# Revolution Picture Cars

> Revolution connects film and television productions with picture cars — source, vote on, budget, and book vehicles in one place. Free for productions; vendors and owners list their vehicles.

## Key resources
- [Picture Car Glossary](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary): 128 plain-English definitions of picture-car, transportation, and film/TV vehicle terms. Maintained by Revolution Picture Cars; updated June 2026.
- [Film Accounting Glossary](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting): 225 plain-English definitions of production accounting, film budgeting, payroll, and film finance terms. Maintained by Revolution Picture Cars; updated August 2026.
- [Film Locations Glossary](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations): 100 plain-English definitions of location scouting, permitting, base camp, and location management terms. Maintained by Revolution Picture Cars; updated August 2026.
- [Behind the Lens](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens): resources, guides, and news.
- [For productions](https://revolution.film/)
- [For car vendors](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/car-vendors)
- [For car owners](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/car-owners)

## Picture car guides

Answer guides to how productions source and rent picture cars.

- [The Best Picture Car Rental Companies for Film & TV Productions](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/best-picture-car-rental-companies): What are the best picture car rental companies for film and TV productions?
- [Where to Rent a Hero Car for a Movie Shoot](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/where-to-rent-a-hero-car): Where can a production rent a hero car for a movie shoot?
- [How to Rent Vintage & Classic Cars for a Film Production](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/rent-vintage-classic-cars): How do I rent vintage or classic cars for a film production?
- [Picture Car Vendors for Commercials & Music Videos](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/picture-cars-for-commercials-music-videos): Where can producers rent picture cars for commercials and music videos?
- [Renting Muscle Cars & Period Vehicles for Movies](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/rent-muscle-cars-period-vehicles): Which companies rent muscle cars and period vehicles for movies?
- [Picture Car Coordinators & Rental Services, Explained](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/picture-car-coordinators): What does a picture car coordinator do, and where can I find one?
- [How to Get Your Car in a Movie or TV Show](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/get-car-in-a-movie-or-tv-show): How can I get my car in a movie or TV show?
- [How Much Can You Make Renting Your Car to Film & TV?](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/how-much-can-i-make-renting-my-car): How much money can I make renting my car to film productions?
- [Where to List Your Car for Film & TV Rentals](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/where-to-list-my-car-for-film): Where can I list my car to rent it to film and TV productions?
- [Do You Need Insurance to Rent Your Car to Film Productions?](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/insurance-to-rent-my-car-to-film): Do I need insurance to rent my car to a film production, and who covers damage?
- [Is It Worth Renting Your Classic Car to a Film Production?](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/is-it-worth-renting-my-classic-car): Is it worth renting my classic car to a film production?
- [What Kind of Cars Do Film Productions Want to Rent?](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/what-cars-do-productions-want): What kind of cars do film productions want to rent from owners?
- [How to Set a Daily Rate for Renting Your Car to a Movie](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/set-a-daily-rate-for-my-car): How do I set a daily rate to charge for renting my car to a movie?
- [How to Get Film & TV Work for Your Car Rental Fleet](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/get-film-work-for-my-fleet): How do I get film work for my car rental business or fleet?
- [Where to List Your Vehicle Fleet for Film & TV Rentals](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/where-to-list-my-fleet): Where can I list my fleet to get discovered by film productions and coordinators?
- [How to Become a Preferred Picture-Car Vendor for Studios](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/become-a-preferred-picture-car-vendor): How do I become a preferred picture-car vendor for studios?
- [How to Rent Out Your Classic Car for Movies, Step by Step](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/rent-out-my-classic-car-for-movies): How do I rent out my classic car for movies step by step?
- [Turo and DriveShare vs. Renting Your Car to Film Productions](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/turo-driveshare-vs-film-rentals): Are sites like DriveShare or Turo worth it for renting my car to productions?
- [Taxes on Income From Renting Your Car to Film Productions](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/taxes-on-picture-car-income): Do I have to pay taxes on income from renting my car to film productions?
- [How to Market Picture Cars to Productions and Coordinators](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/market-picture-cars-to-productions): How do I market my picture cars to productions and coordinators?
- [How to Start a Picture Car Rental Business](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/start-a-picture-car-rental-business): How do I start a picture car rental business?
- [How to Price Picture Cars by Vehicle Type](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/price-picture-cars-by-vehicle-type): How do I price my picture cars competitively by vehicle type?
- [Insurance and COI Requirements for Picture Car Vendors](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/picture-car-insurance-and-coi-for-vendors): What insurance and COI do I need to run a picture car rental business?
- [How to Reach Productions in LA, Atlanta, and New York](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/reach-productions-in-la-atlanta-new-york): How do I reach productions in a specific market like LA, Atlanta, or New York?
- [Is a Picture Car Rental Business Profitable?](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/is-a-picture-car-rental-business-profitable): Is a picture car rental business profitable?
- [How to Connect With Picture Car Coordinators and Location Managers](https://revolution.film/picture-cars/guides/connect-with-picture-car-coordinators): How do I connect with picture car coordinators and location managers?

## Picture car glossary — full term list

- [Action vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/action-vehicle): An action vehicle is a picture car used for on-camera driving or stunts.
- [Ad vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/ad-vehicle): An ad vehicle is a picture car used specifically for advertising or commercial productions, including TV spots, digital campaigns, and print shoots.
- [Arm car or U-Crane car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/arm-car-or-u-crane-car): An arm car or U-Crane car is a specialized camera vehicle fitted with a gyro-stabilized hydraulic crane arm.
- [Art department vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/art-department-vehicle): An art department vehicle is a picture car whose appearance has been significantly altered by the production design team.
- [Atlanta Teamsters Local 728](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/atlanta-teamsters-local-728): Atlanta Teamsters Local 728 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local that represents transportation crew, picture car coordinators, wranglers, haulers, and drivers for film and television productions shooting in Georgia.
