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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A shot that captures a subject while moving around in a circle.
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A character, thing, or place routinely presented in film with a certain characterization.
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Architectural drawing
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A detailed illustration used to represent architectural structures, created either by hand or digitally. It includes various perspectives, such as elevations, sections, and plans.
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Architectural fragment
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A physical piece of a building or structure, typically salvaged or repurposed, often displayed as an object of artistic or historical interest.
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A three-dimensional representation of a proposed building or structure, typically used in design and planning to visualize scale and form before construction.
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The art and practice of designing and constructing buildings and other structures, combining aesthetics, functionality, and environmental considerations.
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A collection of records, documents, or artifacts kept for the purpose of research or preservation, often used in the context of art to track historical processes or cultural evolution.
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An arm is a horizontal stroke in a letter that is not attached to a stem on either end, such as the horizontal lines in letters like E or F.
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A professional responsible for handling weapons on set, ensuring safety and proper use during filming.
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A French term meaning "stop." In film, it refers to an in-camera technique where the camera stops, an object is placed within the frame, and then the camera restarts, creating the illusion of the object magically appearing.
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The department responsible for designing, building, and overseeing the visual elements of a film’s sets, props, and costumes.
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A member of the film's art department responsible for the set's look, feel, construction, and design.
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Art Nouveau (New Art)
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A decorative arts style from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by organic, flowing lines, asymmetry, and the incorporation of natural forms into design and architecture.
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A conceptual art group founded in 1968 in England that explored the relationship between language, art, and meaning, challenging the conventional understanding of art and criticism.
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Also known as art informel, it refers to an abstract movement in the 1940s and 1950s that emphasized improvisational, gestural painting techniques, free from traditional artistic conventions.
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"Raw art," a term coined by Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside traditional academic training, including works by self-taught artists, mentally ill individuals, and outsiders.
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A popular design movement of the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by bold geometric patterns, rich colors, and luxurious materials, influencing architecture, furniture, and visual arts.
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A term used in post-war European art to describe abstract art that emphasized spontaneous, expressive, and gestural methods of painting or sculpting, often breaking free from traditional rules.
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Art created specifically to engage or alter an existing context or situation, often aiming to provoke thought or critique societal, cultural, or institutional norms.
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A niche movie theater specializing in non-mainstream indie films, foreign films, or small-budget films.
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An Argentine avant-garde movement founded in 1944 that focused on geometric abstraction and pure formal structures in visual art, challenging conventional aesthetics.
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An Italian art movement of the 1960s that used everyday, humble materials to create art, critiquing the commercialization of art and focusing on raw, unrefined expressions.
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Arte concreto (Brazilian Concrete art)
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A movement in the 1950s in Brazil where artists focused on geometric abstraction using simple shapes and forms to explore color and structure, rejecting subjective emotional content.
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An Italian art movement from 1951 that sought to respond to the fear and existential questions raised by the nuclear age, incorporating abstract, often chaotic forms to reflect anxiety.
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Artifacts are undesirable elements in video or images that detract from the visual quality. They often occur due to external factors like camera lens damage or weather conditions, and need to be removed in post-production.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Computer algorithms that control non-player characters, enabling them to respond adaptively and intelligently to player actions.
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Light that is created using electric lighting sources rather than natural light.
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Artist Placement Group
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A British initiative founded in 1966 aimed at placing artists in industrial and governmental settings to explore the intersection of art, industry, and society.
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A group of artists who collaborate and work together under a shared name or vision, often addressing specific political, social, or cultural themes.
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A hybrid role where an artist also curates art exhibitions, often running non-commercial spaces or projects that focus on exhibiting both their own and others' works.
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Artists International Association
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A British arts group founded in 1933 that organized exhibitions to promote the work of left-wing political artists, often focused on social realism and radical artistic practices.
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A book created by artists that often combines visual art and literature. Typically self-published, these books may include photographs, illustrations, or conceptual content to deliver an artistic experience.
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A design and craft movement started by William Morris in the 1860s, focused on craftsmanship, the rejection of mass production, and the revival of traditional handwork in design.
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Arts and Crafts movement
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A design and architecture movement from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing handmade craftsmanship, simple design, and the use of natural materials in response to industrialization.
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Ascenders are parts of lowercase letters that extend above the x-height of a typeface, commonly seen in letters like b, d, h, and k. Some fonts, such as Garamond, may have ascenders that rise above the capital height.
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When a film character breaks the fourth wall and directly addresses the audience.
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The relative length and width of an image.
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The aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between the width and height of an image or screen. For example, the aspect ratio of an iMac screen is 16:9.
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A three-dimensional artwork composed of various materials, often including found objects, combined together to create a unified composition.
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The initial step in editing where all shots are arranged in the order specified by the script.
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The practice of creating a game using pre-existing assets, often from online marketplaces, to quickly assemble a game without creating original content.
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Multiplayer games where players experience different roles or mechanics, leading to unique experiences for each player in the same game.
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A situation where audio tracks are out of sync with the visuals in the frame.
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Asynchronous Gameplay
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Multiplayer games where players do not play at the same time; often turn-based, with each player completing actions at different intervals.
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A French term meaning "studio" or "workshop," used to describe a space where artists work, often involving a collective of creators collaborating on art, design, or architecture.
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The aesthetic of a film that contributes to the overall dimensional tone of the film's action.
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An attribute in art refers to an object or symbol associated with a particular personage, often used in iconography to identify or signify a subject. To attribute a work is to assign it to an artist.
