Film Studios Key Terms

Understand film studios key terms to give yourself a professional edge
By Christine Pollock When working with film studios, understanding film studios key terms prevents you from appearing unprofessional. You avoid situations where others have to stop their work to explain basic verbiage. The knowledge also enhances your professional persona.

An awareness of film studios key terms also gives you an opportunity to push production boundaries. Knowing the lingo and the processes behind the terms provides you with the necessary resources and historical lessons to experiment with studio equipment and create your own techniques.

Sound stage

Producers use a sound stage for scenes where they want to avoid extraneous noise. The sound stage is an interior soundproof studio or room used in movie production.
Try:  Serious Materials provides solutions for studios that require soundproofing for sound stages.

Backlot

The backlot is the space on the outside of a recording studio that the director uses for producing outdoor scenes.
Try:  RetroWeb offers images of backlots for many famous television shows and films such as "Gone With the Wind" and "Batman."

Production company

Studios use a production company to develop a film and to raise the funds necessary for the film process. Some production companies specialize in film, some in television and some in both venues.
Try:  ProductionHUB provides an overview of production companies studios and includes information on the type of services available from each company, the location where the studios operate, the type of equipment used by the studios and contact information.

Back projection

Film studios use back projection, also called rear projection or back projection, for special effects as they combine pre-filmed backgrounds with foreground sequences. Successful shows like the "Alfred Hitchcock" series used this technique.
Try:  Anders Johan Nygren offers a detailed look at the process behind rear projection. The site also uses images to define the mechanics of rear projection.

Biopic

Some studios specialize in biopic films, which is another name for the biographical picture film category. Biopic films dramatize important characters from history, sometimes stretching the truth.
Try:  The American Movie Classics Company offers a history of biopics, which includes coverage of some of the most popular biopic films studios ever presented.

Dynamation

When studios want to combine film techniques, they sometimes use dynamation. This is a combination of stop-motion animation and live action filming. While this technique was very successful in films like "King Kong," many studios opt out of using it due to its expense.
Try:  Lee Krystek discusses the history of dynamation and highlights films in which studios used this technique.