Support

A-Roll

Primary interview or dialogue footage that carries the main narrative, as opposed to supporting B-roll cutaways.

Above the Line

Key creative and financial roles on a production — typically writer, director, producers, and principal cast — whose fees sit above the production budget line.

Also known as: ATL

Action Design

The planned physical vocabulary of a sequence — beats, geography, and camera coverage — before cameras roll on stunts.

Action Line

The descriptive prose in a screenplay that shows what the audience sees and hears, written in present tense between dialogue blocks.

ADR

Automated Dialogue Replacement: re-recording dialogue in a studio after principal photography to fix or improve the production track.

Also known as: looping

Animatic

A rough moving version of a storyboard, often with temp audio, used to test timing and shot flow before or during production.

Aspect Ratio

The width-to-height proportion of the frame (for example 1.85:1 or 2.39:1). Chosen early and affects lenses, framing, and deliverables.

Assembly Cut

The first full cut of a film, usually in script order, put together from selected takes before fine editorial work begins.

Also known as: assembly

Auditioner

New Hollywood tool that provides an AI scene partner so performers can rehearse and record self-tapes without another reader on set.

B-Roll

Supplemental footage — inserts, cutaways, establishing shots — cut under or between primary dialogue and action coverage.

Back End

Contingent compensation paid from a project's profits or revenues after certain costs are recouped, rather than (or in addition to) upfront fees.

Beat Sheet

A short outline of a story's key emotional or plot beats, used before or alongside a treatment or draft.

Below the Line

Production crew and costs that sit under the above-the-line creatives — camera, grip, electric, art, post, and similar departments.

Also known as: BTL

Blocking

Planning where actors and the camera move within a scene so coverage, eyelines, and continuity stay clear.

Blue Pages

Revision pages printed on colored paper (often blue for the first revision) so the production can track script changes.

Also known as: revision pages

Boom Operator

The crew member who positions the boom microphone for clean dialogue while staying out of frame and shadows.

Breakdown

The process of going through a script scene-by-scene to tag every element a production needs to schedule and budget: cast, props, locations, stunts, and more.

Also known as: script breakdown

Call Sheet

The daily production schedule handed to cast and crew: call times, locations, scenes, contacts, and weather notes.

Camera Coverage

The set of angles and shot sizes recorded for a scene so editorial has options beyond a single master.

Campaign

On New Hollywood, an open call where a production or profile solicits script submissions or casting interest under defined terms.

CCSL

Continuity/Combined Spotting List: a post deliverable mapping dialogue and spotting cues for localization and M&E workflows.

Also known as: continuity combined spotting list

CGI

Computer-generated imagery created digitally and composited into or replacing live-action elements.

Also known as: computer-generated imagery

Chain of Title

The documented path of ownership and rights in a project — underlying IP, options, assignments — required for financing and delivery.

Character Arc

The internal change a character undergoes across a story — beliefs, desires, or moral stance shifting from start to end.

Clapperboard

The hinged board marked with scene, take, and roll info, clapped at the head (or tail) of a take to sync picture and sound.

Also known as: sticks, clapboard