Directing for Film and Television

by Christopher Lukas

  Dubbing (1) The replacement of original sound material by new and better sound. (2) The use of English-speaking voices to replace foreign dialogue in a film.

  Edge numbers Matching numbers printed onto the edge of the film and the sound track after the film has been “synched,” so that the two can always be put back in synch during editing.

  Equalization Creating a new sound track that matches bass and treble for all portions of the film or videotape; bringing one sound level “up” or another “down.”

  Establishing Shot See Shots.

  Extreme Close-Up (ECU) See Shots.

  F-stop Refers to the size of the opening in the lens that corresponds to the iris in the human eye and that determines how much light is allowed into the camera to expose the film (or the tube that creates images on videotape). Another word for f-stop is “aperture.” These apertures remain the same for all lenses and all cameras and are denoted by the following numbers: 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8,11,16, 22. The higher the number, the less light is allowed into the camera; each higher f-stop decreases the light allowed in by exactly one half. When we change from a low f-stop to a high one, we say we are “stopping down.” Conversely, moving from a high to a low f-stop is “opening up.”

  Fade-in A device used in both film and video, whereby the picture starts in black and becomes gradually apparent (“fades in”). Created in the laboratory or the final editing process (video), not as one shoots.

  Fill light See Lighting.

  Fine cut The third and final of the three “cuts” in the creation of a film or videotape. This is the product at its final length, with all scenes and lines of dialogue intact and in the place they will eventually play. Music and sound effects may still be missing.

  Frame The actual piece of celluloid (in film) that is held in front of the projector for one forty-eighth of a second and is marked by a solid black line at top and bottom. The progression of twenty-four such “frames” per second gives the illusion of “motion” in moving pictures. In video, there are thirty such frames per second, created by the sweep of an electron beam across the face of the television screen. “Frame” also refers to the way in which directors conceive of a shot.

  Gaffer’s tape Looks like plumber’s tape (the silver tape used to wrap pipes) but is much more powerful. No production should go anywhere without it. Used for taping lamps to the ceiling, furniture to the floor, and a million other things. This is one of dozens of tools used by the grips to make life on the set easier. In fact, a new gimmick or gadget is invented almost every day: something to hang lights from office ceilings on location, without drilling into the woodwork; a new kind of koukalouris (or “cookie”—a cellulose cutout that casts just the right kind of shadow on a wall); a new way of hanging equipment on the back of a dolly.

  Genre In filmmaking, refers to the kind of style or content matter; for instance, film noir (stark, contrasty black-and-white films of the 1930s), detective story, Western, or comedy.

  Grammar The way in which a film or videotape should be edited. (Similar to the way in which the order and use of words in various languages should be grammatically correct.) This usually requires that a shot vary in either “angle” or size (or both) from one cut to the next; that is, that a close-up (see Shots) of a person not be edited onto a close-up of the same person from the same angle, or that two medium shots from the same height or direction not be cut together.

  Gyroscopic devices Used to make moving shots (on board a helicopter, a train, a car) steady. The camera is mounted on a device that counteracts jiggles and joggles by rotating a wheel within a wheel, such as in a child’s toy gyroscope. The Steadicam works on somewhat different principles to accomplish the same ends.

  Halogen mercury incandescent (HMI) This low-wattage, high-output, low-heat lamp replaced the old “arc” lamps for the purpose of creating light that looks like sunlight.

  Independent Any director or other film/video professional who operates without a steady salary, that is, outside of an institution such as a movie studio or television station.

  Industrial Akin to a documentary but generally used for telling about a corporation rather than taking a point of view about some issue. Differs from a commercial in that it is longer and not so hard sell.

