The Glossary of Terms is a curated collection of definitions from the worlds of film, games, art, and design. Whether you're a student, artist, creative director or technical developer, this glossary is made to streamline your workflow and sharpen your understanding. All terms are written with clarity in mind, so you can move from confusion to creation faster.
The glossary includes industry-specific language used in animation, storytelling, production, visual effects, interactive media, conceptual art, and design systems. It’s structured for creative professionals, by creative professionals.Browse through categories like visual language, camera techniques, character design, game mechanics, UI principles, rendering technology, and more.
What is the Glossary of Terms?
The Glossary is a living index of essential concepts across entertainment and creative industries. It helps define and demystify production terms, art direction language, cinematic devices, and technical terminology — all in one place. You can use this glossary to learn the language of the industry, write clearer documentation, improve production notes, or enhance your storytelling vocabulary.
Why use a Glossary?
Many terms in the entertainment industry are often used inconsistently or misunderstood. The Glossary gives you clean, consistent definitions across mediums — helping teams stay aligned, students learn faster, and artists speak the same language. It also supports better communication between departments, whether you're working in pre-production, post, or interactive pipelines.
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An item in games that grants the player an extra life or attempt, offering more chances to progress through levels.
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The completion of all in-game challenges, achievements, or collectibles, often indicated as a percentage within the game or by the player community.
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A guideline in filmmaking that dictates maintaining consistent spatial relationships between characters and objects to prevent visual disorientation.
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Refers to completing an arcade or arcade-style game in one attempt, without using continues, often a mark of skill and mastery.
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Abbreviation for "one versus one," describing a competitive game mode where two players face off against each other.
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A graphics rendering technique where three-dimensional objects are placed in a two-dimensional plane, often using isometric perspectives.
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The standard frame rate for movies shot on film, with 24 frames projected onto the screen per second, ensuring smooth motion.
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A visual representation technique where elements are rendered in two dimensions, typically using sprites for character and object representation.
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A basic film editing guideline stating that the camera should move at least 30 degrees relative to the subject between successive shots of the same subject to avoid jump cuts.
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A technique in game development where objects are rendered in three-dimensional space, allowing for more depth and realism in visual representation.
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A motion picture employing stereoscopic techniques to enhance depth perception.
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3ds Max is a versatile 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software from Autodesk. It’s used in film, TV, and game production for creating 3D assets, animations, and visual effects, providing a range of tools for modeling, rendering, and simulation.
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Refers to games, hardware, or software that were designed with 8-bit processors, typically found in early video game consoles and known for pixelated graphics.
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High-budget video games developed by large teams with substantial funding, usually featuring top-tier graphics, gameplay, and marketing efforts.
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The Academy Color Encoding Specification (ACES) is the industry-standard system for color management and image exchange. It ensures consistent color space across different input sources, simplifying the workflow in film and VFX production.
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Acronym for "Aim Down Sights," referring to the action of aiming a weapon through its sights, typically in shooting games to enhance accuracy.
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A form of activism in which artists use their work to raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, advocating for public health and the rights of those affected by the disease.
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Short for Action Role-Playing Game, a sub-genre that focuses heavily on combat, exploration, and character progression through action-oriented gameplay.
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A measurement of a film's sensitivity to light, similar to ISO, used in analog film stock.
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A group of French writers, artists, and composers founded in 1906, inspired by the works of Renaissance writer François Rabelais. Known for their avant-garde, experimental approaches.
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The second-to-last shot of the filming day, named after Abby Singer, a respected assistant director.
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Art that explores themes of repulsion and disgust, often dealing with bodily fluids, excrement, and other visceral themes that challenge traditional notions of cleanliness and propriety.
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Refers to the budget allocated to major creative talents like directors, actors, writers, and producers.
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Abstract Expressionism
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A major art movement of the 1940s-1950s that emphasized spontaneous, abstract forms, with an emphasis on emotional expression through non-representational art. Artists associated with this movement were influential in making New York City the center of modern art.
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Art that does not aim to represent real objects or scenes but focuses on shapes, colors, and forms, conveying meaning through non-representational methods.
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An artist-run organization established during the Renaissance, aimed at improving the professional standing of artists and providing teaching opportunities for aspiring artists.
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A 19th-century art school in Paris, France, that was an alternative to the official Ecole des Beaux Arts, attracting many prominent artists and fostering a more open and inclusive approach to art education.
