ABBREVIATIONS

 

Technical  |  Organizations & Film Schools  |  Awards


TECHNICAL

 

2u - 2nd unit

2uc/3uc - 2nd/3rd unit camera/photography

2ud - 2nd unit director

35bu - blown-up to 35mm

70bu - blown-up to 70mm

a - artist [singer/group]

a.o. - and others

add - additional

addph - additional photography

adv - advisor

altern - alternative

anim - animation/animated

aph - aerial photography

art dir - art director

as - Agascope

assoc - associate

av - ArriVision

b&w - black & white

BetaSP - Betacam Superior Performance [video system by Sony]

c - color

c.asst - camera assistant

c.op - camera operator

cam - camera

CGI - Computer-Generated Imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media

cin - cinematography/cinematographer

co-ord - coordinator

collab - collaborator/collaborating

comm - film commissioned by...

comp - compilation

cons - consultant/consulting

cph - co-director of photography

cr - Cinerama

cred - credited

cs - CinemaScope

d/dir - director

dec - decorator

des - designer

DigiBeta - Digital Betacam, aka DigiBeta or D-Beta, was introduced by Sony in 1993 as a replacement for the analog Betacam SP format. Digital Betacam was superior in performance to DVCAM and DVCPRO, while being cheaper than D1. Digital Betacam attracted a fair amount of professional support but didn't go as far as to become an industry standard like it's predecessor

DIT - Digital Imaging Technician; works in collaboration with the cinematographer on workflow, systemization, signal integrity - responsible for the safe storage and archiving of data - and image manipulation, to achieve the highest image quality and creative goals of cinematography in the digital realm

doc - documentary

doph/DoPh/DP - director of photography/cinematographer

dram - dramatized

ds - DyaliScope

dv - shot on digital video; DV [dv - Digital Video] is a video standard launched in 1996. It was created by a consortium of companies and given the official name IEC 61834. The DV standard has spawned a few variations, including DVCAM [Sony] and DVCPRO [Panasonic]. Consumers know DV in it's smaller format MiniDV [mdv]. The high-definition version is HDV, which uses the same style tapes but uses MPEG-2 for compression

DVcam - digital video system/camera

DVCPRO - DVCPRO is a format developed by Panasonic. It is a variation of the DV format, aimed at the professional market [in particular for ENG work]. DVCPRO is also known as DVCPRO Standard or DVCPRO25, to differentiate it from other variations. DVCPRO HD is an enhanced version of DVCPRO and DVCPRO50. DVCPRO HD increases the data rate to 100MBps, which is why it is sometimes called DVCPRO100. Despite the 'HD' tag, DVCPRO HD is not true high-definition in the current sense. Signals can be upscaled on playback for better compatibility with high-definition equipment

ed - editing/editor/edited

efx - effects

ep - episode[s]

EPK - Electronic Press Kit

exp - experiment/experimental

ext - exterior

fs - Franscope

HD - High Definition Digital Video/High Definition Television; see also UHD

Hi8 - Hi8 was the higher-resolution version of Video8. Hi8 was introduced to compete with the VHS-equivalent S-VHS. Hi8 camcorders were popular with amateur enthusiasts and were also used in television productions which required lightweight portable equipment. Hi8, like S-VHS, used a combination of higher-grade tape and improved recording mechanisms to increase bandwidth. Hi8 was eventually replaced by Digital8 and MiniDV

hph - helicopter photography

incl - including/includes

int - interior

interv - interview

loc - location

m - minutes

mdv - shot with MiniDV camera - mini digital video; MiniDV is a digital video tape format which, for a while, was the most popular format for home video cameras. MiniDV uses the same compression as DV. MiniDV cassettes are 65 x 48 x 12mm. Record time is 60 minutes [standard play] or 90 minutes [extended/long play]. 80/120 minute tapes are also available

mm - millimeter

mtr - meters

mus - music/musical

nom - nomination/nominated

p - Panavision

perf - performance

pfx - photographic effects

ph - photographer/photography/photographed by/cinematographer/director of photography

prod - producer/produced by/production

prod des - production designer

PSA - Public Service Announcement or Public Service Ad

s8/s16/s35/s70 - Super 8mm/Super 16mm/Super 35mm/Super 70mm

s16-35bu - Super 16mm blown up to 35mm

scope - aspect ratio 2.35:1 [variations on CinemaScope]

scrpl - screenplay

seg - segment/segments

seq - sequence

set dec - set decorator

sfx - special effects

sp - Super Panavision

spec - special

spph - special photography

ss - Sovscope

str - Super Technirama

sts - Super Techniscope

superv - supervision/supervisor

sus - Superscope

tao - Todd-AO

tech - technician/technical

tr - Technirama

ts - Techniscope

tv - television

tvi - Technovision

tvm - [feature length] movie made for television

UHD - Ultra High Definition Digital Video/Ultra High Definition Television (4K UHD = 3840 pixels by 2160 pixels; 8K UHD = 7680 pixels by 4320 pixels)

uncred - uncredited

up - Ultra Panavision

us - UltraScope

uwph - underwater photography

V - released directly to videotape [e.g. VHS] or DVD

v - recorded on videotape

v8 - Video High-8

vfx - visual effects

vg - video game

VOD - video-on-demand [systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content when they choose to]

vv - VistaVision

ws - widescreen [1.85:1, etc.]

