Last Updated 2 days ago
Filmmaking Dictionary / Letter D
Browse filmmaking terms starting with D, including Dailies, Dance Floor, Day for Night. Find a quick explanation below and follow the full-definition links where a detailed guide is available.
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- Dailies
- Dance Floor
- Day for Night
- Day Player
- Deal Memo
- Deep Focus
- Deferral
- Delivery
- Del Torian (Guillermo del Toro Style)
- Depth of Field
- Desaturate
- Development Hell
- D.G.A. (Directors Guild of America)
- D.G.C. (Directors Guild of Canada)
- Diffusion
- Digital Negative (DNG)
- Digital Zoom
- Director
- Director of Photography (DOP)
- Director’s Cut
- Dirty Single
- Dissolve
- Distribution
- Ditty Bag
- Diving Board
- Dolly
- Dolly Grip
- Dolly Track
- Donut
- Dot
- Double
- Downstage
- Drag
- Dress
- Dry Hire
- Dry Run
- Dual System Sound
- Dubbing
- Dulling Spray
- Dupe
- Dutch Angle
- Duvetyne
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Dailies
Viewing copies of recently shot material, prepared so the filmmakers and editorial team can assess performances and technical results. Digital dailies may include synced sound and a viewing look; they are not necessarily the untouched camera originals.
Dance Floor
A smooth surface laid for a camera dolly to travel over where the existing floor is unsuitable. It lets the dolly move without rails within the prepared area. Construction and support are planned by the grip department.
Day for Night
Photographing a scene in daylight while making it read as night through staging, exposure, lighting and colour treatment. Sun direction, sky brightness and visible practical lights influence how convincing the result appears.
Day Player
A performer or crew member engaged for individual days rather than the full production period. The term can describe a small acting role or additional crew brought in for particular work.
Deal Memo
A document recording key agreed terms of an engagement, such as role, rate, dates and payment arrangements. Its contents and relationship to a longer contract depend on the production and agreement.
Deep Focus
An image in which subjects across a substantial range of distances appear acceptably sharp. It is a depth-of-field choice, not a focus pull toward the background. Aperture, focal length, focus distance and viewing conditions affect the result.
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Deferral
An arrangement in which payment is postponed until an agreed date or condition. It may apply to some or all compensation. A deferred amount is not guaranteed by the project’s hoped-for success; the agreement determines what is owed and when.
Delivery
The handover of the required finished materials to a distributor, broadcaster, platform or client. Deliverables can include picture, sound, captions, artwork and documents, each subject to the recipient’s technical and contractual specifications.
Del Torian (Guillermo del Toro Style)
A description of filmmaking recalling Guillermo del Toro, combining elaborate creature and production design with fairy-tale influences, gothic imagery and sympathy for outsiders. The comparison describes a creative sensibility rather than a standard technical method.
Read the full Del Torian (Guillermo del Toro Style) definition →
Depth of Field
The range of distances in front of and behind the focus distance that appears acceptably sharp. Aperture, focal length, subject distance and the chosen viewing standard affect it. It is not simply the visible area inside the frame.
Desaturate
To reduce the intensity of colours in an image. Partial desaturation makes colours less vivid; complete desaturation removes colour information from the displayed result. Brightness and contrast remain separate adjustments.
Development Hell
Industry slang for a project that remains in development through repeated delays, rewrites or changes of personnel without reaching production. It describes a stalled process rather than a formal production status.
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D.G.A. (Directors Guild of America)
The Directors Guild of America, a labour organisation representing directors and certain members of the directorial team. Its covered roles and agreements differ from those of other entertainment unions and guilds.
Read the full D.G.A. (Directors Guild of America) definition →
D.G.C. (Directors Guild of Canada)
The Directors Guild of Canada, a national labour organisation representing members across several screen-production departments. Representation and agreements vary by district and category; it is not limited to directors alone.
Read the full D.G.C. (Directors Guild of Canada) definition →
Diffusion
Material or an optical treatment used to alter how light spreads or how an image renders. Lighting diffusion can create a larger effective source; lens diffusion can affect contrast and highlights. These are different applications of the term.
Digital Negative (DNG)
Adobe’s openly documented format for storing raw photographic image data and metadata. CinemaDNG applies DNG-based frames to motion-picture workflows. A DNG file is a file format, not a general name for every camera’s raw recording.
Digital Zoom
An electronic change that enlarges a cropped portion of an image. It narrows the displayed field of view without changing the lens’s focal length. The effect on detail depends on the recorded resolution, processing and delivery size.
