The Film Crew
This person performs in front of the camera, bringing a character from the script to life.
What is an actor?
This three-legged stand keeps a camera steady and level while filming.
What is a tripod?
This is the stage of filmmaking where the cameras roll and the movie gets shot.
What is production?
This is the company that finances, produces, and often distributes films, such as Warner Bros. or Paramount.
What is a studio?
This person guides the creative vision of the film and works with the cast and crew to bring the story to the screen.
What is a director?
Filmmakers use this equipment to brighten a scene or set a mood, from a soft glow to a harsh glare.
What is a light?
Writing the script and coming up with the initial idea happens during this first stage of filmmaking.
What is development?
This symbol or design often appears at the start of a film to identify the studio or production company behind it.
What is a logo?
Responsible for the look of the film, this person makes decisions about camera angles, framing, lenses, and lighting, and leads the camera and lighting crews.
What is a cinematographer?
This device captures actors’ dialogue and other sounds on set.
What is a microphone?
Scouting and finalizing where the movie will be filmed is part of this stage, which comes right before the cameras roll.
What is pre-production?
This person raises the money, manages the budget, and oversees a film from start to finish, and may win the Best Picture Oscar.
What is a Producer?
Working mostly in post-production, this person selects and arranges the footage.
What is an editor?
This long rod lets the sound crew hold a microphone just above the actors, out of the camera’s frame.
What is a boom pole?
Adding sound and a musical score to a film happens during this final stage, along with cutting the footage together into the finished movie.
What is post-production?
Measured in “fps,” this is the number of individual images shown per second in a moving image. (Hint: 24 is the traditional standard for film.)
What is a frame rate?
This crew member operates the audio recording equipment on set, balancing levels from the microphones to capture clean dialogue and sound.
What is a sound mixer?
Marked with the scene and take number, this equipment is used to help editors sync picture and sound.
What is a slate?
Foley happens during this stage.
What is post-production?
This early photographic printing process uses light-sensitive iron salts to produce images in a distinctive deep blue. It is also the origin of the word “blueprint.”
What is a cyanotype?