 

splinter unit - A splinter unit is a small group that shoots usually concurrently at some location while the main unit operates somewhere else. At times the splinter unit will shoot pick up shots, establishing shots, or shots that do not require the main actor or actors to be present.

 


ORGANIZATIONS & FILM SCHOOLS

 

AAC - Austrian Association of Cinematographers/Verband Österreichischer Kameraleute

ABC - Associação Brasileira de Cinematografia/Association of Brazilian Cinematographers

ACK - Asociace ceských kameramanu/Association of Czech Cinematographers [founded in 1990]

ACS - Australian Cinematographers Society [founded in 1957]

ADF - Asociación Argentina de Autores de Fotografía Cinematográfica

AEC - Asociación Española de Autores de Obras Fotográficas Cinematográficas [Spain; founded in 1993]

AFC - Association Française des Directeurs de la Photographie Cinematographique [founded in 1990]

AFI [Aus] - Australian Film Institute

AFI [USA] - American Film Institute, Los Angeles, CA

AFTRS - Australian Film Television and Radio School, Sydney [with offices/courses in other states] [started in 1973 as the Australian Film and Television School (AFTS); in 1981 radio courses were added to the curriculum]

AFTS - see AFTRS

AGRFT - Akademija za gledalisce, radio, film in televizijo/Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, Ljubljana, Slovenia [since 1975 a Faculty of the University of Ljubljana]

AIC - Associazione Autori Italiani della Cinematografia [Italy] [founded in May 1950 as the Associazione Italiana Cineoperatori]

AIP - Associação de Imagem Cinema - Televisão Portuguesa [Portugal] [founded in 1998]

AMC - Asociación Mexicana de Cinefotografos/Mexican Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1992]

AMPAS - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [founded in May 1927 by 36 of the most influential men and women in the motion picture industry at the time, the Academy is an honorary membership organization whose ranks now include more than 6,000 artists and professionals]

ASC - American Society of Cinematographers [formed in 1918; official charter issued in January 1919]

ASK - Asociácia slovenských kameramanov/Slovak Association of Cinematographers [Slovakia] [founded in 1991]

BAC - Asociacia na Balgarskite Operatori [Bulgaria]

BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation [formed in October 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company]

BFI - British Film Institute

BSC - British Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1949]

BVK - Berufsverband Kinematografie/German Society of Cinematographers

BYU - Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA

CALARTS [CalArts] - California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, USA

CSC - Canadian Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1957]

DFF - Dansk Filmfotograf Forbund [Denmark] [founded in 1954]

DFFB - Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin/German Film and Television Academy, Berlin

DGA - Directors Guild of America

ÉNSLL - l'École Nationale Supérieure Louis-Lumière, Paris [Noisy-le-Grand], France [started in 1926 as the l'École technique de photographie et de cinéma (l'ÉTPC) in the rue de Vaugirard, hence the name 'l'École de Vaugirard'; later l'École nationale de photographie et cinématographie (ENPC) and in 1964 the Lycée Technique d'État de Photographie et de Cinématographie (LTÉPC)]

ESC - Society of Cinematographers in Estonia

FAMU - Filmová a Televizní Fakulta Akademie Múzických Umení v Praze/Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague [Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic]

FÉMIS [La Fémis] - École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l'Image et du Son, Paris [the former Pathé Studios in the rue Francoeur], France [founded in 1986 and successor to the IDHEC]

FNF - Foreningen Norske Filmfotografer/Norwegian Society of Cinematographers [Norway]

FSC - Finnish Society of Cinematographers/Suomen Elokuvaajien Yhdistys

FSF - Föreningen Sveriges Filmfotografer/Swedish Society of Cinematographers

GSC - Greek Society of Cinematographers [founded in 2013]

HFFM - Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film [TV & Film Academy], Munich, Germany

HKSC - Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers

HSC - Magyar operatörök társasága/Hungarian Society of Cinematographers [founded on 19 April 1990]

ICA - Israeli Cinematographers Association

ICG [600] - International Cinematographers Guild [Local 600 IATSE], USA

IDHEC - Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographique, Paris, France [founded in 1943; succeeded by la Fémis]

INSAS - Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion, Brussels, Belgium [film school for 'la communauté française de Belgique']

