Film

:This article is about motion pictures. For other uses of "film", see photographic film or film (disambiguation)

Film crew

Main article: Film crew

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A film crew is a group of people hired by a film company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film.

Related Topics:
Actor - Camera

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Production Team

These are the senior personnel responsible for the creation of a film:

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;Film producer: A person or persons responsible for accepting or creating, securing or providing financing for, and controlling from a business perspective the project to be filmed, on behalf of the film production company. Films may have many "producer"-like credits, which suggest a priority from "Executive Producer" to "Producer" to "Co-Producer" to "Associate Producer" to "Line Producer"; in Europe, there is also a credit which translates as "Production Director" and appears to be similar to a Line Producer. However, in some cases, one or more of these may be "honorary" titles accorded film financiers, and the exact tasks of each type of "producer" can vary widely across films, companies, countries and periods in the history of Film. In general, however, as the producer is financing the project, he/she will have some say in the creative process including, if he/she originates the project, as in the days of the studio system, selecting major actors, the film director and other major artistic staff.In the USA, in recent decades, producers have organized under the Producers Guild of America.

Related Topics:
Film producer - Film production company - Film financiers - Film - Studio system - Actor - Producers Guild of America

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;Line producer: A type of Film Producer with on-set, day-to-day responsibility for the making of the film, in terms of keeping the production on schedule and within budget, and making executive decisions during artistic conflicts or in unexpected circumstances.

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;Production manager : Responsible for tracking expenses versus budget and making sure production stays on schedule. May assist the Line Producer or serve that role in the absence of a separate Line Producer.

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;Scenarist: The person(s) responsible for the script - plot development, character development, dialogue and general scenic descriptions - which constitutes the core of the production.

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;Film director : Responsible for translating the script into a dramatic performance, working directly with the actors to develop characters and actions, and collaborating with the other major behind-camera artists in their contributions to the film, and making final artistic decisions in the face of disputes or options. In the USA, directors currently belong to a guild, the D.G.A. Directors Guild of America ( http://www.dga.org/ )

Related Topics:
Film director - Directors Guild of America

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;Assistant director: Assists and collaborates with the director in the performance of his/her duties, may physically direct secondary scenes, extras shots, and substitute for the director in his/her absence on the primary shooting Guild: D.G.A. Directors Guild of America ( http://www.dga.org/ )

Related Topics:
Assistant director - Directors Guild of America

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;Unit manager : The "production manager" for special or secondary "unit" shooting.

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; Script supervisor/continuity person (formerly script girl) : Keeps track of what parts of the script have been filmed and makes notes of any deviations between what was actually filmed and what appeared in the script. Ensures that consistency is maintained from shot to shot.

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Primary Production Artists

These are some of the persons, in addition to the director, who are primarily responsible for the execution of the production:

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;Production designer : Person responsible for creating the physical, visual appearance of the film - settings, costumes, properties, character makeup, all taken as a unit. The term was created in 1939 in respect for the amount and level of design work single-handedly accomplished by William Cameron Menzies on the film Gone with the Wind. Previously, and often subsequently, the person(s) with the same responsibility had been called Art directors.

Related Topics:
Production designer - William Cameron Menzies - Gone with the Wind

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;Art director : See Production Designer. In the presence of a Production Designer credit, the AD more directly oversees artists and craftspeople who carry out the production design.

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;Set designer: The architect who actually realizes structures or interior spaces called for by the production design.

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;Location manager: The person(s) responsible for locating existing natural or manmade segments of the environment to be used in the production, in lieu of especially constructed settings, according to the production design; and arranging for their usage with their owners.

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;Set decorator: The person(s) responsible for building or acquiring, and placing, set furnishings called for in the production design.

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Camera and lighting

; Cinematographer or director of photography :

Related Topics:
Cinematographer - Director of photography

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:A cinematographer (from 'cinema photographer') is one photographing with a motion picture camera. The title is generally equivalent to director of photography (DP or DoP), used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and techical decisions related to the image. The cinematographer is sometimes also the camera operator. The term cinematographer has been a point of contention for some time now; some professionals insist that it only applies when the director of photography and camera operator are the same person, although this is far from being uniformly the case. To most, cinematographer and director of photography are interchangeable terms.

Related Topics:
Photographing - Motion picture camera - Camera operator

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:The English system of camera department hierarchy sometimes firmly separates the duties of the director of photography from that of the camera operator to the point that the DP often has no say whatsoever over more purely operating-based visual elements such as framing. In this case, the DP is often credited as a lighting cameraman. This system means that the director will consult together with both the lighting cameraman for lighting and filtration, and the operator for framing and lens choices.

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:The American system tends to be the more widely-adopted, in which the rest of the camera department is totally subordinate to the DP, who with the director is the final word on all decisions related to both lighting and framing.

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:Guilds: A.S.C. American Society of Cinematographers, B.S.C. British Society of Cinematographers

Related Topics:
American Society of Cinematographers - British Society of Cinematographers

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; Camera operator : Works under Cinematographer to set up and choreograph shots. Physically operates the camera during shots.

Related Topics:
Camera operator - Shots - Camera

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; Focus puller (First assistant camera) : Responsible for keeping camera in focus during a take. Assists camera operator.

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; Clapper loader (Second assistant camera), formerly clap boy : Operates clapboard at beginning of each take and loads film stock into film magazines. Assists first assistant camera.

Related Topics:
Clapper loader - Clap boy - Film stock

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; Gaffer : Chief electrician

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; Best boy : Assistant to gaffer

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; Key grip : Supervisor of the grips. Grips are responsible for jobs such as setting up equipment and moving props.

Related Topics:
Key grip - Grips - Prop

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; Light technician : Sets up and controls lighting equipment

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Production sound

; Production sound mixer : Head of sound department on the set. Responsible for recording all sound on a set.

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; Boom operator : Assistant to production sound mixer. Responsible for microphone placement and movement during a take.

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; Recording mixer :

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Postproduction picture

;Film editor : Assembles the separate takes into a coherent motion picture. Typically, the editor follows the screenplay as the guide for establishing the structure of the story and then uses his/her talents to assemble the various shots and takes for greater, clearer artistic effect. An important guild in the United States is the American Cinema Editors (A.C.E.).

Related Topics:
Film editor - American Cinema Editors

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; Chyron operator : Creates titles and/or text graphics. (Chryon is a brand name for a character generator.)

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; Color timer : Works in film lab to adjust the film color balance.

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Postproduction sound

In the traditional Hollywood system

; Dialogue editor : Responsible for balancing, assembling and editing all the dialog in the soundtrack.

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; Sound effects editor : Responsible for balancing, assembling and editing all the sound effects in the soundtrack.

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Northern California system

; Sound designer : Responsible for all aspects of a film's audio track. (See Walter Murch, Skywalker Sound.)

Related Topics:
Sound designer - Walter Murch - Skywalker Sound

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Common to both systems

; Music supervisor : Works with composer, mixers and editors to create and integrate the film's music. Also known as musical director.

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; Music editor :

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; Foley artist : Creates and records sound effects.

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; Re-recording mixer : Mixes together all the final sound elements, including dialog, music and sound effects.

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