| The A to Z of Film & Video Production

If you thought that was good...

There's More!

A is for Alan Smithee

A prolific director with a diverse yet staggeringly poor range of credits. It's not all it seems.

B is for B-roll!

B-roll is any topical, but non-specific, material used to establish context or mood or to support the narrative contained in the main footage or dialogue.

C is for Crossing The Line

The ultimate guide to keeping people on the right side of the frame. Or not.

D for Dolly

A dolly is a piece of kit for smoothly moving a camera either on rails or wheels.

E is for Exposure

Isn't exposure that thing that's offered instead of pay to freelancers?

F is for Foley

This is another one of those film techniques that you probably didn't know had a name.

G for Gaffer Tape

Holding the film industry together since 1959. Where would be without it?

H is for Horror!

Lock the door. Get the popcorn. Did you hear something?

I for Inciting Incident

It may well sound like a euphemism you'd find in a clumsily-worded police report, but the inciting incident is, if not the most important part of a story, certainly one of the crucial ones.

J is for Jump Cut

This technique was frowned upon in editing, until Jean-Luc Godard made extensive use of it in his masterpiece 'Breathless' (1960).

K is for Knock it Down

Lights! Camera! Hairspray! Action!

L is for Lunch

Life on set can get strange sometimes. Especially when you're having lunch at Midnight. We explain everything.

N is for Noddies

The devious art of filming a two-person interview with just one camera. Yes, yes, that's really interesting.

O is for The Oscars

I'd like to thank my agent, my drug dealer and my plastic surgeon.

P is for Propaganda

"You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince by logic."

Q is for Quota Quickies

In 1927, British filmmaking was still centred around smaller studios working with contracted technicians and in competition with the more dominant theatre world.