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.
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.