If you are working on a film set you need to understand the language.

Want to test your knowledge. The following are a few terms you are likely to encounter when involved in the industry.

1. Backing Track. Pre-recorded music to play when actors or musicians have to mime as they pretend to be actually playing.

2. Banana. Walking on a curved line, usually to allow the camera to see you earlier, or to prevent masking a fellow actor.

3. Best Boy. Chief assistant to the Gaffer. (If you don't know who the Gaffer is see answer to number 22.)

4. Barn Door. It has nothing to do with horses! Barn doors are metal flaps attached to a light to stop its light spreading everywhere.

5. Beat. A small pause; usually the unit of action, much loved by method actors.

6. BG. Background

7. Cans. Headphones

8. Cheating. No it's not what married actors do on the side. Cheating is the art and craft of doing something that is untrue, but appears to be true to the camera; as in "cheat your eyes towards camera; cheat your height by standing on a box; cheat your head towards camera".

9. Crab. Moving the camera sideways.

10. Coverage. The number of shots taken to cover a whole scene.

11. Crossing the Line. The mistake of getting the geography wrong, and confusing the audience as to where everyone is. If two shots are taken of two actors talking to each other, then both camera's should be on the same side of an invisible line drawn between the two; if they are on opposite sides of the line, the two actors on screen will appear to be looking the same way, and so will not seem to be talking to each other at all.

12. Deep Focus. The system of wide lenses and small apertures that allow objects close and far away from the camera to be in focus. Watch "Citizen Kane" to see this great effect.

13. DFA. An alternative plan - short for "a different f------- arrangement!"

14. Dry Run. Running through a scene without all the effects that will be there on a take

15. Drop-Out. When the videotape loses contact with the recording apparatus, and there is a "flash" on the pictures, be assured you will have to do a re-take.

16. Dubbing. Transferring all the music, sound effects, voices, etc onto the finished product. It also describes the process of substituting voices by completely different ones when the film is distributed to a foreign market that has a language different from the one it was produced in.

17. ELS. Extreme Long Shot.

18. Eyeline. The direction an actor takes when looking at the other actor.

19. Fine Cut. The final assembly of the material. This is usually how it will finish up when shown to an audience.

20. Flag. Anything used to stop stray light getting to the camera and so creating a flare; also to take sunshine off actors.

21. Fluff. An actor stumbling over a word, or saying the wrong one, not that you would ever do it! Also called a flub.

22. Gaffer. Chief Electrician. So now you know!

23. Hair in the Gate. It's unrelated to barn doors. This term is usually heard after your best take. It means that there is a minute bit of fluff or emulsion in the camera shutter, causing one of those wrigley black worms you occasionally see in the bottom of a piece of film. It means of course you have to do the take all over again! All shots end therefore with "check the gate".

24. Jib Arm. An arm attached to the Dolly, (a truck on wheels that allows the camera to go charging about the studio, or off down some tracks.) that allows the camera to go up and down a reasonable amount.

25. Kill. What you'd like to do to the director sometimes. "No, no! Just joking". It means to stop or turn off, also referred to as Strike. "Kill that light; strike that furniture, etc".

26. Level. Sound/volume as in, "can you give us some more level?"

27. Lip Sync26. Level. The actors voice on one take being matched with the movement of the same actor on another. Also when an actor's voice is "lip synced" to those of an animated character

28. Looping. Running a piece of film continuously through, so that the actor can perfect Lip Sync in Dubbing on new sounds by making many, many, many, attempts!

29. LS. Long Shot

30. Marks. If you really want to annoy your director, try not hitting your marks. Marks are tape or chalk on the floor to indicate where you need to stand or the point you should stop after completing a move. You get 10 marks for that answer!

31. MCU. Medium Close-up.

32. Mise-En-Scene. The name is as artistic as the process. It refers to a style of directing where the actors and camera are choreographed in a long sequence all in one shot. Also known as a developing shot.

