Descriptionary

Hays Office the office of former Postmaster Gen­eral Will Hays, who was appointed by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors to develop a gen- eral code to guide producers on how much sex, vio­lence, or offensive language could be allowed in films. Notoriously strict, the Hays Production Code was introduced in 1934 and remained in effect until 1967, when it was abolished.

high concept descriptive term for a highly commer­cial plot, script, or idea for a movie. A high-concept movie usually has top actors, bigger-than-life action, a clever premise appealing to the largest body of potential movie-goers, and a vast potential for profit.

hit the mark during a shot, a cue from the director to move to a designated spot on the set.

honeywagon a trailer or truck used as a dressing room while shooting a film on location.

horse opera a western.

hot set a movie set on which a scene is currently being shot.

independent a movie shot and produced by a film­maker unaffiliated with a major studio.

indie an independent film.

in the can slang, referring to a movie that is shot but not ready for distribution.

kenworthy a special crane, sometimes computer programmed, used to film miniature sets.

klieg light a floodlight.

leader the black strip of film showing countdown numbers at the beginning of the film.

letterbox a format in which a widescreen motion picture can be presented on video with a top and bot­tom band of the television screen blocked out.

lip-synch to match recorded speech with the actors' lip movements on film.

location manager a person who is in charge of arranging for shooting in a given location and secur­ing any necessary permissions from property owners and authorities.

location scout one who searches out appropriate locations for shooting.

lock it down, speed, action "Lock it down" is announced by the assistant director to quiet everyone on the set for shooting. The director of photography or camera operator then announces "speed," so the director will know when the camera is operating at the correct speed. "Action" is then called by the direc­tor to commence performance of a scene.

looping lip-synching on short loops of film.

Macguffin a term coined by director Alfred Hitch­cock, referring to a plot element which at first appears meaningless to the audience but which becomes important later on.

married print the soundtrack and film combined into one unit.

master shot a long shot that takes in an entire scene. Also known as a cover shot.

method actor an actor who practices a form of naturalistic acting first popularized in the 1930s.

Mickey Mousing combining whimsical music or musical effects with the actions of the actors, a tech­nique frequently used in cartoons and sometimes in comedic movies.

mix to combine different soundtrack elements, such as dialogue, music, and sound effects.

mogul the head of a movie studio.

Moviola an editing machine.

MOW movie of the week; a made-for-television movie.

nickelodeon an early form of American movie the­ater, with admission costing a nickel.

novelization a novel adapted from a movie.

on location of filming, in an actual setting, such as an airport, rather than in a studio mockup or set.

optrack an optical soundtrack on a married print; it is composed of a photo image of sound modulations on the side of the film.

outtake a portion of film deleted by the editor.

overlap sound dialogue or sound that continues as the scene fades out. Also, dialogue or sound that begins before the scene fades in.

Panavision wide-screen process that supplanted Cinemascope.

Pan-Cake a makeup used on actors to darken skin.

pickup a motion picture produced and shot by one studio and purchased by another.

pitch a verbal presentation of a story or movie idea from writers to producers.

postproduction any additional elements that must be performed or added after the principal film has been shot, most notably editing and special visual effects.

postsynchronization the recording of the soundtrack after the film has been shot.

practical set a studio set, such as a bedroom mockup, with parts that actually work, such as doors, windows, and so on. Also, any on-location set.

premiere the first public showing of a movie.

prequel a movie featuring a story line that precedes in time the related story line of another movie already produced and shown.

print the physical movie or film itself, or a reel of a movie.

producer the person who secures financing, pur­chases the script, hires artists and technicians, and oversees a film's production.

production assistant an all-around assistant who performs a wide variety of odd jobs on a set.