Table of Contents


GLOSSARY OF MOTION-PICTURE TERMS


A/ B/ C/ D/ E/ F/ G/ H/ I/ J/ K/ L/ M/ N/ O/ P/ Q/ R/ S/ T/ U/ V/ W/ X/ Y/ Z


A & B CUTTING: A method of assembling original material in two separate rolls, allowing optical effects to be made by double printing (A and B Printing).

A OR B WIND: When a roll of 16 mm film, perforated along one edge, is held so that the outside end of the film leaves the roll at the top and toward the right, winding "A" should have the perforations on the edge of the film toward the observer, and winding "B" should have the perfo- rations on the edge away from the observer. In both cases, the emulsion surface should face inward on the roll.

A TAKES: Good takes. Also known as circle takes.

A WIND: When you hold a roll of 16 nim or other single-perf film so that the film leaves the roll from the top and toward the right, the perfora- tions will be along the edge toward the observer.

ABRASION MARKS: Scratches on film caused by dirt, improper handling, grit, emulsion pile-ups, and certain types of film damage (e.g., torn per- forations).

ACADEMY APERTURE: In projection, the aperture cutout, designed as specified by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that provides for a screen-image aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1; also called "sound aperture."

ACADEMY LEADER: A non-projected identification and timing count- down film leader designed to specifications of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and placed at the head end of a print reel. The countdown cuing information is related to "feet" which, in the silent days, meant projection at 16 frames per second, or 1 foot per sec- ond. See UNIVERSAL LEADER.

ACETATE: A slow-burning base material frequently used for motion picture films. Also, in sheet form, for overlay cels.

ACETATE-BASE FILM: Any film with a support that contains cellulose triacetate; safety film.

ACTINIC LIGHT: Light that can form a photographic latent image or activate a photoelectric cell.

ACTION: The movement of the subject within the camera field of view. The command given by a director.

ADDITIVE LAMPHOUSE: A printer lamphouse consisting of three light sources, one for each color record.

ADDITIVE PRINTER: Prints from color originals or intermediates; uses red, green, and blue lights that are controlled separately to produce the correct composite-color printing light for each shot in the film.

ADDITIVE PRINTING: the use or three separate colored sources -red, green, blue - are combined to form the light source that exposes the film. Modern additive printers separate white light from a tungsten- halogen bulb into its red, green and blue components by using a set of dichroic mirrors.

ADJACENCY EFFECTS: Phenornena that alter the density-exposure rela- tionship, enhancing the apparent sharpness of the image and causing modulation transfer values greater than 100 percent.

ADO (AMPEX DIGITAL OPTICS): Trade name for digital effects system manufactured and sold by Ampex.

ADVANCE: The separation between a point on the sound track of a film and the corresponding picture image.

AERIAL IMAGE OR VIRTUAL IMAGE: An image focused by a projec- tion lens near a field or relay lens. A camera lens is then used to forrn a real image on the film from the aerial image. A cell or another material can be placed at the aerial-image location to combine it with the aerial image on film.

AGC (AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL): A circuit that automatically adjusts audio or video input levels.

AGITATION: Keeping various solutions in motion while developing film. Agitation is necessary to achieve even solution action, or uniformity, and temperature consistency.

ANALOG: An electrical signal that is continuously variable.

ANALYTICAL DENSITY: Measurement of the amount of yellow, cyan, and magenta dye in an image.

ANAMORPHIC IMAGE: An image that has been squeezed in one direction, usually horizontally, by an anamorphic lens.

ANAMORPHIC LENS: A lens that produces a "squeezed" image on film in the camera. When the film is projected on a screen, an appropriate lens reverses the effect, and the image spreads out to lifelike proportions. Designed for wide-screen movie photography and projection.

ANAMORPHIC RELEASE PRINT: A print in which the irnages are compressed horizontally.

ANGEL HAIR: Fine hair-like skiving, or slivers, caused when the film edge rubs against a sharp edge or burr in the projector. Also produced when excessive film/gate misalignment is present.

ANGLE: With reference to the subject, the direction from which a picture is taken. The camera-subject relationship in terms of the immediate surroundings.

ANIMATION: The making of inanimate objects to appear mobile. This can be done by exposing one or two frarnes of movie film and then moving the objects slightly and exposing one or two more frames, etc. When the movie is projected, the objects will appear to have moved by themselves.

ANIMATION CAMERA: A motion picture camera with special capability for animation work, which usually includes frame and footage counters, the ability to expose a single frame at a time, reverse-filming capability, and parallax-free viewing.

ANIMATIC: Limited animation, consisting of artwork shot and edited to serve as a video tape storyboard. Commonly used for test commercials.

ANIMATOR: An artist who uses the techniques of frame-by-frame film making to give his artwork the illusion of movement. In studio animation, the person responsible for drawing the moving characters; in independent animation, the animator is generally responsible for all phases of production.

ANSI: American National Standards Institute.

ANSWER PRINT: The first print (combining picture and sound, if a sound picture), in release form, offered by the laboratory to the producer for acceptance. It is usually studied carefully to determine whether changes are required prior to printing the balance of the order.

ANTICIPATION: A pause or small counter-move made by a character in preparation for a major movement; used by animators to help give the illusion of a body moving with the proper sense of weight and balance.

ANTIHALATION BACKING (COATING): A dark layer coated on or in the film to absorb light that would otherwise be reflected back into the emulsion from the base.

APERTURE: (1) Lens: The orifice, usually an adjustable iris, which limits the amount of light passing through a lens. (2) Camera: In motion picture cameras, the mask opening that defines the area of each frame exposed. (3) Projector: In motion picture projectors, the mask opening that defines the area of each frame projected.

APERTURE PLATE: A metal plate containing the aperture that is inserted into a projector or camera. (NOTE: In some cameras, the aperture plate cannot be removed.)

ARC LAMP: A lamp whose light source consists of an open carbon arc or a closed xenon arc. The light is generated in a gas ball between two electrodes.

ASA: Exposure index or speed rating that denotes the film sensitivity, defined by the American National Standards Institution. Actually defined only for black-and-white films, but also used in the trade for color films.

ASPECT RATIO: Proportion of picture width to height such as 1.37:1 or 1.85:1, or 2.35:1.

ATMOSPHERE SKETCH: A quick sketch, generally in color, rnade by the director or layout artist, to indicate the mood or style of a scene.

AUTO ASSEMBLE: An operation in which a computer performs editing unaided, working from a previously edit decision list.

AVERAGE GRADIENT: A measure of contrast of a photographic image, representing the slope of a portion of a characteristic curve. The term which refers to a numerical means for indicating the contrast or the photographic image.

B WIND: When you hold a roll of 16 mm or other single-perf film so that the film leaves the roll from the top and toward the right; the perforations will be along the edge away from the observer.

BACKGROUND: A flat piece of artwork that serves as the setting for the animated action, and which may vary from a realistically rendered scene to a sheet of colored paper. Abbreviated as BG or BKG.

BACKGROUND LIGHT: The light or lights used to illuminate the background.

BACKING: (1) Anti-halation Backing: A temporary, dark-colored, gelatin coating which is sometimes applied to the rear side of a photographic plate or film to reduce halation by absorbing any light that may pass through the emulsion. (2) Non-Curl Backing: A transparent, gelatin coating, sometimes applied to the opposite side of photographic film from the emulsion to prevent curling by balancing the forces that tend to curl the film as it is wet and dried during processing (3) Coating: (e.g. anti-abrasion coating or rem-jet backing) applied to the base side of the film to irnprove characteristics and performance.

BALANCE STRIPE: A rnagnetic stripe on the opposite edge of the film from the magnetic track. Although the purpose of the stripe is to keep the film level on the reel, some projectors also use it for recording.

BAR SHEET: A printed form, used by directors and animators in planning the movement of art and camera, on which all the elements of a film-music, voices, sound effects, visuals-are charted frame-by-frame in their relationship to time.

BARN DOOR: A frame with adjustable flaps, attached to the studio light to control unwanted spill light or the spread of the light beam.

BARNEY: A lightweight padded covering that generally performs the same function as a blimp. Heated barneys are sometimes used to facilitate shooting under extremely cold outdoor conditions.

BASE: The transparent, flexible support, commonly cellulose acetate, on which photographic emulsions are coated to make photographic film.

BASE PLUS FOG: Density of the film support plus the silver or dye pro- duced by the effects of the developer. Pertains only to an unexposed portion of the film.

BEAT: The musical tempo (of the sound track) used for timing rnotion picture action.

BELL AND HOWELL PERFORATION: A film perforation shaped with flat top and bottom and curved sides.

BICYCLING: See CIRCUITING.

BI-PHASE: Electrical pulses from the tachometer of a telecine, used to update the film footage encoder for each new frame of film being transferred.

BIPACK FILMING: The funning of two films simultaneously through a camera or optical printer, either to expose both or expose one through the other, using the one nearest to the lens as a mask. Often used in special-effects work to combine live action with animated images.

BLACK: The absence of all visible light. Also the absence of any distinguishable colors.

BLACK-AND-WHITE FILM: A film which produces a monochromatic picture in shades of gray (usually a metallic silver irnage).

BLACKBODY RADIATOR: A light source which has a continuous smooth spectral distribution.

BLACK LIGHT: Ultraviolet light.

BLIMP: A soundproof enclosure that completely covers the carnera to prevent camera-operating noise from being recorded on the sound track.

BLINK: Density changes in the projected image; caused by studio light fluctuation, printer or sensitometric problems, or radiation fog.

BLOOPING: The technique of applying a special opaque ink or tape over the sound track at the splice in a wide triangular or circular pattem to prevent soundtrack clicks and other annoying sounds caused by splices.

BLOOPING INK: Used to opaque the section of a positive film splice in a sound track; to reduce the noise created as the splice passes over the projector sound head.

BLOW UP: -(part of frame)- In transferring an image by means of an optical printer, it is possible to enlarge a properly proportioned fraction of the original image to full frame size in the copy, or to enlarge an original 16 mm image to 35 mm size.

BLOW-UP PRINTING: Optical printing resulting in a picture image size other than that of the original film.

BLUE-SCREEN: The filming or videotaping of actors, props or objects in front of a blue-screen (or green-screen). In post-production, the blue or green is replaced by another element, such as background, using digital or optical special effects techniques.

BOOM: A long, adjustable arm used to position a microphone during production.

BOTTOM LIGHTING: When the source of illumination for photographing a scene comes from beneath the artwork, rather than above it; used for a variety of reasons, such as the creation of glowing letters or stars, or to photograph several layers of drawings at once for a pencil test. Also known as Under Lighting.

BOUNCE LIGHT: Light that is reflected off ceilings and walls to illuminate the subject indirectly.

BREAKDOWN: The separation of a roll of camera original negative into its individual scenes.

BREAKDOWN TABLE: A film handling unit that is one component of platter system. It is used to unload (break down ) the large film roll from the platter onto the individual shipping reels prior to shipment. The unit is also used in loading the platter (makeup). See MAKEUP TABLE.

BROAD LIGHT: Soft, floodlight type of illumination unit; usually not focusable.

BUCKLE: Occurs when the perforated edges of film are shorter than the center; caused by the loss of solvent or moisture from the edges of the film during long storage.

BURN-IN: The photographic double exposure of a title or other subject matter over previously exposed film.

BURRED TOOTH: Physical damage to a tooth on a projector sprocket. Usually caused by a blow from, or accidental contact with, a metallic object which causes a sharp protrusion to form on a tooth edge.

BUTT SPLICE: Film splice in which the ends come together without overlapping; ends are held together by splicing tape.

BUZZ TRACK: A sound test film with a specially made sound track that is used for determining the proper lateral positioning of the scanning beam slit in relation to film travel.

CAMERA AXIS: Any imaginary line running exactly through the optical center of the camera lens.

CAMERA LOG: A record sheet giving details of the scenes photographed on a roll of original negative.

CAMERA OPERATOR: The person responsible for translating the instructions on the exposure sheet into camera moves and photographing the artwork.

CAMERA ORIGINAL: Film exposed in a camera.

CAMERASCOPE: A wide-screen presentation process compatible with CinemaScope-type presentations.

CANDELA (cd): International unit of luminance measurement (1 candela per square meter = 0.2919 footlamberts).

CATALOG NUMBER: Identifies a particular product.

CEL: A thin, flexible, transparent sheet of acetate, which has been punched, onto which the animators' finished drawings are transferred-either by inking or xerography-and painted. The clear cel does not show when photographed, so when it is placed over the background, the characters appear to be within the setting.

CEL ANIMATION: An animation technique in which the figures to be animated are drawn and painted on cels, placed over a background, and photographed frame by frame. Cel animation has been the standard technique for studio animation since its invention in 1915.

CELL SIDE: The base (Celluloid) surface of a strip of film.

CELLULOSE TRIACETATE: Transparent, flexible material used as a base support for photographic emulsions.

CEMENT SPLICE: Film splice made by using a liquid solvent cement to weld the overlapping ends together.

CEMENT SPLICER: Device used to make cement splices. Some cement splicers can also be used to make overlapping tape splices.

CGI: Computer Generated Imagery.

CHANGE-OVER: In projection, the act of changing from one projector to another, preferably without interrupting the continuity of projection; or, the points in the picture at which such a change is made.

CHARACTER ANIMATION: The art of making an animated figure move like a unique individual; sometimes described as acting through draw- ings. The animator must understand how the character's personality and body structure will be reflected in its movements.

CHARACTERISTIC CURVE: Shows the relationship between the exposure of a photographic material and the image density produced after processing.

CHECK: The step in production in which all elements of a scene are exam- ined and checked against the exposure sheet to ensure they are correct before being filmed. In studio animation, the person responsible for this step is the Checker.

CHECKER-BOARD CUTTING: A method of assembling alternate scenes of negative in A and B rolls allowing prints to be made without visible splices.

CHEMICAL SPLICE: See CEMENT SPLICE.

CHIAROSCURO: The arrangement or treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art, or in a given frame of a motion picture.

CHROMAKEY: A method of electronically matting or inserting an image from one camera into the picture produced by another. Also called "keying", the system uses a solid color background behind the subject to be inserted and signal processing through a special effects generator.

