Film set terms every actor should know

A film set can sound like a different language on your first day. Everyone is talking in shorthand over walkie-talkies, and the words that matter to you (when to come to set, when to go back, when you are done) are mixed in with dozens that are meant for the camera, sound or lighting departments. Nobody expects a new actor to know all of it, but knowing the words that apply to you makes you easier to work with and a lot calmer.

This glossary follows the order of a shooting day, from the night before to the last shot. Terms vary a little between countries and productions, and individual assistant directors have their own habits, so if you hear something you do not understand, ask the second assistant director or a production assistant. It is a normal question and they will be glad you asked.

Before you arrive: paperwork and places

Call sheet

The schedule for one shooting day, usually sent the evening before. It lists the scenes being shot, the location, every cast member's call time, the weather, the nearest hospital and much more. Your number on the cast list (often 1 for the lead, and so on down) is how the crew refers to you on paper.

Call time

The time you are due at work. Arrive a little before it. Your call is usually earlier than the time you shoot, because hair, makeup and wardrobe come first.

Sides

On set, sides are the day's scenes printed as reduced pages, small enough to fold into a pocket, handed out with the call sheet. They usually include the latest script revisions, so check them against what you learned. For the audition meaning, see what sides are in acting.

Revisions or colored pages

Script changes are issued on colored paper in a set order (blue, pink, yellow and so on), so everyone can tell at a glance which version they have. If the pages in your sides are a different color from yours, the scene has changed.

Basecamp

Where the trailers, hair and makeup, wardrobe and catering are parked. It may be right next to set or a shuttle ride away.

Honeywagon

A trailer divided into small dressing rooms and, usually, the toilets. Smaller roles often get a room in the honeywagon; leads tend to get their own trailers.

Holding

The waiting area for background actors, and sometimes for cast, near set. "Hold" also means wait, as in "we're holding for the light."

Crafty

Craft services: the table of snacks and drinks near set, available all day. Separate from catering, which serves the actual meals.

Wardrobe, hair and makeup (the works)

The departments you go through before set. "Going through the works" means getting all three done. Leave your costume as wardrobe gave it to you; they track every detail for continuity.

First AD, second AD, PA

The first assistant director runs the set and the schedule and calls the shots: the voice you hear saying "rolling" and "back to one." The second AD manages the cast's day, including when you are called to set. Production assistants (PAs) carry messages, walk you to set, and are often the people who come to your trailer to say you are needed.

Rehearsing and lighting the scene

Blocking rehearsal

The first run of a scene on set, where the director works out where everyone moves and the camera and lighting team watch. The usual order of work is block, light, rehearse, shoot. More on the process in what blocking is in theater and film.

Marking rehearsal

A run of the scene at reduced energy, so the camera team can see the moves and put down marks. Nobody expects a full performance here.

Marks

Small pieces of tape on the floor, often in a T or V shape, showing where you stop. Each actor may have a different color. They are placed for focus and light, so they matter more than they look.

Hitting your mark

Arriving exactly on your mark, without looking down at it. A screen skill that takes practice: find a reference in your peripheral vision so your feet know where to stop.

First team, second team

First team is the principal cast. Second team is the stand-ins. "Second team in" means the stand-ins take over while the shot is lit; "first team in" means the actors are wanted on set.

Stand-in

A person of similar height and coloring to an actor who stands on the actor's marks while the crew lights the shot and sets the camera. Watching your stand-in is a good way to see what was decided while you were away.

Last looks

A call for hair, makeup and wardrobe to make final touches before a take. Stand still and let them work.

Video village

The cluster of monitors and chairs where the director, producers and others watch the takes. Avoid hanging around it unless invited.

Lock it up

A call for quiet and stillness around set because a take is about to happen. Production assistants stop people walking through the shot.

Rolling: what is said around a take

Picture's up

The next thing that happens is a take. Get to your first position.

Roll sound, speed

The first AD calls "roll sound." The sound mixer starts recording and calls "speed" (an old term, from when tape had to reach full speed before recording was usable).

Roll camera, rolling

The camera starts recording, and the camera operator or assistant calls "rolling." Many sets compress the whole sequence into "rolling" from the first AD.

Marker, sticks, slate

The clapperboard. The second camera assistant reads out the scene and take number and claps the sticks, which gives the editor a sync point between picture and sound. "Tail slate" means the board is clapped at the end of a take, held upside down.

Background action

A cue for background actors (extras) to start moving, just before "action," so the scene is already alive when the principals begin.

Action

Begin. Usually called by the director. Give yourself a beat before your first line if the moment needs it.

Cut

Stop. Only the director (or the first AD, on their behalf) calls cut. If something goes wrong mid-take, keep going until you hear it; the take may still be usable.

Hold the roll

Stay in position and stay quiet; the camera is still running but the take is paused, often for a plane overhead or a noise outside. Keep your energy up so you can pick straight back up.

Back to one

Return to your first position for another take. Everyone resets: actors, background, props, camera.

Reset

Put everything back the way it was at the start: half-drunk glasses refilled, doors closed, papers restacked. Sometimes "reset" is called in place of "back to one."

Going again

There will be another take. Often followed by a note for you, or a technical reason that has nothing to do with you.