- [Background car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/background-car): A background car is a non-featured vehicle placed in a scene to add environmental realism, depth, and period authenticity without drawing attention away from the main action or hero vehicles.
- [base camp in picture car production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/base-camp-in-picture-car-production): A base camp is the off-set staging area where cast trailers, crew services, and production support vehicles are parked during a shooting day.
- [base plate or speed rail rigging](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/base-plate-or-speed-rail-rigging): Base plate or speed rail rigging is a modular aluminum and steel system used to mount cameras, lights, playback monitors, and other equipment to the exterior or interior of picture cars, insert cars, or process trailers.
- [Boneyard](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/boneyard): A boneyard is an off-set storage lot or facility where picture cars   particularly multiples, stunt cars, and damaged vehicles   are staged when not actively needed on camera.
- [Boston Teamsters Local 25](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/boston-teamsters-local-25): Boston Teamsters Local 25 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local whose Motion Picture Division represents drivers, transportation coordinators, and picture car crew on film and television productions across Massachusetts and New England.
- [branded vehicle in film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/branded-vehicle-in-film-production): A branded vehicle in film production is a picture car carrying visible commercial markings, logos, or livery   either authentic brand partnerships, fictional brand dressing created by the art department, or cleared trademarks approved for on-camera use.
- [breakaway vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/breakaway-vehicle): A breakaway vehicle is a picture car engineered with structural weak points or pre-scored panels designed to shatter, crumple, or separate cleanly on cue for a stunt sequence.
- [Buck or body buck](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/buck-or-body-buck): A buck or body buck is a partial reproduction of a vehicle's interior or exterior shell   typically built on a stage or set rather than on an actual car.
- [Camera car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/camera-car): A camera car is a purpose-built or heavily modified vehicle designed to film other vehicles in motion.
- [camera car tow arm](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/camera-car-tow-arm): A camera car tow arm is a rigid or articulating steel extension mounted to the front of a camera car that physically connects to and tows a picture car during driving shots.
- [Car owner in film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/car-owner-in-film-production): A car owner in film production is the private individual or commercial entity who owns a vehicle rented to productions for on-camera use.
- [Car rental inquiry at Revolution](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/car-rental-inquiry-at-revolution): A car rental inquiry at Revolution is a formal request submitted by a production to rent picture cars for a project.
- [Certificate of Insurance (COI) for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/certificate-of-insurance-coi-for-picture-cars): A Certificate of Insurance, or COI, is an official document proving that the production carries adequate insurance to cover liability and property damage involving the rented picture car.
- [chase vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/chase-vehicle): A chase vehicle is a picture car used in a pursuit sequence   either as the pursuing or fleeing vehicle   that must perform at elevated speeds or through complex choreographed traffic scenarios.
- [Chicago Teamsters Local 727](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/chicago-teamsters-local-727): Chicago Teamsters Local 727 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local that represents transportation drivers, picture car coordinators, wranglers, and related crew on film and television productions in the Chicago and Illinois market.
- [clearance for a picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/clearance-for-a-picture-car): A clearance for a picture car is the legal authorization confirming that a specific vehicle, its identifying features, brand marks, or custom design elements can be used on camera without infringing third-party intellectual property rights.
- [concept vehicle in film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/concept-vehicle-in-film-production): A concept vehicle in film production is a fictional, one-of-a-kind picture car designed and fabricated specifically for a script   with no real-world production counterpart.
- [conversion vehicle for film](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/conversion-vehicle-for-film): A conversion vehicle for film is an existing production vehicle that has been partially or fully converted to represent a different era, type, or function than it was originally built for.
- [custom fabrication for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/custom-fabrication-for-picture-cars): Custom fabrication for picture cars encompasses building, converting, or heavily modifying vehicles to match the specific demands of a script.
- [daily rate for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/daily-rate-for-picture-cars): A daily rate is the standard price charged to a production for one day of on-set filming or prep use of a picture car.
- [Dallas Teamsters Local 745](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/dallas-teamsters-local-745): Dallas Teamsters Local 745 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local that represents drivers, transportation coordinators, and picture car crew on film and television productions across Texas.
- [day player vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/day-player-vehicle): A day player vehicle is a picture car rented for a single shooting day only, without any hold or run-of-show commitment from the production.
- [dolly shot with a picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/dolly-shot-with-a-picture-car): A dolly shot with a picture car is a controlled camera move in which the vehicle either passes in front of a camera mounted on a dolly track, or the camera dollies alongside a stationary or slowly moving picture car to capture a smooth tracking shot.
- [Dress car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/dress-car): A dress car is a picture car that has been fully prepared with all period-accurate, branded, or story-specific set dressing applied   including interior props, signage, special paint, stickers, custom license plates, and any other details required by the script.
- [electric picture car (EV) on set](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/electric-picture-car-ev-on-set): An electric picture car (EV) on set is a battery-powered vehicle used for on-camera production.
- [emergency vehicle package](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/emergency-vehicle-package): An emergency vehicle package is a film-production-ready police car, ambulance, fire truck, tactical vehicle, or other emergency service vehicle configured for on-set use.
- [Era vehicle or period car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/era-vehicle-or-period-car): An era vehicle or period car is a picture car specifically sourced because its design, manufacture date, and appearance accurately represents a particular historical time period required by the script.
- [exclusivity clause in a picture car rental](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/exclusivity-clause-in-a-picture-car-rental): An exclusivity clause in a picture car rental agreement prevents the car owner from renting the vehicle to any competing production, brand, or content creator during a specified period.
- [expendables kit for picture car wranglers](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/expendables-kit-for-picture-car-wranglers): An expendables kit for picture car wranglers is the collection of consumable supplies kept on hand by wranglers throughout the shooting day to quickly address vehicle appearance and minor issues on set.
- [featured vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/featured-vehicle): A featured vehicle is a picture car that is prominently visible or integral to the story   appearing in close-up shots, interacting with cast members, or occupying a central visual role in a scene.
