Category Archives: Entertainment Business

New Release – Film Glossary For Film Designers

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I wrote about this glossary over a year ago thinking that It was nearly ready for issue. It wasn’t.

After struggling with finding a publisher for hard printed copies, I gave up and decided to just release it as a downloadable Ebook. There were just too many hoops to jump through and I wanted to see it get out there into the world where it was more useful that just being a file on my computer.

The upside is that it kept getting bigger. And by the time I was ready to put it up on the platform, not only had the main glossary expanded but the appendix had grown from a half-dozen pages to 40. There’s a lot crammed in this book that doesn’t exist anywhere else.

The terms in the glossary itself have tags which place them in 28 different categories. This edition is aimed toward being a resource for film designers but anyone interested in film can benefit from this book.

Most of the over 1800 terms are directly film related and cover everything from job descriptions, to equipment terms, to crew slang, to sound stage etiquette, to up-to-date technical terms and descriptions. And for designers, there are many architectural and sound stage terms that aren’t in any other film glossary. No matter how long you’ve been in the business, there are terms in this book that you haven’t heard before.

The book is fully searchable and can be downloaded to your computer, your phone, or any device you wish. The current release price is $35.00.

Click the Download button below to get a 14 page sample of material in the glossary.

WrandFilmGlossary_sampleDownload

International Production Design Week – October 20 – 29

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This is the first day of the International Production Design Week events that have been organized and curated by the Production Designers Collective, an international group of Production Designers whose mission is to be a hub for designers from around the world and to elevate the profession by bringing awareness and acknowledgment of the craft of art direction around the world to the public’s awareness.

The nine day series features nearly 200 seminars, exhibitions, meetups, tours, and lectures with acclaimed Production Designers from 27 countries. Some of the events are presented online for viewing from anywhere while others are held in specific sites for a live audience.

Here is the link to the schedule of events which is searchable by day, city, language, and event category.

https://productiondesignweek.org/program/

Here are some of the planned events. See the website for a full list of events.

The Attack Of The Media Anagrams

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It’s happening more and more often. I’ll be reading about media, scanning a recent article and there it is, another anagram. Another letter combination that I don’t understand the meaning of.

New anagrams seem to appear every month, especially in the context of media. Is this due to a population that has become so used to typing out everything with two thumbs on a smart phone that character elimination has become the preferred method of avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome?

Sn u wl nd to b abl 2 rd evythng wth mst of th vwls mssng. Can’t wait for that.

I’m trying to keep up with all the technological changes that are happening in our industry but it’s tough because it’s not just happening with cameras and lenses and software but the whole distribution process itself. You need someone to explain it all to you the way you need a cousin who’s an attorney to explain that contract ‘legalese’.

For helping me to understanding ‘media-ese’ (Yes, I just made that word up. Sue me) I found a blog by Evan Shapiro who has a great page on Substack that explains all this mumbo jumbo without any promotional spin.

Graph by Evan Shapiro at ESHAP

His latest post is about FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) and goes into great detail about what is going on in the world of non paid-for media and hints at why the studios and media channels seem so baffled about where their business is going, which is a clue to the reason most of us have been out of work for most of the year.

If you have any interest in understanding what is going on with the current media distribution models we have to live with, I’d suggest subscribing to his Substack site. It’s the only site I’ve found that leaves me less confused rather than more so after I read it.

Here’s a short list of media anagrams you may not already know. I’ve culled these from our glossary that I’ve promised since last Fall.

  • AVOD – Ad-supported Video On Demand (Roku, YouTube)
  • CTV – Connected TV – nonlinear video delivered onto a TV screen.
  • FAST – Free ad-supported TV
  • OTT – Over-The-Top – Streaming content to customers directly over the web.
  • SVOD – Streaming Video On Demand – Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney +
  • SVAD – Subscription Video Ad-supported – (Netflix, Hulu, etc.)
  • TVOD – Transactional Video On Demand – iTunes, Skybox