  Inkie See Lighting

  Jump cut Unlike other cuts this is something you don’t try to achieve. It is the expression used to denote an edit of two shots that are so close together in size or angle that it appears, when they are cut together, that something has been left out. Often, this happens when dialogue has been omitted (for example, in an interview in a documentary) and no cutaways have been shot to intervene between the two grossly similar (in this case, identical) shots. But jump cuts also occur when a medium shot and a close shot are too similar in size, even though no dialogue has actually been left out. The person appears to jump in the frame because, no matter how carefully the film has been shot, he or she does not occupy the same space in both shots. By using a larger shot for the medium or a closer one for the close-up, the change in angle and size obscures the mismatch of position.

  Key light See Lighting.

  Lighting How scenes are lit. Classically, the chief and strongest light source is called the “key” light. Shadows are filled in by “fill” light, and a “back” light is used from the top or behind the subject to create a sense of three-dimensionality and to separate the subject from the background. “Fill-in” light is not to be confused with “fill,” but is a secondary light source used to lighten the face of a person who is primarily lit from behind or the side by the sun or other extremely bright light source. Lighting instruments have very specific but esoteric names, such as “2K” for a 2000-watt lamp, or “Inkie” for a 350-watt lamp (it’s diminutive of “incandescent).

  Long shot See Shots.

  Mag track Short for “Magnetic track.” The 16mm-wide piece of plastic (Mylar) to which oxide fragments have been adhered and that has been passed across a sound head for the purpose of recording sound upon it. There is also quarter-inch magnetic track, which is usually reserved for original recording on a small tape recorder. From that original, the 16mm mag track is made.

  Matching Making sure that the action that occurred in Take 1 of a shot is repeated in other takes, or that the action that occurs in a medium shot is repeated in the same sequence in the close-up. This is in order to avoid mismatches when editing.

  Medium shot See Shots.

  Mise-en-scène From the French mettre-en-scène (to stage or produce). Used to denote a stylistic approach to directing, wherein camera and actors are kept in motion, allowing a variety of shots to be “built” into one long, moving shot. (For a fuller discussion, see chapter 6.)

  Mix What is done when all sound is mixed together in a special sound chamber (film) or on an AVID or at a “sound house” in order to equalize or blend all the effects for a product.

  Monitor Functions like a television set, except that it can receive video (pictures) directly from a camera or videotape recorder, not just over the air. The same for audio (sound).

  Montage (1) The use of multiple images, usually dissolved together, to show the passage of time. (2) The creation of meaning and story through the cutting together of various shots. (3) Sergei Eisenstein’s semi-mystical analysis of film editing. (4) The meaning discussed in full in chapter 4: a stylistic approach to shooting, whereby timing, pace, look, and dialogue are controlled by the editing of many shots.

  MOS A silent shot. From the early German directors in Hollywood who used to state, “Dis shot is mitout sound. “ (Honest!)

  Murphy’s Law If something can go wrong—it will!

  One-light print See Prints.

  Opticals Fades, dissolves, wipes, and any and all other visual devices added after the original material has been shot. In video, there are an almost unlimited number of such gimmicks available when completing a tape through a special effects generator board. In film, more limited effects are possible, and all have to
be completed in the laboratory or sent out to an “optical house,” where a camera shoots the optical from a print of the original shot, or from the negative itself Opticals, these days, include blowing up or shrinking the original shot, moving in on a portion of the scene; and many other effects.

  Outtake A shot that is not considered good enough to use in the film or videotape, or is left unprinted (film) after a day’s shoot.

  Pan Camera movement in which the camera head swivels right or left to take in another part of the potential environment.

  Pilot A film or videotape created before any other episodes of a television series, in order to sell the series to a potential sponsor or network.

  Point of view (POV) Literally, a shot that shows how a person’s eyes would see something. This is different from the normal close-up or long shot of a scene, which is shot from slightly to the left or right of an individual’s POV, so that the returning look of a person in that scene will not be directly into the camera.

  Postproduction Anything done after the shooting stops.

