Chapter 8 The Production Process 323Dolly grip – Member of the camera crew responsible for movement of the
dolly.
Executive producer – Individual who oversees the work of producers on a
motion picture and overall fi nancing of a production, oft en a studio chief
or investor.
First assistant camera – Primary crew member in charge of maintaining camera
and adjusting lens settings during principal photography.
First assistant director – First assistant director, or fi rst AD, assists the production
manager and director by creating a production schedule, managing personnel
on set, and assuring the adherence to the timetable.
Flag – A cloth or other opaque surface used to cut light or shade the lens.
Gaff er – Chief electrician during principal photography, in charge of placing
and operating lighting setups.
Gel – A transparent sheet used to add color to light.
Greenlight – In feature fi lm and television projects involving fi nancing from
an outside source or client, this is the word used to indicate that the studio or
fi nancier will provide the backing to advance the project from development
into production.
Greenscreen – Following from the example of the bluescreen, this is a chroma
key technique in which actors stand in front of a completely green, evenly
lit screen that will be removed from the image and replaced with a diff erent
background. Greenscreen use was developed because digital image sensors are
more sensitive to green than to blue and a greenscreen requires less light.
Grip – Stagehand in charge of movement and placement of apparatus on a
set.
Key grip – Foreperson in charge of grips during principal photography.
Line producer – On-set administrator who oversees principal photography,
during which he or she manages the logistics of the shoot and the budget of
the production.
Magazine – Lightproof attachment to a movie camera that holds the fi lm
negative. Th e fi lm is threaded out from the magazine so that it feeds into the
camera and returns back into the magazine aft er exposure in the camera.
Matte – A partial covering in front of the lens that blocks light from reaching
the corresponding area of the image. Th is blocked area of the frame can be
replaced with a painting (known as a “matte painting”) or other prepared
visual to create a composite image.
Model – A miniature, or scale model, of an object to appear life-size or to
fi t into a normal scale production through the use of perspective or visual
eff ects.
Net – A mesh surface used to partially diminish light from a lamp source.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).