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Parallel Editing – The technique of intercutting between two simultaneous stories or scenes.
Perf – Perforations. The sprocket holes in a piece of film.
Photo Flood – A photo flood is a high power screw-in light bulb that is often used in with a clamp light fixture. Photo floods are usually anywhere from 250 watts to 500 watts.
Picture – The workprint, to distinguish it from the mag tracks.
Pigeon – This is a heavy round disc with a lighting stud, used to position a light on the floor, much lower than a stand will go. Basically, it is a Hi Hat for lights.
Pilottone – A 60 Hz reference signal recorded onto the film tape to allow transfer to mag precisely at sound speed, used for Sync Sound filming. (In Europe in it is 50Hz.)
Pitch – This is the distance between perforations along a roll of film. Print Stock has a slightly longer pitch than camera stock.
Pix – An abbreviation for Picture used on the leader.
Plastic Leader – This is leader for putting at the head and tail of a print. It is, as one would guess, made out of plastic, and is more durable than Emulsion Leader and much less expensive, and so it is the better choice for a print. However, it cannot be Cement Spliced, so it should not used for your negative.
Polyester Base – Polyester base is a very durable type of film, that is virtually unrippable. Some people claim that it is harder to splice, but that is more a matter of getting used to the technique. Significantly, it cannot be Cement Spliced, making it impractical as original material (also, its durability could spell disaster for the delicate mechanism of a camera in the event of a jam). However, its durability makes it very advantageous for release prints.
Practical – A practical is any photo flood-type of bulb, used within the shot, in a household lamp or otherwise visible. The term practical is sometimes used interchangeably with photo flood, even though it specifically refers to a light used in the shot.
Preroll – Preroll is extra time at the beginning of a sound take to accommodate the slow lock-up time of some production time code devices.
Pressure Plate – Part of the internal workings of a camera, the pressure plate is located on the other side of the film from the gate. It is a smooth, spring-loaded plate that holds the film on the film plane and acts as a brake, helping to hold the film steady while it is exposed.
Prime Lens – A prime lens is one with a single focal length, wide, normal or telephoto, as opposed to a Zoom Lens, which has a variable focal length. They often come in a set of different focal lengths. Prime lenses tend to be sharper, faster and will often focus closer than zoom lenses.
Print – 1.: A copy of another piece of film, typically made by Contact Printing. 2.: As a verb, to make a print.
