Descriptionary

credits the acknowledgments of cast and crew at the start or end of a program.

creeper a small camera dolly.

cue card a large card with a performer's lines printed on it. Also known as a flip card or an idiot card.

cue light an ON THE AIR warning light; also a red camera light to indicate shooting.

cue line a line spoken by one actor that serves as a cue to another actor.

cue sheet a schedule of cues and timings.

cyclorama a curved backdrop or wall used on a stage or studio to give the illusion of sky.

day for night filming a night scene in broad day­light by the use of special dark filters.

dead roll starting a program at its normal time but not broadcasting it until a late sporting or other event is over, at which time the program is "joined already in progress."

deaf aid a small earpiece used by reporters, anchors, and others.

decryption the decoding and unscrambling of pay cable TV signals.

defocusing dissolve an optical transition effect in which one camera goes slowly out of focus while another camera shoots a different scene that slowly comes into focus.

delayed broadcast the common practice in the Pacific time zone of airing a TV show later than it originally was transmitted.

delay time the seven seconds of delay time between broadcast and transmission in which obscenities may be removed on a live call-in talk show.

detail set a set used for closeups, having many props and details. Also known as an insert set.

detail shot an extreme closeup.

diagonal dissolve an optical effect in which two corners of a scene merge on screen.

Digital Video Effects an electronic special-effects system.

discovery shot a shot that zooms in on something the viewer had previously overlooked or failed to perceive.

dissolve an optical effect, such as fade-in, fade-out, or fade-to-black, serving as a transition to the next scene.

dolly grip one who pushes a camera dolly.

dolly-in a director's command to move the camera closer to the subject.

doll-out a director's command to move the camera away from the subject.

dolly shot a moving camera shot made on a dolly. Also known as a truck shot or tracking shot.

dolly tracks rails on which a camera and dolly ride during outdoor shots where the ground is uneven.

dress extra an extra who provides his own costume and is thus paid more.

dressing room a room used for dressing and makeup.

dress plot a list of actors' costumes and the order in which they will be worn throughout a program.

dry block a rehearsal without cameras.

dub to record in sound effects, music, dialogue, or foreign dialogue onto a sound track.

ducker a device that automatically lowers volume of background music to allow a voice-over to be heard.

dupe a copy of a taped TV program.

ear prompter a small audio ear plug through which an actor can listen to other actors' lines and play off them.

editor the person in charge of cutting and splicing videotape to put scenes in their proper sequence.

electronic character generator a typewriter-like device that produces on-screen lettering and charac­ters for sports scores, weather reports, stock updates, and other reports.

electronic matte the combining electronically of images from two different cameras.

electronic still store an electronic storage unit hold­ing photographic slides and titles.

elephant doors the large doors entering onto a TV studio.

embargo the prohibitions against the media's releas­ing certain news until a particular date or time.

encryption the process of scrambling TV signals to protect pay TV networks from theft of service.

endcue the last four or five words spoken by a per­former, newscaster, or anchor, for example, used as a cue for the control room engineer and director to cue the music and credits. Also known as outcue.

ESU engineering setup. The projection of an image over the shoulder of a news anchor during a news story.

explosion wipe an optical effect in which an upcoming scene appears to expand from the center of the screen.

explosive a loud, sharp sound produced by speech made too close to a microphone, the bane of audio engineers.

extra an actor in a small nonspeaking role.

eye bounce the technique of looking down and side­ways while on TV. Looking down without a sideways glance gives a shifty-eyed or fearful appearance.

facade a fake building having only a front wall and nothing behind it, often used on western programs.

fade an optical effect in which the picture fades in or out.

favor an instruction to the cameraman to focus in on a subject.

feed broadcasts transmitted from a network to local stations or vice versa.