SOCIALBILITTY • GLOSSARY DEPARTMENT
Performers, casting, auditions, representation, stand-ins, background actors, and the processes used to find, prepare, and manage on-camera talent.
First Team is production shorthand for the principal performers who will appear on camera in a scene. The term is often used by the Assistant Director department when coordinating movement between cast holding, hair and makeup, wardrobe, rehearsal, and the set.
View Definition →Second Team is production shorthand for stand-ins who temporarily take the places of principal performers while camera, lighting, blocking, focus, and other technical elements are prepared. They allow the principal cast to step away while departments complete setup work.
View Definition →A Stand-In is a performer or crew-associated participant who substitutes for a principal actor during technical preparation so camera, lighting, focus, marks, and blocking can be established. Stand-ins are selected in part for physical characteristics relevant to matching the principal performer.
View Definition →A Background Actor is a performer who appears in a scene to populate and support the environment without serving as a principal speaking character. Background actors may portray pedestrians, diners, office workers, crowds, passengers, or other people needed to make the scene’s world believable.
View Definition →The plural form of the term Actor.
View Definition →A performer who has a sense of humor and tells jokes with a punch line to make their audience laugh and giggle. Some talk show hosts are also comedians and deliver a monologue at the beginning of their show.
View Definition →A Monologue is an extended speech delivered by one performer or speaker. In acting, monologues may appear in scripts or be prepared for auditions and training. In television, the term can also describe a host’s extended opening or comedic address to the audience.
View Definition →In filmmaking, blocking is the positioning of actors and movement in relation to the camera, and on stage at a production of a play the positioning of the actors on stage.
View Definition →