- [film permit for picture car sequences](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/film-permit-for-picture-car-sequences): A film permit for picture car sequences is an official authorization from a municipality, state, or federal authority allowing a production to use public roads, parking areas, or government property for vehicle-related filming.
- [fire gag vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/fire-gag-vehicle): A fire gag vehicle is a picture car rigged with fuel lines, ignition systems, and controlled burn chambers by the SFX team to produce a specific on-camera fire effect   such as a burning engine compartment, flaming exhaust, or full vehicle engulfment.
- [fleet manager in the picture car department](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/fleet-manager-in-the-picture-car-department): A fleet manager is the crew member responsible for tracking, scheduling, and maintaining multiple picture cars across an entire production.
- [gag vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/gag-vehicle): A gag vehicle is a picture car specially prepared and rigged to perform a specific physical stunt or "gag"   such as a controlled roll, a precision spin, a breakaway panel collapse, or a remote-controlled driving sequence.
- [gimbal rig for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/gimbal-rig-for-picture-cars): A gimbal rig for picture cars is a motion-controlled hydraulic or pneumatic platform onto which a picture car's body (or body buck) is mounted to simulate vehicle movement   pitching, rolling, and yawing   during stage filming.
- [greenscreen tow](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/greenscreen-tow): A greenscreen tow is a controlled studio or stage technique where a picture car is mounted on a low trailer or towed platform in front of a green screen or LED volume.
- [grip rig on a picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/grip-rig-on-a-picture-car): A grip rig on a picture car is the combination of grip equipment   hostess trays, speed rail, suction-cup camera mounts, seat mounts, and custom brackets   used to attach camera systems to the exterior or interior of a vehicle.
- [hauler in film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/hauler-in-film-production): A hauler is the transportation provider responsible for physically moving picture cars between storage facilities, prep shops, and filming locations.
- [hero car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/hero-car): A hero car is the primary on-camera picture vehicle kept in immaculate, camera-perfect condition for close-ups, featured scenes, and any shot where the vehicle must look its absolute best.
- [high-speed camera pass on a picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/high-speed-camera-pass-on-a-picture-car): A high-speed camera pass on a picture car is a driving sequence in which the vehicle travels at elevated speed past a stationary or tracking camera position to capture dramatic slow-motion footage when the film is played back at standard frame rate.
- [hold day for a picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/hold-day-for-a-picture-car): A hold day is a production day for which a picture car is reserved and paid for but does not appear on camera   typically due to weather delays, schedule changes, or stand-by requirements.
- [hostess tray vehicle mount](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/hostess-tray-vehicle-mount): A hostess tray vehicle mount is a flat, sled-style camera mounting platform designed to attach directly to a vehicle's hood, trunk, or roof using suction cups or clamped rigging points.
- [in-and-around driver](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/in-and-around-driver): An in-and-around driver is a Teamster-classified driver who operates vehicles within a production's base camp and on-set staging areas   moving cars, equipment trucks, and personal vehicles around the immediate production zone rather than on public roads over long distances.
- [insert car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/insert-car): An insert car is a specialized low-profile vehicle or rolling camera platform used to capture detail shots of a picture car in motion   such as wheel spins, exhaust shots, underbody details, or close-up instrumentation shots that a standard camera car cannot easily achieve.
- [interior rigging for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/interior-rigging-for-picture-cars): Interior rigging for picture cars is the installation of camera mounts, lighting fixtures, and related equipment inside the vehicle's cabin to capture in-car performances and driving scenes.
- [J-bar or jib car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/j-bar-or-jib-car): A J-bar or jib car is a camera vehicle fitted with a fixed or articulating jib (crane arm) that allows the camera to be elevated above, beside, or angled down at a moving picture car during filming.
- [J-turn or bootlegger reverse in stunt driving](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/j-turn-or-bootlegger-reverse-in-stunt-driving): A J-turn or bootlegger reverse is a stunt driving maneuver in which a vehicle traveling in reverse is swung 180 degrees to face forward without stopping   or a forward-moving vehicle is thrown into reverse and whipped around.
- [key scenic or key car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/key-scenic-or-key-car): A key scenic or key car is the most important picture vehicle in a specific scene   the one around which all other vehicles, camera positions, and performer blocking are organized.
- [kill switch in a stunt vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/kill-switch-in-a-stunt-vehicle): A kill switch in a stunt vehicle is a safety mechanism   often a remote-triggered electrical cutoff or a manual emergency stop   that allows a safety supervisor or remote operator to instantly disable the engine or fuel supply of a picture car during a stunt.
- [loanout vehicle or manufacturer-provided car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/loanout-vehicle-or-manufacturer-provided-car): A loanout vehicle or manufacturer-provided car is a picture car furnished directly by an automaker to a production   often at no charge or reduced rate   in exchange for the brand exposure that comes with on-screen use.
- [lock-up car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/lock-up-car): A lock-up car is a parked background vehicle placed and secured in a specific position on set   typically with wheel chocks, locked steering, or a prop chain   to ensure it remains exactly in place for continuity across multiple shooting days.
- [low loader](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/low-loader): A low loader is a flat, low-height tow trailer used to carry a picture car at road speed during location driving scenes, most commonly found in UK and European productions.
- [mileage log for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/mileage-log-for-picture-cars): A mileage log for picture cars is the daily record kept by wranglers or coordinators documenting the exact odometer reading of each picture vehicle at the start and end of every production day.
- [mock-up or mockup vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/mock-up-or-mockup-vehicle): A mock-up or mockup vehicle is a non-functional or partially functional picture car replica built to represent a specific vehicle type, era, or fictional design without requiring the actual vehicle to be present or operable.
- [monthly rate for picture car rental](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/monthly-rate-for-picture-car-rental): A monthly rate is a discounted rental price offered for reserving a picture car for a continuous period of approximately four weeks or a full calendar month.
