts in front of the lens and blocks unwanted light and holds filters |
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What the camera or other device actually records onto - usually memory sticks or hard drives |
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A shot from the waist up |
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Shooting without audio being recorded |
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N |
The use of areas of darkness to create contrast in a shot |
N |
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O |
Time in Pixels colour scope application |
O |
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Positioning of the camera looking over the shoulder, almost a point of view shot but with a shoulder in front (sometimes known as ‘dirtying the frame’ with the shoulder) |
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Filming the shots which are used to ‘overlay’ an interview, and illustrate what is being spoken about. Usually done before or after the interview is recorded, not at the same time (even when working live) |
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P |
Swinging the camera horizontally left or right on its axis |
P |
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Still image manipulation software |
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‘Post’ |
Post Production (editing etc) |
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Point of View shot - recreates what the person on screen would be seeing |
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‘Pre’ |
Pre Production (planning etc) |
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Editing software. A non-linear editor (NLE) |
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The process of actually recording the video |
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Q |
The notion that something can be done at an increased speed :) |
Q |
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R |
Anything used to bounce light in a different direction on set |
R |
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These are the two main colour spaces for HD and 4K respectively and are what your final video will be delivered in (unless you request otherwise, e.g. RGB) |
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800w open faced light |
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Actually shooting the video data |
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Visiting a location before shooting commences there to plan and work through any issues that may arise from the location |
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Shooting in the opposite direction, usually to get the opposing (reverse) point of view |
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S |
The ‘plan’ of the story - written instructions for the making of the film |
S |
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The image that is recorded on camera, or edited into the final film |
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Sound recordist (Aussie slang) |
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Slang for tripod legs |
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Visual diagram of what is wanted in the frame for each shot |
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T |
Where the F-Stop is a theoretical value, the T-Stop is an actual tested value (the T is for ‘transmission’ of light) of the amount of light a lens lets through the iris |
T |
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Actors, presenters, or anyone 'performing' on screen |
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The movement of the point of view of the camera in a vertical way, without moving the pivot point (tripod, shoulder, etc), so the camera body doesn’t move up or down but the view does |
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The big numbers on the bottom of the screen on your preview edits, which refer to hours, minutes, seconds and frames like this - HH:MM:SS:FF - and mean we can pinpoint and discuss down to the individual frame if needed |
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The amount of time from go to woah - how fast do you need the video made? Turnaround Time: The amount of time from ‘go to woah’ - how fast do you need the video made? |
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Turning the camera to point in the opposite direction, usually towards where the crew and gear are, to get a ‘reverse’ shot - this can take some time so it’s usually done at the end of a sequence because it involves moving everything out of the way |
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Television Commercial (advert) |
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Total Running Time |
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The transmission of the video (usually refers to TV broadcast) |
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U |
3840 x 2160 pixels - used for most TV and video as it’s in the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio |
U |
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A near lossless master version of the video (e.g. I shoot ProRes 444HQ which is considered a lossless format, and would deliver your master as a ProRes 422HQ file on request) |
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V |
Shooting ‘sideways’ so the longer frame measurement runs up and down and the shorter one across (portrait style) - often useful for social media posts and usually obtained by turning the camera onto its side |
V |
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W |
Shot from a distance so that the geography of the space can be seen |
W |
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Usually the end of the day of filming but can be used as a wrap on a scene, actor, or location, i.e. ‘That’s a wrap!’ |
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X Y Z |
Striped pattern generated by a camera to show areas of overexposure in the shot |
XYZ |