Daily call sheet is a filmmaking term for the schedule supervised by the assistant director and crafted by the 2nd assistant director, using the director's shot list, the production schedule and other logistics considerations. It is issued to the cast and crew of a film production to inform them of where and when they should report for a particular day of filming, usually no later than 12 hours before the start of the next work day.

Call sheets are a vital part of video production. (Full article...)

This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described. (Full article...)

Turnaround in filmmaking is the use of outside assistance to resolve problems preventing a film project from completing its development phase and entering the preproduction phase. A project stuck in development phase is said to be in development hell. (Full article...)

Film finance is an aspect of film production that occurs during the development stage prior to pre-production, and is concerned with determining the potential value of a proposed film.

In the United States, the value is typically based on a forecast of revenues (generally 10 years for films and 20 years for television shows), beginning with theatrical release, and including DVD sales, and release to cable broadcast television networks both domestic and international and inflight airline licensing. (Full article...)

Negative cost is the net expense to produce and shoot a film, excluding such expenditures as distribution and promotion.

Low-budget movies, for example The Blair Witch Project, can have promotional expenses that are much larger than the negative cost. (Full article...)

A soundtrack is recorded sound accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronised recorded sound.

In movie industry terminology usage, a sound track is an audio recording created or used in film production or post-production. Initially, the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a film each has its own separate track, and these are mixed together to make what is called the composite track, which is heard in the film. A dubbing track is often later created when films are dubbed into another language. This is also known as an M&E (music and effects) track. M&E tracks contain all sound elements minus dialogue, which is then supplied by the foreign distributor in the native language of its territory. (Full article...)

First-dollar gross is a practice in filmmaking in which a participant receives a percentage of the gross box-office revenue, starting from a film's first day of release. The participant begins sharing in the revenue from the first ticket sale, not waiting until the film studio turns a profit. It is a film finance and distribution term used primarily in the United States film industry. In France, as of September 2003, one condition for filmmakers to get government support is that money must be reimbursed on the first-dollar gross basis. First-dollar gross has become a rare arrangement, and compensation has increasingly shifted away from first-dollar gross to back-end compensation. Some contracts define "first dollar" as a net figure after certain expense deductions rather than a true distributor's gross. (Full article...)

A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production. It is normally created and managed by the assistant director, who reports to the production manager managing the production schedule and production board. Both schedules represent a timeline stating where and when production resources are used.

The shooting schedule is an essential element of the filmmaking process, because the sequence in which scenes are shot during principal photography normally does not follow their chronological sequence in the script. (Full article...)

A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions including all aspects of the modeling industry. Awards given for this profession in the entertainment industry include the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and entertainment industry awards such as the Emmy Awards, and the Golden Globes. In some countries professional licenses are required by agencies in order for them to hire the MUA. Bigger production companies have in-house makeup artists on their payroll although most MUA's generally are freelance and their times remain flexible depending on the project. (Full article...)

Videography is the process of capturing moving images on electronic media (e.g., videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage) and even streaming media. The term includes methods of video production and post-production. It used to be considered the video equivalent of cinematography (moving images recorded on film stock), but the advent of digital video recording in the late 20th century blurred the distinction between the two, as in both methods the intermediary mechanism became the same. Nowadays, any video work could be called videography, whereas commercial motion picture production would be called cinematography.

A videographer is a person who works in the field of videography and/or video production. News broadcasting relies heavily on live television where videographers engage in electronic news gathering (ENG) of local news stories. (Full article...)

A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media.

In motion picture and television production, a sound effect is a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point without the use of dialogue or music. Traditionally, in the twentieth century, they were created with Foley. The term often refers to a process applied to a recording, without necessarily referring to the recording itself. In professional motion picture and television production, dialogue, music, and sound effects recordings are treated as separate elements. Dialogue and music recordings are never referred to as sound effects, even though the processes applied to such as reverberation or flanging effects, often are called sound effects. (Full article...)

A sound report is a filmmaking term for a sheet of paper created by the sound mixer to record details of each file recorded during filming. A sound report is arranged in a table format, where the rows represent each file recorded, which at the least would contain columns for noting down the scene, slate or shot and take number, and a wider column for remarks about the particular take's sound. A report would typically note the title of the production, the date, the audio roll or tape that the file is recorded on, tape speed or sample rate, bit depth, and timecode information. More detailed reports may include the location, production company, director, the model of the mixer, recorder and microphones used on the day, the names of the sound crew, and columns indicating which tracks were used for any given take.

The sound mixer will fill out the report during or after each take, noting down if there were any wild lines, any extraneous or unwanted sounds, and any other information useful in determining the take's sound quality. The sound mixer may in some way mark takes that were good, or of high quality, to provide a simple visual indicator as to the best takes. The report will be given to the post production department, where it would be used to determine which takes are of the best quality without having to listen through to every one, so the film editor and/or dialogue editor can more easily determine where alternate good takes may be found to replace those of lower sound quality, and can quickly determine how the sound needs to be edited. (Full article...)

A film (British English) – also called a movie (American English), motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick – is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and the art form that is the result of it. (Full article...)