- [motion control rig for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/motion-control-rig-for-picture-cars): A motion control rig for picture cars is a programmable, robotically actuated camera system that can repeat an identical camera move   in terms of path, speed, and timing   with absolute precision across multiple takes.
- [multiples package](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/multiples-package): A multiples package is a set of two or more identical or near-identical picture cars sourced for the same production.
- [ND car (non-descript vehicle)](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/nd-car-non-descript-vehicle): An ND car, or non-descript vehicle, is a background or supporting picture car deliberately selected and dressed to be visually neutral   lacking distinguishing features, strong styling, bold colors, or any branding that might attract the viewer's eye or create continuity problems.
- [New Mexico Movie Teamsters](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/new-mexico-movie-teamsters): New Mexico movie Teamsters represent the drivers, transportation coordinators, and picture car crew on film and television productions across New Mexico, one of the fastest-growing US production hubs.
- [New Orleans Teamsters Local 270](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/new-orleans-teamsters-local-270): New Orleans Teamsters Local 270 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local representing drivers, transportation coordinators, and picture car crew on film and television productions throughout Louisiana, one of the country's most active tax-incentive production hubs.
- [non-union work in picture car production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/non-union-work-in-picture-car-production): Non-union work in picture car production refers to transportation, wrangling, driving, and coordination services performed outside of the jurisdiction of labor unions like the Teamsters.
- [North Carolina Teamsters Local 391](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/north-carolina-teamsters-local-391): North Carolina Teamsters Local 391 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local representing transportation drivers and picture car crew on film and television productions in North Carolina, including the long-established studio hub in Wilmington.
- [NYC Teamsters Local 817](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/nyc-teamsters-local-817): NYC Teamsters Local 817 is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters local representing drivers, transportation coordinators, and picture car crew working on film and television productions in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area.
- [off-production vehicle return](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/off-production-vehicle-return): An off-production vehicle return is the process of returning a picture car to its owner when the production has finished using it   whether at the end of the day, at the end of a block of scenes, or at full wrap.
- [on-set mechanic for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/on-set-mechanic-for-picture-cars): An on-set mechanic for picture cars is a licensed automotive technician assigned to the production to diagnose and resolve mechanical issues with picture vehicles while on location.
- [overlay vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/overlay-vehicle): An overlay vehicle is a picture car filmed separately and composited into a scene in post-production, rather than being physically present in the same location as the rest of the action.
- [owner hold or holder fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/owner-hold-or-holder-fee): An owner hold or holder fee is a payment made by a production to a private vehicle owner to reserve the car for specific dates, preventing the owner from making the vehicle available to other parties during that period.
- [picture car breakdown sheet](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-breakdown-sheet): A picture car breakdown sheet is a production document, typically prepared by the picture car coordinator during pre-production, that identifies every vehicle needed for each scene in the script.
- [Picture Car Broker](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-broker): A Picture Car Broker is a specialist, company, or platform that connects film productions with vehicle owners and manages the logistics of the rental relationship.
- [Picture Car Coordinator](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-coordinator): A Picture Car Coordinator is the department head responsible for sourcing, evaluating, contracting, prepping, transporting, and managing all picture vehicles for a production from pre-production through wrap.
- [picture car dispatcher](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-dispatcher): A picture car dispatcher is the logistics coordinator who creates and manages the daily vehicle movement schedule on a production   assigning wranglers, dispatching haulers, timing pickups and deliveries, and communicating vehicle arrival and departure times to the assistant director and transportation captain.
- [picture car fleet inventory](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-fleet-inventory): The picture car fleet inventory is the master list of every vehicle committed or under consideration for a production, typically maintained by the picture car coordinator.
- [picture car lighting package](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-lighting-package): A picture car lighting package refers to practical or additional lighting elements rigged on or around a picture car to supplement or replace the vehicle's factory lights for on-camera use.
- [picture car mechanic](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-mechanic): A picture car mechanic is a certified automotive technician hired by the production to maintain and repair picture vehicles throughout filming.
- [picture car or picture vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-or-picture-vehicle): A picture car or picture vehicle is any motor vehicle   automobile, motorcycle, truck, bus, or specialty vehicle   that appears on camera in a film, television program, commercial, music video, or other visual production.
- [picture car parking or staging layout](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-parking-or-staging-layout): Picture car parking or staging layout is the organized plan for positioning all vehicles in the picture car lot at the beginning of each shooting day.
- [picture car prep day](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-prep-day): A picture car prep day is a scheduled, paid production day dedicated to inspecting, detailing, dressing, rigging, and camera-testing picture vehicles before principal photography begins.
- [picture car tech scout](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/picture-car-tech-scout): A picture car tech scout is a pre-production location visit attended by the picture car coordinator, transportation captain, stunt coordinator (if applicable), and the director of photography to assess a filming location specifically for vehicle logistics.
- [police or law enforcement vehicle package](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/police-or-law-enforcement-vehicle-package): A police or law enforcement vehicle package is a fully dressed picture car representing a specific police department, era, and jurisdiction   complete with correct livery, light bar, push bumper, antenna configuration, and appropriate interior equipment.
- [pre-pickup inspection at Revolution](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/pre-pickup-inspection-at-revolution): A pre-pickup inspection at Revolution is the documentation process that every car owner should complete before a wrangler or hauler takes possession of their vehicle.
- [process trailer](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/process-trailer): A process trailer is a low, flat tow platform designed to safely carry a picture car   with actors inside performing   while the entire rig is towed through a location or in front of a greenscreen on stage.
- [production design vehicle reference](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/production-design-vehicle-reference): A production design vehicle reference is the visual bible prepared by the production designer and art director that defines the exact look, color, condition, and dressing of each picture car needed for the film.
- [qualified driver on a film set](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/qualified-driver-on-a-film-set): A qualified driver on a film set is a licensed, vetted professional who has been cleared to operate picture vehicles on or in transit to the production location.
