Apple Box – A wooden box that can be used for almost anything. It comes in various sizes and is commonly used as steps, seats and to raise props, dressing or actors.

Baby - Any small version of something.

Back To One - A term used to tell both the actors and crew that they should return to their original positions at the beginning of the shot.

Barndoors – Folding doors that are attached to the front of lamps so they can be opened and closed to control the output of light.

Bazooka – A camera mounts similar to a tripod but only has one center shaft that raises the camera up and down.

Beef – The output of light.

Best Boy – The second in command of the grip or electrics department. They often do most of their work offset in the truck as they plan for the future shooting days.

Black Wrap – Black aluminum foil that is used to cover light leaks or shaped into flaps to cut the light.

C-47 – A clothespin. Used to hold Gels or Blackwrap to Barndoors.

C-Stand – A Century Stand is an extremely versatile metal stand used for holding lights, floppy, cutters, and anything else you need to be stabilized.

Cookie - Short for Cucoloris, a cookie is a light modifier for casting shadows or silhouettes to produce patterned illumination.

Courtesy - A flag (see below) set up to shield the director or cameraman from the sun.

Coverage - All the additional shots of actors (mediums, close-ups, inserts) taken in a scene after the master to provide options for the editor.

Crafty/Craft Service - Food or snacks for crew that is not a meal.

Crossing - Say this if you need to cross or stand in front of the camera.

Dance Floor – When it’s impossible to lay a track in the set or the camera move is more complex than a simple push in, the grips will lay smooth timber or plastic sheets down onto the ground to create a perfectly level floor. The dolly can then be pushed in any direction with minimal bumps and vibrations to the camera.

Dead Cat - A fuzzy cover that goes over a Boom Microphone to block out wind distortion.

Diffusion – A white material used to soften the light source.

Dimmer – A device used to control the power of the lamp.

Dingle – A piece of cut-off foliage to provide the lighting effect of a tree shadow on the subject.

Dolly – A heavy piece of equipment that the camera can be mounted onto to give a smooth moving shot. The dolly slides along a track that looks just like a train track. This is extremely heavy; avoid being too close to the grips when they are looking for a hand carrying this up the stairs.

Duvetyne – A thick, black cloth used for blacking out windows, and covering equipment and crewmembers when they are in reflections.

Eye Line - The direction in which a subject is looking, crucial for maintaining continuity in conversations between characters.

Feather - To cause light to fall off the subject is a soft manner.

Flag - a tool, typically rectangular frames covered in black, opaque material, used to control light by blocking or shaping it.

Floppy – Square or rectangular frames with black material used to control the light. They can be used to cut the light off a certain subject or to blackout an area for the director’s monitor.

Furnie - A moving blanket used to dampen sound or protect floors.

Gaffer – The head of the electric department.

Gel – A transparent colored filter that is applied to the front of a light to manipulate the color output.

Jaws Shot - A disorienting camera move, made famous by Steven Spielberg wherein the dolly pushes into the talent while simultaneously zooming out.

Key Grip – The head of the grip department.

Key Light – The main source of light on a subject.

Lamp – Just another word for light. The electric department tries to be all fancy and such.

Magic Hour - Right before sunrise or just after sunset.

Martini - The last shot of the day.

MOS - A shot without any sound recorded. Often early filmmakers were German, and the phrase “Without Sound” became “Mit Out Sound”

Pancake - A very thin Apple Box.

Pick-Up - A small reshoot of a single scene.

Pigeon Plate - A very low light stand (just a few inches) that can be screwed to an Apple Box or other wooden surface.

Plate - A static background shot to be used with Visual Effects.

Practical - A light source that appears on-camera.

Scrim – A type of material similar to diffusion to manipulate the intensity of the light source. Typically scrims are quite large, either 10’x10’ or 20’x20’, and used to diffuse the harsh sunlight when shooting exteriors.

Shot Bag – A heavy bag full of lead shot used to weigh down stands. Looks like a sandbag.

Sides - Script pages for the day’s scenes.

Speed! - What camera and sound operator yell out at the beginning of a shot to let Director and Actors know that their equipment has started to record.

Stand-In - Not to be confused with a stunt double, a stand-in takes the place of an actor for blocking action and setting lighting.

Stinger – An extension cord.

Striking! - What a Gaffer or Best Boy yells when turning on a powerful light so the crew knows to protect their eyes.

Ten 1/Ten 2 - When a crew member has to relieve themselves, they let the other crew know how long they will be gone with this designation. You can figure out which is which.

Track – Steel or aluminum track that the dolly glides along to create smooth camera movements. The track is laid level by the grips across all types of terrain using apple boxes and wedges.

Warner Bros. - An extreme close-up.

Wedge – Small timber triangles used to level the dolly track.