A step outline (also informally called a beat sheet) is a detailed telling of a story with the intention of turning the story into a screenplay for a motion picture.

The step outline briefly details every scene of the screenplay's story, and often has indications for dialogue and character interactions. The scenes are often numbered for convenience. (Full article...)

Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager, or production accountant prepares a budget for a film production. This document, which could be over 130 pages long, is used to secure financing for and lead to pre-production and production of the film. Multiple drafts of the budget may be required to whittle down costs.
A budget is typically divided into four sections: above the line (creative talent), below the line (direct production costs), post-production (editing, visual effects, etc.), and other (insurance, completion bond, etc.). The budget excludes film promotion and marketing, which is the responsibility of the film distributor. Film financing can be acquired from a private investor, sponsor, product placement, film studio, entertainment company, and/or out-of-pocket funds.

When it comes to reporting the budget of a film, the amount of the budget represents the gross budget, which is the grand total of actual spending to produce the project and not to be confused with net budget, which represents the final out of pocket for the producer after government incentives or rebates ("If you pay $50 for something but have a mail-in coupon for a $10 rebate, your gross spending still amounts to $50."). One of the consequences of the Sony hack was the release of budget information of many films or TV shows, including the 2015 Adam Sandler film Pixels. The actual cost to produce Pixels, or the "grand total", was $129.6 million and the net budget for Sony came to $111 million after they received a government rebate in Canada that covered a portion of their gross spend (cost) in the amount of just over $18 million. Even though Sony's out of pocket for the film was reduced because of the incentive, it does not negate the fact that the actual cost (amount spent during production to make the film) was still $129.6 million. (Full article...)

A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The notes recorded by the script supervisor during the shooting of a scene are used to help the editor cut the scene. They are also responsible for keeping track of the film production unit's daily progress. The script supervisor credit is typically in the closing credits of a motion picture. Script supervisors are a department head and play a crucial role in the shooting of a film. It is the script supervisor's job to monitor the camera shots, seeking to maintain coherence between the scenes.

In the most basic description, the script supervisor is the editor's and writer's representative on set, as well as being the right hand aide to the director and the director of photography. It is the script supervisor's job to make sure that the film can be cut together after shooting has concluded. In that sense, they back up every department, monitor the script during shooting and make sure that errors in continuity do not occur that would prevent the film from being able to be compiled smoothly in the editing room. (Full article...)

Guerrilla filmmaking refers to a form of independent filmmaking characterized by ultra-low micro budgets, skeleton crews, and limited props using whatever resources, locations and equipment is available. The genre is named in reference to guerrilla warfare due to these techniques typically being used to shoot quickly in real locations without obtaining filming permits or providing any other sort of warning.

Independent filmmakers typically resort to guerrilla filmmaking because they do not have the budget or time to obtain permits, rent out locations, or build expensive sets. Larger and more "mainstream" film studios tend to avoid guerrilla filmmaking tactics because of the risk of being sued, fined or having their reputation damaged due to negative publicity. (Full article...)

A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at Walt Disney Productions during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios. (Full article...)

In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra for a particular role or part in a script, screenplay, or teleplay. This process may be used for a motion picture, television program, documentary film, music video, play, or advertisement, intended for an audience. (Full article...)

In the context of the film and television industries, to greenlight is to give permission to proceed with a project. It specifically refers to formally approving its production finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the project to proceed from the development phase to pre-production and principal photography. The power to greenlight a project is generally reserved to those in a project or financial management role within an organization. The process of taking a project from pitch to green light formed the basis of a successful reality TV show titled Project Greenlight. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".

At the Big Five major film studios in the United States and the mini-majors, greenlight power is generally exercised by committees of the studios' high-level executives. However, the studio president, chairman, or chief executive is usually the person who makes the final judgment call. For the largest film budgets involving several hundred million U.S. dollars, the chief executive officer or chief operating officer of the studio's parent media conglomerate may hold final greenlight authority. In practical terms, greenlight power in the 21st century at major film studios means the power to commit the studio to spending about US$100 million, on average, for a feature-length motion picture designated for wide release for the North American market. Historically, this power was exclusively held by white male executives in Hollywood, though the status quo has slowly begun to change since the turn of the 21st century. UCLA reported in 2020 that senior management teams at Hollywood film studios were 93 percent white and 80 percent male. (Full article...)

Re-recording is the process by which the audio track of a film or video production is created. An Audio re-recording is often called a re-recording of music. As sound elements are mixed and combined the process necessitates "re-recording" all of the audio elements, such as dialogue, music, sound effects, by the sound re-recording mixer(s) to achieve the desired result, which is the final soundtrack that the audience hears when the finished film is played. (Full article...)

Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. (Full article...)

Scenography (inclusive of scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design) is a practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography can be defined as the combination of technological and material stagecrafts to represent, enact, and produce a sense of place in performance. While inclusive of the techniques of scenic design and set design, scenography is a holistic approach to the study and practice of all aspects of design in performance. (Full article...)

Sync sound (synchronized sound recording) refers to sound recorded at the time of the filming of movies. It has been widely used in movies since the birth of sound movies. (Full article...)

Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada has been defined by Nielsen EDI as a film released in fewer than 600 theaters. (Full article...)