CHROMINANCE: The color portion of a video signal.

CINCH MARKS: Short scratches on the surface of a motion picture film, running parallel to its length; these are caused by dust or other abrasive particles between film coils, or improper winding of the roll, permitting one coil of film to slide against another.

CINCHING: Practice of pulling the end of a roll to tighten it. Not recommended.

CINEMASCOPE: Trade name of a system of anamorphic wide-screen pre- sentation. The first commercially successful anamorphic system for the presentation of wide-screen pictures combined with stereophonic sound. The 35 mm negative camera image is compressed horizontally by 50 percent using a special anamorphic camera lens. Upon projection, the 35 mm print image is expanded horizontally by the same amount using a similar anamorphic projection lens. Depending on the type of sound used in the print, the screen image has an aspect ratio of 2:35:1 (optical sound), or 2:55:1 (4-track magnetic sound).

CINEMIRACLE: A wide-screen presentation, as in Cinerama, that used three separate 35 mm film strips projected on a large, deeply curved screen. One of the main differences, however, was the consolidation of the three projectors in a single booth away from the audience. This was accomplished by the use of mirrors on the two outer projectors to main- tain picture orientation.

CINEON DIGITAL FILM SYSTEM: A new Kodak system which transfers images originated on film to a digital format for electronic compositing, manipulation and enhancement, and outputs back to film with no loss of image quality.

CINEPANORAMIC: A wide-screen process compatible with CinemaScope- type presentations.

CINERAMA: Originally, a wide-screen presentation utilizing three separate 35 mm films, each containing one third of the total image (6 perforations high), and projected on a deeply curved and vertically slotted screen from three projectors located in booths on the main floor of the auditorium. The sense of involvement was extraordinary, but the ever-present seams between the separate projected images were quite distracting. Current Cinerama presentations use 70 mm film containing a single image that is purposely distorted. During projection, the image distortion is corrected by the deeply curved screen and the original Cinerama sensation is recreated.

CINEX STRIP: A short test print in which each frame has been printed at a different exposure level.

CIRCARAMA: A special presentation system used at Disneyland. The spectators stand in the rniddle of a circle viewing a 360-degree panorama on a surround screen 8 feet high and 40 feet in diameter made up of eleven panels. The original negatives are made on eleven 16 mm cameras arranged in a concentric circle. The prints are projected by a ring of interlocked 16 mm projectors.

CIRCUITING: The practice of shipping feature releases directly from one theater to another without intervening inspection or repair.

CLAPSTICKS: Two boards hinged at one end that are slapped together to indicate the start of a filming session (take). Used by editors in conjunction with a slate, which provides the corresponding visual cue, to synchronize sound and image.

CLAW: Mechanism used in most camera and projectors to move the film intermittently.

CLAY ANIMATION: An animation technique involving the use of pliable clay figures that are manipulated before each exposure.

CLEANUP: The process of retracing the animators' rough, sketchy drawings and converting them into finished drawings with smooth outlines that can be transferred to cels. In studio animation, this is done by the Cleanup Artist. See also roughs.

CLICK TRACK: A timing device used when elements of the sound track are added after the animation has been completed. The beat to which the animation is matched is recorded onto tape and played through ear- phones for the conductor, sound effects creator, and/or voice artists, enabling them to match their sounds to the film.

CLOSE-UP: A detail photographed from such a distance that only a small portion of the subject fills a frame of film.

CLUTCH: A mechanical device used to transfer rotational motion from a power source to a driven source. In projectors, the device on the take-up spindle that is used to adjust the tension on the film during take up. When using reels with a hub-to-rim ratio of more than 1:3, the clutch adjustment can be critical if film damage is to be avoided.

COATED LENS: A lens covered with a very thin layer of transparent material that reduces the amount of light reflected by the surface or the lens. A coated lens usually transmits more light than an uncoated lens at the same f-stop, because of less flare.

COLD MIRROR: An interference coated mirror in a lamphouse which does not reflect the infra-red rays.

COLLIMATED: A beam of light is said to be collimated when all of its rays have been made parallel.

COLOR ANALYZER: A device for determining the correct printing light ratios for printing color negatives.

COLOR BALANCE: The perceptual appearance of a color image of film as a function of the ration of exposures of each of these primary color records on the film.

COLOR BURST: A sample of the color subcarrier that is inserted into the horizontal blanking interval at the start of each line of video.

COLOR CORRECTION: The altering of the color balance by modifying the ratio of the printing light values. COLOR DUPLICATE (DUPE)

NEGATIVE: Duplicate with a negative color image; made from a negative color original. Typically used for making release prints.

COLOR FILM: Color film carries one or more emulsions which after processing.

COLOR INTERNEGATIVE: Negative-image color duplicate made from a positive color original. Typically used for making release prints.

COLOR NEGATIVE: A negative (opposite) record of the original scene. Colors are the complementaries of the colors in the scene; light areas are dark, and dark areas are light.

COLOR POSITIVE: A positive record of the original scene.

COLOR PRINT FILM: Film designed for making positive prints from color originals and color duplicates.

COLOR REVERSAL FILM: Film that after processing has a color positive image. Can be an original camera film or a film in which other positive films are printed.

COLOR REVERSAL INTERMEDIATE: Color duplicate negative made by the reversal process directly from an original color negative.

COLOR SATURATION: A term used to describe the brilliance or purity of a color. When colors present in a film image are projected at the proper screen brightness and without interference from stray light, the colors that appear bright, deep, rich, and undiluted are said to be saturated.

COLOR SENSITIVITY: Portion of the spectrum to which a film is sensitive. The ability of the eye or photographic stock to respond to various wavelengths of light.

COLOR SEPARATION NEGATIVE: Black-and-white negative made from red, green, or blue light from an original subject or from positive color film.

COLOR TEMPERATURE: The color quality expressed in degrees Kelvin (K) - of the light source. The higher the color temperature, the bluer the light; the lower the temperature, the redder the light.

COLOR TEST: Footage of a film that has been timed and which is used as a check to make sure that colors, characters, and backgrounds do not clash in the finished film. See timing.

COMBINED NEGATIVE: Negative film containing the picture and the sound track.

COMPLEMENTARY COLOR: Color that is minus one of the primary colors. Cyan is minus red-cyan and red are complementary colors; yellow is minus blue-yellow and blue are complementary colors; magenta is minus green-magenta and green are complementary colors. Produces white when mixed in equal parts with the primary color to which it is complementary.

COMPONENT VIDEO: A system of signal recording and processing that maintains the original video elements separately rather than combined (encoded) into a single, composite signal.

COMPOSITE PRINT:A print of a film that contains both picture and sound track. Films regularly shown in theaters are composite prints. Also called Release Print.

COMPOSITE VIDEO: A video signal in which the luminance and chrominance elements have been combined, as is NTSC, PAL and SECAM.

COMPOSITING: The process of combining two or more separate images into a single, new irnage.

COMPOSTION: The distribution, balance, and general relationship of masses and degrees of light and shade, line, and color within a picture area.

COMPOUND: The flat, table like part of an animation stand, on which the artwork rests while it is being photographed.

COMPUTER ANIMATION: A field of animation that takes advantage of the computer's ability to direct and generate a video image based on pre-programmed input.

CONFORM: Match the original film to the final edited work print.

CONTACT PRINT: Print made by exposing the receiving material in contact with the original. Images are the same size as the original images, but have a reversed left-to-right orientation.

CONTACT PRINTER: Printer in which the two pieces of film are in contact, usually emulsion-to-emulsion, during exposure.

CONTINUITY: The smooth flow of action or events from one shot or sequence to the next.

CONTINUOUS CONTACT PRINTER: A printing machine where the emul- sion of the negative film is in direct physical contact with the positive raw stock emulsion, and the two films are moving continuously across the printing aperture.

CONTINUOUS MOTION PROJECTOR: A projector in which the film moves through the projector gate in nonintermittent motion.

CONTRAST: (1) The general term for describing the tone separation in a print in relation to a given difference in the light-and-shade of the negative or subject from which it was made. Thus, "contrast" is the general term for the property called "gamma" (Y), which is measured by mak- ing an H & D Curve for the process under study. (2) The range of tones in a photographic negative or positive expressed as the ratio of the extreme opacities or transparencies or as the difference between the extreme densities. This range is more properly described as "scale" or "latitude." (3) The ability of a photographic material, developer, or process as a whole to differentiate among small graduations in the tones of the subject.

CONTROL STRIP: A short length of film containing a series of densities to check on laboratory procedures.

COOKIE (kukaloris): A thin panel with regular or irregular shapes cut out, permitting light directed through it to form a pattern on a background.

CORE (Film): A plastic cylinder on which film is wound, shipped and stored.

CORRECTION FILTER: A medium enabling a color change.

COUNTERCURRENT WASH: Wash water that is flowing through several interconnected tanks in the opposite direction to the film travel. The inlet pipe is usually situated near the bottom of the tank and the over-flow at the waterline near the film entrance.

COUPLER: A chemical incorporated in the emulsion of color film stocks which produces a dye image associated with the developed silver image.

CRANE: The mounting that supports the camera over the compound.

CREASES: A crease is defined as a distinct sharp fold-line or crack in a piece of film.

CREDITS: Titles of acknowledgement for the production.

CRI: Color Reversal Intermediate, a duplicate color negative prepared by reversal processing.

CROPPING: To change, delete, or otherwise alter the size of an image being projected or viewed as a print. In theatrical projection it is usually the result of "home made" aperture plates, improper screen rnasking, wrong focal length lenses, etc.

CROSS ABRASIONS: Short scratches across the film width that occur when sections of the roll shift from side-to-side during shipment.

CROSS MODULATION TEST: A test designed to rneasure the degree of the unwanted image spread in a photographic variable-area sound negative and its cancellation by the positive print.

CURL: A defect of a photographic film consisting of unflatness in a plane cutting across the width of the film. Curl may result from improper drying conditions, and the direction and amount of curl may vary with the humidity of the air to which the film is exposed.

CURTAINS: Non-uniform densities that run lengthwise on the projected image; caused by inadequate agitation during pre-development and development.

CURVE (H&D): The characteristic curve developed by Hurter and Driffield that depicts how faithfully a photographic emulsion has reproduced the tonal scale of the original scene.

CUT: (1) The instantaneous change from one scene to another. Successive frames contain the last frame of one scene and the first frame of the following scene. (2) To stop operation of camera, action, and/or sound recording equipment. (3) To sever or splice film in the editing process.

CUTTING: The selection and assembly of the various scenes or sequences of a reel of film.

CYAN: Blue-green; the complement of red or the minus-red subtractive used in three-color processes.

CYCLE: A series of drawings that are photographed again and again. The last drawing moves logically into the first, to create the appearance of continuous, repetitive motion. Cycles are normally used for movements that are repeated without variation, such as walks or runs.

D LOG H CURVE: The curve showing the relation between the logarithm of the exposure and the resultant density on processed film.

D-1: Component video in the 19mm digital cassette format.

D-2: Composite video in the 19mm digital cassette format.

D-3: Composite video in the half-inch digital cassette format.

D-4: Ommited; an obscenity in Japan.

D-5: Component video in the half-inch digital cassette format.

D-LOG E: (Density vs the log of exposure) The graph made by plotting the density of a film sample against the log of the exposure that made that density. Also known as D-Log H and H and D curve. D-Log H (H for exposure) is the technically correct terrn.

D-MAX: See Maximum Density.

D-MIN: See Minimum Density.

DAILIES: Picture and sound work prints of a day's shooting; usually an untimed one-light print, made without regard to color balance. Produced so that the action can be checked and the best takes selected; usually shown before the next day's shooting begins.

DATASHEET: A publication giving technical details of a specific film product.

DAYLIGHT: Light consisting of a natural combination of sunlight and skylight (approximately 6500 degrees K).

DECIBEL (dB): Unit of loudness measured on a logarithmic scale. The human ear can perceive 1 dB changes in loudness in the aural range.

DEFINITION: The clarity or distinctness with which detail of an image is rendered; fidelity of reproduction of sound or image.

DELRAMA: A wide-screen process compatible with CinemaScope-type pre- sentations

DENSITOMETER: Instrument used to measure the optical density of an area in a processed image by transmittance or by reflectance.

DENSITOMETRY: Science of measuring the light-stopping characteristics of film or filters.

DENSITY: Light-stopping characteristics of a film or a filter. The negative logarithm to the base ten of the transmittance (or reflectance) of the sample. A sample which transmits 2 of the incident light has a transmittance of 0.50, or 50 percent and a density of 0.30.

DEPTH OF FIELD: The range of object distances within which objects are in satisfactory sharp focus in a photograph.

DEPTH OF FOCUS: The range through which a photographic film or plate can be moved forward and backward with respect to the lens while retaining satisfactory sharp focus on an object at a given distance.

DESIGNER: In studio animation, the person responsible for the overall look and style of the film.

DEVELOPER: A solution used to turn the latent image into a visible image on exposed films.

DEVELOPMENT: Process of making a visible film image from the latent image produced during exposure.

DIAGONAL SCRATCHES: Slanted cross scratches on the film usually caused by the film riding over the edge of a roller flange. More common in platter transport systems.

DIALOGUE: The portion of the sound track that is recorded by the voice artists and spoken by the characters on the screen.

DIAPHRAGM: An adjustable opening mounted behind or between the elements or a lens used to control the amount of light that reaches the film. Openings are usually calibrated in f-numbers

DICHROIC INTERFERENCE MIRROR: Mirror with layered coatings designed to control spectral light qualities; absorbs certain frequencies and transmits others.

DICHROIC: A type of coating that when applied to glass can produce a so- called "cold" mirror for use in projector lamphouses that permits greater screen brightness without the risk of radiant energy (heat) problems. Usually, the rear surface of the mirror is treated by depositing very thin layers of a special coating material designed to transmit infrared (IR) radiation effectively and reflect visible radiation. Alternatively, by selecting certain other materials for the deposit, IR radiation can be reflected and visible radiation transmitted, thus providing an efficient heat filter for arc radiation devices.

DIFFRACTION: The spreading of light as it passes the edges of opaque objects or through narrow slits. Light also is diffracted when passing through a lens. The effects of this distortion on images is greater as the aperture becomes srnaller.

