Production Sound Mixer or Location Sound Recordist: Just like the cinematographer is in charge of the look, Sound Guy is in charge of all the sound in the movie. He chooses the microphones, the placement and supervises all aspects of sound. Just like the DOP and the Camera Operator, he has his own little crew underneath him.

Boom Operator: This guy operates the boom mike. He holds the pole so that the microphone follows the actors during a shot.

Foley Artist: A Foley Artist creates sounds for a movie that weren't recorded on location. He's the guy that bangs cocoanut shells together to make galloping noises or presses shoes into a box of gravel to make footstep sounds.

Utility Sound Technician: This is the assistant under the Production Sound Mixer and the Boom Operator. He runs microphone cable, helps position mikes and is a back up for his bosses.

Gaffer or Chief Lighting Technician: Gaffers are the head electricians on the set. They are responsible for providing the power to everything safely. Gaffers work closely with the cinematographer and answer to him. If the lights go out, it will be the gaffer who will freak. He has a small crew that works beneath him.

Key Grip: Key grips move stuff like cranes and help create shadows according to the DOP's instructions. They help assure safety on the set when other departments do things like stunts or explosions.

Best Boy: Best Boys are the assistant to the gaffer or the key grip. They might be called Best Boy Gaffer and Best Boy Grip.

Electricians: These are other assistants to the gaffer. They are sometimes trained electricians, but sometimes not. They plug and unplug a lot of things.

Dolly Grip: Dolly grips work under the Key Grip and move the dolly at the behest of the Cameraman, Cinematographer and Director. The wheeled cart where the camera rests is called a "Dolly". The cart is on a set of tracks to make the shot smooth.

Location Manager: This is the guy that finds you locations to shoot in. He coordinates Location Scouts on bigger productions and works with the director and cinematographer to find the place locations to shoot. He finds out and gets permission to shoot at the locations.

Location Scouts: This is the guy that takes orders from the Location Manager. The LM might say, "Go find me a marina with an oyster bar near the docks." The Location Scout will call around and then do all the legwork for his boss.

Property Master or Prop Master: He's in charge of the props. (Duh.) He will make them or acquire them. He has to work with the director, cinematographer and especially the art director and set designer. He often has a small squadron of guys beneath him building props.

Set Designer: The set designer actually directs the building of the set and works with the art director and property master to make sure the set looks appropriate.

Set Dressers: These are the actual guys that make sure the set looks like it's supposed to when shooting starts. These are the guys that will be running around placing props, moving furniture, etc.

Leadman: Leadman tells the set dressers and the swing crew when to put up the set and when to strike it (take it down).

Swing Gang: A Swing Gang is made up of hired hands that help assemble or disassemble pieces of a set.

Stunt Coordinator: He's in charge of the stunts. (Duh.) If someone gets hurt on the set, it will be his responsibility. He'll have a small army of assistants to help him with the stunts. He's in charge of the Stunt Performers that actually perform the stunts.

Matte Artist: These guys work with the special effects department. They paint backgrounds which are then put into the movie through a process called "matting". The process is now done on computer, but the artistry is still very much needed today.

FX Coordinator or Special Effects: This title usually goes to the guy that's on set doing effects, but it can sometimes apply to a guy that does the effects in post.

Costume Designer: This person coordinates with the art director to make sure the costumes go with the look of the movie.

Costumer: A Costumer takes care of the actors' costumes. On a big production with many actors, there will be more costumers.

Make-up Artist: On most films with any kind of budget, there is always a make-up artist to keep the actors looking good. Some celebrities have their own personal make-up people. According to union rules, make-up artists can only apply make-up above the neck and below the wrists.

Body Make-up Artist: Just like above except for the other areas of the actor's body.

Hairdresser: Pretty self-explanatory, but this person is also in charge of things like wigs.

Dialogue Coach: On a big movie, with lots of actors using accents, there may be various dialogue coaches. They help coach the actors to deliver their lines.

Production Office Coordinator: Every movie has a production office and someone has to answer the phones and organize the paperwork. Here is where the scripts can be photocopied if there are changes and Production Assistants can be dispatched to do various tasks. If you want to work in the movies, but still feel like your work in an office, this job is for you.

Production Assistant or P.A.: You know the guys that built the pyramids? Before they were called slaves, they were called production assistants. This is likely to be your first job on a movie. Sometimes it is a paid gig and sometimes it is not. You will absolutely not get to do anything cool, so don't get your hopes up. The one day I worked as a P.A. in Hollywood, I had to rent a truck (on my own credit card no less), help the producer move his furniture and bring the truck back. It was all day and for a movie that never even made it to video, but hey, you have to start somewhere. Now get me my latte, kid.

Second Unit Director: Sometimes this work is contracted out to a completely different set of guys. For instance, Universal has a set for a New York City street in Los Angeles. If they shoot say, an episode of Seinfeld on a soundstage and on that set, they still might need a shot of the real New York. The Second Unit Director will, with his smaller crew, go out and get that shot.

Production Caterer: This is the person in charge of the food on the set. Some celebrities insist on having their own cook and in L.A. vegetarian is almost always an option. The food on a set can sometimes get out of control. Free food is probably the one perk of being a P.A.

Craft Services: These are people that assist the production caterer and provide beverages and snacks. There is usually all the bottled water you can drink.

Transportation: This department makes sure everyone can get from trailer to set. They might have to arrange for special transport for the stars. They arrange for vehicles for crew, cast, equipment--- Everything and everyone except the P.A.'s of course.

Unit Publicist: The movie PR machine never sleeps and it starts early. The Unit Publicist starts the ball rolling and is in charge of coordinating things like media kits, which include still photos of the production, the stars and the director. They will bring reporters in during production and get interviews with the stars between takes.

Editor: The editor is the guy that actually cuts the film together, usually under the director's watchful eye. On large, complicated movies, you may have a separate Sound Editor, an Opening Sequence Editor and a guy that's a Trailer Editor. In film school, you'll be doing almost everything on this list at once.

Negative Cutter: This is the guy that assembles the cuts put together by the director and editor. He cuts the actual negative so they can make one giant reel of continuous film in the development process.

Color Timer or Color Fixer: This guy works with the cinematographer to make sure the film is developed properly. Using different developing techniques, the Color Timer can adjust some exposures and color on the film.

Leads: Your lead actors.

Supporting Cast: The actors that aren't the leads but are in a good portion of the movie.

Day Players: Actors with small parts that usually only require one day's worth of shooting.

Background: Non-speaking extras in the background of shots.

Movie Terminology on the IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/Glossary/A

Skillset Film: The Production Office

http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/production/

Related Articles

·  Dubbing: Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) ·  Art Films ·  American Society of Cinematographers ·  Above the Line / Below the Line