Additional Vocabulary Exercises

Acoustics

Tryout of live voice, recording or other elements prior to final selection for the film.

Action

(a) Music or other sound that is kept below the level of a speaker's voice; (b) scenery or setting for a scene; (c) the characters or objects appearing farthest from the camera.

Audition

The movement of the subject within the camera field of view. Also, such movement as represented on film.

Background

A fairly tight shot of the performer or the subject matter. In small-studio parlance, this would refer to the head of a performer. An extreme close-up might mean a selected portion of the face, such as the eyes.

Close-up

Titles of acknowledgement for story, sets, direction, etc.

Contingencies

The study of sound reverberation²and absorption.

Credits

Unforeseen situations, events, or circumstances that might delay the production schedule of the picture.

Dubbing

One individual picture on a piece of motion picture film.

Editing

The actual time it takes for the presentation of a given film or show.

Frame

Theatrical abbreviation for "property", meaning any portable article used by performers in visual presentation.

Monochrome

The general term used to describe the processes involved in making all the original material that is the basis for the finished motion picture.

Narration

The addition of sound (either music or dialogue) to a visual presentation via a recording process, which prepares a complete sound track that can be transferred to, and synchronised with, the visual presentation.

Production

The commentary for a film, spoken by an off-screen voice.

Prop

The process of assembling, arranging, and trimming the desired shots and sound tracks to best advantage for the purpose at hand.

Running time

Having shades of only one colour. refers to black-and-white pictures.

Scenery

The portion of a length of film reserved for the sound record.

Script

A term used to indicate the number of times a given shot has been made. Takes are usually numbered sequentially.

Set

Written plan, action, narration and dialogue for an audio-visual presentation.

Shot

A sound recording system with two or more sound tracks or channels, each of which is fed to an individual speaker.

Sound effect

The specific identifiable group or groups of persons toward which a film is aimed.

Sound track

Motion picture film material obtained from film libraries rather than shot specifically for a film production.

Stereophonic sound

Scenery or other artificial background for motion picture production.

Stock footage

(a) A single run of the camera; (b) the piece of film resulting from such a run.

Take

A non-musical, non-vocal sound – frequently artificial – that is included in or added to an audio presentation for dramatic purposes.

Target audience

Curtains, drapes, painted canvasses or other artificial background materials for visual studio recording.