The Slang of Film... (Part 1)

You ever dreamed of visiting a movie set?  Many do.  However, if you did, there is large chance you wouldn't understand much of what was being said by many of the cast and crew as they went about the process of making the film.  Sure, chances are they are not speaking a foreign language, unless it's a foreign film, then you knew what you were getting into.  They do tend to use their own slang for common terms around a film set.  Some of these terms have been around since the birth of the cinema and others came about through the years.  

Here I will illuminate a handful of these special terms for you.  So kick back and enjoy some of the wondrous slang terms being hurled around a film set near you:

1)  Walla (wah-lah) - also known as Rhubarb, is a sound effect used in films to imitate background conversations in a crowd.  Normally extras would murmur the word, "walla", or "rhubarb", when the script called for indistinct background conversation.

2) Canted Angle (kænt-ed æŋgᵊl) - adjective meaning tilted or slanted.  Sometimes commonly referred t as a Dutch Angle.  It refers to a shot in a film that is lopsided, tilted or slanted.  Used by filmmakers to represent madness, disorientation or tension.

In the example above, from Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing (1989), you see an example of a canted angle.  This reflects the tension preceding a pivotal confrontation in the film.

3) Cowboy Shot - A derivation of the common medium shot where the actor is visible from his mid-thigh up to his head.  Sometimes referred to as an American Shot, it was named for its use in early Westerns when this type of framing was used in order to see not only the actor's face, but his gun and holster as well.

Seen above is a good example from the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained. Another version of this type of shot  is when you have two characters face off against one another, one in the foreground and the background.  One character is in the foreground, his back to the camera, framing the background character through his legs.  See the excellent example below (from an unknown film)

4) Squib (skwɪb) - A small explosive devise usually set upon a piece of the set or on a character that simulates a bullet hit or a very small explosion.

5) Chewing the Scenery - Acting with an extreme, over-the-top performance; overacting.  Sometimes this can be done at the insistence of the director, other times the actor just goes overboard with emotion.  A great example of this is the actor David Caruso in the TV show, "CSI: MIami".  Caruso has made a science out of removing his sunglasses while delivering one-liners.  One can honestly say every time he does so, he's chewing the scenery to the point that he's leaving bite marks all over the set!

Another great example is Jeff Bridges, as pictured above, in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008). Bridges made legions of fans under-acting as the iconic Dude, but his turn as the baddie in Favreau's film had him overacting in some scenes to the point where he was figuratively chomping scenery left and right!  But we can't fault him for it; Bridges always brings what he believes the character needs, plus...he's The Dude!

6) The Martini Shot - Slang term for the last filmed shot of the day (because the next one most probably will have alcohol in it!).  Sometimes referred to as the Abby Singer, named after the late director and production manager, Abner "Abby" Singer (pictured below with actor, Tim Conway).  Singer frequently notified his cast that this was the "last shot of the day", or that he'd shoot "this one, and just one more."  Sometimes, the Abby Singer refers to the second to last shot of the day, with The Martini Shot being the absolute last shot.

7) Walking the Banana - Refers to the actor having to cross in front of the camera in an arc which will then appear on screen as if he walked a straight line.

8) MacGuffin (məˈgəfən) - Coined by acclaimed director Alfred Hitchcock to refer to a plot device in the form of some item or event that the film characters consider important, but which the audience either doesn't know of or is not invested into in any way.  Ultimately, the exact nature of the item is not pivotal to the plot, and sometimes remains unknown.  A few famous uses of a MacGuffin in film include the meaning of rosebud in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941), or the necklace in James Cameron's Titanic (1997)

9) Red Herring (red ˈherɪŋ) - Term used to describe an item or point used to distract or mislead the audience from the real important issue in many mystery and thriller narrative films.  A great example of this term is the character, Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, in Ron Howard's 2006 film, The Da Vinci Code (based on the book by Dan Brown).  The narrative presents Aringarosa (seen below as portrayed by Alfred Molina) in such a way as the audience believes him to be the mastermind behind the events unfolding in the film, calling attention away from whom might really be pulling the strings!  Later, it is revealed that he is indeed innocent.  The Italian surname, Aringarosa, translates into English as Red Herring!

10) Chekhov's Gun (ˈtʃeˌkɔfs ˈgən) - Quite the opposite of a Red Herring.  Based on a quote by Russian writer, Anton Chekhov, "Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."  His meaning is that every element of the narrative be necessary, otherwise it should be removed.

That's the list for now.  There are many more I could list but I think these ten are a good start.  Let these sink in for a bit and I'll compile another list of intriguing terms for later.  Until then, I'll See You At The Movie!  Wait! I think someone already uses that line.  Okay, I got one:  You Stay Classy San Diego!