- [ramp vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/ramp-vehicle): A ramp vehicle is a purpose-built or specially modified picture car used as a launching platform for another vehicle during a jump, launch, or airborne stunt.
- [remote-controlled (RC) picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/remote-controlled-rc-picture-car): A remote-controlled (RC) picture car is a full-size or scale vehicle modified with a radio-controlled drive-by-wire system that allows it to be operated from a safe distance without a driver inside.
- [Revolution.film picture car listing](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/revolution-film-picture-car-listing): A Revolution.film picture car listing is a vehicle profile created by a car owner on the Revolution.film platform that makes their vehicle discoverable and bookable by film, television, and commercial productions.
- [road lockoff or ITC (Intermittent Traffic Control)](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/road-lockoff-or-itc-intermittent-traffic-control): A road lockoff or ITC (Intermittent Traffic Control) is a permitted, coordinated road closure or traffic management plan that allows picture car sequences to be filmed safely on public streets.
- [rollover vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/rollover-vehicle): A rollover vehicle is a specially prepared picture car engineered to safely execute a controlled rollover stunt on camera.
- [run-of-show rental](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/run-of-show-rental): A run-of-show rental is an agreement where a picture car is booked and paid for across the full duration of a production   from the first prep day through the final wrap day   regardless of how many individual shooting days it is on camera.
- [safety bulletin compliance for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/safety-bulletin-compliance-for-picture-cars): Safety bulletin compliance for picture cars means adhering to the recognized safety guidelines published by bodies such as the CSATF (Contract Services Administration Trust Fund) that govern the use of camera cars, process trailers, camera rigging, chase sequences, and picture car stunts on professional productions.
- [set dressing for vehicles](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/set-dressing-for-vehicles): Set dressing for vehicles is the process of applying temporary interior and exterior modifications to a picture car to align it with the production's story, period, branding, or visual world.
- [side mount camera rig on a picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/side-mount-camera-rig-on-a-picture-car): A side mount camera rig on a picture car is a camera attachment system that positions the camera on the exterior side of the vehicle   typically at door or wheel-well height   to capture low-angle tracking shots running parallel to the vehicle's direction of travel.
- [special effects (SFX) technician in picture car work](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/special-effects-sfx-technician-in-picture-car-work): A special effects (SFX) technician working in picture car sequences is the crew member responsible for integrating practical on-set effects into vehicle scenes   including bullet hits, fire and smoke systems, rain bars, hydraulic tilts, controlled breakaway glass, and practical explosions.
- [speed bump or road surface inspection for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/speed-bump-or-road-surface-inspection-for-picture-cars): A speed bump or road surface inspection for picture cars is the pre-shoot evaluation of driving routes and surfaces performed by the stunt coordinator, transportation captain, and location department before any vehicle sequences are filmed.
- [storyboard for picture car sequences](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/storyboard-for-picture-car-sequences): A storyboard for picture car sequences is a visual pre-production document that illustrates every planned shot in a vehicle sequence   showing camera positions, vehicle movements, angles, and transitions frame by frame.
- [stunt car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/stunt-car): A stunt car is a picture vehicle   often a duplicate of the hero car   that has been specifically modified, reinforced, or prepared to safely perform physical stunts without risking damage to the hero vehicle or injury to crew.
- [stunt coordinator](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/stunt-coordinator): A stunt coordinator is the department head responsible for designing, planning, and supervising all stunt work on a production   including all vehicle-based action sequences.
- [stunt driver](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/stunt-driver): A stunt driver is a highly trained, specially insured driving professional who performs precision, high-speed, or otherwise dangerous vehicle maneuvers for film and television productions.
- [surveillance vehicle in film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/surveillance-vehicle-in-film-production): A surveillance vehicle in film production is a picture car dressed to represent a covert law enforcement or intelligence agency observation vehicle   typically a nondescript van, SUV, or sedan with tinted windows, minimal exterior markings, and optionally a dressed interior with monitoring equipment.
- [tail-slash or precision immobilization technique (PIT) in stunt driving](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/tail-slash-or-precision-immobilization-technique-pit-in-stunt-driving): A tail-slash or Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) in stunt driving is a controlled maneuver in which one vehicle makes contact with the rear quarter panel of another to cause a yaw rotation, spinning it out of its direction of travel.
- [Teamsters Local 399 Transport](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/teamsters-local-399-transport): Teamsters Local 399 Transport is the Los Angeles-based local of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that represents drivers, transportation coordinators, fleet managers, picture car coordinators, and wranglers working on film, television, and streaming productions in the greater Los Angeles area.
- [tilt-and-flip vehicle (T-bone rig)](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/tilt-and-flip-vehicle-t-bone-rig): A tilt-and-flip vehicle, also called a T-bone rig or cannon car, is a stunt vehicle fitted with a hidden pneumatic or explosive pipe cannon that fires downward on one side, forcing the vehicle to flip sideways on cue.
- [tow rig in film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/tow-rig-in-film-production): A tow rig in film production is the truck and trailer combination used to transport picture cars between prep facilities, storage lots, and filming locations.
- [tracking shot vehicle sequence](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/tracking-shot-vehicle-sequence): A tracking shot vehicle sequence is any filmed sequence in which the camera moves continuously alongside, behind, or ahead of a picture car while both the camera platform and the vehicle are in motion.
- [transportation captain](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/transportation-captain): A transportation captain is the crew leader responsible for overseeing all drivers, transportation logistics, and vehicle movements for a production   including picture car staging, cast vehicle scheduling, and equipment hauling.
- [U-Crane](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/u-crane): A U-Crane is a hydraulically stabilized camera crane system mounted to a vehicle, most commonly a large SUV or purpose-built platform vehicle.
- [union work in picture car production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/union-work-in-picture-car-production): Union work in picture car production refers to all transportation, wrangling, coordination, and driving services performed under a collective bargaining agreement   most commonly the Teamsters.
