Industry
The billing block is the small, highly condensed block of text on a movie poster or in a trailer that lists the names of the key cast, crew, and production companies involved in a film.
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Film Terms Starting With B
164 entries in the Movie Wiki begin with B, listed alphabetically with a one-line definition each. Open any of them for the full explanation.
61–120 of 164 entries
Definitions of Film Terms Starting With B
Open any entry for the full definition, where the term comes from and the films that show it best.
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Industry
A binaural fold-down is the process of converting a multi-channel surround or object-based audio mix into a two-channel stereo signal specifically designed to simulate a 3D sound experience on headphones.
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Industry
A binge drop is the content release strategy, pioneered by Netflix, in which all episodes of a series' new season are made available to the public simultaneously.
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Pop Culture
Binge-watching is the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television series in a single sitting, a behavior that has also influenced the consumption of serialized movie franchises.
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Pop Culture
Bingeable describes a television series with a compelling, serialized narrative that encourages viewers to watch multiple episodes in a single, prolonged sitting.
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Storytelling
A biographical documentary is a factual film that explores the life, personality, and achievements of a real individual.
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Industry
Identity verification using unique physiological or behavioral characteristics.
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Genres
A biopic, or biographical film, is a genre that dramatizes the life of a real-life, non-fictional person or people.
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Genres
Biopunk is a science fiction subgenre that focuses on the social and psychological consequences of biotechnology, genetic engineering, and synthetic biology.
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Industry
A 'bird dog' in the film industry is an industry colloquialism for a junior employee or scout tasked with finding new talent, scripts, or intellectual property.
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Industry
Catch-all term for silent digital data corruption that endangers long-term media files without integrity checks.
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Industry
A bitrate ladder is a set of multiple video files of the same content, encoded at different bitrates and resolutions for adaptive streaming.
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Genres
Black comedy is a genre of film that derives humor from subjects that are typically considered serious, morbid, or taboo.
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Industry
An annual survey highlighting the most‑liked unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.
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Filmmaking
'Black Magic' is on-set slang for the process of using black flags and materials to block or subtract unwanted light from a scene.
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Genres
Motion pictures captured or presented without color, using only shades of gray.
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Industry
The Hollywood Blacklist was a mid-20th century practice of denying employment to entertainment professionals because of their suspected political beliefs or associations.
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Filmmaking
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K
Super 35 digital cinema camera offering 6K BRAW capture in a compact, budget-friendly body.
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Filmmaking
High-resolution cinema camera with 12K BRAW capture aimed at VFX-heavy and premium productions.
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Industry
A blanket music license allows a production to use any song from a specific music catalog for a single flat fee, typically paid annually.
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Genres
A 1970s genre showcasing urban Black protagonists amid social upheaval and soul‑inspired soundtracks.
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Filmmaking
A photochemical process that omits the bleaching step to produce high-contrast, desaturated images.
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Filmmaking
A technique using target-based vertex deformation for nuanced facial expressions and morphs.
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Filmmaking
A scheduling technique that films scenes for specific actors or locations in grouped blocks.
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Industry
A high-budget film designed for mass appeal and significant box-office returns.
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Filmmaking
A blocking rehearsal is the process on a film set where the director works with the actors and key crew to choreograph the movements and positions for a scene before filming.
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Pop Culture
A writer who publishes movie reviews, news, and analysis on personal or hosted web platforms.
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Storytelling
A bloodline prophecy is a narrative trope where a prophecy's fulfillment is tied to a specific character's ancestry, making their lineage the key to their destiny.
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Pop Culture
Comedic slip-ups turned into reel montages humanize performers and extend a film’s social-media half-life.
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Pop Culture
A blooper reel is a compilation of mistakes, flubbed lines, and on-set antics that occurred during the filming of a movie, often shown during the end credits or as a special feature.
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Industry
A high-definition home media version distributed on Blu-ray discs with superior audio and video quality.
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Filmmaking
A Blue Code is an industry-specific term that can refer to a medical emergency on set or, in a different context, indicate that a scene involves nudity or simulated sexual activity.
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Filmmaking
The blue hour is the brief period of twilight in the morning or evening when the sun is below the horizon and the sky is filled with a deep blue, indirect light.
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Filmmaking
A chroma key technique using a blue backdrop for special effects compositing.
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Filmmaking
A blue screen shoot is a visual effects technique that uses a solid blue background for chroma keying, allowing it to be replaced with another image in post-production.
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General
A decentralized social network initiative focused on user control and open protocols.
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Industry
A BO blockbuster is a film that achieves exceptionally high box office gross.
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Industry
A BO bomb refers to a film that performs significantly below box office expectations.
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Industry
A BO multiplier measures a film’s total box office revenue relative to its opening weekend gross.
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Industry
A BO sleeper is a film that achieves unexpected box office success after a modest opening.
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Filmmaking
A body double is a performer who substitutes for a principal actor in a scene, typically chosen for their strong physical resemblance to the actor.
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Characters
A body swap partner is one of two characters who have their consciousnesses exchanged, forcing them to live in each other's bodies.
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Industry
The Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, known for its prolific musical storytelling.
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Genres
Bollywood is the globally recognized name for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, India, famous for its prolific output and musical masala style.
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Pop Culture
An extra song included on a soundtrack or album release beyond the standard tracklist.
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Filmmaking
A book light is a lighting setup that creates exceptionally soft, flattering light by bouncing a source off a white surface and through another diffusion layer.
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Filmmaking
A book-light is a lighting setup that creates exceptionally soft, flattering light by bouncing a source off one surface and then diffusing it through another.
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Storytelling
Bookend scenes are two scenes, one at the beginning and one at the end of a film, that are structurally, thematically, or visually parallel.
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Industry
A booking fee is a commission, typically 10 percent, that a talent agent receives from an actor's gross earnings for a specific job.
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Filmmaking
A directional microphone mounted on a pole to capture dialogue while staying out of frame
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Filmmaking
The boom operator positions microphones so dialogue sounds natural while cameras stay oblivious to the gear.
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Filmmaking
A boom pole is a long, telescoping pole used by the sound department to position a microphone as close to the actors as possible without appearing in the camera's frame.
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Pop Culture
Bored Ape Yacht Club is a landmark PFP NFT project that became a multi-billion dollar brand and a symbol of the 2021 crypto boom.
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Storytelling
A boss battle is a climactic confrontation in a video game where the player must face a single, uniquely powerful enemy known as a 'boss.'
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Industry
A 'bounce pass' in the film industry is the act of a producer or executive unofficially sharing a script with a peer at another company to get their opinion.
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Characters
A tracker-for-hire who captures fugitives for reward, blending law and outlaw status.
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