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Terms for subject Cinematography (704 entries)

fullscreen	Fullscreen is a term used to describe the shape of the picture a movie is displayed in order for it to fill a regular (as of 1998) TV screen. At the time of writing, most TVs are squarer than the newer widescreen TVs on the market. With these older sets, for every 4 inches/cm of horizontal screen size there are 3 inches/cm of vertical size, hence a 4:3 aspect ratio. Widescreen TVs have 5 and 1/3 inches/cm horizontal size for each 3 of vertical. Rather than write that as 5.333:3, we use 16:9. So fullscreen=4:3, widescreen=16:9. When a movie is played in fullscreen format for a 4:3 TV, the movie is almost always adjusted to fit. You may be familiar with the phrase "this movie has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV." What that almost always means is that much of the original picture has been thrown away, i.e. the pan and scan procedure has been used to pick the most appropriate pieces of the picture to keep because the old TV screen is the wrong shape to show the whole picture. In terms of home cinema, fullscreen is inferior to widescreen and is often considered to be an unacceptable format. The 4:3 shape TV is expected to become obsolete over the next decade as TV moves to digital and HDTV formats, which are widescreen based. DVDs often offer both fullscreen and widescreen formats, however many are already only available in widescreen and anamorphic format, so as to cater for the growing audience of home cinema enthusiasts who have already abandoned fullscreen.
G	A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that a film is suitable for all ages. See also PG.
gaffer	The head of the electrical department, responsible for the design and execution of the lighting plan for a production. Early films used mostly natural light, which stagehands controlled with large tent cloths using long poles called gaffs (stagehands were often beached sailors or longshoremen, and a gaff is a type of boom on a sailing ship) In 16th Century English, the term "gaffer" denoted a man who was the head of any organized group of laborers.
gel	A thin, tinted plastic-like sheet placed over a light to change the color of the projected light. "Cleaning the gels" is a practical joke usually given as a job to an inexperienced crew member.
General Cinema	GC
generator	A mechanical engine which produces electricity from fuel (usually diesel) Frequently used for location shooting, either due to the unavailability or insufficient quantities of electricity locally available.
Ginza Graphic Gallery	GGG
giraffe	A mechanically extendable and manipulated boom microphone.
go motion	A form of animation similar to stop motion, but which incorporates motion blur. Ordinary stop motion cannot produce motion blur as motion only occurs between frames. Robotic models that are moved during the exposure of each frame produce motion blur, and thus are more realistic. Pioneered by Industrial Light and Magic for Dragonslayer.
goof	A take of a scene not used in a movie, usually because of an on-camera mistake made by the cast or crew. Also see out-take
Graphic Language	GL
Great Boobs	GB
Great Refreshing Arty Cheesy Entertaining	GRACE
Greenscreen	A newer technique similar to bluescreen, however utilizing a key green background. Research showed that substantially better results could be gained by filming on green instead of blue, as effects stock was more sensitive to separating key green from other (foreground) colors. See also chromakeying.
greensman	A member of the crew who procures, places, and maintains any vegetation on a set.
Grindhouse	A term used to describe movie theaters common in the U.S. from the 1950s onward, that specialized in showing, or "grinding out" as many B movies as they could fit into their schedules. The term is also used to describe the type of B movies -- commonly violent, exploitative, or just plain racy -- that were shown in such theaters.
grip	In the USA, a grip is a skilled person responsible for the set up, adjustment and maintenance of production equipment on the set. Their typical duties involve camera movement, lighting refinement, and mechanical rigging. In the UK, grips work exclusively with equipment that the camera is mounted on. Contrast with swing gang, see also key grip.
hairstylist	Person responsible for maintaining actors' hairstyles during filming.
Hard Core	HC
hardtop	Slang for a normal indoor theatre. See also ozoner.