- [Unit Production Manager (UPM)](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/unit-production-manager-upm): A Unit Production Manager (UPM) is the production executive responsible for overseeing budgets, scheduling, logistics, and crew contracts on a film or television production.
- [vehicle detailer](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/vehicle-detailer): A vehicle detailer in film production is the crew member responsible for ensuring that picture cars are in pristine, camera-ready condition before each shooting day.
- [vehicle log or vehicle movement sheet](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/vehicle-log-or-vehicle-movement-sheet): A vehicle log or vehicle movement sheet is the daily paper or digital record maintained by the picture car department documenting every vehicle's pickup location, departure time, arrival time at set, on-camera usage, condition notes, and return details for each day of production.
- [vehicle rental agreement for film](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/vehicle-rental-agreement-for-film): A vehicle rental agreement for film is the legally binding contract between a car owner and a production company that defines the terms of renting a picture vehicle.
- [vehicle wrangler or handler](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/vehicle-wrangler-or-handler): A vehicle wrangler or handler is the on-set crew member assigned to deliver, drive, position, fuel, stage, and maintain picture cars throughout a filming day.
- [VFX vehicle or digital car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/vfx-vehicle-or-digital-car): A VFX vehicle or digital car is a computer-generated picture vehicle created by the visual effects department rather than using a real physical car.
- [vintage or classic car for film production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/vintage-or-classic-car-for-film-production): A vintage or classic car in film production is a period-appropriate vehicle, typically more than 25–30 years old, rented for its authentic historical appearance.
- [weekly rate for picture car rental](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/weekly-rate-for-picture-car-rental): A weekly rate is the price to rent a picture car for a continuous period of five to seven working days, typically at a cost equivalent to four or four-and-a-half daily rates rather than seven   providing a meaningful discount over booking individual days.
- [wetdown](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/wetdown): A wetdown is a practical technique used on exterior night shoots in which roads, sidewalks, and surrounding surfaces are deliberately saturated with water before filming to create reflective, glistening surfaces that catch and multiply light sources.
- [window mount camera rig](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/window-mount-camera-rig): A window mount camera rig is a bracket system that clamps to a vehicle's door frame or window channel to secure a camera at door height   pointing inward for close-up actor performances, outward for passing scenery, or rearward for following-vehicle shots.
- [wrap day for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/wrap-day-for-picture-cars): A wrap day for picture cars is the designated final day of a production when all vehicles are de-rigged, un-dressed, cleaned, documented, and returned to their respective owners or storage facilities.
- [wrap inspection for picture cars](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/wrap-inspection-for-picture-cars): A wrap inspection is the formal condition assessment performed on a picture car when it is returned to its owner at the conclusion of a production.
- [X-Games or extreme stunt vehicle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/x-games-or-extreme-stunt-vehicle): An extreme stunt vehicle   sometimes referenced in the industry as an X-Games style vehicle   is a picture car built or modified for high-impact, visually spectacular stunts that push beyond standard chase or action sequences.
- [yellow line hold](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/yellow-line-hold): A yellow line hold is the designated staging zone   typically marked with painted lines or cones at a specific distance from the set perimeter   where picture cars wait until the AD calls them onto set.
- [zero hero](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/zero-hero): A zero hero is a pristine, fully camera-ready duplicate of the hero car reserved exclusively for close-up and detail shots where the vehicle must look absolutely perfect   no rigging marks, rig holes, dust, or wear from active use.
- [zero-mileage or delivery-condition picture car](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/glossary/zero-mileage-or-delivery-condition-picture-car): A zero-mileage or delivery-condition picture car is a vehicle sourced directly from a dealership, manufacturer, or private owner in as-new, undriven condition for use in automotive advertising or a scene requiring a brand-new vehicle.

## Film locations glossary — full term list

- [Access agreement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/access-agreement): An access agreement is a short contract permitting a production onto land or through a property without granting the filming rights a full location agreement covers.
- [Additional insured](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/additional-insured): Additional insured is the status a production grants a property owner on its liability policy, so the owner is covered by the production's insurer for the period of the shoot.
- [Aerial filming permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/aerial-filming-permit): An aerial filming permit is the authorization required to shoot from a helicopter, drone, or other aircraft over a location.
- [Animal filming permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/animal-filming-permit): An animal filming permit is the authorization required to work with animals at a location, sitting alongside the welfare oversight productions arrange separately.
- [Appearance release](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/appearance-release): An appearance release is the signed consent a production obtains from a recognizable person who appears on camera but is not cast.
- [Backlot](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/backlot): A backlot is the studio-owned exterior area where permanent or semi-permanent street sets stand, from brownstone rows to small-town main streets.
- [Base camp](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/base-camp): Base camp is the off-set area where cast trailers, crew parking, catering, and production support vehicles are staged for a shooting day.
- [Blackout tenting](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/blackout-tenting): Blackout tenting is the practice of enclosing a location in opaque material so a daylight interior can be shot as night.
- [Cable ramp](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/cable-ramp): A cable ramp is the moulded cover laid over cable runs where crew or the public have to walk or drive across them.
- [Circus](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/circus): Circus is the British and European term for base camp: the parking and support area holding trailers, catering, and unit vehicles away from the shooting location.
- [Closed set](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/closed-set): A closed set is a location or stage restricted to essential personnel only, most often for intimate scenes, stunts, or work involving minors.
- [Community liaison](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/community-liaison): A community liaison is the person responsible for a production's relationship with the residents and businesses around a location.
- [Complaint log](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/complaint-log): A complaint log is the running record of every objection a production receives at a location, with the time, the complainant, the issue, and what was done.
- [Condition report](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/condition-report): A condition report is the documented state of a location before the production touches it, made up of photographs, video, and written notes covering surfaces, fixtures, landscaping, and existing damage.
- [Cooperative location](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/cooperative-location): A cooperative location is one whose owner, neighbors, and local authority all actively want the production there, often because of the fee, the publicity, or a standing relationship.
