Good to GO would like to Thank
Women in Film for letting us use their glossary of film lingo seen on this page.

COMPLETION GUARANTOR the person (or company) who contracts to deliver a finished production at no additional cost to its investors, should it go over budget. The guarantor's fee is approximately 6% of the budget excluding contingency.

CONTINGENCY an extra allowance added to the production budget to cover unexpected expenses. The contingency should be 10% of the Above the Line and Below the Line expenses to satisfy the completion guarantor.

DEFERRAL an arrangement by which director, cast, crew, suppliers, etc. may agree to wait for all or part of their money until after a later, defined time - usually after the production begins to generate revenues.

DEVELOPMENT the work necessary to get a project to the point where it receives production financing. This may include acquiring the property, writing script drafts, budgeting, packaging of stars, director, and other creative personel. This is the stage in the production process when the money is hardest to raise and most at risk.

PRE-PRODUCTION takes place after development and after the project has been "Greenlit". It is followed by the Production phase.

PRODUCTION the period of time during which the project is being recorded on film or videotape.

STORYBOARD graphic depiction of the sequence of shots and action planned before shooting the production. Hitchcock would storyboard each movie down to the finest detail, such that he would not bother to look through the viewfinder during shooting since he had already envisioned the film and he never bothered with alternate takes.

CASTING DIRECTOR the individual who chooses and negotiates contracts for the actors and actresses playing the various roles in the film.

SCRIPT SUPERVISOR is a member of the film crewwho is responsible for maintaining the film's internal continuity and marking the unit's daily progress and keeping track of all aspects of production, including sending reports to the editorial department who works closely with her, tracking progress and looking for mistakes. This is a very difficult job!