116 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding MediaFoley Eff ects – Noises created to synchronize with the images fi lmed during
production, oft en recorded in a sound studio with a viewing system.
Hard disk recording – Digital sound recording in which the production sound
track is stored directly onto a computer hard disk.
Intertitle – Printed words on the screen, usually over black, appearing in a motion
picture to provide dialogue or information such as time and location.
Location – Th e actual physical space in which a fi lm is set; the term is oft en
used for any shooting site that is not in a fi lm studio environment.
Microphone – Instrument that converts sound vibrations into electrical
signals.
Nagra – Brand of professional tape recorders used for sync sound recording.
Th e machine uses constant speed systems (fi rst Neopilot, later Timecode)
for the tape to move forward at an exact rate and allow perfect sync with
motion pictures.
Objective – Goal of a character, either in a particular scene or the overall
story.
Off -screen – A character, prop, or event not seen on the screen but perceived
by the spectator through sound or known proximity to the scene in the
frame. Used to indicate dialogue or sound coming from the physical space
outside the frame.
Optical sound – Systems of reproducing sound visually, also referred to as
sound-on-fi lm, in which audio waves transformed into electric impulses
produce a pattern printed on fi lm and read by a photoelectric cell.
Phonograph – A device that can create and play sound recordings through
the reproduction of sound waves. Th omas Edison invented the phonograph
in the form of a cylinder and later versions include the disc phonograph or
turntable.
Plot – Th e series of events that actually occur in the course of a story.
Production Sound Mixer – Th e person responsible for operating sound
recording devices on the set, adjusting recording levels of microphones to
attain a proper balance of sound, and maintaining recordkeeping for all
audio during production.
Radio microphone – Also known as wireless mic and oft en in the form of a
lavalier microphone, this microphone uses radio waves to transmit its signals,
so it is used without a cable attaching it to the recording device.
Scene heading – In a screenplay, formatted indication of location and time of
day for a new sequence. Also called a slug line.
Setting – Th e place and time period in which a scene or story occurs.
Shotgun microphone – Family of microphone oft en used by boom operators
because of their highly directional sensitivity to sound.Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).