Descriptionary

field strength the strength of a local station's broad­cast signals.

filter mike a microphone used to simulate the sound of someone's voice over the telephone.

first assistant cameraman one who adjusts a camera's focus to a performer's movements away or toward the camera. Also known as a focus puller.

fishbowl in a studio, an observation booth for spon­sors and others involved with the program.

fishpole a long microphone boom.

flashcaster a device used to superimpose news, weather, and other bulletins onto a crawl at the bot­tom of the TV screen.

flash-pan a superfast pan shot that blurs the picture and serves as a transition to the next scene.

flip wipe an optical effect in which a scene appears to turn over, as a page, to reveal a new scene.

floodlight a broad, bright studio light.

foley a sound effect dubbed in, such as footsteps, clothes rustling, or glasses clinking.

foley artist one who performs sound effects in a recording studio.

foley stage where foley effects are performed. footage a length of video tape.

freeze frame a optical effect in which tape is frozen at the end of a program to provide a still picture over which credits are run.

futures editor a TV news editor who is responsible for getting coverage of upcoming news events.

gaffer a chief electrician on a set or in a studio.

green room a waiting room for guests who are scheduled to appear on a talk show.

grip a stage or studio hand; a general set assistant.

half shot a camera shot halfway between a long shot and a closeup.

hammers set or stage assistants to the grip, not to be confused with set carpenters.

hammocking scheduling a poor program between two highly rated programs to increase the poor pro­gram's ratings.

handbasher an 800-watt, handheld set light.

hiatus time off between a program's shooting sched­ule, especially during summer reruns.

high-definition television (HDTV) a new gen­eration of televisions having a higher resolution or sharper image.

honeywagon a trailer with dressing rooms and other facilities, for shooting a program on location.

hot microphone a live microphone.

intercutting taking several shots of the same scene from various angles and splicing them together for a more effective viewpoint.

interstitial programming the airing of short programs between long programs to break up the monotony.

iris-in see circle-in.

jump a cue to step on another performer's lines; to react too early to a cue.

key to light a set. Also, to superimpose text onto the screen.

key light any main source of light on a set.

klieg light a powerful, wide-angle light used on sets.

lap dissolve an optical transitional effect in which one scene is gradually replaced by another.

late fringe TV ratings term for viewers who watch from 11 p.m. to sign-off.

laugh track prerecorded laughter dubbed over a comedy show at appropriate moments.

lavaliere a microphone worn around the neck, as a necklace.

lead-in an introductory announcement leading in to a program.

legend titles or other text keyed onto the screen.

letterbox format the showing of a movie on TV with its original theater aspect ratio (width to height of picture), in which horizontal bands appear on the top and bottom of the TV screen.

live mike a microphone that is on.

live on tape referring to a program recorded as it actually happened or was performed, but not actually live when transmitted or broadcast.

location a real setting (e.g., an airport) as distin­guished from a studio set, where a portion of a pro­gram is shot.

location manager a production assistant who plans and arranges for shooting on location.

location scout a production assistant who finds and reserves locations for shooting.

makeup call the time at which a performer must report to the makeup department.

master of ceremonies the host of a TV program; the MC or emcee.

match dissolve an optical transitional effect in which a scene fades and is replaced by a similar or nearly identical scene, but at a later time.

maxi-brute a powerful arc spotlight containing nine 1,000-watt lights in three rows. Also known as a nine-light.

minicam a portable TV camera used when taping on-location news.

network collective term for a group of affiliated TV stations that air the same programs.

O/C script directive for "on camera."

one-key one 1,000-watt floodlight. A 1,500-watt light equals one-and-a-half key.

open-ended of a national program or commercial, having a portion in which a local announcer can add local information.