DIFFUSION: The spreading of light rays from a rough reflecting surface or by transmission of light through a translucent material.

DIGITAL: A system whereby a continuously variable (analog) signal is broken down and incoded into discrete binary bits that represent a mathematical model of the original signal.

DIGITAL EFFECTS: Special effects, such as picture compression, rotation, reversal, etc., performed with a digital effects system.

DIGITAL RECORDING: Sound-recording process in which sound waves are recorded as digital bits. During playback, a digital-to-analog conversion occurs that changes the digital bits back into sound waves. Digital recording produces high-quality true sound that does not contain any system noise.

DIGITAL VIDEOTAPE: A forrnat which stores an image on tape as a binary code, allowing it to be moved through various digital devices with minimal loss of quality. Current storage formats are D 1, D2, D3.

DIGITAL STORAGE DEVICE: A device using magnetic or optical disks to store and retrieve digital images and/ or information.

DIMENSION 150: A special 70 mm system developed in 1963 that consisted of special optics used in printers and projectors. The manufactured prints could be shown on deeply curved screens such as those used in Cinerama.

DIMMER: An electrical device, normally in the form of variable resistance or load, that reduces electrical energy to a lamp, usually by reducing voltage.

DIRECTOR: The person who interprets the written book or script. He/she oversees all aspects of the production.

DISHING: Occurs when a loosely or tightly wound roll of film slips edgewise to form a concave/convex dish like form.

DISK STORAGE DEVICE: A device using magnetic or optical disks to store and retrieve digital images and/or information.

DISSOLVE: An optical or camera effect in which one scene gradually fades out at the same time that a second scene fades in. There is an apparent double exposure during the center portion of a dissolve sequence where the two scenes overlap.

DISTRIBUTOR: Firm that sells, leases, and rents films.

DOLBY SYSTEM: Trade name for an audio noise-reduction system.

DOLLY: (1) A truck built to carry camera and camera operator to facilitate movement of the camera during the shooting of scenes. (2) To move the camera toward or away from the subject while shooting a scene.

DOUBLE (MULTIPLE) EXPOSURE: The photographic recording of two (or more) images on a single strip of film. The images may be either superimposed or side by side in any relationship, sometimes individually vignetted.

DOUBLE-FRAME: Identical views photographed twice (two frames) instead of once. This technique cuts in half either the speed of a movement or the number of drawings required for a complete action. Sometimes called "on twos."

DOUBLE SYSTEM RECORDING: Synchronous sound recording on a recorder that is separate from the camera. Recorders are typically magnetic with sync-pulse capability.

DOUBLE SYSTEM SOUND: Recording of sound on tape and picture on film; synchronization occurs during editing.

DROP FRAME: A type of SMPTE time code designed to match clock time exactly. Two frames of code are dropped every minute, on the minute, except every tenth minute, to correct for the fact that color frames occur at a rate of 29.97 per second, rather than an exact 30 frames per second (see Non-Drop Frame). Designed to drive editors crazy!

DUBBING: The combination of several sound components into a single recording.

DUBRAY-HOWELL PERFORATION: A general purpose rectangular film perforation having the width of a positive perforation and the height of a negative perforation. DUPE,

DUPE NEGATIVE: A duplicate negative, made from a master positive by printing and development or from an original negative by printing followed by reversal development.

DUSTING: The formation and accumulation of fine particles in the projector gate area. Can be caused by material scraped from the film due to misalignment of film in the gate, excessive tension, lack of proper lubrication, etc. See Angel hair.

DYE: In photography, the result of color processing in which the silver grains or incorporated color couplers have been converted into the appropriate dye to forrn part of the color image.

EBERHARD EFFECT: See Adjacency Effect.

EDGE DAMAGE: Physical damage of the edge of a film or the perforation.

EDGE GUIDE: A fixed edge or shoulder against which the film is physically pressed to ensure steadiness in the lateral direction.

EDGE NUMBERS: (Key Numbers / Footage Numbers) Sequential numbers printed along the edge of a strip of film by the manufacturer to designate identification.

EDGEWAX: Waxing method recommended for lubricating release prints; treatment is with a solution of 50 grams of paraffin wax per litre of trichloroethane applied only to the edges of the emulsion side of the film.

EDGEWEAVE: Occurs when one or both of the edges (along the length of the film) are longer than the center.

EDIT: To arrange the various shots, scenes, and sequences, or the elements of the sound track, in the order desired to create the finished film.

EDIT SYNC (LEVEL SYNC) (EVEN SYNC): The relation between the picture and sound records during editing, when they are in alignment and not offset as for projection.

EDITING: The process of selecting the shots and sequences that will be included in the final film, their length, and the order in which they will appear.

EDITOR: The individual who decides what scenes and takes are to be used, how, where, in what sequence, and at what length they will appear.

EDL (EDIT DECISION LIST): List of edits prepared during off-line editing.

EMBOSSING: A permanent film deformation caused by repeated projections with very high-intensity lamps. This distortion has not been observed to have a detrimental effect on screen image quality.

EMULSION, EMULSION LAYER: (1) Broadly, any light-sensitive photographic material consisting of a gelatin emulsion containing silver halides together with the base and any other layers or ingredients that may be required to produce a film having desirable mechanical and photographic properties. (2) In discussions of the anatomy of a photographic film, the emulsion layer is any coating that contains light sensitive silver halides grains, as distinguished from the backing, base, substratum, or filter layers

EMULSION NUMBER: A number identifying a complete coating from a single emulsion batch or mixture.

EMULSION SIDE: The side of a film coated with emulsion.

EMULSION SPEED: The photosensitivity of a film, usually expressed as an index number based on the film manufacturer's recommendations for the use of the film under typical conditions of exposure and development.

ENCODER: A circuit that combines the primary red, green and blue signals into a composite video signal.

EQUIVALENT NEUTRAL DENSITY (END): Form of analytical neutral density that describes image color directly.

ESTAR BASE: The trade name applied to the polyethylene terephthalate film base manufactured by Eastman Kodak Company.

EXCHANGE: A depository and inspection/distribution center for theatrical release prints. Exchanges are located in approximately 35 regional areas within the United States roughly dependent on theater and population density.

EXISTING LIGHT: Available light, Strictly speaking, existing light covers all natural lighting from moonlight to sunshine. For photographic purposes, existing light represents the light that is already on the scene or project and includes room lamps, fluorescent lamps, spotlights, neon sighs, candles, daylight through windows, outdoor scenes at twilight or in moonlight.

EXPOSURE: Amount of light that acts on a photographic material; product of illumination intensity (contrlled by the lens opening) and duration (controlled by the shutter opening and the frame rate).

EXPOSURE INDEX (El): Number assigned to a film that expresses its rela- tive sensitivity to light. The El is based on the film emulsion speed, a standard exposure technique, and specific processing solutions.

EXPOSURE LATITUDE: Degree to which film can be underexposed or overexposed and still yield satisfactory results.

EXPOSURE METER, INCIDENT: A meter calibrated to read and integrate all the light aimed at and failing on a subject within a large area. (Scale may be calibrated in footcandles or in photographic exposure settings.)

EXPOSURE METER, REFLECTANCE: A meter calibrated to read the amount of light, within a more restricted area, reflecting from the surface of a subject or an overall scene. (Scale rnay be calibrated in footcandles or in photographic exposure settings.)

EXPOSURE SETTING: The lens opening selected to expose the film.

EXPOSURE SHEET: The frame-by-frame instructions for the camera operator that accompany the artwork when it is sent to be photographed.

f-NUMBER: A symbol that expresses the relative aperture of a lens. For example, a lens having a relative aperture of 1.7 would be marked f/1.7, The smaller the f-number, the more light the lens transmits.

FADE: Exposure of motion picture film either in the camera or during subsequent operations, so that, for a fade-in, starting with no exposure and extending for a predetermined number of frames, each successive frame receives a systematically greater exposure then the frame preceding it, until full normal exposure for the scene has been attained. From this frarne on, successive frames receive identical exposure for the remainder of the take.

FALL-OFF: The gradual reduction in luminance from the screen center to the edges and corners.

FAST: (1) Having a high photographic speed. The term may be applied to a photographic process as a whole, or it may refer to any element in the process, such as the optical system, emulsion, developer. (2) Resistant to the action of destructive agents. For example, a dye image may be fast to light, fast to heat, or fast to diffusion.

FEATHERED LIGHT: A light moved off axis so that only the weaker edge of the light pattem strikes the subject. A natural shading or fall-off results.

FERROTYPING: Mottled emulsion caused by improper final drying or condensation on a roll of film.

FIELD OF VIEW: The portion of the scene in front of the camera represented within the limits of the camera aperture at the focal plane. Area of field thus varies with focal length of lens and camera-to-subject distance.

FIELD (VIDEO): One-half of a complete picture (or frame), containing all the odd or even scanning lines of the picture. In television, one of two complete sequences of raster lines forming an image.

FILL LIGHT: Light used to fill in shadows.

FILM (motion picture film): A thin, flexible, transparent ribbon with perforations along one or both edges; it bears either a succession of images or a sensitive layer capable of producing photographic images. See Raw stock.

FILM BASE: Flexible, usually transparent, support on which photographic emulsions are coated.

FILM CAN: Metal container designed to hold rolls, spools, or reels of motion-picture films.

FILM CEMENT: A special combination of solvents and solids used to make overlap splices on motion picture film by its solvent action and subsequent welding of the film at the junction.

FILM EXCHANGE: See Exchange.

FILM FOOTAGE ENCODER TIME CODE GENERATOR: An electronic device which takes the input from a Keykode numbers reader, decodes this information and correlates the numbers with the SMPTE time code it generates. This data, along with 3:2 pull-down status of the transfer, footage count and audio time code (if applicable) are made available for window burn-ins, VITC-LTC recording and RS-232 output to a computer. (See Kodak Post-Production Flowchart)

FILM GATE: Components that make up the pressure and aperture plates in a camera, printer, or projector.

FILM GAUGE: Width of the standard sizes of motion picture films.

FIILM IDENTIFICATION CODE: Letter which identifies film type.

FILM NUMBER: An identification code number given to every film product.

FILM-TO-TAPE TRANSFER: The process of transferring an image captured on film to videotape.

FILM PATCH: Transparent material used to repair film damage such as broken perforations, etc.

FILM PERFORATION: Holes punched at regular intervals for the length of film, intended to be engaged by pins, pegs, and sprockets as the film is transported through the camera, projector, or other equipment.

FILM SPEED: See "Emulsion Speed."

FILM WEAVE: The lateral displacement or irregular and undesirable movement of the film as it passes through the gate of a camera projector.

FILTER: A piece of glass, gelatin or other transparent material used over the lens or light source to emphasize, eliminate or change the color or density of the entire scene or certain elements in the scene.

FILTER LAYER: In a photographic film, a thin, uniform, colored layer that is coated above or below the emulsion to serve as a light filter; it controls the spectral quality of the light reaching the emulsion.

FINAL CUT: Last editing of a workprint before conforming is done or before sound workprints are mixed.

FINE GRAIN: Emulsion in which silver particles are very small.

FIRST PRINT: The first trial composite (married) print containing both picture and sound for the purpose of checking picture and sound quality.

FIXING BATH (HYPO): A solution that removes any non-exposed silver-halide crystals in the film. In addition, with color films, the silver is removed from the exposed area, leaving only the image-forming dyes.

FLAG: See GOBO.

FLAKING: The removal (chipping away) of emulsion particles from the edges of the film that tend to redeposit in the image area while the film is going through the projector gate. Flaking is cased by a lack of proper edgewax lubrication.

FLANGE: The rim on a roller used for guiding the film. Also, a large disc used on a rewind to take up film on a core. A pair of flanges (discs) that screw together is called a split reel.

FLASHING: Technique for lowering contrast by giving a slight uniform exposure to film before processing.

FLAT: An image is said to be "flat" if its contrast is too low. Flatness is a defect that does not necessarily affect the entire density scale of a reproduction to the same degree. Thus, a picture may be "flat" in the highlight areas, or "flat" in the shadow regions or both.

FLUTE: See Edgeweave.

FLUTING: Effect of swelling on the outside film edges.

FLUTTER: In sound, rapid period variation of frequency caused by unsteadiness of the film or tape drive.

FLYSWATTERS: See GOBO.

FOCAL LENGTH: The distance from the optical center of a lens to the point at which parallel rays of light passing through it converge (the focal point).

FOCAL PLANE: The area in space on which parallel rays of light refracted through a lens focus to form sharp images.

FOCUS: To adjust a lens so that it produces the sharpest visual image on a screen, on a camera film plane, etc.

FOG: Darkening or discoloring of a negative or print, or lightening or discoloring of a reversal material. Causes include accidental exposure to light or X-rays, overdevelopment, using outdated film, and storing film in a hot, humid place.

FOLEY: Background sounds added during audio sweetening to heighten realism, e.g., footsteps, bird calls, heavy breathing, short gasps, etc.

FOLLOW FOCUS: To change the focus setting of a lens as a scene is being photographed to keep a moving subject in sharp focus.

FOOTAGE: A method of measuring film length and therefore, screen time. As 90 feet of 35 mm film equal one minute of screen time, 35 mm footage is used in many studios as a measure of an animator's weekly output. Animators also refer to the length of scenes in feet, rather than in seconds or rninutes-a 30-foot scene, rather than a 20-second one.

FOOTAGE NUMBERS: Also called edge numbers. Sequential numbers which are pre-exposed or printed in ink at regular intervals on the edge of the film outside or in between the perforations.

FOOTLAMBERT: US luminance measurement unit (1 footlambert = 3.425 candelas per square meter). See Candela.

FORCE-PROCESS: Develop film for longer than the normal time to compensate for underexposure.

FOREGROUND: The part of the scene in front of the camera, represented within the limits of the camera aperture, occupied by the object(s) nearest to the camera.

FOREHARDENED FILM: Any of the films designed for high-temperature processing.

FORMAT: The size or aspect ratio of a motion picture frame.

FPM: Feet Per Minute, expressing the speed of film moving through a mechanism.

FPS: Frames Per Second, indicating the number or images exposed per second.

FRAME: The individual picture image on a strip of motion picture film.