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Any sound component of a film, including diegetic and non-diegetic elements.
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The sound aspect of an artwork, whether recorded or live, that includes noise, music, and spoken word. In art installations, audio is often used to evoke emotion or engage the senses.
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Outgoing sound that carries on from one scene to the next, connecting them through sound.
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The process where an actor reads from a prepared script or does a cold reading.
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Augmented Reality (AR)
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A technology that enhances the real-world environment by overlaying digital content, allowing players to interact with virtual elements within physical spaces.
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A concept introduced by Walter Benjamin, referring to the unique presence or authenticity of an original artwork, which is lost when reproduced mechanically (e.g., through photography).
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French for "author," often referring to a director with a distinct style.
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In the context of art, authenticity refers to the genuineness of an artwork, especially in relation to its creator and its originality, often contrasted with copies or reproductions.
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A camera function that automatically adjusts the lens to focus on the subject.
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A term coined by artist Gustav Metzger in the early 1960s, describing art created through processes of self-destruction, often as part of a political statement or commentary on societal issues.
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Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR)
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The process of re-recording dialogue in post-production to replace poorly recorded or unclear audio.
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A method of creating art that emphasizes spontaneous, unconscious actions, allowing the artist to bypass rational thought and engage directly with the subconscious, as seen in Surrealism.
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A feature that automatically saves a player's progress at predetermined points, such as after a level or mission, reducing the risk of losing data.
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Naturally occurring light found on the film location, enhancing a film's sense of realism.
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An experimental art movement, with avant-garde films often challenging conventional techniques.
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Art that challenges traditional forms and conventions, often seen as experimental and boundary-pushing, with a focus on new ideas and radical techniques.
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The player's in-game representation, which can be customized and serves as the player's visual identity within the virtual world.
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A type of cut used to create a strong visual transition between two shots by maintaining a sense of directional continuity.
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An imaginary line between the two primary actors in a scene, maintaining spatial relations between scene elements.
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A low-budget film, often considered a secondary feature, typically produced for quick release, characterized by its simple plots and low production values.
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A low-budget film often associated with unconventional storytelling, quirky acting, and imaginative plots.
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Supplemental footage used to enhance a scene, often used to cover cuts or provide visual context.
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A designated outdoor area on a studio's premises where outdoor scenes can be filmed, providing controlled environments.
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A cinematic technique where a pre-recorded background is projected onto a screen behind the actors during filming.
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Refers to the character's history or past events that influence their actions and motivations in the present narrative.
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A large painted canvas or background used to create a setting or atmosphere for a scene, often depicting landscapes.
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Elements in a scene that are not the primary focus, providing context or depth to the main action.
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An actor who appears in a scene in a non-speaking role, typically in the background, enhancing realism.
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Responsible for creating the visual elements that fill the background of a scene, adding depth and atmosphere.
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Lighting used to illuminate the background of a scene, helping to separate subjects from the background.
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The soundtrack or musical score played during a scene, enhancing the mood or emotional impact of the visuals.
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Involves placing light sources behind the subject, creating a halo effect and emphasizing silhouettes against the background.
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Backslanted refers to italics that lean backward, opposite to the more common forward-leaning italics.
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Backwards compatibility
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The ability of a console to run games made for an earlier version of the same platform, such as the PS5 playing PS4 games.
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"Baking in" refers to making an element in a scene final and unchangeable. Once baked in, it cannot be adjusted unless an earlier project version is available.
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Refers to the harmonious arrangement of visual elements, movement, and sound within a scene or composition.
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The process of adjusting a game's mechanics to ensure fair and challenging gameplay, often to address overpowered or underpowered elements.
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A ball terminal is a rounded, ball-like feature that extends from the end of a stroke, often found in letters like 'R' or 'a.'
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A large, soft light source used to illuminate a wide area evenly, often used on location for outdoor scenes.
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Adjustable flaps attached to lights to control the direction and intensity of light, allowing for precise lighting adjustments.
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A dramatic and highly decorative artistic style that emerged in Europe in the early 17th century, characterized by bold, intricate designs, intense emotions, and grandeur.
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The baseline is an invisible line on which text sits. It serves as the foundation for measuring other parts of a typeface, like the x-height.
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A German art and design school founded in 1919, focusing on the integration of art, craft, and technology. It played a crucial role in shaping modern art and design practices across the world.
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A pause or moment of silence in acting that conveys emotion, tension, or significance within a scene or dialogue.
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A script that focuses on the beats of a scene, breaking down the pacing and rhythm of dialogue and actions.
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A group of British realist painters who exhibited together at the Beaux Arts gallery in London in the 1950s, known for their focus on realistic depictions of the human condition.
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Behance is an online platform for sharing and discovering creative work. It is widely used by artists in various fields, including 2D and 3D design, photography, and web design, allowing users to build portfolios and connect with potential clients.
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A short-lived, politically motivated Chinese arts collective in the early 1990s, known for challenging governmental control and addressing issues of Chinese identity through avant-garde art.
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Refers to production expenses not attributed to major creative talent, including crew salaries, equipment, and post-production.
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A printing technique where small dots of primary colors are arranged in patterns to create a fuller range of colors, often used in comics and pop art, named after Benjamin Day.
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A key assistant to the gaffer or key grip, responsible for managing electrical or rigging tasks on a film set.
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An international art exhibition held every two years, typically showcasing contemporary artworks from various countries, fostering global dialogue within the art world.
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Refers to the order in which actors' names appear in promotional materials, often reflecting their prominence or importance in the film.
