Last Updated 2 days ago
Filmmaking Dictionary / Letter K
Browse filmmaking terms starting with K, including Kelvin (K), Key, Key Grip. Find a quick explanation below and follow the full-definition links where a detailed guide is available.
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- Kelvin (K)
- Key
- Key Grip
- Key Light
- Key Side
- Key-to-Fill Ratio
- Kicker
- Kicker Dolly
- Kick (Light Kick or Lens Kick)
- Kickoff Meeting (Pre-Production Kickoff)
- Kill
- Kill the Baby
- Kit Rental
- K (Kilowatt)
- Klieg Light
- Knee
- Knockdown
- Knowledge Transfer (KT)
- Knuckle
- Koski (noun)
- Kubrickian (Stanley Kubrick Style)
- Kuleshov Effect
- Kurosawesque (Akira Kurosawa Style)
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Kelvin (K)
The unit used for colour temperature and correlated colour temperature. Common lighting references include 3200K for tungsten balance and 5600K for daylight balance. Actual daylight varies, and CCT alone does not describe a light’s complete spectrum or tint.
Key
Often shorthand for the key light, the main light shaping a subject. In other contexts it can mean a department head or a compositing operation. The department and surrounding conversation determine the intended meaning.
Key Grip
The head of the grip department. Works closely with the Director of Photography and Gaffer to shape and control light, rig equipment, and manage camera movement. Supervises the grip crew.
Key Light
The main light shaping the subject for a shot. Its direction and character establish much of the visible modelling. A key can be hard or soft, natural or introduced, and need not be the brightest object anywhere in the frame.
Key Side
The side of a subject primarily illuminated by the key light. It provides a useful reference when discussing camera position, modelling and fill. The opposite side is often described as the shadow side.
Key-to-Fill Ratio
A comparison of key and fill illumination used when discussing contrast. State the measurement convention: comparing separate source strengths is different from comparing the total illumination on the lit and shadow sides of a subject.
Kicker
A light placed behind and to the side of the subject, often used to highlight the edges of the face or body, creating separation from the background.
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Kicker Dolly
A crew-specific nickname sometimes used for a small manually moved dolly. It is not a dependable equipment category or instruction to kick a loaded platform. Confirm the intended dolly and movement with the grip team.
Kick (Light Kick or Lens Kick)
A brief or concentrated reflection or light hit, such as a highlight from a surface or flare reaching the lens. It may be useful or distracting. A deliberately positioned kicker light is a related but different use of the word.
Kickoff Meeting (Pre-Production Kickoff)
An initial meeting to establish the project’s aims, responsibilities, schedule and immediate preparation needs. It helps departments work from shared information and identify decisions that must be resolved before production proceeds.
Read the full Kickoff Meeting (Pre-Production Kickoff) definition →
Kill
A set command to switch off a specified light or piece of equipment. “Kill the backlight” means turn that source off. A clear equipment name helps prevent a different department or unit from acting on the call.
Kill the Baby
Older lighting slang for switching off a Baby fixture, usually a small tungsten Fresnel. It refers to equipment. Naming the specific light directly is clearer when the phrase is unfamiliar to the crew.
Kit Rental
Payment for a crew member’s personal equipment supplied to a production. The covered items, rate, responsibility and conditions are agreed separately from or alongside labour compensation. The term does not define a universal package.
K (Kilowatt)
Set shorthand associated with kilowatts, where one kilowatt equals 1,000 watts of electrical power. In a lighting request, 2K can mean a 2,000-watt fixture. It is separate from the 2K label used for image resolution.
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Klieg Light
A historical name associated with powerful carbon-arc motion-picture lighting. It is often used more loosely in descriptions of studio spotlights. The historical fixture should not be confused with every modern bright film light.
Knee
A video-processing control that compresses signal levels above a selected threshold to fit highlights into the recorded range. It changes highlight rendering; it cannot restore detail already clipped at the sensor or an earlier stage.
Knockdown
To reduce the level of a light or part of its beam. The method may involve dimming, scrims, nets or neutral density. Diffusion can also reduce output, but changes its distribution as well.
Knowledge Transfer (KT)
A handover of the information needed for another person to continue the work. In editorial this may include project organisation, media locations, versions and outstanding tasks, helping avoid gaps when personnel change.
Knuckle
An informal name commonly used for a grip head or adjustable clamping joint. It lets compatible arms or light-control tools be positioned at an angle. The correct assembly and permitted load depend on the equipment.
Koski (noun)
HTFS set slang for wasted work caused by assumptions, missing information or deliberate misrepresentation. For example, lighting is built before blocking happens and then must be redone. The term describes a communication failure rather than a technical equipment fault.
Kubrickian (Stanley Kubrick Style)
A description of work recalling Stanley Kubrick, often through precise composition, controlled camera movement, deliberate pacing and an unsettling view of human behaviour. The comparison should identify the actual choices involved, since his films differ widely in genre and technique.
Read the full Kubrickian (Stanley Kubrick Style) definition →
Kuleshov Effect
The way a viewer’s interpretation of a shot can change when it is placed beside different images. An expression may appear to convey a different feeling because of the surrounding edit, demonstrating how context creates meaning.
Kurosawesque (Akira Kurosawa Style)
A description of filmmaking recalling Akira Kurosawa, often involving dynamic group staging, movement within the frame, weather and strongly structured dramatic conflict. It can refer to editing and performance as much as to the look of an individual image.
Read the full Kurosawesque (Akira Kurosawa Style) definition →
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