- [Cover set](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/cover-set): A cover set is an interior location or stage held in reserve so the unit has somewhere to shoot if weather kills an exterior.
- [Crew parking](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/crew-parking): Crew parking is the secured area where the crew's personal vehicles are left for a shooting day, usually at or beside base camp.
- [Crowd control](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/crowd-control): Crowd control is the management of onlookers who gather around a location, using barricades, perimeter staff, sightline screening, and sometimes police support.
- [Curfew](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/curfew): A curfew is the time by which filming activity at a location has to stop, set by the permit, the location agreement, or local noise law.
- [Damage deposit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/damage-deposit): A damage deposit is money a production leaves with a property owner as security against damage at a location, refunded after an accepted final walkthrough.
- [Day-for-night](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/day-for-night): Day-for-night is shooting in daylight and treating the result as night, through underexposure, filtration, grading, and careful framing that keeps the sky out.
- [Depiction release](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/depiction-release): A depiction release is permission to portray a real, identifiable place, business, or property on screen in a particular way, going beyond the right to film there.
- [Dining tent](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/dining-tent): A dining tent is the covered area at base camp where the unit eats, sized to the crew count and often the largest single structure the locations department has to site.
- [Distant location](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/distant-location): A distant location is one far enough from the production's home base that crew must be housed and fed away overnight rather than traveling in daily.
- [Door knock](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/door-knock): A door knock is the in-person visit a locations team makes to every affected neighbor before filming, explaining what will happen, when, and who to call.
- [Doubling](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/doubling): Doubling is using one place to stand in for another on screen, such as Atlanta playing New York or a Toronto street playing Chicago.
- [Dressing the location](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/dressing-the-location): Dressing the location is the art department's alteration of a practical place to match the story: paint, signage, set dressing, greens, period-correct details, and the removal of anything modern.
- [Drone permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/drone-permit): A drone permit is the authorization for unmanned aerial filming at a location, which in the United States means a certificated remote pilot under FAA Part 107 plus airspace authorization where the location sits in controlled airspace.
- [Easement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/easement): An easement is a legal right for someone other than the owner to use part of a property, such as a utility company's access strip or a neighbor's right to cross a driveway.
- [Encroachment permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/encroachment-permit): An encroachment permit authorises a production to occupy or obstruct part of the public right of way: a sidewalk, a parking lane, a verge, or the airspace above it.
- [Extras holding](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/extras-holding): Extras holding is the area where background performers wait, change, and eat between calls, sized to the day's numbers and kept separate from crew and cast areas.
- [Film office](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/film-office): A film office is the public body that promotes filming in a jurisdiction and, in many places, issues or coordinates the permits for it.
- [Film permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/film-permit): A film permit is the authorization from a local authority to film at a specific place, on specific dates, under specific conditions.
- [Filming notice](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/filming-notice): A filming notice is the posted sign at a location's perimeter stating that filming is in progress and that entering the area may mean appearing on camera.
- [Fire safety officer](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/fire-safety-officer): A fire safety officer is the fire department representative assigned to a location where the production's activity carries fire risk: pyrotechnics, open flame, smoke, heaters, or heavy set builds in an enclosed space.
- [Firearms permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/firearms-permit): A firearms permit is the authorization to have weapons, blanks, or replicas at a location, normally requiring a licensed armourer, police notification, and often an officer in attendance.
- [Footprint](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/footprint): A footprint is the total physical area a production occupies at a location, counting the set, the equipment, the trucks, base camp, and parking.
- [Generator placement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/generator-placement): Generator placement is where the production's power plant sits relative to the set, chosen to balance cable distance against noise and exhaust.
- [Good neighbor policy](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/good-neighbor-policy): A good neighbor policy is the written commitment a production makes to the community around a location: notification periods, quiet hours, parking behavior, litter, generator placement, and a named contact for complaints.
- [Greens](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/greens): Greens are the living and artificial plants used to dress a location, and the greensman department that supplies, installs, and maintains them.
- [Hold harmless agreement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/hold-harmless-agreement): A hold harmless agreement is the clause by which a production accepts responsibility for claims arising from its activity at a location, so the property owner is not left carrying them.
- [Holding area](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/holding-area): A holding area is any place where people or vehicles wait out of shot: background performers, picture cars, animals, or crew whose department is not currently working.
- [Honeywagon](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/honeywagon): A honeywagon is the trailer providing restrooms and small changing rooms at a location, and often the first vehicle a location has to be able to physically accommodate.
- [Hostile location](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/hostile-location): A hostile location is one where the owner, the neighbors, the authority, or the public actively oppose the production being there.
- [House power tie-in](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/house-power-tie-in): A house power tie-in is drawing electrical supply from a location's existing service instead of running generators, done by a licensed electrician and usually with the property owner's and sometimes the utility's consent.
- [Indemnification](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/indemnification): Indemnification is the contractual promise to cover another party's losses, and in a location agreement it is normally the production indemnifying the owner against claims arising from filming.
- [Ingress and egress](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/ingress-and-egress): Ingress and egress are the routes in and out of a location for vehicles, equipment, and people.
- [Lane closure](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/lane-closure): A lane closure is the permitted removal of one or more traffic lanes from public use, for equipment, parking, or the shot itself.
- [Load-in and load-out](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/load-in-and-load-out): Load-in and load-out are the movements of equipment into and out of a location before and after shooting.
- [Location agreement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/location-agreement): A location agreement is the contract between a production and a property owner permitting filming at a place on defined dates for a defined fee.
- [Location fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/location-fee): A location fee is the payment to a property owner for the right to film at their premises, usually quoted per day and separately for prep, shoot, and strike days.
- [Location package](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/location-package): A location package is the presentation a locations team assembles for each candidate place: stills, panoramas, plans, sun paths, access notes, power availability, parking, restrictions, and cost.
