In any industry, you're bound to find a bunch of confusing lingo, and video production is no exception. Here are some handy definitions that will have you talking video production like a pro in no time.
4K
4K refers to a display device or video footage that has a horizontal resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. 4K video contains approximately four times the pixels of Full HD video (1920x1080 pixels).
art direction
AKA: art director, art department
The part of pre-production and production concerned with visual artistry, the art department is responsible for planning the film's "look" (e.g. warm and happy, vintage, futuristic, etc.) as desired by the director.
b-roll
B-roll refers to the more abstract footage of people, places, or things that support the story.
blocking
The process of deciding where the actors will sit/stand/move in a given scene.
cinematographer
AKA: DP, director of photography
The person responsible for composing an image on the camera and lighting the subject and scene. Sometimes this is also the camera operator.
color correction
Cameras often see differently than our eyes do, distorting video footage to varying degrees.
Color correction is the process of balancing each footage clip to be accurate in color and contrast to what we see with our eyes in real life as well as matching the various clips visually with one another.
color grading
Color grading happens after color correction and is strictly a creative process in which footage elements such as color hue, color saturation, and contrast are adjusted in order to create a visual aesthetic. This new visual "look" can add mood and feeling to a film.
digital cinema camera
Digital cinema cameras differ from both news-style and consumer cameras in that they are focused on matching the look and quality of 35mm film cinema cameras that, in bygone times, were more common in Hollywood films.
director
The person principally responsible for the creative direction of a film. The direction is usually involved with planning the story, working on-set with the actors and cinematographer, and guiding the editing process.
editing
The process of taking all the video and audio footage acquired during production, chopping it up into relevant pieces, organizing it, and crafting a visual story out of those pieces.
effects
AKA: visual effects, VFX
Digital alterations to a film added in post-production.
graphics
AKA: GFX
Adding titles and animations during the post-production process.
grip
AKA: grip crew
The people responsible for both set-up and break-down of equipment during the filming process as well as helping refine lighting.
location scouting
The process of researching locations which will complement the desired aesthetic and story
of the film.
message development
In Hoptocopter's context, it means we work with the client to plan out the message that will achieve the client's goals and/or
solve their problem.
music score
AKA: composition, music bed
Music that is written specifically for a film. The composer often works closely in harmony with the editor.
pre-production
All arrangements made
before the start of filming.
production
Though this term can refer generally to the whole film project, it is most often used
to refer to the "on-set" and "on-location" parts of the video project.
post-production
AKA: post
Work done after the footage for the video is shot. Typically, post-production includes editing, audio mastering, music scoring, color correction and grading, visual effects, and visual graphics.
story planning
AKA: scripting, storyboarding
Planning the locations, scenes, and people as well as outlining interview questions that will help shape the story the film tells - while leaving room for discovery and exploration in the filming process.