Foley: the process of creating or re-creating sound elements for TV and film, most often for film. You know those behind the scenes featurettes on DVDs that show a character getting killed in a really gory way, and they need just the right sound effects? So the guy grabs a raw chicken and squishes it around in front of a microphone. Ah, the perfect sound… yep, that’s Foley. See Wikipedia.
gig: in the entertainment industry, synonymous for “job”. As in, “I’m starting a new gig on Monday” or “This gig is killing me…”
magazine: no, not People or GQ. It’s the lightproof enclosure that attaches to a film camera and holds the exposed/unexposed film stock.
MOS: pronounced “m-o-s”. In film, refers to silent footage or the absence of sound. Some people say it stands for the very Anglicized German phrase “mit-out sound”. In television production, though, MOS usually refers to “man on the street”, as in, “hey, we need that MOS package 5 minutes ago!” Just don’t be the film editor who is told by a TV producer to cut an MOS piece and goes ahead and strips out all the sound. “But you said to cut it MOS…” Seriously, it’s happened.
over-cranked: in the film world, shot in slow motion. Comes from the days before film cameras had motors when camera operators literally cranked the camera by hand. The faster they cranked, the more frames of film were recorded in real time. When that footage was played back at a constant, normal speed, the action appeared slowed down. See the opposite term “under-cranked”.
POV: pronounced “p-o-v”, acronym for “point of view”. Usually describes a first-person sort of shot, as in “her POV” or “the camera’s POV”.
spec: A work produced as a sort of calling card, a “speculative” example of a creative’s work. Projects done “on spec” rarely ever air or get produced, picked up, etc. Most often used in context of commercials (a spec spot for Nike) or screenwriting (a spec script for CSI:Miami).
Steadicam: a camera-stabilizing system that makes the most amazing shots possible. Is usually fairly
heavy and requires the operator to be in excellent physical shape. Pro models consist of a vest worn by the operator and a counter-balanced arm connected to the sled that supports the camera, a small video monitor, and other gear. Smaller models like the SteadicamJR and Glidecam are used by videographers and can get some decent results. Anyone who thinks it’s easy to fly a full-on Steadicam, though, has never done it. See Wikipedia for more info.
telecine: pronounced “TELL’-uh-SINN-ee”. Don’t pronounce it “TELL’-uh-SEEN”… you’ll just be wrong, as weird as the actual pronunciation is. Refers to both the process of, and the machine used for, transferring film to electronic form, usually video tape. For lots of cool info, see Wikipedia.
under-cranked: in film, shot for sped-up motion. Comes from the days before film cameras had motors when camera operators literally cranked the camera by hand. The slower they cranked, the fewer frames of film were recorded in real time. When that footage was played back at a constant, normal speed, the action appeared sped up. See the opposite term “over-cranked”.
Side note: Film today runs at 24fps (frames per second). During the early years of film, it ran at only 22fps. Those early films, in effect, were under-cranked by 2fps, which is why when played back at 24fps today, they appear sped up and jerky. A modern, extreme equivalent of under-cranking is time lapse photography, or motion effect/time compression in post-production. A shooter on a reality tv show might set a stationary camera to record 1 second every 5 minutes. That’s how you get the sun rising/setting in a matter of seconds and the classic reality clouds flying through the sky for a time transition. And of course, an editor setting the playback speed of a clip to 5000% accomplishes the same thing.
VFX: pronounced “v-f-x”, abbreviation for Visual Effects. See “CGI“.