Director
The filmmaker responsible for guiding the production’s creative interpretation, including performances and visual storytelling. The director collaborates with department heads and producers to turn the script or concept into scenes and a finished film.
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Director of Photography (DOP)
The cinematographer responsible for the photographic approach, working with the director and leading camera and lighting choices. Responsibilities include composition, exposure, lensing, movement and lighting in collaboration with the relevant department heads.
Director’s Cut
An edit representing the director’s preferred version at a particular stage. It may differ from the released version, but it is not necessarily longer or the final authorised cut. The production’s agreements determine editorial control.
Dirty Single
A shot centred on one performer while part of another person or foreground element remains in the frame. It preserves a sense of the relationship or space, unlike a clean single that isolates the subject.
Dissolve
A transition in which one image gradually gives way to another, with both visible during the overlap. It can suggest a change in time, connect ideas or create a particular rhythm.
Distribution
The process of making a completed work available to audiences through cinemas, television, streaming or other channels. It includes arrangements for release and exploitation; it is distinct from the physical production of the film.
Ditty Bag
A small bag used by a crew member or department to keep frequently needed tools and supplies close at hand. Its contents depend on the job and the production’s working methods.
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Diving Board
A projecting platform or accessory on certain camera dollies that provides an additional working position. Configuration and permitted loading depend on the dolly and manufacturer’s equipment; the nickname alone is not a specification.
Dolly
A wheeled camera-support platform used for controlled movement. Depending on the design, it can run on track or a suitable floor and may carry an operator. It differs from changing framing with the lens’s zoom.
Dolly Grip
The grip responsible for preparing and moving the camera dolly in coordination with the operator and cinematographer. Duties can include laying track and rehearsing movement so position, speed and timing fit the shot.
Dolly Track
Rails used to guide compatible camera dollies along a controlled path. Straight and curved sections allow different moves. Track condition, connections and support affect the movement and are managed by the grip department.
Donut
A ring or flexible seal that closes the gap between a lens and a compatible matte box. It helps exclude stray light. The correct size and design depend on the lens and matte-box arrangement.
Dot
A small round light-control tool, often an opaque flag or a net mounted on a wire support. It is used for precise adjustments to small areas. The material determines whether it blocks or reduces light.
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Double
A double net or scrim used to reduce illumination, commonly by about one stop. Actual transmission depends on the product. It reduces output rather than automatically making the source softer.
Downstage
A theatre direction meaning toward the audience, sometimes adapted in screen-production discussions. On a film set, the camera position may change, so confirm the intended direction rather than assuming downstage always means toward camera.
Drag
Controlled resistance in a camera head or other movement mechanism. Pan and tilt drag help the operator start, sustain and stop moves smoothly. Drag is different from locking the movement completely.
Dress
To arrange a set’s visible objects and materials for filming. Dressing can include furniture, artwork and decorative details. The art department coordinates the result with the scene’s design, action and continuity.
Dry Hire
Hiring equipment without an accompanying operator. The renter arranges appropriate personnel and use of the equipment. Included accessories, support and other conditions depend on the hire agreement.
Dry Run
A rehearsal carried out without recording the intended take. It lets performers and departments check timing, movement and cues. The exact elements included depend on what the production needs to rehearse.
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Dual System Sound
A workflow in which picture and production sound are recorded on separate devices and synchronised later. Timecode and slate marks help identify and align recordings, but consistent settings and clear records still matter.
Dubbing
Recording or replacing dialogue, often in another language, and sometimes a broader term for combining soundtrack elements in a final mix. Its meaning depends on whether the discussion concerns voice recording, localisation or rerecording.
Dulling Spray
A surface treatment used to reduce unwanted reflections on suitable props or set materials. Compatibility and appearance must be checked before use. It is different from changing reflections through lighting or camera position.
Dupe
Short for duplicate: a copy of a film element or digital file. A film dupe may be a particular generation in a laboratory workflow. The word alone does not establish whether the copy is identical in quality or data.
Dutch Angle
A composition in which the camera is rolled so the horizon or verticals appear tilted. It can create tension or a stylised viewpoint. Its effect depends on the scene and does not inherently signify one emotion.
Duvetyne
A brushed fabric commonly used in black for light control and masking on set. Weight and opacity vary, so not every fabric sold under the name blocks light equally. Use material appropriate to the application and required fire rating.
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