Producing for TV and New Media: Glossary - O-P

Opening titles (also known as opening credits)

The name of the show and a limited list of the creatives, such as the producer, writer, director, principal actor(s), etc., written in text at the beginning of the program

Opening titles

Also known as opening credits

Option/optioning

Obtaining exclusive ownership and/or rights to a script, book,
or story for a period of time long enough to develop and hopefully sell as a project

Out of sequence

During a shoot, the scenes are seldom shot in the sequence in which
they appear in the script or in the final product

PA (Production Assistant)

An entry-level position on a project that involves every aspect of work, from running errands to making copies to getting lunch

PA

Production Assistant

PAL (Phase Alternating Line)

It's used in the United Kingdom, Australia, China, and parts of Western Europe. This video format is 625 lines and runs at 25fps

PAL

Phase Alternating Line

Pan

A camera movement in which the camera moves smoothly, either horizontally (from right to left, or vice versa) or vertically (from top to bottom, or vice versa)

Paper cut (editing storyboard)

A paper cut gives the editor the sequence of shots for the final product, including exact in-points of selected shots, their descriptions, time
code locations, reel numbers, and the duration of each shot

Parallel editing

Two separate yet somehow related events appear to be happening at
the same time, shifting back and forth between one scene and another

Pay-or-play

A contractual agreement stating that if the talent is not used in a project for whatever reason, he or she will still be paid the agreed-upon fees

Pay Per View (PPV)

In television, paying a fee for watching a single program or event
on a specific PPV channel

PPV

Pay Per View

Petty cash (PC)

Cash kept on hand during a production that pays for expenses on set,
such as meals, supplies needed for the crew, props, and other costs that arise

PC

Petty cash

Perma-lancers

Permanent freelancers who are employed full-time, but aren’t paid
employee benefits or given any contractual certainty

Pistol grip

A special mounting device for a hand-held camera

Pitch

Selling an idea for a television show to a network, client, independent producer, or other end-user

Pixels (picture element)

The smallest resolvable rectangular area of an image, made of three close dots of color: red, green, and blue

Pixels

Picture element