Animation The technique that creates the illusion of movement by showing a sequence of drawings or photographs of moving models. Computers are now used for most animation.

Blue-screening A technique used to replace the background of an action shot. Actors perform in front of a blue screen. The blue parts of the image are then replaced with other footage. This is used to create shots that are dangerous or impossible to shoot.

Camcorder A small electronic device that records both moving images and sound. Camcorders are commonly used to film home movies, as well as full-length movies and TV programmes.

Computer generated imagery (CGI) The use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images, such as for movies, TV programmes and computer games. CGI is often used for creating scenery and special effects in movies.

Digital cinema The use of digital electronics to store and project movies. Some movies are shot and projected digitally, but others are shot with traditional film then digitized. Digital techniques eliminate scratches or flicker, and enable movies to be sent via internet or satellite connections.

Dubbing The process of adding new sounds or dialogue to a movie’s soundtrack. Dialogue is dubbed in different languages if a movie is released in another country.

Editing The process of mixing sounds and pictures together to produce the final movie, usually done using a computer.

Frame An image in a series of images that makes up a moving picture. Movie film moves at 24 frames per second, so our eyes see continuous moving action.

High definition (HD) An image with higher resolution (more pixels or lines) than standard definition.

IMAX A type of large-format film, projected on to a screen much larger than normal cinema screens.

Live action film A movie that features real actors rather than animation.

Lumière brothers Auguste Lumière (1862–1954) and Louis Lumière (1864–1948), French brothers who made some of the first movies. They invented the movie projector and showed the first movie in 1895.

Matte A visual effect where a painted background is added to footage after shooting. This is used to create images that are too expensive or complicated to achieve with a set or backdrop.

Motion picture or “movie” A sequence of thousands of images. When played in quick succession, they create the illusion of movement. The first movie was shown in Paris in 1895. Since then, cinema has become popular all over the world. Thousands of people work in the movie industry, involved in every part of making a movie, from working the cameras or acting in front of them to making costumes and writing the script.

Movie camera A camera used to capture moving images. Most movie cameras are now digital. In a traditional film movie camera, a shutter opens to let light hit the film, creating a frame. Then it closes and the film is moved into position for the next frame. Both digital and film movies are commonly shot using 24 frames per second.

Movie projector A machine used to show a movie. Many cinema movie projectors are now digital, with a digital projector linked to a computer server on which the movie is loaded as a digital file. In a traditional film movie projector, a bright light shines through each frame and projects its image on to a screen. While the shutter is closed, the film moves on a frame. The frames pass so quickly that the image appears to move.

Pixel In digital imaging, a pixel is the smallest element (a tiny dot or square) of a picture displayed on screen. Each pixel is a sample of the original image. The greater the number of pixels, the more accurate the representation of the image.

Props Short for properties, props are objects such as furniture, glasses or weapons used by actors on a set.

Score The music written to accompany a movie. The score is composed and edited to fit exactly to the visual action.

Set The place where a movie is shot, inside a studio, or outside, “on location”. Inside a studio, backdrops, props and models can be used to create any scene, from a historical street to a futuristic city.

Soundtrack The dialogue, score and sound effects that accompany a movie or TV programme. The soundtrack is usually recorded on a narrow strip down the edge of the movie film.

Special effects Techniques, such as puppets, wires or weather machines, that are used to create illusions during filming. Effects added after filming are visual effects, but may be called special effects.

Talkies Talking pictures, or “talkies” were first made in the 1920s. They were the first movies to combine live action and sound.

Video Digital video is an electronic method of recording, reproducing and distributing moving images. Video may also refer to a method (much less common today) of recording and broadcasting moving images using magnetic tape.

Visual effects Techniques such as blue screening, matte painting and CGI, that add illusions after a film has been shot.

Zoetrope A 19th-century device, used to give the illusion of a moving image. It was a slotted cylinder, lined with a strip of images. When the cylinder spun, the viewer looked through the slots and the images appeared to move.

Consultant: Chris Oxlade