ISC - Indian Society of Cinematographers

JSC - Japanese Society of Cinematographers

LFS - The London Film School, UK [founded in 1956 as the London School of Film Technique (LSFT) (Electric Avenue, Brixton); from 1974-2001: The London International Film School (LIFS)]

LIFS - see LFS

LNFS - London National Film School, UK

LSFT - see LFS

LWT - London Weekend Television

NFA - Nederlandse Filmacademie/Dutch Film Academy [founded in 1958; renamed in 1975: Nederlandse Film en Televisie Academie (NFTA); renamed in 2013: Nederlandse Filmacademie (NFA); since 1987 part of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten]

NFBC - National Film Board of Canada

NFS - see NFTS

NFTA - see NFA

NFTS - National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield, UK [founded in 1970 as the National Film School; opened in 1971 in the old Beaconsfield Studios, Buckinghamshire; changed its name to NFTS in 1982]

NSC - Netherlands Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1994]

NYU - New York University/Tisch School of the Arts, New York, New York, USA

NZCS - New Zealand Cinematographers Society [formed in January 2008]

PSC - Stowarzyszenie Autorów Zdjeć Filmowych/Polish Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1994 as Stowarzyszenie Twórców Obrazu Filmu Fabularnego (STOFF); in 2012 the name was changed to Stowarzyszenie Autorów Zdjeć Filmowych (PSC)]

PWSFTviT - Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Filmowa Telewizyjna i Teatralna/The Polish National Film School, Lódz, Poland

RGC - Russian Guild of Cinematographers

RTS - Royal Television Society [U.K.]

SASC - South African Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1954]

SBC - Belgian Society of Cinematographers/Belgische Vereniging van Kineasten/Association Belge des Cinéastes [founded in 1993]

SCS - Société Suisse des Chefs Opérateurs/Swiss Cinematographers Society [founded in 1996]

SMPTE - Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

SOC - Society of Camera Operators

STOFF - see PSC

SzFF - Szinház- és Filmmüvészeti Föiskola/[State] Academy of Drama and Film, Budapest, Hungary [Faculty of Film (and Television)] [established in 1949; since 2000: Szinház- és Filmmüvészeti Egyetem/University of Theatre and Film (SzFE)]

UCLA - University of California, Los Angeles, USA

USC - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif., USA [the USC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established a motion picture study course in 1929; 1940: the Department of Cinematography becomes the Department of Cinema; 1983: USC School of Cinema-Television; 2006: USC School of Cinematic Arts]

VGIK - Vserossijskij Gosudarstvennyj Institut Kinematografii [State Institute of Cinematography], Moscow

WICA - Western India Cinematographers Association

ZFS - Zdruzenje filmskih snemalcev Slovenije/Slovenian Association of Cinematographers

 


AWARDS

 

AA - Academy Award ['Oscar'] given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [USA]

AFI [Aus] - Australian Film Institute

AFI [USA] - American Film Institute

Ariel - Award given by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas

BAFTA - British Academy of Film and Television Arts

BIFA - British Independent Film Award [since 1998]

Bodil - Award given by the Filmmedarbejderforeningen [Film Workers Association] in Copenhagen. The members of the Association are the film critics of the Copenhagen newspapers. Awarded for the first time in 1948; named after Bodil Kjer and Bodil Ipsen, two Danish actresses

BSFC - Boston Society of Film Critics

César - Award given by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma [France] since 1976

CFCA - Chicago Film Critics Association

CST - Commission Supérieure Technique de l'Image et du Son ['Le Prix Vulcain de l'Artiste Technicien' (formerly 'Grand Prix Technique') is awarded during the Cannes Film Festival]

DKP - Deutsche Kamerapreis Köln; award given by WDR-tv, the city of Cologne and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie since 1980. The first time the prize was awarded was during the Photokina of 1982.

Edda - Award given by the Icelandic Film and TV Academy [IKSA] since 1999

Emmy - Award given by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences [USA]

FI - Film Institute

Genie - Awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television

Guldbagge - ['Golden Beetle'] main Swedish film award given by the Swedish Film Institute since 1964

[I]FF - [International] Film Festival

IFTA - The Irish Film and Television Academy [awards since 2003]

LAFCA - Los Angeles Film Critics Association [formed in 1975]

Leo - Award given by the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia

Milli - Annual award [since 1958] presented to the 'Australian Cinematographer of the Year'. The award gets its name from the millimeters used to measure film lenses; its design represents the lenses of an early model camera.

MVPA - Music Video Production Association

Nika - Main national film award in Russia

NSFC - National Society of Film Critics [USA] [formed in 1966]

NYFCC - New York Film Critics Circle [formed in 1935]

Robert - Award given by the Danish Film Academy. Awarded for the first time in 1983; designed by and named after the Danish sculptor Robert Jacobsen. The award is given to films, actors, directors and other technical staff

RTS - Royal Television Society [U.K.]