FRAME-BY-FRAME: Filming in which each frame is exposed separately, as the object being photographed must be altered before each exposure in order to create the illusion of movement in the finished film; as opposed to the more usual method of filming in which the film runs through the camera at a steady, prescribed rate to record action taking place before it.

FRAME COUNTER: An indicator which shows the exact number of frames exposed.

FRAME LINE: The separation between adjacent image frames on motion picture film.

FRAME LINE MARKING: A mark placed on the edge of the film between every fourth perforation as an aid to splicing in frame when no image or frame line is visible. On 70 mm film, a small punched hole placed between every fifth perforation.

FRAME (VIDEO): A complete television picture made up of two fields, pro- duced at the rate of approximately 29.97 Hz (color), or 30Hz (black& white).

FRAMESTORE: A digital device designed to store and display a single televisions frame as a "freeze frame". (See also Still Store)

FREEZE FRAME: An optical printing effect in which a single frame image is repeated so as to appear stationary when projected.

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: Ability of the photographic sound track to reproduce the full spectral range of sounds.

FRONT END: General terms for all production and preparation work up to the Answer Print stage before Release Printing.

FULL-COAT: Magnetic film that is entirely covered on one side with the recording medium.

GAIN, SCREEN: The measure of a screen's ability to reflect the light incident to it. A perfect screen would reflect back all the light that was incident to it at all angles. Such a screen would have a gain of 1.0. In practical use, however, most matte screens that allow wide viewing angles have a gain of about 0.85. Special metallized or directional screens can provide up to about 15 times more reflected light than a common matte screen, but their viewing angles are generally very limited, making them unsuitable for most theatrical applications.

GAMMA: Measurement of the contrast of an image, representing the slope of the straight-line portion of the characteristic curve.

GATE: The aperture assembly at which the film is exposed in a camera, printer or projector.

GATE TENSION: The resistance to film movement produced by adjustable spring-loaded rails in the projector gate.

GAUGE: Refers to the format of the film stock, i.e., super 8, 16 mm, or 35mm.

GELATIN FILTER (GEL): A light filter consisting of a gelatin sheet in which light-absorbing pigment or dye is incorporated.

GENEVA MOVEMENT: A mechanical device that produces intermittent film movement in the projector. The principle behind the movement involves a rotating cam and pin that intermittently engages in a four- slotted star wheel, also known as a Geneva cross or Maltese cross. During the pin/slot engagement, the star wheel shaft containing the intermittent sprocket rotates 90o, or one frame. At normal projection speed, this intermittent rotation occurs 24 times per second.

GENLOCK: A system whereby the internal sync generator in a device, such as a camera, locks on to and synchronizes itself with an incoming signal.

GLOVE: A white, lintless, cotton glove used when handling motion picture raw stock and new release prints in the laboratory. Should be used in all film handling situations and changed frequently.

GOBO: Panel of opaque material on a footed stand with an adjustable arm. Used to confine the area a light illuminates, or to keep light from shining directly into the camera lens.

GRAININESS: The character of a photographic image when, under normal viewing conditions, it appears to be made up of distinguishable particles, or grains. This is due to the grouping together, or "clumping" of the individual silver grains, which are by themselves far too small to be perceived under normal viewing conditions.

GRANULARITY: Nonuniformity in a photographic image that can be rneasured with a densitometer.

GRAY CARD: A commercially prepared card that reflects 18 percent of the light hitting it. Visually it appears neutral, or a middle gray halfway between black and white.

"GREEN" PRINT: A newly processed print on which the emulsion may still be a little soft. If projected the first time without proper edgewax lubrication, perforation damage can result.

GROOVED TOOTH: A tooth on the intermittent sprocket that has a groove worn at the base on the pull-down side as a result of wear. It normally appears on all the teeth. The sprocket should be replaced although film darnage does not always occur immediately.

GROSS FOG: The density of the base of the film plus the density of the fog in the emulsion. Also known as D-min and base + fog.

GUIDE RAILS: Vertical rails located on both sides of the projector trap that restrict lateral movement of the film as it passes through the projector gate.

GUIDE ROLLER: Any roller with flanges that is used to guide or restrict the position of motion picture film as it moves through a camera, projector, or printer.

GUILLOTINE SPLICER: Device used for butt-splicing film with splicing tape.

H&D CURVE: The graph made by plotting the density of a film sample against the log of the exposure that made that density. Named after Messrs. Hurter and Driffield who created the science of sensitometry.

HALATION: A defect of photographic films and plates. Light forming an image on the film is scattered by passing through the emulsion or by reflection at the emulsion or base surfaces. This scattered light causes a local fog which is especially noticeable around image of light sources or sharply defined highlight areas

HALIDE: Compound with a halogen, such as chlorine, bromine, iodine.

HARD: (1) As applied to a photographic emulsion or developer, having a high contrast. (2) As applied to the lighting of a set, specular or harsh, giving sharp dense shadows and glaring highlight.

HARD LIGHT: Light made up of directional rays of light that creates strong, hard, well-defined shadows; sometimes called specular light.

HARRY:The trade name for a highly sophisticated and versatile digital effects system manufactured by Quantel. Used to create two- and three- dimensional animated graphic, transpose and transform objects and change colors. (See also Paintbox)

HAZE FILTER: These filter provide varying degrees of blue-light and green-light absorption.

HDTV: High Definition Television, a recently developed video format with a resolution approximately twice that of standard television.

HEAD END, HEADS: The beginning of a reel where the film image is upside down when the film is threaded into a projector for showing.

HEAD- RECORDING: On a tape recorder, printer or projector an electro- magnet across which the tape or film is drawn and which magnetizes the coating on the tape base during recording.

HEAT FILTER: An optical device that absorbs or reflects the nonvisible heat energy radiating from the arc lamp source before it reaches the film plane of the projector. See Dichroic.

HEATER BARNEY: Padded camera cover with electric heating elements; used for cold-weather filming.

HERTZ (HZ): Unit of frequency; 1Hz = 1 cycle per second.

HIGH-SPEED CAMERA: A camera designed to expose film at rates faster than 24 frames per second. Used to obtain slow-motion effects.

HIGHLIGHTS: Visually the brightest, or photometrically the most Iuminant, areas of a subject. In the negative image, the areas of greatest density; in the positive image, the areas of least density.

HMI LIGHTS: Metal halide lamps are fundamentally mercury arcs with metal halide additives to adjust the color balance. Usually rated at approximately 5400 K. For daylight-balanced films.

HOLD: To freeze or stop the action. To achieve a hold in animation, the sarne cel or position of an object is photographed for several frames.

HOT: Referrng to too much light in an area, or to an excessively bright highlight.

HUE: Sensation of the color itself,. measured by the dominant wavelength.

HUMIDITY: A term referring to the presence or absence of moisture in the air. For instance, low humidity describes conditions in a desert. Conversely, high humidity is related to tropical rain forest conditions.

HYPO (FIXER): The name for fixing bath made from ammonium or sodium thiosulfate, other chemicals and water; often used as a synonym for fixing bath.

IDLE ROLLER: Free turning non-sprocketed rollers for guiding film through its appropriate path.

ILLUMINANT: Light source used to project the film image or to expose the film.

IMAGE, LATENT IMAGE: The invisible image formed in a camera or printer by the action of light on a photographic emulsion.

IMAGE ORIENTATION: Laboratory function that assures that the projected image is properly formed on the screen, and that the sound track is on the appropriate side of the film.

IMAGE SPREAD: Exposure slightly beyond the edges of the images forrned by light striking the film.

IMAGE STRUCTURE: Measurement of the capacity of an emulsion to record detail faithfully.

IMBIBITION PRINT: A color print produced by the transfer of magenta, cyan, and yellow dyed matrix films in register on a specially prepared clear film base or paper - Technicolor process and KODAK Dye Transfer process.

IN-BETWEENS: The drawings that fall between the extreme points of a movement. In studio animation, these drawings are done by an assistant animator or in-betweener.

INDEPENDENT: An animator who chooses not to be part of a studio, but works alone to produce his or her films.

INFRARED: Nonvisible, long wavelength radiation from a carbon or xenon arc that contributes to the heating of the film and equipment.

INTEGRAL DENSITY: Measurement of how incident light is affected by the integral absorption of the color image rather than by the individual dye.

INTEGRAL DYE MASKING: Using a different colored coupler to improve color rendition; masking couplers produce brighter, more saturated col- ors while maintaining neutral.

INTENSITY, LIGHT: A term referring to the power (strength) of a light source ... the total visible radiation produced by the light source.

INTERLOCK: A system that electronically links a projector with a sound recorder; used during post-production to view the edited film and sound track, to check timing, pacing, synchronization, etc.

INTERMEDIATE: Film used only for making duplicates from which other duplicates or prints are made. Does not include camera films.

INTERMEDIATE SPROCKET: An intermittently rotated sprocket which positions the film in the aperture of a projector and moves it after the exposure cycle.

INTERMITTENT: Not continuous but equally spaced (sometimes random) motion, as the intermittent (24 fps) motion of film through a projector.

INTERNEGATIVE (DUPE NEGATIVE): Color negative made from a color negative. For making release prints.

INTERPOSITIVE: A color master positive print.

IN THE CAN: Describes a scene or program which has been completed. Also, "That's a wrap".

INFRARED: Nonvisible radiation from the long wavelength portion of the spectrum.

INSERT EDIT: An electronic edit in which the existing control track is not replaced during the editing process. The new segment is inserted into program material already recorded on the video tape.

INTERLACE: The manner in which a television picture is composed, scanning alternate lines to produce one field, approximately every 1/60 of a second in NTSC. Two fields comprise one television frame. Therefore, the NTSC television frame rate of approximately 30fps.

INTERMITTENT MOVEMENT: The mechanism or a camera, printer or projector by which each frame is held stationary when exposed and then advanced to the next.

IPS: Inches Per Second.

ISO: Intemational Standards Organization. The international version of ANSI.

JAM-SYNC: Process of synchronizing a secondary time code generator with a preselected master time code, i.e., synchronizing the smart slate and the audio time code to the same clock.

K: Degrees Kalvin, the unit of the color temperature scale.

KEYKODE NUMBER: Kodak's machine-readable key numbers. Includes 10-digit key number, manufacture identification code, film code and offset in perforations.

KEYKODE READER: Device attached to a telecine or part of a bench logger which reads bar code from motion picture film and provides electronic output to a decoder.

KEY POSE: The characteristic or main pose in a movement.

KEYSTONING: A geometrical image distortion resulting when a projected image strikes a plane surface at an angle other than perpendicular to the axis of throw, or when a plane surface is photographed at an angle other that perpendicular to the axis of the lens.

KICKER: See SEPARATION LIGHT.

KINESCOPE: A film of a video tape made by shooting the picture on a specially designed television monitor. Also referred to as Kine.

KINETOSCOPE: An early filmstrip device developed and devised by Thomas Edison and W. K. L. Dickson.

KUKALORIS: See COOKIE.

LABORATORY: A facility that specializes in processing and printing film, sometimes offering additional services such as editing and film storage.

LABORATORY FILM: Film products, not intended for original photography, but necessary to complete the production process.

LATENT IMAGE: Invisible image in exposed, undeveloped film; results from exposure to light.

LATENT IMAGE EDGE NUMBERING: Images placed on the edge of film products in manufacturing that becorne visible after development.

LATITUDE: In a photographic process, the range of exposure over which substantially correct reproduction is obtained. When the process is represented by an H & D curve, the latitude is the projection on the exposure axis of that part of the curve which approximates a straight line within the tolerance permitted for the purpose at hand.

LAYBACK: Transferring the finished audio track back to the master video tape.

LAYOUT: A detailed drawing of a shot in which background elements, staging of the action, and camera moves are carefully worked out and plotted; the stage of production in which these are determined. See also scene planner.

LEADER: Any film or strip of material used for threading a motion picture machine. Leader may consist of short lengths of blank film attached to the ends of a print to protect the print from damage during the threading of a projector, or it may be a long length of any kind of film which is used to establish the film path in a processing machine before the use of the machine for processing film.

LENS: An optical device designed to produce an image on a screen, on a camera film, and in a variety of optical instruments. Also used to converge, diverge or otherwise control light rays in applications not involving images.

LIGHT: The main illumination of the subject.

LIGHT AXIS: An imaginary line running exactly through the center of intensity of a light.

LIGHT BALANCING FILTER: Makes minor color balance adjustments to the light reaching the film.

LIGHT FILTER: A light-absorbing transparent sheet, commonly consisting of colored glass or dyed gelatin that is placed in an optical system to control the spectral quality, color, or intensity of the light passing a given plane.

LIGHT INTENSITY: Degree of light, per unit, falling on subject; usually expressed in footcandles.

LIGHT METER: An electrical exposure meter for measuring light intensity.

LIGHT METERS: See EXPOSURE METERS.

LIGHT OUTPUT: The maximurn power or energy delivered by a given light: concentrated by a spotlight, or spread out by a floodlight.

LIGHT PIPING: Fog caused by light stnking the edge of film and traveling along the base to expose the emulsion inside the magazine or roll.

LIGHTING - BROAD LIGHTING: The key light illuminates fully the side of the face turned toward the camera.

LIGHTING - SHORT LIGHTING: The key light illuminates fully the "short" side of the face that is turned away from the camera.

LIGHTING RATIO: The ratio of the intensity of key and fill lights to fill light alone.

LIGHT VALVE: Device for controlling intensity and color quality of light on additive prints.

LIP SYNC: Simultaneous precise recording of image and sound so that the sound appears to be accurately superimposed on the image, especially if a person is speaking toward the camera.

LIQUID GATE: A printing system in which the original is immersed in a suitable liquid at the moment of exposure in order to reduce the effect of surface scratches and abrasions.

LIVE-ACTION: The filming or videotaping of staged or documentary scenes of people, props and locations.

LONG PITCH: Perforation type used on print films; slightly greater than perforations on originals films to prevent slippage during printing.

LONG SHOT (LS): The photographing of a scene or action from a distance or a wide angle of view so that a large area of the setting appears on a frame of film, and the scene or objects appear quite small.

LONGITUDINAL SCRATCHES: Scratches running along the length of film.

