Glossary

Nets:
A bobbinet on a frame used to cut lighting intensity by either a half stop or full stop. (Grip/Lighting)
Neutral Density (ND):
Colorless filters that reduce the amount of light in controlled degrees. (Camera/Lighting)
Noir:
Usually refers to the classic black and white film noir style used in detective mysteries, typically employing hard lighting and dark, low key lighting. (Camera/Lighting)
Noise:
In audio systems, noise is the electrical interference or other unwanted sound introduced into the system (i.e. hiss, hum, rumble, crosstalk, etc). (Sound)
NTSC:
National Television Standards Committee. The organization that sets the american broadcast and videotape format standards for the FCC. Color television is currently set at 525 lines per frame, 29.97 frames per second.
Obie:
An eyelight mounted on the camera. (Lighting)
Octave:
The interval between two sounds having a basic frequency ratio of 2 to 1. (Sound)
Opacity:
The ratio of the amount of light falling on a surface to the amount of light which is transmitted. (Lighting)
Outgoing Scene:
The first scene of a dissolve or wipe effect which changes into the second, or incoming scene.
Out-Take:
A take of a scene which is not used for printing or for the final assembly of a production.
PaL (Phase alternating Line):
The European color television standard that specifies a 25Hz frame rate and 625 lines per frame.
Pan:
A horizontal movement of a camera on a fixed axis.
Parallels:
Temporary Scaffolding, used as a platform for the camera, lighting, or other rigging. (Grip/Lighting)
Pay or Play:
A contract provision which commits the production company to compensate a cast or crew member for a project whether or not that project ever goes into production.
Phantom Power:
A method of remotely powering the preamplifier or impedance converter which is buitlt into many microphones by sending a voltage along the audio cable. (audio)
Phase:
The timing relationship between two signals. (audio/Electronics)
Pick-up Shot:
Reshooting a portion of a scene or shooting a missed scene.
Pink noise:
A sound signal that has an equal amount of energy per octave or fraction of an octave. (Sound)
Post-Production:
The period in a project's development that takes place after the picture is delivered, or "after the production." This term might also be applied to video/film editing or refer to audio post-production.
Practical:
Any light that appears in the scene. (Lighting)
Preamplifier:
An electronic device that boosts extremely weak signal voltages, such as those from microphones or mag heads, to a level that is usable by power amplifiers. (Electronics)
Pre-Blacked:
A video tape which has already had a control track, usually with SMPTE encoded time code, but without any picture or sound. This is done to facilitate the video editing or assembly process.
Principal Photography:
The main photography of a film and the time period during which it takes place. (Production)
Process Shot:
A shot that will be composited from two other shots. The background part of this process is called a 'plate'. (Laboratory)
Production Sound:
Recording and/or mixing sound on location during the film or video shoot. Typically this has been recorded onto a digital audio recorder.