Film Set Terminology: 40 Terms Every Actor Hears on Set

Film sets run on their own shorthand. Here are 40 terms you'll hear on a shoot, from the call sheet to the martini shot, each explained in plain English with what it means for you as the actor. Tips come from directors, casting directors and Kym Jackson. For business words like avail or scale, see our acting glossary.

Before the shoot: call sheet to honeywagon

Call sheet

The daily plan production sends out, usually the night before: call times, the scenes being shot, locations, who's working and key contacts. Read all of it, not just your line, so you know which scenes to have ready. Scot Boland reminds guest actors that the people at the top of the call sheet are who the day is about.

Call time

The time you're due to report, usually to base camp, not to set. Arrive early; your call time is when work starts, not when you walk in.

Cast number

The number next to your name on the call sheet, which follows the cast order. Kym Jackson notes it's also the order number you can use when you add a film credit to IMDb.

Table read

A read-through of the script with the cast around a table, often with writers and producers listening. It isn't an audition, but come prepared. Erica A. Hart described TV schedules where actors are cast, fitted and at the table read within days.

Fitting

A session with the costume department to try on and adjust your wardrobe before the shoot. Bring anything they ask for, such as shoes or undergarments, and mention anything that restricts how you need to move.

Rehearsal

Running the scene before shooting, in prep or on the day. Kate Dennis told us she takes as much rehearsal as she can get, often doesn't get much, and asks actors what their process is.

Base camp

Where the trailers, hair and makeup, wardrobe and usually lunch are set up. Kym points out that base is not the set; the set is a separate place you're called to when they're ready.

Trailer and honeywagon

Your dressing room on location. Smaller roles often get one room in a honeywagon, a trailer divided into several dressing rooms. Greg Apps' tip: don't disappear into it; stay close to the energy of the day.

On set: holding to video village

Most of these come from the first AD, who runs the floor. Lisa Beach and Deborah Barylski both told us that how you behave in the downtime matters as much as the takes.

Holding

The area where actors or background wait until they're needed. Meg Morman's advice is patience, even if you don't love where you're being held, and to speak up if something is genuinely unsafe.

Crafty

Short for craft services, the snacks and drinks table for cast and crew. Rachel Sutton's warning: you're there to work, so don't spend your time chatting at crafty when you could be getting ready.

First team and second team

First team is the actors in the scene; second team is their stand-ins. "First team in" means the actors are needed on set right now.

Stand-in

A performer of similar height and colouring who takes your place while lighting and camera are set. Risa Bramon Garcia told us that when time is tight, a newer actor may even shoot their side of a scene opposite the star's stand-in.

Blocking

Working out where everyone moves in a scene, then rehearsing it for camera; marks are placed from it. If you need to know how much room you have, Kym suggests asking the DP or focus puller, but never ask them for direction.

Hit your mark

Landing exactly on the spot set in blocking, usually a piece of tape on the floor, so focus and lighting work. Lisa Zambetti put it plainly: in an emotional scene you still have to hit your mark and cry.

Last looks

The call for hair, makeup and wardrobe to make final touches just before a take. Stay still and let them work.

Rolling and speed

"Rolling" means the camera is recording; "speed" is sound confirming it's recording too. "Quiet on set" or "lock it up" comes first, and you should be ready well before "action".

Action and cut

The director's calls to start and stop. Keep going until you hear "cut", even if something goes wrong. Lisa Beach's rule: be great between action and cut, and easy to work with between cut and action.

Back to one

Go back to your first position to do it again. Props and set dressing are reset to how they started at the same time.

Moving on

The call that a setup is finished and the crew is going to the next one. If you have a question about the shot you just did, ask before this.

Video village

The monitors where the director, producers and others watch each take. It's their workspace, so stay out of it unless you're invited.

Camera and coverage: setups, shots and eyelines

Setup

Each new camera position, with its own lighting. A scene can need several setups, and each one means relighting, which is why so much of a shoot day is waiting.

Master shot

A wide shot covering the whole scene from start to finish, usually filmed first. It sets the action every other angle has to match.

Coverage

All the angles shot after the master: singles, close-ups and over-the-shoulders. Kate Dennis says repeating your actions the same way in each take gives the editor more options to keep cutting to you.

Wide, medium and close-up

Shot sizes: a wide shows you in the space, a medium roughly from the waist up, a close-up your face. Kate Dennis told us performance shouldn't really change between a mid shot and an extreme close-up, though some actors give a little more in a very wide shot.

Over the shoulder (OTS)

A shot framed past one actor's shoulder onto the other actor's face. Even when it isn't your coverage, what you give off camera feeds their performance.

Lens

The camera team chooses a lens for each shot. Kate Dennis says actors don't need to know lenses; it's on the director to tell you how big the shot is.

Eyeline

Where you look. On set the director or camera team gives it to you, often just beside the lens; keep it the same every take. "Clear my eyeline" asks crew to move out of your line of sight.

Cheat

Shifting your position or angle slightly toward camera so it reads naturally on screen. On set, a cheat is usually requested by the director or DP. In auditions, Kym's advice is to keep your eyes on the reader rather than cheating to camera.

Eye light

A light set to catch a small sparkle in your eyes so the audience can connect with you. Kym suggests asking the lighting team which light is yours, and knows of a brilliant take that couldn't be used because the actor moved out of his light.

Sound and ADR: boom to looping

Boom

A microphone on a long pole held just out of frame by the boom operator. Unplanned moves make their job harder, one more reason to stick to your blocking.

Lav

A lavalier, the small radio microphone hidden in your costume by the sound team. Let them place it and avoid touching it or rustling fabric near it.

Room tone

A recording of the location's background sound with everyone silent and still, used by the editor to fill gaps. Freeze and stay quiet until it's called.

Wild line

A line recorded by sound without the camera rolling, often to get a clean version for the edit.

ADR (looping)

Automated dialogue replacement: re-recording your lines in a studio after the shoot, in sync with the picture, to fix noise or change a line. It's still acting, so bring the scene, not just the words.

Continuity and wrapping up

Continuity

Keeping details consistent between takes and scenes: which hand holds the cup, when you take a sip, hair and costume. The script supervisor tracks it. Kate Dennis, who used to do that job, says match what you can, trust the continuity person, and remember the performance matters more.

Turnaround

The rest period between wrapping one day and your next call. Union contracts set minimums, so a late wrap can push your next call time.

Pickups

Extra shots filmed after the main shoot to fill gaps in the edit. Kym describes the line producer running production from pre-production through to pickups.

Abby Singer

Set slang for the second-to-last shot of the day. It tells you the end is close, but not here yet.

Martini shot

The last shot of the day. After it, the AD calls the wrap.

Wrap

The end of shooting, for the day or the whole project. "You're wrapped" means you're done; check out with the second AD before you leave. Bonnie J Wallace calls the second AD the person in charge of the actors.

Who do you ask when you don't know a term?

The ADs. Kym explains that on most sets you reach the director through the first AD, and the second AD looks after the cast. Risa Bramon Garcia's advice is to build a relationship with all the ADs early so you know exactly who to talk to. Asking "sorry, what does that mean?" is far better than guessing.

For who does what, see film crew roles explained; for business terms like avail, scale and residuals, see the acting glossary; and for your first booking, your first day on set.

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