It is fair to say that most people don’t know what they are talking about regarding film set lingo until they are deep into the industry. While many of us like to think that we might know some film industry slang, we have to admit that we have mostly picked it up only from what we have seen in movies and television ourselves. We don’t know what we are talking about unless and until we decide to take some actual lessons in the ways of the industry. We offer that, and we wanted to share some inside knowledge about the film industry lingo that you should know.

Filmmaking Technology Lingo

Pieces of equipment and technology used to make films often have slang names for them. If you want to sound like you know what you are talking about, then you must take note of a few of the following terms:

• Boom Mic – To be fair, many people do know this one. However, if you don’t, you should know that this is the directional mic mounted on the end of a long pole to help get sound from a close range.
• Dead Cat – Don’t worry! It has nothing to do with any real-life deceased animal. Instead, the term “dead cat” refers to the fuzzy black cover on the end of a boom mic. It is used to isolate the sounds that are captured by it.
• Squib – Action films rely on squibs for scenes involving gunfire. The squib is a device used to simulate the sound and sights of a bullet striking an actor. Plenty of action movies have used this exact device to create that scene.
• Redhead – A lighting device with a power rating of around 800 watts.
• Blonde – A lighting device that is even more powerful than a redhead. This one comes in between 1,000 and 2,000 watts.

If you know some of these terms, you will at least understand what people discuss as they move about the set.

People on Set

Many people are moving around on set, and slang terms are used to identify various individuals and their roles. You will surely want to ensure you get everyone’s roles right and don’t risk offending anyone you may deal with personally on set.

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd AD – The term “AD” refers to assistant director and essentially refers to the second, third, and fourth in charge of the cast and crew on set. It is important to know who these people are as they are the ones many on set will report to.
• Key Grip – The top technician responsible for setting up all non-electrical lighting equipment.
• Gaffer – The head electrician who will set up all the lighting equipment for production. Sometimes, these individuals are also called the Spark or Juicer.

As you can see, some interesting and unique terms refer to people on a media production set. If you don’t know these terms, you will likely feel hopelessly lost when people refer to them by their slang names.

Knowing even these basic terms can help set you up for success as you look at what needs to be done around a film set. For more information about learning the industry and the terms used throughout it, please contact us with your questions.