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5 Film Slang Terms To Get You Set Ready
(released 4/3/2018)


Every industry has their own lingo that enables you to do the job and sound like a pro. Below are five terms to prepare you for working on a film set.

A Camera: When more than one movie camera is being used on set, the camera crew will designate them A,B, C and so forth. This allows the praise or blame to be properly attributed to the crew when viewing the dailies.

Bee Smoke: Often used by apiarists to calm swarms of stunning creatures, bee smoke has been used on film sets as atmospheric smoke. It has also been known to have a calming effect on the crew's intestines, as well, causing a run on the honeywagon.

Honeywagon: The trailer holding the portable toilet for use by the crew, so called because of the wonderful odor emanating from within.

Pigeon: This piece of grip gear looks nothing like its namesake. It's actually a 5/8 x 3 - inch metal stud mounted to a board and used for holding small lighting instruments. Some U.S. crews call it a "beaverboard". On the film Virus, the boss decided this was nasty and sexist, and he instructed everyone to refer to it as a "penis plate" instead.

Ten-One: This is polite walkie-talkie lingo for, "The person in question might be found in the restroom."  Ten-100 is cop talk for a toilet-oriented refreshment pause.

The above terms were sourced from the book by filmmaker Dave Knox titled  STRIKE THE BABY AND KILL THE BLONDE: An Insider's Guide to Film Slang.

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