Descriptionary

motion capture a special effects technique in which a live actor wears a body suit rigged with sensors that digitally record, or "capture," his or her movements. Animators add the captured movements to computer- generated images of the actor to convey realism in a digital landscape. The technique can even be used on animals, such as horses, to film dangerous scenes. Also known as mocap.

optical printer an apparatus that combines a pro­jector and a camera with facing lenses, for creating composite shots.

overcrank to run the camera at a greater speed than normal to produce slow-motion images.

pan to film from side to side.

pixilation stop-action photography effect in which an inanimate object is moved between each frame or a small number of frames so that on film the object appears to move on its own, as if by magic.

point-of-view shot a shot as seen from a character's perspective.

pullback a shot in which the camera is pulled back to reveal a larger portion of the scene.

pushover an optical effect similar to a wipe, in which a new scene appears to push the preceding scene off the screen.

rack focus a change of focus from a subject in the background to a subject in the foreground, or vice versa, without moving the camera.

reaction shot a shot that shows a character's reac­tion to the action around her or him.

rear projection see back projection.

Rembrandt lighting backlighting method modeled after the techniques of the famous Dutch painter, in which a soft light is projected from behind a character for a subtle halolike effect, popularly used in the mov­ies of the 1930s and 1940s.

reverse-angle shot a shot of an opposite view, as when switching from one character to another during alternating dialogue.

ripple dissolve an optical effect in which a waver­ing image serves as a transition to either a flashback, a flash-forward, or a dream sequence.

rotoscoping an animation method in which live action in a film is traced over.

scrim a plate placed in front of a light to produce shadow.

soft-focus slightly out-of-focus, as achieved by plac­ing Vaseline or a special filter over the camera lens; used to soften lines in romantic shots.

split screen an optical effect showing two different scenes on one frame.

squib a tiny explosive charge used to simulate gun­shots.

stop-action photography a special-effects tech­nique in which objects are filmed one frame at a time, allowing the object to be moved between frames. The resulting moving image is known as pixilation.

substitution shot a shot in which the action is stopped midscene and the actors freeze in place. A sub­stitution is made, either for an object or by a dummy representing one of the actors. The shot may be used, for example, when one of the characters is about to have his head cut off or some other unpleasantry.

superimposition a special effect in which one scene is superimposed over another, most notably used in creating scenes with ghosts. Also known as a super.

swish pan a rapid, blurring pan of a scene that serves as a transition into the next scene. Also known as a flick pan, whip pan, or zip pan.

synthespian a digitized actor with computer-gener­ated enhancements.

time-lapse photography a method of compressing real time into a much shorter span of time in film by shooting frames at timed intervals.

tracking shot a moving camera shot on a dolly, on rails, or on foot.

traveling matte see blue screen.

trucking shot a rail or dolly shot.

two-shot a shot of two characters simultaneously, as distinguished from a shot cutting back and forth between actors during dialogue.

undercrank to run the camera at a slower speed than normal to produce fast-motion images.

washout a fade to white.

whip pan see swish pan.

wipe an optical effect in which one scene moves from left to right, or vice versa, to knock out another scene and therefore serve as a transitional device.

zip pan see swish pan.

zoom a shot that, by means of automatic focus, zooms in close to a distant subject.

radio

AM amplitude modulation; a radio signal that trav­els along the surface and curvature of the Earth and thus has a much larger broadcast area than FM.

audio news release a taped news or publicity piece sent to radio stations by publicists for broadcast.

band a range of radio frequencies.

beeper slang for an interview recorded over the tele­phone, formerly requiring a series of beeps to indicate to listeners that the interview was not being broadcast live.

booking board a posted calendar listing future pro­grams and interview guests.