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Terms for subject Cinematography (726 entries)

advance	Of a composite print: the distance between a point on the soundtrack and the corresponding image. Of payment: an amount given before receipt of services.
agent	A person responsible for the professional business dealings of an actor, director, or other artist. An agent typically negotiates the contracts on behalf of the actor or director, and often has some part in selecting or recommending roles for their client.
Alan Smithee	The sole pseudonym that the Directors Guild of America allowed directors to use when they wish to remove their name from a film. The name has reportedly been retired by the Directors Guild of America, after 1997's An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn revealed the alias to the general public. It appears that project-specific pseudonyms are now used instead, selected on a case-by-case basis when the DGA agrees that a film has been taken away from a director and cut and/or altered to such an extreme extent that it completely deviates from that director's original vision.
All Age	AA
All Ages	AA
scenic artist	all lettering and sign work (including signs and murals; miniature sets and/or models and properties and the painting and aging in the (construction) studio or on the set of costumes and costume accessories as specified by the costume designer)
American cinema editors	Honorary society of film editors founded in 1950 by Jack Ogilvie, Warren Low and others.
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists	An association with jurisdiction over some works that can be recorded by picture or by sound. See also the Screen Actors Guild.
American Society of Cinematographers	An organization founded in 1919 and dedicated to advancing the art of cinematography through artistry and technological progress, to exchange ideas and to cement a closer relationship among cinematographers. Membership is international and by invitation based on an individual's body of narrative filmwork. Use of the abbreviation ASC, e.g. for on-screen credits, indicates membership in the society. The society publishes "American Cinematographer" magazine.
lens	an optical device used by a camera to focus an image onto film stock or image sensor.
anamorphic	An optical system which has different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture. See also aspect ratio, contrast with spherical. Cinemascope is a tradename of an anamorphic technique.
anamorphic widescreen	DVD mastering process whereby a film source with an aspect ratio greater than 4:3 (usually also greater than or equal to 16:9) is transferred to the DVD video master in such a way that the picture is vertically stretched by a factor of about 1.33 (e.g. if the picture had an aspect ratio of 16:9, it now has one of 4:3) The idea is to use as much resolution of the video master as possible so widescreen pictures use the 4:3 frame optimally, gaining another 33% of vertical resolution and looking markedly sharper. When playing a DVD with anamorphic widescreen the display (16:9 capable TV or projector and screen) has to vertically squeeze the picture by a factor of 0.75 so a circle is still a circle. If the display cannot do this the DVD player will do the squeezing and add black bars on the top and bottom of the picture. In that case the additional 33% resolution are not available.
animation	The process of creating the illusion of motion by creating individual frames, as opposed to filming naturally-occurring action at a regular frame rate. See also computer generated animation, claymation, time lapse. Contrast with motion capture, rotoscoping.
anime	A style of animated movie which had its roots in the comic books of Japan. Animation enjoys an immense variety of subject matter and audiences in Japan. Outside of Japan, "Anime" is often used to describe only the adult oriented science fiction and fantasy entries in the field.
answer print	The first graded print of a film that combines sound and picture, which is created for the client to view and approve before printing the rest of the copies of the film.
aperture	A measure of the width of the opening allowing light to enter a camera. The apparent diameter of a lens viewed from the position of the object against a diffusely illuminated background is called the "effect aperture". The ratio of focal length of a lens to its "effective aperture" for an object located at infinity is called the "relative aperture", or "f/number". Larger apertures allow more light to enter a camera, hence darker scenes can be recorded. Conversely, smaller apertures allow less light to enter, but have the advantage of creating a large depth of field. See also shutter speed.
armorer	A person who is responsible for weapons on the set of a movie or television show. Duties include providing the correct weapons to suit the era and style of the film, advising the director on use of weapons, choosing the correct blanks, creating a safe set for the use of said weapons, teaching actors about handling and using weapons, making sure use of all weapons is properly licensed, and ensuring the safety of everyone on the set while weapons are in use.
art department	The section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall "look" of the film (i.e. modern/high-tech, rustic, futuristic, etc.) as desired by the director. Individual positions within in this department include: production designer, production buyer, special effects supervisor, draftsman, art director, assistant art director, set decorator, set dresser, property master, leadman, swing gang, and property assistant.
art director	The person who oversees the artists and craftspeople who build the sets. See also production designer, set designer, set director, leadman, and swing gang.
articulation artist	A person who takes an artist's designs and builds them in a computer, so that animators can manipulate the figures to tell the story of the film.