Glossary
Film & Ad Production Glossary
The words producers, directors and crews use every day, explained in plain English for brands, agencies and first-time clients.
- Ad film
- A short film made to advertise a brand, product or service, for TV, digital platforms or cinema.
- TVC
- Television commercial: an ad film made for broadcast television, usually 10 to 60 seconds long.
- Brief
- The document from a brand or agency describing the objective, audience, message, budget and timeline of a project.
- Treatment
- A director's presentation explaining how they will execute a script: tone, look, casting and references.
- Storyboard
- A sequence of drawings showing each planned shot of a film before it is shot.
- Animatic
- A storyboard edited with timing, voice and music to preview how a film will play.
- Line production
- Management of the physical side of a shoot: budget, schedule, crew, equipment, locations, permissions and logistics.
- Line producer
- The person responsible for a production's budget and schedule and its day-to-day running on the ground.
- Above the line
- Budget costs for key creative people such as the director, writers, producers and lead cast.
- Below the line
- Budget costs for the physical production: crew, equipment, locations, sets, transport and catering.
- Recce
- A visit to a potential location to check its look, logistics, power, sound and access before shooting.
- PPM
- Pre-production meeting where brand, agency, director and producer lock every element of a shoot.
- Call sheet
- The daily schedule sent to cast and crew with call times, locations, scenes and contacts.
- DPR
- Daily production report: a record of what was shot each day, timings, delays and costs.
- Unit
- The complete team and vehicles of a shoot moving together from location to location.
- Company move
- Moving the entire unit from one location to another during a shoot day.
- Vanity van
- A mobile room used by cast for make-up, wardrobe and rest on location.
- Junior artists
- Background performers, also called extras, who appear in scenes without speaking roles.
- Rushes
- Raw footage from a shoot day, before editing.
- Offline edit
- The first creative edit of a film, focused on story and timing, using lower-resolution copies.
- Online / conform
- Rebuilding the approved edit with full-quality footage for finishing.
- DI / colour grading
- Adjusting the colour and look of the footage to create the final visual style.
- VFX
- Visual effects: computer-generated imagery and compositing added in post-production.
- Sound design
- Creating and layering sound effects and ambience to build the film's audio world.
- Mix
- Balancing dialogue, music and effects into the final soundtrack.
- Cut-down
- A shorter version of a film, such as a 15-second or 6-second edit made from a longer ad.
- Deliverables
- The final files a production must hand over: durations, formats, aspect ratios and languages.
- QC
- Quality control: technical checks that a master meets broadcaster or platform specifications.
- Aspect ratio
- The shape of the frame, such as 16:9 for TV and YouTube or 9:16 for Reels and Shorts.
- Wrap
- The end of a shoot day or of the whole shoot.
- NOC
- No-objection certificate: written permission from an authority, owner or society to shoot at a location.
- Usage rights
- The terms on how long, where and in which media a film, its talent and music may be used.
- Production house
- A company that plans and makes films, ads or series: it hires crew and cast, runs the shoot and completes post-production.
- Service production
- Line production provided by a local company for a production from another city or country.
- Pre-production
- Everything done before the shoot: script, casting, locations, crew, schedules, budgets and permissions.
- Post-production
- Everything after the shoot: editing, colour, VFX, sound, music and final delivery.
- DOP
- Director of photography: the head of the camera and lighting departments who creates the film's look.
- Gaffer
- The chief lighting technician who executes the DOP's lighting plan.
- Previs
- Previsualisation: rough animated or AI-assisted versions of scenes used to plan shots before filming.
- Showreel
- A short edit of a production house's or director's best work, used to show capability.
- Dubbing
- Re-recording dialogue in the studio, either to improve sound or to create other language versions.
- Master
- The final, approved high-quality file of a film from which all copies and versions are made.
- BTS
- Behind-the-scenes footage or photos captured during a shoot, often used for social media.
- Chroma
- A green or blue screen background that is replaced with other imagery in post-production.
Guides
Production guides
How Much Does an Ad Film Cost in Mumbai?What Is Line Production and What Does a Line Producer Do?How to Get Shooting Permission in MumbaiThe TV Commercial Production Process, Step by StepHow to Choose a Production House in MumbaiHow Long Does It Take to Make an Ad Film?How Much Does It Cost to Produce a Web Series in India?Ad Film vs Brand Film vs Corporate Video: What's the Difference?How to Write a Video Production Brief (With Checklist)Best Shooting Locations in Mumbai for Films, Ads & SeriesProduction House vs Advertising Agency: Which Do You Need?All production services