  Prints For film only. When the footage is first sent to the laboratory, it is generally developed and printed in a quick fashion for the dailies. This print is called the “work print” and is used by the editor to make all versions of the film. The work print is exposed in the printer at the laboratory by turning on a number of “lights” (with filters). Generally, the laboratory sends the film through the printer with a single set of lights on, to give it an average color and exposure ratio. This is called—naturally—a “one-light print.” When more careful printing is required, in order to see texture and color that is more closely allied to the final product, a “timed print” is ordered. This takes more time and costs more, since each shot is individually examined (in the negative) and different light settings are punched into the computer so that flesh tones and other colors match from shot to shot.

  An “answer print” is the first fully timed print made from the cut negative after the film has been sent fully edited to the laboratory. A “release print” is a print made from either the original negative or a color reversal internegative (CRI)—a duplicate negative made to protect the original from wear and tear—after one or more answer prints have been approved for color and balance.

  Racking focus Changing the focus between two or more objects while operating the camera.

  Release print See Prints.

  Rough cut This is the second of the three cuts of a film or videotape, the first being the assembly, the third being the fine cut. The rough cut is the editor’s vision of the product, with some scenes shortened, others cut out, and still others rearranged in order. The rough cut is without special sound tracks, music, or other subtleties. There may be many rough cuts before moving on to a fine cut.

  Rushes See Dailies.

  Script Sometimes called the “shooting script,” it is the final version of what you intend to shoot as a film or videotape.

  Setups Every time the camera is moved from one place to another, and lights are changed to suit the move, a setup is said to have taken place. On any one shooting day, the number of setups is used as at least one measure of the progress of the film.

  Shotgun This is a microphone with a long barrel that can be used from a moderate distance to get audio in a documentary. It has a narrow field of pick-up so that, unlike an omni microphone, it collects sound only from the person at whom it’s pointed.

  Shots Each time the camera is turned on or off, pointed in a different direction, or moved, it creates a different shot. The grammar of film and video making requires that different kinds of shots be defined. An “establishing” shot, or “long” shot, reveals the entire panorama in front of the camera, so that geography can be established. (“Wide” is sometimes substituted for “long.”) A “medium” shot is closer and usually limited to one person (though “medium two-shots” have been used), “cutting” him (that is, framing him in a certain fashion) at the top of the head and above the waist. A “close” shot usually involves only the head, whereas an “ECU” (extreme close-up) cuts a person below the hairline and above the chin. Because of variations in personal taste and artistic dictates, there are variations in how these shots are defined. There are also “medium close-ups,” “medium long shots,” and so on. “Cover shot” is sometimes used for a long shot but is also used to refer (in television) to a wide shot held on one camera in case anything goes wrong with other shots on closer cameras.

  Terms such as “reverse shot” and “reaction shot” need some explanation. A “reverse” is a shot taken from nearly 180 degrees opposite to the initial setup for a scene. It is usually used in order to see the face of the actor whose back was toward camera in the original shot. If both actors appear in both shots, the shots are termed “over-the-shoulder shots.” To see what an actor is thinking while another actor is talking is called a “reaction shot.”

  Single system The recording of picture and sound on the same piece of film. This is done for newsfilm shooting, seldom (anymore) for documentary, never for motion pictures. Videotape is, basically, single-system recording, though editing techniques have allowed picture and sound to be separately handled.

  Soft Out of focus.

  Special effects A term used for all those marvelous magical things that happen that look real but aren’t: gunshots, bombs, flying nuns, and so forth.

  Storyboard A cartoonlike layout in which major shots are drawn so that cinematographer, producer, art director, and other team members can see what you, the director, have in mind. On short projects, such as commercials, almost every shot is carefully drawn and colored in.

  Story line The first, very brief synopsis of an idea for a film or teleplay.

  Synchronized When the sound track and the picture of a person talking start and end in the same place, they are said to be synchronized or “in synch.” When one or the other has been moved forward or backward, and a person consequently moves his lips at a time different from when we hear his voice, the tracks are said to be “out of synch.” This sometimes happens in double-system film editing because the tracks are edited separately. Edge numbers are used to put things to rights again.