33. Montage. A series of shots or short scenes often used to convey a passing of time.

34. MS. Medium shot.

35. Off-Line-Edit. Video editing where the originals have been transferred (usually to VHS), and the rough edit is done on this material, where as in On-Line Edit, video editing uses the actual tape that was recorded during the shoot.

36. Off-Screen. An action or voice that is not seen on the screen but is referred to by the character on the screen. Also known as OS, off-camera; and out-of vision. Such as "can you OOV your lines from the bedroom!"

37. OOV. Out-of-vision. (That was too easy!)

38. OTT. This term usually means an actor's performance is "too big". However it is a term usually referring to vocal level.

39. Overlap. When your dialogue is spoken before the other character has finished speaking, so you overlap. An effective device when called for by the director (seen frequently in Woody Allan movies) but one of the most common reasons why a sequence needs to be re-shot. Stage actors are so used to "picking up cues" this sometimes leads them to overlap when they are acting for film.

40. POV. Point of View what a character sees. Often the camera is put to get your POV, such as the bloody knife on the floor, the letter you are reading.

41. Polecat. Telescopic pole that can be jammed between floors and ceilings. Between cross beams and walls, allowing lights to be hung where no light ought to go.

42. Reaction Shot The shot of what one actor is doing or "thinking", while the other is speaking.

43. Reverse. Shooting the opposite direction of what has just been done. After shooting all the shots of the person speaking to you, they will do the "Reverses", shoot all the shots of you speaking.

44. Rough Cut. The first rough editing of a sequence or complete show. It is often used as much to work out what to cut to get the program onto running time, as it is to see how effective it is all going to be.

45. Running Order. The actual order in which the scenes will be recorded.

46. Sight line. The line of vision someone takes; a sight line from one actor

47. Single Camera Video. A technique for making programs using only a single camera (as in film) but recording the results on videotape.

48. Slate. Used for shot, scene and take numbers. Also known as Clapboard. The sound it makes helps them synchronize sound and picture in the editing. You will hear that term at on-camera auditions, when you will be asked to "Slate" your name on camera before you begin. (Remember say it clearly and with a smile!)

49. Soft. Out of focus. To prevent this happening, the camera crew will ask you to stand in the different places you will be in for a sequence in order for them to mark down focus points.

50. Sparks. Electricians, also known as Juicers.

51. Steadicam. Trade name for the device of harness and springs that allows a cameraperson wearing it to run after the performers and have the camera steady. Also known as Wobblycam by those camera operators who still use the term Hand Held.

52. Storyboard. A cartoon-like layout of all the shots planned and how they relate to each other, so everyone concerned (director, producer, lighting, sound & designers) can anticipate problems and plan for them. If you are working on animated projects you will be given the storyboard in order to understand what the action will be in order for you to give it the appropriate expression.

53. Shooting Ratio. The amount of film shot compared with the amount that will be in the final production. Film dramas have a shooting ratio of 1:10; film documentaries of 1:30; and video dramas of about 1:5. Ok, so that was hard!

54. Swish Pan. Also known as Zip Pan or Whip Pan. A very quick swing of the camera leaving the background as a blur. Sometimes used to join two similar sequences together, by one swish pan melding into the next.

55. Tight. Close up. The opposite of loose.

56. Treatment Halfway between a Story Line and a Shooting Script. An indication of how the production will be, without all the dialogue.

57. VO. Short for Voice-over. The disembodied voice that speaks whilst pictures are shown. Heard on commercials and in documentaries. An assignment that pays handsomely for a few hours work, and requires no memorization, it is adored by most actors.

58. Wild Track. The sounds and effects recorded after the actors have said their lines, sometimes just of background,

59. WS. Wide Shot

60. Zoom. Changing the field of view by using an adjustable lens; also describes the actual adjustable lens that allows the camera to Zoom in and out, or when very fast to Crash Zoom. Since it is something we cannot do with our own eyesight, it tends to draw attention to the shot. Modern directors often Zoom instead of moving the camera, purist would argue that it is a mistake!

61 Duched Frame. When the frame of a shot is tilted

So how did you do?

Sorry no prizes!