Film & Broadcast Glossary
Film & Broadcast is about telling stories – whether fiction or factual. This combines high standards of training in production skills to make programs – dramas and documentaries for radio, television and cinema
Film & Broadcast
Dance Floor
A floor built of 3/4 inch plywood which is usually covered with masonite to provide a smooth surface for free-form dollying. (Grip)
Film & Broadcast
DAT (Digital Audio Tape)
Two-channel digital audio has become increasingly common as a professional master reference and for use in field recording. (Sound)
Film & Broadcast
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
A computer-based recording and editing machine used for manipulating sounds. (Sound)
Film & Broadcast
Day Out of Days
A form designating the workdays for various cast or crewmembers of a given production.
Film & Broadcast
Dead spot
A place in which a sound waves are canceled by reflections arriving out of phase with the wanted signal thus creating an area of silence or poor audibility. (Acoustics)
Film & Broadcast
Dead Sync
An editorial term meaning that sound and picture elements are perfectly aligned. (Film Editing)
Film & Broadcast
Deal Memo
A form which lists the pertinent details of salary, guaranteed conditions, and other essentials of a work agreement negotiated between a member of the cast or crew and a production company.
Film & Broadcast
Decoder
The device which reads the enclosed signal or pulse and turns it into some form of usable information.
Film & Broadcast
Deep Focus
A style of cinematography and staging that uses relatively wide angle lenses and small lens apertures by maintaining objects in the extreme background and foreground simultaneously focused. (Cinematography)
Film & Broadcast
Degausser
A device used to erase recordings on magnetic tapes and films or to demagnetize magnetic recording heads.
Film & Broadcast
Density
A factor which indicates the light-stopping power of a photographic image.
Film & Broadcast
Depth of Field
The amount of space within lens view which will maintain acceptable focus at given settings (i.e. camera speed, film speed, lens aperture). (Cinematography)
Film & Broadcast
Deuce
A 2K fresnel lighting unit. (Lighting)
Film & Broadcast
Developing
The chemical process which converts a photographic exposure into a visible image. (Laboratory)
Film & Broadcast
DGA
Director’s Guild of America. A union which represents directors, assistant directors, production managers, and various video personnel.
Film & Broadcast
Dialogue track
A sound track which carries lip sync speech. (Sound)
Film & Broadcast
Differential Rewind
A device designed to permit simultaneous winding of film on more than one reel at a time even though the diameters of the rolls are unequal. (Film Editing)
Film & Broadcast
Digital
A reference to a system whereby a continuously variable analog signal is reduced and encoded into discrete binary bits that establish a mathematical model of an original signal or other information.
Film & Broadcast
Digital Recording
A method of recording in which samples of the original analog signal are encoded on tape or disk as binary information for storage or processing. The signal can then be copied repeatedly with no degradation. (Sound)
Film & Broadcast
Dimmer
A device for varying power to the lights. (Lighting)
Film & Broadcast
Dingle
Branches which are placed in front of a light as a cookie would to cut the light and provide a shadow pattern. (Grip/Lighting)