Checking the gate

On film cameras, the camera assistant looks into the gate, the opening where the film is exposed, for a hair or speck that would spoil the shot. A clean gate means the setup is done. You will still hear "check the gate" on some digital sets as a holdover.

Moving on

The director is happy with this setup and the crew is moving to the next one. You may be needed for the next shot, or released to wait.

Room tone

Thirty seconds or so of silence recorded in each location so the sound editor can fill gaps. Everyone freezes and stays quiet, including the cast.

Wild line, wild track

A line recorded by sound only, with no camera rolling, often to get a clean version of something that was drowned out during a take.

How the scene is covered

Setup

One camera position and lighting arrangement. A scene might take one setup or twenty. Each new setup means relighting, so you may wait in between.

Master

A wide shot of the whole scene from beginning to end, usually shot first. It establishes the geography and the blocking that every other shot has to match.

Coverage

All the closer shots taken after the master, so the editor has choices: singles, over-the-shoulders, close-ups and inserts.

Two-shot

A shot with two actors in frame.

Single

A shot of one actor. A "clean single" has nobody else in frame; a "dirty single" includes a sliver of the other actor's shoulder or head in the foreground.

OTS (over the shoulder)

A shot looking past one actor's shoulder at the other actor's face. Common in dialogue scenes.

Close-up, medium close-up, extreme close-up

Abbreviated CU, MCU and ECU. The tighter the shot, the smaller your movements need to be: a head turn that reads as natural in a wide shot can take you out of frame in a close-up.

Insert

A tight shot of a detail: a hand on a doorknob, a phone screen, a letter. Sometimes shot with a hand double.

Eyeline

Where you look during a shot, usually at the other actor's eye just beside the lens. If the other actor is not available, you may be given a piece of tape or a crew member's hand as your eyeline. Never look into the lens unless directed.

Cheat

To adjust your position, angle or eyeline so it looks right on camera even if it would be odd in real life: standing closer to your scene partner than you naturally would, or angling toward the lens. "Cheat your eyeline left" means move your look slightly left.

Turnaround (in shooting)

Turning the camera to shoot the other direction, usually the other actor's coverage. If you are the off-camera actor during a turnaround, give the on-camera actor the same performance you gave in your own coverage.

Off-camera lines

Your lines read for a scene partner whose coverage is being shot. Give them full value; their performance depends on yours.

Continuity, matching

Keeping every detail consistent across takes and setups so the shots cut together: which hand held the cup, when you took your jacket off, on which word you sat down. The script supervisor tracks it and will remind you.

Script supervisor

The person who tracks continuity, dialogue changes and what was shot. If you change a line, they will notice and may ask you to say it as written.

Pickup

A shot that starts partway through the scene to grab a section again, instead of running the whole thing.

Print, circle take

A take the director likes, marked to be used. On digital sets it is mostly a note in the script supervisor's log.

The end of the day

Abby Singer

The second-to-last shot of the day, named after Abby Singer, a real assistant director and production manager. The usual story is that he would announce the second-to-last shot so the crew could start packing up; treat the details as industry lore.

Martini shot

The last shot of the day. The traditional explanation is a joke: the next shot will be in a glass. It is a folk etymology, cheerfully repeated on every set.

Wrap

The end of shooting, for the day, for a location or for the whole production. "That's a wrap on [your name]" means you are finished, either for the day or, if said with applause, for the job. Check out with the second AD before you leave, and return anything wardrobe gave you.

Turnaround (in scheduling)

The rest period between your wrap one day and your call the next. Union contracts set a minimum; check yours, and tell the second AD if a call sheet looks too tight.

Out time

The time you are released, written on your timecard or production report. Make sure it is accurate before you sign.

ADR, looping

Automated dialogue replacement: re-recording lines in a sound studio after the shoot, matching your lip movements on screen. Called back weeks or months later to fix noise, change a line, or add off-camera dialogue. "Looping" is the older name, from when the film was physically looped to play repeatedly.

A few phrases you will hear on walkie-talkies

Much of the set's communication happens over radio, and you will hear the crew's side of it. A few phrases are worth knowing because they affect you.

Copy, copy that

"I heard and understood." If a PA or AD gives you an instruction, "copy" is a perfectly good reply.

Ten-one

A bathroom break, in set slang borrowed from radio ten-codes. "She's ten-one" means an actor has stepped away for the bathroom, and the AD knows to wait a few minutes.

Flying in

Someone or something is on its way to set, fast. "Flying in first team" means the actors are being brought.

Walk-away lunch

A meal break where everyone leaves set and comes back, in contrast to a lunch eaten in place. The AD will announce the time to be back.

Getting comfortable on set

Most of the words above are ones to recognize. You will rarely need to say "speed" or "check the gate." What matters is recognizing the ones that are cues for you: picture's up, rolling, action, cut, back to one, going again, moving on, wrap. Learn those, listen for them, and the rest of the noise turns into background.

Your sides will tell you what you are shooting; the call sheet will tell you when. If you are booked on a smaller part, the second AD is the person to ask about anything, and asking early is always better than guessing. The difference between roles on a television job, and how long you might be on set for each, is covered in co-star versus guest star. If you trained on stage, the vocabulary shift is real but small; many of the ideas (crosses, marks, cheating out) have direct cousins in stage directions.

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