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These filmmaking terms starting with 3 cover camera formats, lighting, sound connections and post-production. Use this section to distinguish 3:2 framing from pulldown, understand three-point lighting, or check what a 3D LUT and 32-bit float recording actually do.

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3:2 Aspect Ratio

A frame with three units of width for every two units of height. It is familiar from still photography and also appears in some open-gate cinema-camera recording modes. The ratio describes image shape, not a particular resolution or sensor size. Cropping 3:2 capture to a wider delivery frame removes some of the recorded height. It is unrelated to 3:2 pulldown.

3:2 Pulldown / 2:3 Pulldown

A telecine cadence that distributes successive film or progressive frames across alternating groups of three and two video fields. In a common NTSC-derived workflow, 23.976 fps material is mapped into 59.94 interlaced fields per second, or 29.97 interlaced frames. True 24 fps material requires an appropriate speed adjustment for that conversion. Pulldown is not the same as shooting slow motion. Inverse telecine removes a recognised cadence to recover the original progressive frames.

3-Perf 35mm

A 35mm film format that advances three perforations per frame. Compared with 4-perf at the same frame rate, it uses approximately 25% less film and gives about one third more running time from a roll. It is useful for widescreen spherical photography, but the camera movement and post-production workflow must be set up for it. It is not a digital crop setting.

3-Point Lighting

A lighting arrangement described through three functions: key, fill and backlight. The key light establishes the main illumination, the fill controls shadow contrast, and the backlight helps separate the subject from the background. It is a starting framework rather than a rule requiring three powered fixtures. A reflector, window or existing light can perform one of the functions, and some scenes need very little fill.

3-Shot / Three-Shot

A shot composed around three people in the same frame. Like a two-shot, it describes the grouping rather than a specific lens or camera distance. It can establish relationships, hold several reactions together or keep a conversation’s geography clear. Blocking, eyelines and depth matter: three people do not need to stand in a flat row simply because the shot includes all of them.

3.5mm TRS Connector

A small jack connector with tip, ring and sleeve contacts. Depending on the equipment, TRS can carry unbalanced stereo or balanced mono audio; its shape does not identify which. On cameras and compact wireless receivers, 3.5mm TRS connections are often unbalanced. Check the input type, signal level and wiring before connecting devices. A physically fitting plug is not proof of a compatible audio connection. See TRRS.

3.5mm TRRS Connector

A four-contact jack with tip, two rings and sleeve. It is commonly associated with headset connections that combine stereo headphones and a microphone, including some smartphones and computers. Contact assignments and device support vary. A camera microphone with a TRS output may need a suitable adaptor or interface rather than a simple straight-through TRRS cable. Count the contacts and check the device’s requirements.

3/8″-16 Thread

A common camera-support and accessory screw thread. The first number is its nominal three-eighths-inch diameter; 16 is the number of threads per inch. It is larger than a 1/4″-20 thread and is often found on tripod heads and support hardware. Matching diameter alone is insufficient: pitch, screw length, seating and any anti-twist pins must also suit the equipment. Do not force a partly engaging screw.

3CCD / Three-Chip Camera

A camera design using a prism to separate incoming light into red, green and blue paths, with a dedicated CCD sensor for each. Three-chip CMOS cameras use a related colour-separation arrangement but are not literally 3CCD cameras. The number refers to the imaging architecture, not 3D capture. It is historically common in broadcast cameras, including 2/3-inch-type systems.

3D / Stereoscopic 3D

In stereoscopic filmmaking, 3D presents different views to the left and right eye to create depth perception. Capture or conversion must manage the relationship between those views and the intended display. The same abbreviation also describes three-dimensional computer models and animation, which can appear in a normal 2D release. Neither use should be confused with a 3D LUT.

3D LUT

A three-dimensional look-up table that maps combinations of red, green and blue input values to output values. It can perform a technical display conversion, apply a creative look, or combine transformations. The “3D” describes the colour-value mapping, not stereoscopic pictures. A LUT must match the intended input and output colour spaces and signal encoding; applying the wrong one can misrepresent exposure and colour. See LUT.

3G-SDI

A serial digital video interface in the approximately 3-gigabit-per-second class, commonly used for single-link HD signals up to 1080p50/59.94/60 in supported formats. It is a transport standard, not a recording codec. The source, cable, monitor and any converters must support the signal format; Level A and Level B compatibility can also matter. See 6G-SDI and 75-ohm video cable.

30 fps

Exactly 30 frames per second. It is distinct from 29.97 fps, despite casual use of “30” for both. When recorded and played at 30 fps, the action remains real-time with more frequent temporal sampling than 24 fps. Playing those frames at a lower rate changes duration and motion speed, so acquisition and playback rates should be specified separately.

32-Bit Float Recording

An audio file format with floating-point sample values and far more numerical headroom than conventional fixed-point audio. On suitable recorders, levels above the normal 0 dBFS reference can be reduced in post without the sample clipping associated with fixed-point overload. It does not make recording foolproof: microphone capsules, analogue circuitry, wireless links and outputs can still overload. The recorder’s input design and the format supported by post-production remain important.

3200K

A common tungsten colour-temperature reference for film lighting, camera white-balance presets and tungsten-balanced motion-picture stocks. It is a useful starting point when matching conventional studio tungsten fixtures. Actual colour depends on the lamp and operating conditions, including dimming. An LED set to 3200K is matching a colour target, not becoming a tungsten source or acquiring the same spectrum. See Kelvin and 5600K.

35mm Film

A film gauge identified by the stock’s nominal width, including its perforated edges. It does not identify a single frame size: conventional vertical 4-perf, 3-perf, 2-perf and horizontal 8-perf formats use the stock differently. A digital camera’s “35mm” or “Super 35” description refers to a related format class, not to physical film running through the camera. See grain.

360° Video

Video that records a surrounding view, commonly represented as a full 360° horizontal by 180° vertical sphere. Multiple lens views may be stitched into an equirectangular image for editing and playback. It can be monoscopic or stereoscopic, so “360” does not automatically mean 3D. Crew placement, stitch lines and nearby objects require planning because action outside a conventional camera frame may still be visible.

360° Shutter

A shutter-angle setting corresponding to an exposure lasting approximately the full frame interval. At true 24 fps, that is about 1/24 second, subject to the camera’s implementation. It produces more motion blur and approximately one stop more exposure than 180° at the same frame rate. It is a temporal exposure setting, not a 360° field of view. See 90° shutter.

A useful definition should help you make the next decision: choose a connection, understand a camera mode or communicate a lighting setup. Follow the related terms for that context, then continue with terms starting with 4 or return to the filmmaking dictionary.