A--Z Guide to Film Production Terms

By Patricia Thompson

Spring 1997 Issue of KINEMA

VALUABLE AND WITTY GLOSSARY

A 4" x 5" (10 x 12.5 cm) handy, pocket-size soft booklet that lists just about every phrase, slang expression, title and job used on and around a film set. Many are familiar, but some are weird and wonderful, and peculiar to the insular world of the movies.

For example, the "Abby Singer Shot" is named afer a real person, as are "Groucho" (a crouching walk) and "Jack Lord" -- a 50mm lens ("5-0" -- get it...?). Western movies can be Dusters, Horse Operas, Oaters; "Fernie" and "Futz" appear suspicious but are, respectively, an all-purpose protective furniture pad, and altering a dialogue track to make it sound like a voice coming over the telephone or radio. There's a whole range of oddities that catch the eye -- gak, pork chop, pretties, rumble pot -- and how about "Spaghetti with pizza on the side"? And the ignoble "Casting Couch" and "Cutting Room Floor" are acknowledged.

Tim Moshansky has done a great job and his descriptive comments are laced with sly wit. He gracefully acknowledges the help of many craftspeople, who understand and use the terms in everyday work, in a jolly Foreword which ends with special thanks to his mother "the lovely Lavina Karvonen"!

Author Information

Patricia THOMPSON (d. 1999) was Publisher and Editor of Film Canada Yearbook and Canadian Editor for the International Motion Picture Almanac and the International Television and Video Almanac (Quigley, NY). She was reviewing Canadian short films for several decades.