Table of Contents

The Glossary is collection of terms with specific meaning for screenwriting, or filmmaking in general.

A

act

act break

antagonist

associate producer

B

bad version

base camp

bio-pic

bump

buy

business

C

catharsis

character

character arc

circus

cliché

climax

close up

co-executive producer

co-producer

copyright

courier

CUT TO

cutty

D

day player

denouement

deus ex machina

development

development executive

diegetic

docu-drama

draft

draft and set

E

earned

edgy

eighth

entrance

establishing shot

execspeak

executive producer

exit

exit line

EXT.

extreme close up

eye candy

F

fantasy sequence

flash cut

flashback

flashforward

G

genre

H

hack

half-hour

hamartia

happy ending

hero

hubris

I

in

inciting incident

industry

INT.

L

line producer

M

manuscript

macguffin

meet-cute

momentum

montage

motivated

motivation

N

noir

non-diegetic

non-linear

notes

O

on the nose

one-hour

out

P

pacing

plot

plot point

plot twist

polish

post

prep

pre-production

principal photography

producer

protagonist

Q

quest

R

red herring

residuals

reveal

S

scale

scene

scene header

scene number

screenplay

script supervisor

set-piece

sequence

single-camera

slow-motion

slugline

split-screen

studio

sub-rights

subtext

T

take

teleplay

tentpole

theme

three-camera

tracking

transition

U

"up and back"

V

video village

villain

voice-over

W

wonky

worst-of-the-worst