Producing for TV and New Media: Glossary - M

M&E (Music and special effects)

Two important areas of audio components in a mix

M&E

Music and special effects

Magic hour

Twilight, or dusk, that limited time between sunset and dark when the light has a special luminescent quality to it that’s ideal for certain effects

Making the day

Accomplishing what’s been planned for each day’s shoot

Makeup artist

The person who works closely with the producer and director to design
the makeup for the cast, including special effects, aging, wounds, etc.

Manager

The manager oversees an actor’s career, and may hire an agent, lawyer,
accountants, etc. The manager works with the actor on career decisions, such as scripts to review, and advises in a range of professional areas

Marketing

Presenting an idea or product to potential viewers or consumers, using
methods that sway or convince the target audience

Markup fee

A percentage added to the costs that covers office and personnel overhead, expenses, and any profits

Master shot (also called an establishing shot)

Establishes the scene and the actors’ movements and their relationships to each other

Master shot

Also called an establishing shot

Master

In video, the original footage; also, the completed high-quality first-generation version of a project that is used for dubbing

Matching time code

The time code on the original footage is exactly the same on the
screening cassette. It’s visible time code, also called vizcode or VTC, that’s displayed in a small box on the bottom or top of the screen

Media buy

Purchasing airtime (usually in 30- or 60-second blocks) on a network or
channel in which to air a commercial

Medium shot

A camera framing in which the person or object is shown almost in its
entirety

Meme

Trends and ideas that are propagated—usually virally—and either mutate and expand, or eventually die off

Merchandising

Adapting the likeness of a popular TV or film character to nonmedia
products such as T-shirts, hats, and pencils, and cashing in on that character’s branding

Mic (“mike”)

A shortened version of microphone

Mix

The combining together of various audio tracks—dialogue, music, effects—and merging them into a single track

Montage

A story telling device that can compress time or impose a narrative over images, and is built by editing together a series of quick shots to tell the story

MOS

“Mit out sound,” shooting video only, with no audio being recorded