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A prominent alternative art school in Paris founded in the late 19th century, especially significant for providing education to women artists before they were admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts.
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A light used to highlight a specific feature or subject, often creating emphasis or contrast in a scene.
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Sound that originates off-screen, creating a sense of presence or atmosphere without the source being visible.
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A fast-drying, water-based paint made from pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Known for its versatility, it dries quickly and can be thinned with water or thickened with mediums.
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An imaginary line that defines the spatial relationship between characters and objects within a scene, crucial for maintaining consistent screen direction.
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A style of painting where the act of creating the artwork is as important as the finished piece. The artist often uses large gestures and dynamic strokes that reveal the energy and movement behind the process.
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A term describing the performance art movement, particularly the Vienna-based Wiener Aktionismus, known for shock tactics, extreme performances, and often self-torture, originating in the 1960s.
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Art that directly addresses political or social issues, with the intention of effecting social change or raising awareness about specific causes, often using art as a form of protest or action.
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Any person, who portrays a character in a performance.
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A brief, unedited film capturing real-life events or scenes, typically used in early filmmaking and regarded as a precursor to documentary films.
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The process of transferring a creative work or story to a motion picture format, such as turning a novel into a film.
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Filmed from a significant height using a plane, blimp, drone, etc. Often used as an establishing shot at the beginning of a film.
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A late 19th-century movement advocating for "art for art's sake," focusing on the beauty and sensual experience of art rather than its moral, social, or narrative purposes.
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The branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, taste, and art, as well as the creation and appreciation of beauty.
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A South African photographers' collective founded in 1982 that used photography as a means of activism, documenting the struggles and life of marginalized communities during apartheid.
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A collective of African American artists formed in Chicago in the late 1960s focused on creating a visual language that would empower and uplift black communities through art.
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Refers to the global spread of African peoples and cultures due to historical events like slavery and modern migration. It explores themes of identity, displacement, and cultural exchange.
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A cultural and artistic movement that reimagines African history and culture through the lens of science fiction, fantasy, and technology, envisioning new futures for Black people.
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Refers to the attention or aggression of in-game enemies directed at the player, often influenced by the distance and actions taken by the player.
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Short for "agitation propaganda," it refers to cultural works intended to promote political ideology, especially those from the Soviet Union designed to influence public opinion and support.
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A painting technique using an airbrush tool that allows for smooth, even application of paint, often used to create hyper-realistic artwork or in advertising and commercial art.
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The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, founded in 1922, that depicted everyday life of the working class in a realistic and documentary manner after the Bolshevik Revolution.
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A fine-grained, soft stone, often white or translucent, used in carving and sculpture. Popular for making statues and decorative works due to its smooth texture and aesthetic quality.
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A photographic print process introduced in 1850, using paper coated with egg white (albumen) to create high-quality prints, popular during the 19th century.
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A photographic print produced by using egg whites as a binder for light-sensitive chemicals, creating detailed images with rich tonal contrasts. Popular in the mid-19th century.
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Alignment refers to how different elements are positioned relative to each other, typically within a page or document. In typography, it involves setting text in relation to columns, tabs, or pages. It’s easy to spot when elements are misaligned.
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A type of paint that uses chemically modified oil (alkyd) to provide a hard, glossy finish. It dries faster than traditional oil paints and is often used for commercial applications.
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An extended metaphor in film, connecting a visible aspect like a character to an abstract meaning outside the narrative.
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A texture that forms on the surface of thick paint layers that dry unevenly, causing the paint to crack into patterns resembling the scales of an alligator's skin.
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A literary technique where words sharing the same initial consonant sound are linked, enhancing rhythm and impact in film dialogue.
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A technique in which the entire canvas is treated with equal attention, with no focal point, often using abstract forms or marks spread across the surface.
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An indirect reference to something, often used in various forms of media such as novels, plays, movies, songs, or even conversation.
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The alpha channel in an image (RGBA) stores transparency data. Represented by values from 0 (completely transparent) to 1 (fully opaque), it allows for compositing and isolating elements in post-production.
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A term coined by curator Nicolas Bourriaud in 2009 to describe art that responds to globalization, commercialism, and standardization, emphasizing hybridity and local authenticity.
