Über editor: T to Z

© 2004 Ginny Lowndes

Take
A take is a term used when a producer or hiring body wants a quick verbal summary of the script and its direction or its vision that the reader, assessor, writer, editor or dramaturge thinks it can be taken. It is not to be confused with ‘a take', which is used in the shooting of a film or television script.

Team
A team is made up of two or more writers and their editors to write and edit a television production. It is usually put together by a producer.

Teaser
A teaser is the opening scene or sequence of scenes that sets up the mood in a television production as it presents the dramatic problem to be resolved. The teaser hooks the audience into the story in that crucial few seconds when it is still possible for them to change channels.

Telegraphing
Telegraphing means telling the audience well in advance what the outcome is going to be. This device comes about because of poor dramatic structure.

Teleplay
Teleplay is a script written to be produced for television whose length is 42-48 minutes long for a standard one-hour TV show.

Telewriter
Telewriter is a writer who either adapts an existing work for production or writes a new one for television.

Terms
Close-up (c/u); voiceover (v/o); off screen or o/screen (o/s, oos); below screen or behind screen (b/s); post action visual (PAV); fade out (Fd.out). It is wise not to tell a director how to direct the entire film or television script.

Three-act structure
Three-act structure is the traditional storytelling sequence which includes (1) the set-up (2) the complication and (3) the resolution.

Thumbnail
A thumbnail is a summary of the synopsis of a series or serial. It is used to advertise a show in television guide or magazine. It is written by a script editor. In theatre it is written by a dramaturge.

Title
A title is the name of the work. It cannot be copyrighted.

Time lock
A time lock exists when a pre-determined action is set to take place at a specific time and the audience is kept in suspense. Time becomes an element of suspense in itself. A time lock is a dramatic device that is used to create additional tension. It is used to great effect in comedy writing.

Traction
Traction describes a television project that is beginning to get a grip on its audience.

Unity of action
Unity of action is the cause-and-effect relationship between all the scenes and all the characters from the beginning to the end.

Unity of time
Unity of time means that your time is in logical agreement from scene to scene and that there is a smooth transition from scene to scene. When dealing with time you have to make sure that cause and effect holds together.

Voice-over (VO)
Voice-over (VO) indicates that dialogue will be heard but the speaker will not be seen.

Wipe
A wipe is a term to describe an image where one shot is fully replaced by the images of another, delineated by a definite border that moves across or around the frame. It is written into the script.

Wrangler
A wrangler is an individual who is responsible for the care and control of entities used on a set that can't be given a direction by speech alone, for example a wrangler who works with animals. They can add considerable cost to a budget.

Writer
According to CREATE Australia (2002: 23-34) in Australia over 500,000 individuals identify themselves as writers. Writers write works of fiction and non-fiction that includes indigenous, ethnic, workplace and academic writing, novels, textbooks, short stories, poetry, plays, scripts, lyrics, screenplays, biographies, newsletters, copy writing, captioning, journalism, journals, magazines, researching, technical and community writing plus writing for cell phones, games, CD-ROM, information, e-zines, web writers and designers and other emerging media that in turns influences how writing is undertaken. Film and television scripts, lyrics and plays require additional skills as they are spoken out loud or written for performance. Most writers become skilled in a number of genres. All genres require an editor. Additionally writers need to have a good understanding of ethics, moral rights, knowledge of different cultures and what is appropriate to writing, privacy laws and legal issues. As a cottage industry writers need to know about copyright law and how to protect themselves, insurance, taxation and running a small business to name a few issues. Some writers and editors are now referred to as word wranglers.

[Australian National Training Authority. (2002). CREATE Australia . Final Report: Writing, Publishing and Journalism Scoping Study from http://www.createaust.com.au ]

Writing period
Writing period is the time given to a writer to complete their work. During this time the writer's services are generally exclusive to the production company that has hired them.

Written by
Written by is the credit given when one or several writers have created both the story and the screenplay, and there is no source material. This credit is also given in television if the writer has created both the story and the teleplay.

Zoom
Zoom is the s hot in which the magnification of the objects by the camera's lenses is increased (zoom in) or decreased (zoom out/back). This direction is written into the body of the script.  

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