You've watched the movie. The credits are rolling. And you're still not ready to move (possibly you're in a popcorn coma - we're not here to judge). Suddenly your eye wanders back to the screen, where you see a scrolling list of folks who helped to make what you have just witnessed possible. The problem is, you may have no notion of how to decipher what it is that you're seeing. We can help!
Below is a quick reference to help you understand who those important folks are. We've also included definitions for a few key terms you will find on our site as well!
Armorer: Responsible for firearms and weapons
Best Boy Electric: Assistant to the Gaffer
Best Boy Grip: Assistant to the Key Grip
Boom Operator: Responsible for positioning and manipulating the boom
Director: Responsible for overseeing all of the creative aspects of a film: controlling the flow of the film's plot, directing actors, selecting filming locations, and overseeing technical details
Dolly Grip: Responsible for the operation of camera dollys
Executive Producer: Responsible for oversight of business and legal issues for a film
Foley: Sound effects
Foley Artist: Person responsible for implementing sound effects
Gaffer: A lighting technician, and principle electrician, who oversees the entire electrical operation
Greensman: Responsible for the placement of plants in a scene
Grip: A person typically responsible for lighting placement and implementation. They are also sometimes called upon to move large objects and cameras
Key Grip: Responsible for the operations on the set, and assists the Gaffer
Key Scenic: Responsible for the painting, feel, and tone of the set backgroud
Lead Man: Responsible for the oversight of the set crew
Post-Production Supervisor: Responsible for keeping channels of communication open between the production group, and the post-production group. Essentially a keeper of the peace for both ends of the production process
Producer: Responsible for making the movie happen: raising funds, hiring key personnel, general oversight of all processes, and arranging film distribution.
Production Coordinator: Responsible for being the communications hub, organizational, and logistical overseer on a production
Production Designer: Responsible for the oversight of the visual aspects of a film: sets, costumes, makeup, etc.
Production Manager: Responsible for the physical components of the production process including personnel, budget, scheduling, technology, etc. Also responsible for keeping the film on budget and schedule
Property Master: Responsible for gathering and returning to inventory all props required for shooting a scene
Script Supervisor: Responsible for continuity in a film, with regard to script and scene integrity
Set Dresser: Responsible for 'staging' the set with furnishings and accessories
Swing Gang: The staff of the Set Dresser
Unit Manager: Responsible as a Production Manager would be, but for a secondary, tertiary, or quatranary unit of employees
Terms (Found On Our Site)
Barn Door: The adjustable flaps on the outside rim of a set light
Boom: A long extension for a microphone, used to keep it out of sight of the camera, but close enough to the scene to achieve good sound quality
Dead Cat: A furry muffler for a microphone
Guerrilla Marketing: An unconventional way of performing marketing activities with little or no budget
HTML: Acronym For (H)yper-(T)ext (M)ark-up (L)anguage <H1>*(What Web Pages Are Written With)</H1>
RAID: Acronym For (R)edundant (A)rray of (I)nexpensive (D)rives
Shotgun Microphone: A directional microphone with a narrow range of sensitivity
Slate: The ubiquitous 'information board' with a clapper arm on top used to document scene, time, etc. prior to action in a shot
Tb: Terabyte - A measure of digital storage capacity that is 2 to the 40th power, a thousand gigabytes, or approximately a thousand billion bytes