  Tight A term describing the framing of a shot that is close, as opposed to “wide” or “long.”

  Tilt Camera movement in which the camera head moves up or down to take in another part of the environment.

  Time coding Digital (sound) code with matching (visual) numbers that is put on videotape and read by a special machine to enable shots to be found and edited either manually or by computer. (See chapter 9.)

  Timed print See Prints.

  Tracking Shot A moving shot. Usually done on a dolly, it can be a move in, out (that is, away from), sideways, up or down, or a combination of all four. See Zoom.

  Treatment Somewhere between a story line and a shooting script, the treatment will use normal paragraph-style writing to completely lay out the substance and plot of a film or videotape. Everything is revealed in sequence, but dialogue is not given except in snatches needed to reveal the plot and feel of the eventual script.

  Video An abbreviation for “videotape.” These are a few of its definitions: (1) Something to be differentiated from film. (2) Something to be shot with a television camera, but not necessarily broadcast. (3) A piece of music to which an action has been concocted and that is shot on videotape—originally for use on MTV.

  VTR Videotape recording. Used for both the recording and the machine on which it is recorded.

  Wide shot See Shots.

  Work Print See Prints.

  Zoom A special lens that incorporates several “focal lengths,” enabling a single camera position to be used for different sized shots. Also refers to the actual use of the lens as it goes from one such focal length to another (as in zooming in or zooming out.) This is in contradistinction to a tracking shot, in which the size of the image is changed by actually moving the camera toward or away from the subject.

  Selected Bibliog
raphy

  What follows is a very short list of books that you may find useful in order to bone up on:

  Film production in general, and technical matters

  Editing

  The documentary

  Most of these are available in paperback editions.

  I. FILM PRODUCTION IN GENERAL, AND TECHNICAL MATTERS

  Alton, John. Painting With Light. Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1995.

  Beal, Steven. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Home Videos. New York: Alpha Books, 1999.

  Bernstein, Steven. Film Production. Woburn, Mass.: Focal Press, 1994.

  Bloedow, Jerry. Filmmaking Foundations. Woburn, Mass.: Focal Press, 1991.

  Honthaner, Eve Light. The Complete Film Production Handbook. Woburn, Mass.: Focal Press, 1996.

  Maltin, Leonard. The Art of the Cinematographer :A Survey and Interviews With Five Masters. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 1978

  Musburger, Robert B. Single-Camera Video Production. Woburn, Mass.: Focal Press, 1999.

  Videomaker Magazine. “The Videomaker Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Making Video.” Woburn, Mass.: Focal Press, 1996.

  II. FILM EDITING.

  Reisz, Karel, and Gavin Millar. Technique of Film Editing. 2nd Edition. Woburn, : Focal Press, 1995.

  Rosenblum, Ralph, and Robert Karen. When the Shooting Stops, the Cutting Begins: A Film Editor’s Story. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 1988.

  III. DOCUMENTARY

  Barnouw, Erik. Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film. 2nd Rev. Ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

  Rosenthal, Alan. Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos, Revised Edition. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois U. P., 1996.

  Snyder, Robert L. Pare Lorentz and the Documentary Film. Reno: U. of Nevada Press, 1993.

  About The Author

  CHRISTOPHER LUKAS has been a television producer, director, and writer for over 40 years. In the world of public television, he has worked for its most prestigious organizations: WNET (where he was Director of Programming as well as a long-time producer), KQED, WTTW, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Mr. Lukas has several Emmy Awards to his credit. He taught in and was Chairman of the Department of Communications at City College of New York (1982-1987). After returning to the world of broadcasting in 1987, he spent ten years as Vice President and senior producer for the documentary production firm, AHP, Inc., and has recently pioneered the use of small-format digital video for both on-air and institutional use.