LOOP (continuous film): A section of film spliced end-to-end for use in printing, testing, dubbing, etc.

LOOP (projector or camera): The path in which the film is formed to allow the film to travel intermittently through the gate.

LOW KEY: A scene is reproduced in a low key if the tone range of the reproduction is largely in the high density portion of the H & D scale of the process.

LTC (LONGITUDINAL TIME CODE): Time code recorded on one of the audio channels of video tape. Requires tape movement to read. (See also VITC)

LUBRICATION: To reduce friction, required on processed print film for optimum transport and projection life.

LUMEN: The measure of luminous flux (the rate at which light pulses are emitted or received). For instance, one candela of light covering a square foot of surface. See FOOTLAMBERT.

LUMINANCE: The measured value of brightness; reflected light measure on motion picture screens as footlamberts or candelas per square meter.

LUX: Metric measure of illumination approximately equal to 10 footcandles (1 lux = 10.764 fc).

MACHINE SPEED: The rate at which film moves through the processor, expressed in feet or meters per minute.

MAGAZINE (projector): Enclosures on a rnotion-picture projector which holds the reels of film.

MAGAZINE TAKE-UP: (United Kingdom uses the term spool box): The device which winds up the film after photography (in a camera), copying (in a printer), and after projection (in projection).

MAGENTA: Purplish color; complementary to green or the minus-green subtractive primary used in the three-color process. Magenta light results when red and blue light overlap.

MAGIC LANTERN: The first projection device, invented in the 17th Century by Athanasius Kircher, consisting of a metal box with a hole in one side covered by a lens; an image painted on a glass slide placed behind the lens is projected by means of a lamp inside the box.

MAGNETIC DISK: A storage format for digital information used in computers and other new technologies, and read by a magnetic disk drive.

MAGNETIC HEAD CLUSTER: The component in a 35 mm magnetic sound head that contains the four magnetic heads used to play back the four separate magnetic tracks on a release print. In 70 mm applications, the cluster holds six magnetic heads.

MAGNETIC SOUND: Sound derived from an electronic audio signal recorded on a magnetic oxide stripe or on full-coated magnetic tape.

MAGNETIC SOUND HEAD: The magnetic sound reproducer installed above the projector head but below the supply reel support arm or magazine.

MAGNETIC STRIPING: The application of magnetic material on motion-picture film intended for the recording of sound.

MAGNETIC TAPE / MAGNETIC FILM: Usually 1/4-inch plastic audio tape that has been coated with particles that can be magnetized. As used on tape recorders. In film use, it is also used in various formats compatible with super 8, 16mm, 35mm and 70 mm films.

MAGNETIC TRACK: Linear path of magnetically recorded audio signal on a magnetic film stripe or tape. The number of "mag tracks" can vary from one to six, depending on the picture format.

MAGOPTICAL: Sound track with an optical track and one or more magnetic tracks.

MAGOPTICAL PRINT: Composite release print that contains both optical and magnetic sound tracks.

MAKEUP TABLE: A film handling unit that is one component of a platter system. It is used to assemble (makeup)the individual shipping reels into one large film roll on a platter for uninterrupted projection. See Breakdown table.

MALTESE CROSS: See Geneva movement.

MANUFACTURER IDENTIFICATION CODE: Letter which identifies film manufacture. K = Eastman Kodak Company.

MASKING: Restricting the size of a projected image on a screen by the use of black borders around the screen. Also the restriction in size of any projected image or photographic print by the use of undercut aperture plates or masks and borders.

MASTER POSITIVE: Timed print made from a negative original and from which a duplicate negative is made.

MASTER: The final negative-reversal positive or intermediate film from which subsequent prints are made.

MASTER SHOT: Usually a long shot in which all action in a scene takes place. Action is repeated for the MS and CU which may be cut into the scene.

MATCH FRAME EDIT: An edit in which the source and record tapes pick up exactly where they left off. Often used to extend a previous edit. Also called a "tacking edit".

MATCHING CHECK SYMBOLS: Two (35mm) or four (16mm) randomly selected and placed symbols designed as an extra matching check. To use: after matching key number and checking picture, verify that same symbols are located in same position on both the workprint and the negative.

MATTE: An opaque outline which limits the exposed area of a picture, either as a cut-out object in front of the camera or as a silhouette on another strip of film.

MAXIMUM DENSITY (D-MAX): Portion of the shoulder of the characteristic curve where further increases in exposure on negative film or decreases in exposure on reversal film will produce no increase in density.

MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS: The physical characteristics of a process that are designed to produce optimum results when used with specific film and chemical combinations. These include temperature, solution immersion times, replenisher rates, recirculation pump rates, filtration, agitation levels and other pertinent information.

MEDIUM SHOT: A scene that is photographed from a medium distance so that the full figure of the subject fills an entire frame.

METRE-CANDLE: Unit of illuminance. The light received at a point one metre away from a point light source having an intensity of one candela (formerly candle).

MGM CAMERA 65: A motion picture production method developed at the MGM Studios using a 65 mm negative with an image height of five perforations and a horizontal compression ratio of 1.33:1. A 65 mm or 70 mm contact print could be shown on an appropriate 70 mm projector equipped with a 1.33:1 anamorphic lens. Using special reduction printing techniques, 35 mm prints could be made for CinemaScope-type presentations.

MID-FOOT KEY NUMBER: Full key number plus bar code, including 32- perforation (35mm) offset, positioned halfway between each footage number. Will help identify short scenes without a key number. Uses a smaller type size to distinguish from one-foot key numbers. Use a magnifying glass to read it easily.

MINIMUM DENSITY (D-MIN): Constant-density area in the tone of the characteristic curve where less exposure on negative film or more exposure on reversal film will produce no reduction in density. Sometimes called base plus fog in black-and-white film.

MIX: To combine the various sound tracks-dialogue, music, sound effects into a single track.

MIXING: The combining of several sound sources into one.

MODELING: In computer graphics, the process of plotting the locations of the points that make up the dimensions of an object in three dimensional space.

MODULATION TRANSFER CURVE: Indicates the ability of a film to record fine detail. The curve results when light transmission is measured with lines that are successively more closely spaced.

MOTORBOATING: The distracting sound heard when the film becomes misaligned over the sound drum and causes the sound scanning beam to "read" the film perforations instead of the sound track.

MOVIOLA: A trademarked name for a machine with a small rear-projection screen and the capacity to play back several sound tracks. Used in editing and for reviewing portions of the film during production. Also used to synchronize or interlock picture and sound track in editing. Newer devices called "flat-bed viewers" are slowly replacing the upright Moviolas.

MULTIPASS: To expose the same piece of film two or more times during filming, usually to produce semitransparent effects, such as clouds or shadows.

MULTIPLANE CAMERA: A special animation stand developed at the Disney studio and first used in The Old Mill in 1937. The background artwork is divided into foreground, middle, and distant elements and painted on sheets of glass placed several inches apart. During trucking or panning moves, the background elements move in relation to each other, creating an illusion of realistic depth and perspective.

MULTIPLEXER: Device or circuit used for mixing television signals to a single video recorder.

MUTOSCOPE: A viewing machine, manufactured in 1895 by the American Mutoscope Company, which used the "flip book" principle to create the illusion of movement. It contained a series of continuous photographs arranged on a horizontal axis. A coin was dropped into the machine to operate the hand-crank that moved the pictures rapidly and created the illusion of movement.

NARRATION: The off-screen commentary for a film; often referred to as "voice-over."

NEGATIVE: The term "negative" is used to designate any of the following (in either black-and-white or color): (1) The raw stock specifically designed for negative images. (2) the negative image. (3) Negative raw stock that has been exposed but has not been processed. (4) Processed film bearing a negative image.

NEGATIVE FILM: Produces a negative image (black is white, white is black, and colors appear as complementaries).

NEGATIVE IMAGE: A photographic image in which the values of light and shade of the original photographed subject are represented in inverse order. Note: In a negative image, light objects of the original subject are represented by high densities and dark objects are represented by low densities. In a color negative, colors are represented by their complementary color.

NEGATIVE-POSITIVE PROCESS: Photographic process in which a positive image is obtained by development of a latent image made by printing a negative.

NEGATIVE TIMING (Negative Grading): The selection of the appropriate printing lights for the printing process.

NEGATIVE-TYPE PERFORATIONS: A generic term for the Bell and Howell type perforation.

NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTERS: Used to reduce the intensity of light reading the film without affecting colors.

NEUTRAL TEST CARD: A commercially prepared card: One side has a neutral 18-percent reflection that has the appearance of medium gray.The other side has a neutral reflection of 90-percent and has the visual appearance of stark white.

NEWTON'S RINGS: Fuzzy, faintly colored lines in the projected image caused by high or uneven printer gate pressure.

NITRATE FILM: A highly flammable motion picture film that has not been domestically manufactured since around 1950. It is still present in large quantities in storage vaults and archives and must be very carefully stored to prevent spontaneous combustion, explosions, or other forms of destruction (perhaps your destruction)!

NOISE: Unwanted sound in an audio pickup.

NOISE REDUCTION: Process of reducing inherent audio system noises by the use of special electronic circuitry. See DOLBY.

NOMOGRAPH: For calculating the effect of a filter on color temperature.

NON-DROP FRAME: A type of SMPTE time code that continuously counts a full 30 frames per second. As a result, non-drop, frame-time code does not match real time. (See also Drop Frame)

NONSYNC SOUND: In theatrical projection, the amplifier channel selector position used when playing record or tape music during openings, intermissions, and closing.

NOTCHING: Practice of making a "V" cut to remove damaged perforations rather than removing the damage and making a splice. Not recommended, as it weakens the film even more.

NTSC (NATIONAL TELEVISION STANDARDS COMMITTEE): Committee that established the color transmission system used in the U.S. and some other countries. Also used to indicate the system itself consisting of 525 lines of information, scanned at a rate of approximately 30 frames per second.

OFF-LINE EDITING: The process of creatively assembling the elements of a production, to communicate the appropriate message or story, and/or calculating the order, timing and pace with user-friendly equipment such as film, 3/4" videotape or non-linear computer editing systems.

ONE-TO-ONE PRINTING: Optical printing of the images which are reproduced to the same size.

ON-LINE EDITING: Final editing or assemble using the original master tapes to produce a finished program ready for distribution. Usually preceded by off-line editing. In some cases, programs go directly to the online editing suite. Usually associated with high-quality computer editing and digital effects.

OPACITY: Measurement of the amount of light that does not pass through a film or filter.

OPAQUE: Of sufficient density so that all incident of light is completely absorbed (the opposite of transparent).

OPAQUING: Another term for cel painting, used primarily in the eastern United States; a painter is referred to as an Opaquer.

OPTICAL EFFECTS: Trick shots prepared by the use of an optical printer in the laboratory, especially fades and dissolves.

OPTICAL PRINTER: Used when image size of the print film is different from the image size of the pre-print film. Also used when effects such as skip frames, blowups, zooms, and mattes are included.

OPTICAL SOUND: System in which the photographic (optical) sound track on a film is scanned by a horizontal slit beam of light that modulates a photoelectric cell. The voltages generated by the cell produce audio signals that are amplified to operate screen speakers.

OPTICAL TRACK: Sound track in which the sound record takes the form of density variations (variable density track) or width variations (variable- area track) in a photographic image.

OPTIMUM PRINT DENSITY: The desired screen quality.

ORIGINAL: An initial photographic image, or sound recording-whether photographic or magnetic-as opposed to some stage of duplication thereof.

ORIGINAL NEGATIVE: The negative originally exposed in a camera.

ORTHOCHROMATIC (ORTHO) FILM: Film that is sensitive to only blue and green light.

OUT-TAKE: A take of a scene which is not used for printing or final assembly in editing.

OVERCOAT: A thin layer of clear or dyed gelatin sometimes applied on top of the emulsion surface of a film to act as a filter layer or to protect the emulsion from abrasion during exposure, processing and projection.

OVEREXPOSURE: A condition in which too much light reaches the film, producing a dense negative or a washed-out reversal.

OVERLAP SPLICE: Any film splice in which one film end overlaps the other film end.

OVERLAY:A technique in cel animation in which foreground elements of the setting are painted on a cel and placed over the characters to give an illusion of depth to the scene.

PAD ROLLER: A roller designed to hold the film against a sprocket.

PAINT SYSTEM ('PAINTBOX'): An electronic device to create images for television, consisting of a workstation with an electronic pen, and software tools to 'paint', combine and manipulate images.

PAINTBOX: Trade name of a computer graphics system manufactured by Quantel. Often used as a generic term to describe computer graphics systems. The forerunner of "Harry".

PAL (PHASE ALTERNATION BY LINE): Color television system developed in Germany, and used by many European and other countries. PAL consists of 625 lines scanned at a rate of 25 frames per second.

PAN: A camera move in which the camera appears to move horizontally or vertically, usually to follow the action or scan a scene. In animation, the effect is achieved by moving the artwork under the camera.

PAN SHOT: Derived from "panoramic." A shot which encompasses a wider area than can be viewed by the camera at one time, and which will be scanned by the camera by means of panning.

PANAVISION 35: A 35 mm process using 35 mm negative film and photographed through a Panavision anamorphic lens with a compression of 2X. Contact 35 mm prints are compatible with anamorphic systems such as CinemaScope.

PANCHROMATIC (PAN) FILM: Black-and-white film which is sensitive to all colors in tones of about the same relative brightness as the human sees in the original scene. Film sensitive to all visible wavelengths.

PARALLAX: In camera work, the viewfinder often is mounted with its optical axis at an appreciable distance from the optical axis of the camera lens, commonly resulting in inadvertent positional errors in framing.

PATH OF ACTION: The movement of a character through a scene; used in layout.

PEAK DENSITY: Wavelength of maximum absorption.

PENTHOUSE, PENTHOUSE HEAD: The popular names assigned to the magnetic sound head. See Magnetic sound head.

PERFORATION DAMAGE: On inspection the perforations through a magnifying glass you will find damage progressing from cracked, chipped or elongated holes to torn holes.

PERFORATIONS: Regularly spaced and accurately shaped holes which are punched throughout the length of a motion picture film. These holes engage the teeth of various sprockets and pins by which the film is advanced and positioned as it travels through cameras, processing machines, and projectors.