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A version of a film's conclusion that differs from the original or theatrical ending, often used for special releases or alternate takes.
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Natural light sources such as the sun or moon, or pre-existing light in a location before any additional lighting is added for filming.
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A photographic process using a glass plate negative that, when placed against a dark background, appears as a positive image. A precursor to the tintype.
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American Abstract Artists (AAA)
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A group founded in 1936 to promote abstract art in the United States, seeking to foster a greater appreciation for abstract practices and serve as a platform for artists pursuing abstraction.
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A technique of shooting night scenes during the day with filters and lighting to simulate nighttime.
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A shot that frames the subject from the waist up, commonly used in Westerns.
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American social realist photography
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A form of photography that became popular during the Great Depression, documenting the lives of the poor and working class, aiming to evoke empathy and raise awareness about social issues.
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Analogous colours are those that sit next to each other on the colour wheel, such as red, orange, and yellow. They work well together, creating a harmonious and unified colour scheme, often seen in logos like the Mastercard logo designed by Pentagram.
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The early phase of Cubism, primarily between 1908–1912, characterized by fragmented and overlapping planes, offering multiple viewpoints of a subject simultaneously in one artwork.
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A widescreen format achieved by using anamorphic lenses to compress the image horizontally during filming, later stretching it for projection.
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Anamorphic Widescreen
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A format that uses an anamorphic lens to create wide aspect ratios, typically 2.35:1 or wider.
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The relative position of the camera in relation to the subject, determining the perspective of the shot.
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Directing the camera to move and focus on a specific subject within the frame.
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The direction from which light is cast on a subject, affecting the mood and shadow effects in a shot.
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The viewpoint or perspective from which the camera sees and records the scene.
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A modernist artistic and literary movement from Australia in the 1940s that aimed to challenge traditional cultural norms and disrupt the conservative establishment through radical works.
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The ability of a lens to distinguish between two points that are close together, measured in angular terms.
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A traditional adhesive made by boiling animal bones, skin, or sinew to create a gelatinous substance, used historically in woodworking and fine art conservation.
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A rough, preliminary version of an animation created using storyboards and basic audio, used to visualize a sequence or scene early in the game development process.
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A filmmaking technique where individual drawings of inanimate objects are filmed one frame at a time, creating the illusion of movement.
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A gameplay mechanic where a character's animation takes precedence over player input, meaning certain actions must finish before another can be initiated.
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The use of mechanical devices or robots to create lifelike movements for characters or creatures in films.
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A distinct form of animation originating from Japan, characterized by colorful imagery and exaggerated facial expressions.
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The first version of a film created after editing, used for review and approval before final release.
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Typically known as the villain of the story, the antagonist can be a person, group, force of nature, or interpersonal conflict.
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A movie consisting of multiple parts or segments devoted to differing narratives.
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A Brazilian art movement from the 1960s, Tropicália, embracing a cultural cannibalism of absorbing European and American influences while maintaining a distinct Brazilian identity.
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Anything following a film's high point, the climax, that is perceived as a disappointing or unsatisfying let-down.
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The protagonist of a film who lacks the generally-accepted attributes of a traditional hero.
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A movement or attitude in art that challenges and disrupts traditional concepts of what art should be, rejecting the importance of aesthetic beauty and often embracing the absurd.
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A movement in the 1960s in the U.S. rejecting traditional, rational methods of sculpture creation, instead embracing organic, chaotic processes, often involving chance and imperfection.
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Acronym for "Area of Effect," describing attacks or abilities that affect a wide area or multiple enemies at once.
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The opening of a camera lens that regulates the amount of light reaching the film or sensor.
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The term "aperture" in typography refers to the open space within a letterform’s counter, such as at the end of a letter’s open counter.
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In typography, the apex is the point at the top where two strokes of a letter meet, forming a peak, commonly seen in letters like A and M.
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Different-sized wooden boxes used for various purposes on film sets, such as adjusting actor height or supporting equipment.
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The practice of borrowing or replicating existing artworks or visual elements, often altering them to create new meaning or critique original sources.
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A printmaking technique that uses acid to create tonal variations in the printed image, producing effects similar to watercolor washes.
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Arab Image Foundation (AIF)
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A nonprofit organization based in Beirut, established in 1997, dedicated to preserving, studying, and exhibiting photographs from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arab diaspora.