PERSISTENCE OF VISION: The ability of the eye to perceive a series of rapid still images as a single moving image by retaining each impression on the retina for a fraction of a second, thus overlapping the images. This phenomena makes it possible to see the sequential projected images of a motion picture as life-like continuous movement.

PERSPECTA SOUND: A system of recording that produces a form of stereophonic reproduction by using a single optical sound track carrying three sub-audible control tones that can shift the one track sound source to the left, center, or right speakers with the appropriate reproducing equipment. The system is compatible with normal single track sound reproducers.

PHENAKISTISCOPE: An early animation device that uses a disc with sequential drawings around its border in front of a mirror to create the illusion of motion,

PHOTO CD: An optical disk which stores photographic images in a digital format. The images can be played back on a TV screen by means of a photo CD player, which also allows simple image manipulation.

PHOTOCELL: An electronic device that, when modulated by visible light, produces electrical impulses that can be amplified to drive audio speakers.

PHOTOGRAPHIC SOUND TRACK: See OPTICAL TRACK.

PHOTOMETER: An electro-optical device used to measure light intensity (a light meter).

PIN: A component of a camera of printer mechanism that engages with a perforation to secure the film at the time of exposure, or to advance the fihn for the next exposure.

PIN REGISTRATION: A film term relating to the steadiness of the image. For optical and film-to tape transfers, a pin-registered device holds each frame in position for a perfectly registered image, critical for creating multilayered special effects.

PITCH: (1) That property of sound which is determined by the frequency of the sound waves. (2) Distance from the center of one perforation on a film to the next; or from one thread of a screw to the next; or from one curve of a spiral to the next.

PIXEL('PICTURE ELEMENT'): The digital representation of the smallest area of a television picture, appearing as a tiny dot on the television screen. In a full color image, each pixel contains three components - a combination of red, green and blue signals - reflecting the trichromatic nature of human vision. The number of pixels in a complete picture differs from one system to another; the more pixels, the greater the resolution.

PIXILATION: A stop motion technique in which full-sized props and live actors are photographed frame-by-frame to achieve unusual effects of motion.

POLALITE (3D): A three-dimensional 35 mm presentation first introduced by Universal-lntemational in which the two images necessary to produce the 3D effect were contained on the same film. The system simplified the 3D projection process and corrected most of the problems encountered with the two film/two projector systems although the special polarizing glasses were still necessary.

POLARIZING FILTER: Transparent material used to subdue reflections and control brightness of the sky.

POLYESTER: A name for polyethylene terephthalate developed by E.I. Dupont de Nemours & Co. (Inc.). A film base material exhibiting superior strength and tear characteristics. Cronar is the trade name for Dupont motion picture products; ESTAR Base is the trade name for Kodak products.

POSITIVE FILM: Motion picture film designed and used primarily for the making of master positives or release prints.

POSITIVE IMAGE: A photographic replica in which the values of light and shade of the original photographed subject are represented in their natural order. The light objects of the original subject are represented by low densities and the dark objects are represented by high densities.

POST-PRODUCTION:The work done on a film once photography has been completed, such as editing, developing and printing, looping, etc.

POSTSYNCHRONIZATION: The recording of the sound track after the picture has been completed.

PREMIER SYSTEM: A Kodak digital image enhancement system used to create and manipulate still photographic images at extremely high resolution, suitable for print reproduction.

PRESYNCHRONIZATION: The recording of the sound track before any production has begun, so that action can be synchronized when the film is exposed with the prerecorded sound.

PRIMARY COLOR: One of the light colors-blue, red, or green-that can be mixed to form almost any color.

PRINTER LIGHTS: On an additive printer, incremental steps.

PRINTER POINTS: An increment of light-intensity change.

PRINT FILM: Film designed to carry positive images and sound tracks for projection.

PRINTED EDGE NUMBERS: Edge numbers (usually yellow) placed on film at the laboratory by a printing machine.

PRINTING: Copying motion picture images by exposure to light energy.

PRINTING FLOWCHARTS: Diagram of printing sequences showing the steps that can be used to produce a projection print.

PRINTING TAPE: A perforated strip or tape which provides information concerning the necessary changes of the printing light levels.

PROCESSING: Procedure during which exposed film is developed, fixed, and washed to produce either a negative or a positive image.

PROCESS SCREEN PHOTOGRAPHY: The filming or videotaping of actors, props, or objects in front of a blue-screen (or green-screen). In post-production, the blue or green is replaced by another element, such as a background, using digital or optical special effects techniques.

PROCESSING TIME: The amount of time it takes for a computer to process data.

PRODUCER: The administrative head of the film, usually responsible for budget, staff, legal contracts, distribution, scheduling, etc.

PRODUCTION: The general term used to describe the process involved in making all the original material that is the basis for the finished motion picture. Loosely, the completed film.

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: An assistant to the producer, in charge of routine administrative duties.

PROJECTION: The process of presenting a film by optical means and transmitted light for either visual or aural review, or both.

PROJECTION SPEED: The rate at which the film moves through the projector; twenty-four frames per second is the standard for all sound films.

PROTECTIVE LEADER: A section of unexposed film attached to the beginning and/or end of a reel of film.

PROTECTIVE MASTER: A master positive from which a dupe negative can be made if the original is damaged.

PROUD EDGES: One or two convolution of film that protrude above the smooth surface of a firmly wound roll of film and are susceptible to damage.

PULL-DOWN CLAW: The metallic finger which advances the film one frame between exposure cycles.

PUSH PROCESSING: A means of increasing the exposure index of film.

R-190 SPOOL: 4.940 outside diameter metal camera spool. Square hole with single keyway, two offset round drive holes, one elliptical hole in both flanges. Side 1 and side 2 markings. For 200 foot 16mm film loads.

R-90 SPOOL: 3.615 inch outside diameter metal camera spool. Square hole with single keyway in both flanges, with center hole aligned on both flanges for 100 foot film loads. Used in 16mm spool-loading cameras.

RACK: A frame carrying film in a processing machine.

RACKOVER: A method of checking the precise center of the camera's field, in which the body of the camera is temporarily shifted to one side to allow the camera operator to look through a special viewfinder with cross hairs; the camera is shifted back into position for shooting to continue. Rackovers are often used to check the accuracy of off-center shots.

RASTER: The lines forming the scanning pattem of a television system. Scanned are comprising the active portion of a video signal displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT).

RAW STOCK: Unexposed and unprocessed motion picture film; includes camera original, laboratory intermediate, duplicating, and release-print stocks.

REAL TIME: The instantaneous response of a computer or device to instructions: the normal viewing time of any film or videotape program.

RECIPROCITY LAW: Expressed by (H)=Et, where E is the light intensity, and T is time. When E or T are varied to the extreme, an unsatisfactory exposure can result.

RECOMMENDED PRACTICE: An SMPTE engineering committee recommendation specifying good technical practice for some aspect of film or television.

RECTIFIER: An electronic device designed to convert a current into the dc current necessary for operating carbon arcs, xenon arcs, exciter lamps, etc.

REDUCTION PRINT: Print made from a larger-gauge film.

REDUCTION PRINTING: Making a copy of a film original on smaller format raw stock by optical printing; for example, printing a 35 mm original onto 16 mm stock for use in libraries, etc.

REEL BAND: A stiff paper strip with a string loop tie that contains the release print number, title, and reel number and is used to keep the film snug on the shipping reel.

REFLECTANCE: The brightness reflected from a surface such as a motion picture screen. See LUMINANCE.

REFLECTOR: Any surface that reflects light. Reflectors can be constructed of cardboard, metal, cloth, or other material. In motion picture projection, primarily the lamphouse mirror and the screen.

REFRACTION: The change of direction (deflection) of a light ray or energy wave from a straight line as it passes obliquely from one medium (such as air) to another (such as glass) in which its velocity is different.

REJUVENATION: A process offered by some laboratories whereby a damaged and dirty print can be rendered usable for further projection.

RELEASE NEGATIVE: Duplicate negative or color reversal intermediate from which release prints are made.

RELEASE PRINT: In a motion picture processing laboratory, any of numerous duplicate prints of a subject made for general theater distribution.

RELIEF IMAGE: The slightly dimensional image that can sometimes be seen on the emulsion side of a color print film viewed under a glancing light reflected towards the observer.

REM-JET BACKING: Antihalation backing used on certain films. Rem jet is softened and removed at the start of processing.

RENDERING: The simulation of light on three-dimensional objects; determining an object's surface characteristics, such as color and texture.

RESOLUTION: The capacity of a medium to capture and playback distinctly fine details. Film is a high resolution storage medium; current videotape formats are low resolution mediums. Computers can perform at a wide range of resolutions, from the lowest to the highest, depending on hardware and software capabilities, and are therefore considered resolution independent.

RESOLVING POWER: Ability of a photographic emulsion or an optical system to reproduce fine detail in the film image and on the screen.

RETICULATION: The formation of a coarse, crackled surface on the emulsion coating of a film during improper processing. If some process solution is too hot or too alkaline, it may cause excessive swelling of the emulsion and this swollen gelatin may fail to dry down as a smooth homogeneous layer.

REVERSAL FILM: Film that processes to a positive image after exposure in a camera, or in a printer to produce another positive film.

REVERSAL INTERMEDIATE: First-generation duplicate that is reversed to produce the same kind of image (negative or positive) as the original; used for printing.

REVERSAL PROCESS: Any photographic process in which an image is produced by secondary development of the silver halides grains that remain after the latent image has been changed to silver by primary development and destroyed by a chemical bleach. In the case of film exposed in a camera, the first developer changes the latent image to a negative silver image. This is destroyed by a bleach and the remaining silver halides is converted to a positive image by a second developer. The bleached silver and any traces of halides may now be removed with hypo.

REVERSE ANAMORPHIC: An optical device which, when placed in front of a prime lens, reduces the size of the projected anamorphic image rather than magnifies it, as with a normal anamorphic attachment. This feature allows the use of short focal-length prime lenses with larger apertures resulting in added screen luminance of up to 40 percent. See Anamorphic lens.

REWIND: An automatic console or set of bench mounted spindles used to wind film from reel-to-reel.

REWINDING: The process of winding the film from the take-up reel to the supply reel so that the head end, or start of the reel, is on the outside. If there are no identifying leaders on the film, upside-down images will signify the head end.

RGB: Red green & blue, the primary color components of the additive color system used in color television.

RIPPLE: Automatic updating of an EDL following a length altering edit. "Ripple the list."

RMS: Root-Mean-Square. This mathematical term is used to characterize deviations from a mean value. The term "standard deviation", which is synonymous, is also used.

RMS GRANULARITY: Standard deviation of random-density fluctuations for a particular film.

ROPING: Continuous sprocket tooth indentation along the length of the film; caused by a bad splice or other damage that forces the film to ride off the sprocket.

ROTATION:A camera move in which the camera is moved in a complete circle to give a spinning effect in the film. A partial rotation is called a Tilt.

ROTOSCOPE: A device patented by Max Fleischer in 1917, that projects live-action film, one frame at a time, onto a small screen from the rear. Drawing paper is placed over the screen allowing the animators to trace the live-action images as a guide in capturing complicated movements.

ROUGH CUT: Preliminary stage in film editing, in which shots, scenes, and sequences are laid out in an approximate relationship, without detailed attention to the individual cutting points.

ROUGHS:The animators' original drawings, which are usually broad and sketchy, rather than finished drawings, and which are refined by the cleanup artist.

RP-40:The recommended practice sponsored by SMPTE titled, "Specifications for 35 mm Projector Alignment and Screen Image Quality Test Film." Also, the name usually referred to by projectionists for the test films made to these specifications and available from SMPTE as Projector Alignment and Image Quality Test Film, 35-IQ-200.

RP-82: 16 mm version of above, except test film is identified as 16-PA- I 00. Also available from SMPTE.

RS-232: Electronic Industries Association (EIA) standard for serial data communications.

S-83 SPOOL: 3.657 inch outside diameter metal camera spool. Square holes with single keyway in both flanges. Center hole aligned on both flanges. For 100 foot 35mm camera negative film.

SAFELIGHT: A darkroom light fitted with a filter to absorb light rays to which film is sensitive.

"S" BENDS: Kinks in the film layers caused by pulling the end of the film on a loose roll in order to tighten the roll. Especially damaging to film containing oil deposits since no slippage is possible (oil deposits cause film to stick).

SAFETY BASE: Film base that is fire-resistant or slow-burning as defined by ANSI PH1.25 and PH22.31, and by various fire codes. Acetate-base film and polyester-base film meet safety-film standards.

SAFETY FILM: A photographic film whose base is fire resistant or slow burning as defined by ANSI document PH1.25, PH22.21, and by various fire codes. At the present time, the terms "safety base film," "acetate base film" and "polyester base film" are synonymous with "safety film."

SAMPLING: The process of determining the best color combinations that represent an original image or desired effect.

SATURATION: Term used to describe color brilliance or purity. When color film images are projected at the proper brightness and without interference from stray light, colors that appear bright, deep, rich, and undiluted are said to be "saturated."

SATURATION BOOKING: The simultaneous availability and showing of a new feature release in all the major theaters in the country. Such a release can involve more than 1,000 new prints.

SATURDAY MORNING TELEVISION: A term which has its roots in the child-oriented, limited animation cartoon shows that began to dominate this time slot in the 1950's, but has come to stand for this genre of mass-produced animation.

SCANNER: A device for scanning images and converting them into an electronic signal in a standard video format.

SCANNING BEAM: A collimated narrow slit (0.1 mm or less) of light that scans the optical sound track of a motion picture film.

SCENE PLANNER: In studio animation, the person who works with the director and storyboard artist to do detailed drawings of the scene, indicating the path of action, background elements, camera moves, etc. Also known as a Layout Artist. See LAYOUT.

SCENE: A segment of a film that depicts a single situation or incident.

"SCOPE": A diminutive terrn used to describe any anamorphic projection system or film. See CINEMASCOPE.

SCRATCHES: non-photographic blemishes on the film emulsion or base.

SCRIM: A translucent material that rnakes hard light appear more diffuse, or reduces, like a screen, the intensity of the light without changing the character of it.

SCRIPT: The text of a film, giving dialogue, action, staging, camera moves, etc.

SECAM (SYSTEM ELECTRONIQUE POUR COLOUR AVEX): The color television -system developed in France, and used there and in most of the former communist-block countries and a few other areas including parts of Africa.

SENSITIVITY: Degree of responsiveness of a film to light.

SENSITOMETER: An instrument with which a photographic emulsion is given a graduated series of exposures to light of controlled spectral quality, intensity, and duration. Depending upon whether the exposures vary in brightness or duration, the instrument may be called an intensity scale or a time scale sensitometer.

SENSITOMETRIC CURVE: See Characteristic Curve.

SENSITOMETRY: Study of the response of photographic emulsions to light.

SEPARATION LIGHT: A light that helps define the outline of a subject, thereby separating it from the background. Also called edge light, top light, rim light, backlight, hair light, skimmer, or kicker.

SEPARATION MASTERS: Three separate black-and-white master positives made from one color negative; one contains the red record, another the green record, and the third the blue record.

SEQUENCE: A group of related scenes in a film that combine to tell a particular portion of the story, and which are usually set in the same location or time span.

SET: Derived from "setting." The prepared stage on which the action for three-dimensional animation takes place. A set may be as sirnple as a plain tabletop, or as elaborate as props and decoration can make it.

SHADOW LIGHT: See FILL LIGHT.

SHARPNESS: Visual sensation of the abruptness of an edge. Clarity.

SHORELINE: Fuzzy lines or contours around the perforations in print film; caused by non-uniform drying.

SHORT: The term usually refers to the cartoons made in the Hollywood studios during the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's, which ran between 6 and 7 minutes long. Today, shorts range from one and one-half to over 20 minutes in length and cover a variety of styles and subjects.

SHORT PITCH : The perforation pitch of a negative stock, which is somewhat shorter than the pitch of positive stock to avoid slippage in contact printing.

SHOT: An unbroken filmed segment; the basic component of a scene.

SHOULDER: High-density portion of a characteristic curve in which the slope changes with constant changes in exposure. For negative films, slope decreases and further changes in exposure (log H) finally produce no increase in density because maximum density has been reached. For reversal films, slope increases.

SHRINKAGE: Reduction in the dimensions of motion-picture film caused by loss of moisture, support plasticizers, and solvents, as well as heat, use, and age.

SHUTTER: In theatrical projection, a two-bladed rotating device used to interrupt the light source while the film is being pulled down into the projector gate. Once blade masks the pulldown while the other blade causes an additional light interruption increasing the flicker frequency to 48 cycles per second ... a level that is not objectionable to the viewer at the recommended screen brightness of 16 footlamberts (55 candelas per square meter).

SIBILANCE: Excessive amount of vocal hiss when consonants such as "s" are spoken.

SILVER RECOVERY: Reclaiming the silver from processing solutions. Primarily from the Fix.

SINGLE-FRAME EXPOSURE: The exposure of one frame of motion picture film at a time, in the manner of still photography. Commonly used in animation and time-lapse.

SILVER HALIDES: Light-sensitive compound used in film emulsions.

SINGLE-PERFORATION FILM: Film with perforations along one edge only.

SINGLE-SYSTEM SOUND: Sound on a magnetic or optical track that was recorded on the same strip of film on which the action was recorded.

16 MM FILM: Film 16 mm wide. May have single or double perforations.

SKIP FRAME: An optical printing effect eliminating selected frames of the original scene to speed up the action.

SKIVINGS: Fine thread-like particles found in the vicinity of the projector gate; caused by physical abrasion against a sharp burr or nick on a film-path component.

SLOW IN/SLOW OUT: Refers to the fact that panning and trucking moves usually begin slowly, gradually attain their full speed, then slow to a stop, to avoid a sense of jerkiness in the movement.

SLOW MOTION: The process of photographing a subject at a faster frame rate than used in projection, to expand the time element.

SMPTE: Acronym for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

SMPTE TEST MATERIALS CATALOG: A comprehensive list of test materials used to check the performance of projectors, optical and magnetic sound systems, image quality and alignment, television color reference and test patterns, plus other helpful items such as the SMPTE Universal Leaders.

SNAKE TRACK: A common name for a scanning beam test film used to check the uniformity of illumination across the scanning slit.

SOFT: The opposite of "hard". (1) As applied to a photographic emulsion or developer, having a low contrast. (2) As applied to the lighting of a set, diffuse, giving a flat scene in which the brightness difference between highlights and shadows is small.

SOFT LIGHT: Light made up of soft, scattered rays resulting in soft, less clearly defined shadows; also called diffuse light.

SOUND APERTURE: See ACADEMY APERTURE.

SOUND DRUM: A flat roller in the sound head designed to keep the film precisely positioned at the point where the scanning beam slit scans the sound track. Also called the scanning drum.

SOUND EFFECTS (FOLEY): Sound from a source other than the tracks bearing synchronized dialogue, narration or music: sound effects commonly introduced into a master track in the rerecording step, usually with the idea of enhancing the illusion of reality.

SOUND GATE: The gate used in an optical sound head, instead of a sound drum, to keep the film sound track precisely aligned on the scanning beam slit during sound reproduction.

SOUND HEAD: The optical sound reproducer mounted beneath the projector head, but above the take-up reel support arm or magazine.

SOUND NEGATIVE: The negative record of photographic sound recording.

SOUND POSITIVE: A positive print of the photographic sound recording.

SOUND READER: A device used for playback of sound tracks, particularly during the editing procedure.

SOUND RECORDER: Device that may use audio tape, magnetic film, or motion-picture film to record sound.

SOUND SPROCKET: Any sprocket that pulls the film past the sound scanning beam slit.

SOUND STRIP: Narrow band of magnetic recording medium on a strip of film.

SOUND TRACK: Photographic/optical sound track running lengthwise on 35 mm film adjacent to the edges of the picture frames and inside the perforations.

SPARKLE: Printed-in dirt that causes white dirt in the projected image.

SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION: Range and proportion of wavelengths radiated by a particular illuminant.

SPECIAL-DYE-DENSITY CURVE: A graph: 1. of the total density of the three dye layers measured as a function of wavelengths, and 2. of the visual neutral densities of the combined layers similarly measured.

SPECLIAL EFFECT: A term broadly applied to any of numerous results obtained in the laboratory by combination and manipulation of one or more camera records to produce an imaginatively creative scene different from what was in front of the main camera. The making of special effects may involve techniques such as double printing, fades, mattes, vignetting, etc.

SPECTRAL INTEGRAL DENSITY: Density at a specific wavelength determined by a spectrophotometer.

SPECTRAL OUTPUT: The range, intensity, and characteristics of wavelengths emanating from a light source.

SPECTRAL RESPONSE: The measure of the ability to differentiate among wavelengths and characteristics emanating from a light source. The ability of a camera film to record various wavelengths (colors) of light.

SPECTRAL SENSITIVITY: The relative sensitivity of a particular emulsion to specific bands of the spectrum within the films sensitivity range. Sometimes confused with Color Sensitivity.

SPECTRUM: Range of radiant energy within which the visible spectrum-with wavelengths of from 400 to 700 mm exists.

SPECULAR: A term used to describe mirror-like quality of a reflection or reflected light from a surface. Specular also can describe a hard or point-surface light such as the sun, arc light, or any other light producing nearly parallel beams and hard shadows.

SPECULAR DENSITY: Comparing only the transmitted light that is perpendicular to the film plane with the normal incident light, analogous to optical printing and projection.

SPEED: 1. Inherent sensitivity of an emulsion to light. Represented by a number derived from a films characteristic curve. 2. The largest lens opening (smallest f-number) at which a lens can be set. A "fast" lens transmits more light and has a larger opening and better optics than a "slow" lens.

SPLICE: Any type of cement or mechanical fastening by which two separate lengths of film are united end-to-end so they function as a single piece of film when passing through a camera, film processing machine, or projector.

SPLICER: A mechanical device arranged for holding film in alignment and with the correct sprocket hole interval during the various operations required in joining two pieces of film. It often includes a device for removing emulsion.

SPLICING: The joining together of two or more pieces of film so that the joined film segments will pass through a projector, film processor, or camera without interruption.

SPLICING TAPE: Tape designed to make overlap or butt splices without the need for film cement or mechanical fastener. Available in a variety of sizes, with or without perforations, and can be clear, translucent, or opaque orange.

SPOOKING: Caused by loose winding of film that has considerable curl.

SPOOL: A roll with flanges on which film is wound for general handling.

SPOTLIGHT: A lighting unit, usually with a lens and shiny metal reflector that is capable of being focused; produces hard light.

SPROCKET: A toothed wheel used to transport perforated motion picture film.

SQUASH AND STRETCH: An element of character animation which involves the exaggeration of the normal tendency of an object in motion to undergo a degree of distortion, lengthening as it travels, and compressing as it stops.

STABILIZATION: The influence of a magnetic flux in steadying the flow of electrons in a carbon arc. The action of a damping roller or other device in reducing wow and flutter in a soundhead.

STAGING: The planning of how the action will take place.

STAND:The entire photographing unit, including the compound, camera, and crane.

STANDARD FIELD: See FIELD.

STATIC ELECTRICITY: Electric field that is present primarily due to the presence of electrical charges on materials.

STEEL FILM: A steel tape, precisely dimensioned and perforated, used to align motion picture equipment.

STEP: An exposure increase or decrease, usually by a factor of 2. The same as "Stop", except stop specifically refers to lens aperture. A patch of a step tablet used for sensitometer exposures, as in "21-step tablet."

STEP-CONTACT PRINTER: Contact printer in which the film being copied and the raw stock are advanced intermittently by frame; exposure occurs only when both are stationary.

STEP PRINTER: Contact or optical printer in which each frame of the negative and raw stock is stationary at the time of exposure.

STEREOPHONIC: Sound recording and reproduction with multiple microphones and speakers, each of which has its own separate track; designed to simulate the actual sound and to achieve a three-dimensional effect.

STILL STORE: Device which stores individual video frames, either in analog or digital form, allowing extremely fast access time.

STOCK: General term for motion picture film, particularly before exposure.

STOP: The relationship between the focal length of a lens and the effective diameter of its aperture. An adjustable iris diaphragm permits any ordinary photographic lens to be used at any stop within its range. Sometimes used synonymously with f-number as in "f-stop". A unit of exposure change.

STOP DOWN: To decrease the diameter of the light-admitting orifice of a lens by adjustment of an iris diaphragm.

STOP FRAME (HOLD FRAME): An optical printing effect in which a single-frame image is repeated to appear stationary when projected. Also, camera exposure made one frame at a time rather than by continuous running.

STOP MOTION: An animation method whereby apparent motion of objects is obtained on the film by exposing single frames and moving the object to simulate continuous motion.

STORYBOARD: A series of small consecutive drawings with accompanying caption-like descriptions of the action and sound, which are arranged comic-strip fashion and used to plan a film. The drawings are frequently tacked to corkboards so that individual drawings can be added or changed in the course of development. Invented at the Disney studio, the technique is now widely used for live action films and commercials, as well as animation.

STRAIGHT-LINE REGION: Portion of characteristic curve where slope does not change because the rate of density for a given log exposure change is constant or linear.

STRAY LIGHT: Any light that does not contribute to the purpose for which it was intended. In theatrical projection, all of the nonimage-producing light hitting the screen.

STRIP: Part of a wide roll of manufactured film slit strips final width for motion picture use.

STRIPE, MAGNETIC: Narrow band(s) of magnetic oxide usually coated toward the edges of the base side of motion picture film for accepting audio signal recordings in the form of magnetic impulses.

SUBBING LAYER: Adhesive layer that binds film emulsion to the base.

SUBTRACTIVE COLOR: The formation of colors by the removal of selected portions of the white light spectrum by transparent filters or dye images.

SUBTRACTIVE PROCESS: Photographic process that uses one or more subtractive primary-cyan, magenta, and yellow-to control red, green, and blue light.

SUNLIGHT: Light reaching the observer directly from the sun. To be distinguished from Daylight and Skylight which include indirect light from clouds and refract the atmosphere.

SUPER PANAVISION: Similar to Panavision 35, but photographed flat in 65 mm. The 70 mm prints produce an aspect ratio of 2.25:1 with 4-channel sound and a ratio of 2:1 with 6-channel sound.

SUPERSCOPE: A 35 mm anamorphic release print system adopted by RKO Radio Pictures that produced a screen image with an aspect ratio of 2:1 or 2.35:1 when projected with a normal anamorphic lens. The original camera negative was photographed flat, but special printing produced the anamorphic print.

SUPPLY REEL: The reel holding the film before it is projected in a projector.

SURROUND CHANNEL: The specific sound channel in a sound reproduction system directing audio signals to speakers placed at the sides and at the rear of the auditorium to provide the added realism of surrounding area sounds.

SURROUND SPEAKERS: Speakers placed at the sides and at the rear of an auditorium to increase the realism of a stereophonic presentation, or to produce other special effects.

SWEETING: Audio post production, at which time audio problems are corrected. Music, narration and sound effects are mixed with original sound elements.

SWELL: The increase in motion picture film dimensions caused by the absorption of moisture during storage and use under high humidity conditions. Extreme humidity conditions and subsequent swelling of the film aggravates the abrasion susceptibility of the film surfaces.

SWITCHER: Device with a series of input selectors that permits one or more selected inputs to be sent out on the program line.

SYNCHRONIZER: A mechanism employing a common rotary shaft that has sprockets which, by engaging perforations in the film, pass corresponding lengths of picture and sound films simultaneously, thus effectively keeping the two (or more) films in synchronism during the editing process.

SYNC PULSE: Inaudible timing reference recorded on the magnetic tape used in double-system recording. The source can be a generator in the camera cabled to the tape recorder, or an oscillating crystal in the recorder when the camera also has a crystal. When the sound is transferred to magnetic film for editing, a resolver reads the reference and ensures that the tape runs at the same speed as during shooting. In this way the magnetic workprint can be placed in sync with the images for which the original sound was recorded.

SYNCHRONIZATION: A picture record and a sound record are said to be "in sync" when they are placed relative to each other on a release print so that when they are projected the action will coincide precisely with the accompanying sound. See LIP SYNC.

SYNCHRONIZE: Align sound and image precisely for editing, projection, and printing.

T-GRAIN EMULSION: Emulsion made up of tablet-like crystals rather than conventional silver halides crystals; produces high-speed films with fine grain.

T-STOP: A lens marking which indicates the true light transmission of the lens at a given aperture instead of the approximate light transmission indicated by the conventional f-stop marking.

TAF: Telecine Analysis Film (TAF) is an objective tool for initial setup and centering of the controls on a telecine before you transfer images from film to video.

TAIL ENDS, TAILS: The end of a film. The film must be rewound before projection if it is tails out.

TAKE: When a particular scene is repeated and photographed more than once in an effort to get a perfect recording of some special action, each photographic record of the scene or of a repetition of the scene is known as a "take." For example, the seventh scene of a particular sequence might be photographed three times, and the resulting records would be called: Scene 7, Take 1; Scene 7, Take 2; and Scene 7, Take 3.

TAKEUP REEL: The reel onto which the already projected film is wound up in a projector.

TAPE SPLICE: Film splice made with special splicing tape applied to both sides of the film.

TAPE SPLICER: Device designed for making film splices with special splicing tape. Most use unperforated tape, and then punch perforations into the tape as the splice is made.

TECHNICOLOR: The trade name of a three-color imbibition process used to make release prints; no longer used in this country or Europe, but still being used commercially in China.

TECHNIRAMA: A 70 mm release print technique developed by Technicolor and printed from a horizontal double frame 35 mm negative with a 1.5:1 horizontal compression. The 35 mm reduction print image had a 1.33:1 compression ratio and produced a 2:1 aspect ratio when projected on equipment designed for CinemaScope. Some 70 mm prints were also available to be shown at a 2.2:1 ratio.

TECHNISCOPE: A system designed to produce 35 mm anamorphic prints from a 35 mm negative having images approximately one-half the height of regular negative images and produced by using a special one- half frame (2 perforation) pulldown camera. During printing, the negative image was blown up to normal height and squeezed to normal print image width to produce a regular anamorphic print that provided a projected aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The system was designed primarily to conserve negative raw stock.

TELECINE: A device for scanning motion picture film images and converting them to standard videotape.

TENSION: The resistance to linear motion of the film caused by restraining forces such as tension pads, drive sprockets, take-up drive motors, spring-loaded guide rails, and the like, built into projectors, cameras, and other film handling equipment.

THIN: As applied to a photographic image, having low density. As applied to the physical properties of film, thin base film materials provide for more film per given roll diameter.

35 MM FILM: Film 35 mm wide with four perforations on both edges of each frame. Image frame and sound-track area lie inside the perforations.

THREAD: To place a length of film through an assigned path in a projector, camera, or other film handling device. Also called lacing.

3-D: The common term applied to three-dimensional (stereoscopic) images projected on a screen or viewed as a print. There have been several systems shown in theaters but the discomfort attributed to the necessary eyewear, along with other equipment limitations has, more or less, relegated the present systems to novelties.

THROW: In theatrical projection, the distance from the projector aperture to the center of the screen.

TIGHT WIND: Relating to film wound tightly on a core or reel to form a firm roll that can be handled and shipped safely without danger of cinch marks or other damage to the film.

TIME BASE CORRECTOR (TBC): An electronic device with memory and clocking circuits used to correct video signal instability during the playback of video tape material.

TIME-FOG CURVE: Plot of the rate of fog growth against a series of development times.

TIME-GAMMA CURVE: A plot of the rate of gamma change over a series of development times. Used to determine optimum development time for black-and-white negative or positive film.

TIME-LAPSE MOVIE: A movie that shows in a few minutes or a few seconds, events that take hours or even days to occur; accomplished by exposing single frames of film at fixed intervals.

TIMING: A laboratory process that involves balancing the color of a film to achieve consistency from scene to scene. Also includes adjusting exposure settings in duplication.

TITLE: The name or designation of a film. Also, any inscription contained in a film for the purpose of conveying information about the film, its message, or its story to the viewer.

TODD-AO: A flat, 70 mm print system developed by Magna Pictures Corporation and American Optical Company to produce a 2.2:1 screen image of high resolution, sharpness, and brightness. The print was made from a 65 mm negative exposed in a specially designed camera. The extra width of the print film was intended to provide room for the six magnetic sound tracks contained on four magnetic oxide stripes. Todd- AO is considered the first commercially successful 70 mm film system and was introduced in 1955 with the release of Oklahoma.

TOE: Bottom portion of the characteristic curve, where slope increases gradually with constant changes in exposure.

TONE: That degree of lightness or darkness in any given area of a print; also referred to a value. Cold tones (bluish) and warm tones (reddish) refer to the color of the irnage in both black-and-white and color photographs.

TRAILER: A length of film usually found on the end of each release paint reel identifying subject, part, or reel number and containing several feet of projection leader. Also a short roll of film containing coming attractions or other messages of interest.

TRANSITION: The passage from one episodic part to another. Usually, film transitions are accomplished rapidly and smoothly, without loss of audience orientation, and are consistent with the established mood of the film.

TRANSMITTANCE: Amount of incident light transmitted by a medium; commonly expressed as percent transmittance.

TRAVEL GHOST: A condition that arises when the projector shutter is not properly timed. On the screen, light areas produce "ghosts" that extend above or below adjacent dark areas, depending on whether the shutter is late or early. See TIMING.

TRAVELLING MATTE: A process shot in which foreground action is superimposed on a separately photographed background by optical printing.

TRIANGLE: A three-sided framework of wood or metal, designed to hold the three points of a tripod to limit their spread.

TRIMS: Manual printer controls used for overall color correction. Also, unused portions of shots taken for a film; usually kept until the production is complete.

TRUCK: A camera move in which the camera seems to move toward (Truck In) or away from (Truck Out) the subject. The same effect is called a zoom in live-action filmmaking.

TRUCKING: To move a camera translationally in space as a shot proceeds, usually by means of a dolly or other vehicular camera support. The purpose is to pace, and maintain image size of moving subjects.

TUNGSTEN LIGHT: Light produced by an electrically heated filament, having a continuous spectral distribution.

TWIST: An effect that is produced in new prints by loose winding of the film, emulsion side in, under dry air conditions. If the film is wound emulsion side out under the same conditions, the undulation do not alternate from one edge to the other but are directly opposite one another. See EDGEWEAVE.

TYPE C: The SMPTE standard for the 1-inch non-segmented helical video tape recording format.

TYPE K CORE: 3 inch outside diameter, 1 inch inside diameter plastic core. Used with 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 foot lengths of negative, sound and print films.

TYPE T CORE: 2 inch outside diameter, 1 inch inside diameter plastic core. Used with most 16mm films up to 400 feet.

TYPE U CORE: 2 inch outside diameter, 1 inch inside diameter plastic core. Used with various length camera negative, sound and print films.

TYPE Y CORE: Similar to K but of heavier construction. Used for most color print films.

TYPE Z CORE: 3 inch outside diameter, 1 inch inside diameter plastic core. Used with camera and print films in rolls longer than 400 feet.

U-MATIC: The trade name for the 3/4 inch videocassette system originally developed by Sony. Now established as the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Type E video tape format.

ULTIMATE: Trade name of a high-quality special effects system similar in application to a chromakeyer.

ULTRA PANAVISION: Similar to Super Panavision but the 65 mm negative has a compression ratio of 1.25:1 that can provide a potential aspect ratio of 2.75:1 on the screen. The 70 mm print is projected with an anamorphic lens having a 1.25 image spread thus producing an extremely large screen image. Reduction prints to 35 mm are compatible with standard anamorphic systems.

ULTRASONIC CLEANER: Device that transfers ultrasonic sound waves to a cleaning liquid or solvent that dislodges embedded dirt on objects immersed in it.

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT: Energy produced by the (invisible) part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths of 100 to 400 nanorneters. Popularly known as "black light." UV radiation produces fluorescence in many materials.

ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION: Radiation at the short wavelength end of the spectrum, not visible to the eye. It produces fluorescence in some materials.

ULTRAVISION: A 35 mm custom system designed to provide a high definition and improved contrast film presentation on a slightly curved screen. Ultravision was designed as a complete system in which theater design was an integral part. Projectors, lenses, and lamphouses were also modified.

UNDEREXPOSURE: A condition in which too little light reaches the film, producing a thin negative or a dark reversal or print.

UNDERSCAN: Reducing the height and width of the picture on a video monitor so that the edges, and thus portions of the blanking, can be observed.

UNIVERSAL LEADER: A film projection leader, designed according to ANSI document PH22.55 for the current projection rate of 24 frames per second (1 1/2 feet per second), and recommended for use on all release prints. It was designed to replace the Academy leader originally conceived when the motion picture projection rate was 16 frames per second.

UNSQUEEZED PRINT: A print in which the distorted image of an anamorphic negative has not been corrected for normal projection.

UNSTEADINESS: An objectionable amount of vertical motion in the screen image.

USER BITS: Portions of the scan lines in the vertical interval, above the active picture area, reserved for recording information of the user's choosing, e.g. Keykode numbers, SMPTE time code, etc.

VALVE ROLLERS: A cluster of three or four small rollers located at the entrances of the film magazines and designed to prevent fire from reaching the film reels. Since nitrate prints are now quite rare, and are actually unlawful to use in some areas of the United States, use of valve rollers, or fire rollers, is no longer essential on domestic projection equipment.

VARIABLE - AREA SOUND TRACK: Photographic sound track consisting of one or more variable-width transparent lines that run the length of a motion-picture film within the prescribed sound-track area. The most common type of track.

VARIABLE-DENSITY SOUND TRACK: Photographic sound track that is constant in width but varies in density along the length of a motion-picture film within the prescribed sound-track area. No longer used in motion-picture productions.

VECTOR SCOPE: A special oscilloscope used in television to set up and monitor color reproduction.

VERTICAL INTERVAL: Indicates the vertical blanking period between each video field. Contains additional scan lines above the active picture areas into which non-picture information-user bits-can be recorded.

VERTICAL SYNC: The synchronizing pulses used to define the end of one television field and the start of the next-occurring at a rate of approximately 59.94Hz (color), and 60 Hz (black & white).

VIDOSCOPE: A wide-screen process compatible with CinemaScope-type presentations.

VIEWER: A mechanical and optical device designed to permit examination of an enlarged image of motion picture film during editing.

VIEW FINDER: A registration device mounted near the top of the animation stand that allows the camera operator to check whether or not the camera is trained on the center of the field. See RACKOVER.

VIGNETTING: The partial masking, or blocking, of peripheral light rays either by intent, or by accident. In theatrical projection, the blockage of peripheral light rays in a projection lens due to a lens barrel that is too long, or to a lamphouse optical system that is not correctly matched to the limiting aperture of the projection lens. In photography, the intentional masking of peripheral light rays to soften and enhance a photograph.

VISION MIXER: British term for video switcher.

VISUAL DENSITY: Spectral Sensitivity of the receptor which approximates that of the human eye.

VISTAVISION: System designed by Paramount Pictures to provide a sharp screen image with very high resolution. The 35 mm negative film passed through the camera horizontally and contained an image approximately twice the size of a typical 35 mm print-film image. During reduction printing, the negative image was reduced to normal print size, reducing negative grain and increasing sharpness and resolution. Normal projection aspect ratio was 1.85:1.

VISTORAMA: A wide-screen process compatible with CinemaScope-type presentations.

VITC (VERTICAL INTERVAL TIME CODE): Time code that is recorded in the vertical blanking interval about the active picture area. Can be read from video tape in the "still" mode.

VOICE ARTIST: An actor who performs the voices for the animated characters during a recording.

VOICE-OVER: See NARRATION.

VOICE-OVER-NARRATION: A sound and picture shot relationship in which a narrator's voice accompanies picture action.

WARPING: Synonymous with the misused term "buckle" when describing film distortions. These terms are too vague to be helpful in communication.

WEAVE: Periodic sideways movement of the image as a result of mechanical faults in camera, printer or projector.

WET-GATE PRINTER: Printer in which the film passes through fluid-filled pads just before exposure. Released fluid temporarily fills film scratches with a solution that has the same refractive index as the film base, thereby eliminating scratch refraction and ensuring that the scratches will not appear on the printed film.

WIDESCREEN: General term for form of film presentation in which the picture shown has an aspect ration greater than 1.33:1.

WILD: Picture or sound shot without synchronous relationship to the other.

WINDING: Designation of the relationship of perforation and emulsion position for film as it leaves a spool or core.

WINDOW DUB: A "burned-in window", usually on a video workprint, showing time code and Keykode numbers. Other windows can be added, e.g., running footage, audio time code, scene-take, date, etc.

WIPE: Optical transition effect in which one image is replaced by another at a boundary edge moving in a selected pattern across the frame.

WORKPRINT: Any picture or sound track print, usually a positive, intended for use in the editing process to establish through a series of trail cuttings the finished version of a film. The purpose is to preserve the original intact (and undamaged) until the cutting points have been established.

WORKSTATION: The host computer for any user application; in digital special effects, the workstation allows the user to process irnages and interface with digital devices.

XENON ARC: A short arc contained in a quartz envelope in which dc current, flowing from the cathode to the anode, forms an arc in a positive (high pressure) atmosphere of xenon gas. The spectral distribution in the visible range closely resembles natural daylight.

XENON BULB: The quartz envelope containing the two electrodes that produce an arc in a high-pressure environment of xenon gas.

XFR: Shorthand slang for "transfer."

YELLOW: Minus-blue subtractive primary used in the three-color process.

ZERO-FRAME REFERENCE MARK: Dot which identifies the frame, directly below as the zero-frame specified by both the human-readable key number and the machine-readable bar code.

ZOETROPE: An early animation device that uses strips of sequential drawings that are spun and viewed through slits in a rotating drum to create an illusion of motion.

ZOOM-IN: A continuous changing of the camera lens focal length, which gradually narrows down the area of the picture being photographed, giving the effect of continuously enlarging the subject.

ZOOM-OUT: A continuous changing of the camera lens focal length, which gradually enlarges the area being photographed, giving the effect of a continuously diminishing subject.




Table of Contents