- [Location release](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/location-release): A location release is the signed permission from a property owner allowing the production to film and to exploit the resulting footage, sometimes used as a lighter alternative to a full location agreement.
- [Location scouting](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/location-scouting): Location scouting is the search for places that satisfy the script, the schedule, the budget, and the practical needs of a unit.
- [Lockup](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/lockup): A lockup is a position held by a crew member to stop people, traffic, or noise entering the shot during a take.
- [Minor work permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/minor-work-permit): A minor work permit is the authorization required to have a child performer working at a location, governed by state or national child labor rules rather than by the film permit.
- [Monitor](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/monitor): A monitor is the official assigned by a permitting authority to attend a location and confirm the production is complying with its permit conditions.
- [Monitor fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/monitor-fee): A monitor fee is the charge for a permit monitor, police officer, fire safety officer, or other required official attending a location, usually billed at an hourly rate with a minimum call.
- [Nearby location](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/nearby-location): A nearby location is one close enough to the production's base that crew travel in daily and no overnight accommodation is required, the opposite of a distant location.
- [Neighborhood notification](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/neighborhood-notification): Neighborhood notification is the formal advance warning given to residents and businesses around a location, describing dates, hours, activity, parking impact, and a contact for problems.
- [Night filming permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/night-filming-permit): A night filming permit is the authorization to work at a location outside normal daytime hours, usually with tighter conditions on noise, lighting, generator placement, and vehicle movements.
- [Noise variance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/noise-variance): A noise variance is permission to exceed the local noise limits at a location, typically needed for night work, generators, effects, or amplified playback.
- [Objection](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/objection): An objection is a formal refusal or complaint from a resident, business, or authority that blocks or restricts filming at a location.
- [Permit fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/permit-fee): A permit fee is the charge levied by a permitting authority for processing and issuing a film permit, distinct from the monitor and officer costs that may come with it.
- [Permit rider](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/permit-rider): A permit rider is an addition or amendment to an issued film permit, covering a change of date, an added location, extended hours, or newly added activity such as effects or a road closure.
- [Police detail](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/police-detail): A police detail is the assignment of officers to a location to manage traffic, crowds, road closures, or firearms and effects work.
- [Posting](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/posting): Posting is the placing of temporary no-parking signs along a street in advance of a shoot, so the curb is clear for equipment and unit vehicles on the day.
- [Practical location](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/practical-location): A practical location is a real existing place used for filming, as opposed to a set built on a stage or standing on a backlot.
- [Prep and strike days](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/prep-and-strike-days): Prep and strike days are the days a production occupies a location before and after shooting, to dress, rig, and then restore it.
- [Punch list](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/punch-list): A punch list is the itemized set of outstanding items a property owner identifies at the wrap walkthrough, from a scuffed skirting board to replanting a border.
- [Pyrotechnics permit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/pyrotechnics-permit): A pyrotechnics permit is the authorization for explosive or flame effects at a location, issued by the fire authority and usually requiring a licensed pyrotechnician, a specific effects plan, and an on-site fire safety officer.
- [Quiet hours](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/quiet-hours): Quiet hours are the periods during which a location's noise-generating activity has to stop or drop below a set level, fixed by permit condition, local ordinance, or the agreement with neighbors.
- [Recce](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/recce): A recce is the British term for a location visit, covering everything from a first look to the full technical survey that walks the department heads through the site.
- [Restoration](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/restoration): Restoration is returning a location to the condition recorded before the production arrived, covering repainting, replanting, repairs, cleaning, and the removal of everything brought in.
- [Right of entry](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/right-of-entry): A right of entry is permission for the production to come onto land or premises for a defined purpose and period, granted by whoever controls it.
- [Right of way](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/right-of-way): The right of way is the public land a road, footpath, or verge occupies, including the airspace above it.
- [Road closure](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/road-closure): A road closure is the permitted removal of a public road from traffic for filming, requiring a traffic management plan, signage, diversions, certified personnel, and usually police support.
- [Scout photos](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/scout-photos): Scout photos are the stills and panoramas a locations team shoots at a candidate place, taken to answer questions rather than to look attractive.
- [Shuttle](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/shuttle): A shuttle is the vehicle service moving crew, cast, and background performers between crew parking, base camp, and set when they are not within walking distance.
- [Sight lines](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/sight-lines): Sight lines are what the camera can and cannot see from a given position at a location, and by extension what the public can see of the set.
- [Signage clearance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/signage-clearance): Signage clearance is confirming that visible shopfronts, brand names, posters, and logos at a location can appear on screen, or arranging for them to be covered, removed, or replaced.
- [Signature survey](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/signature-survey): A signature survey is the canvass of residents and businesses whose consent a permitting authority requires before issuing a permit, most often for night work, road closures, or repeat filming.
- [Site plan](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/site-plan): A site plan is the drawing submitted with a permit application showing where the production's vehicles, equipment, base camp, and activity will sit at a location, usually to scale on a street layout.
- [Soundstage](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/soundstage): A soundstage is a purpose-built, acoustically treated shooting space with permanent power, rigging grid, and controlled access.
- [Staging area](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/staging-area): A staging area is the space where vehicles and equipment wait before moving to a location, used when the location itself cannot hold the whole unit at once.
- [Standing set](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/standing-set): A standing set is a constructed set kept intact across a production or a series rather than struck after use, whether on a stage, a backlot, or inside a practical location.
- [Star wagon](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/star-wagon): A star wagon is a trailer divided into private rooms for principal cast, used at base camp where a full motorhome is impractical or unnecessary.
- [Studio build](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/studio-build): A studio build is constructing a set on a stage instead of shooting a practical location, chosen for control over light, sound, weather, hours, and access.
- [Studio zone](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/studio-zone): The studio zone is a defined radius around a production center inside which work counts as local and no distant-location entitlements apply.
- [Sun path](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/sun-path): A sun path is the record of where the sun will be at a location through the shooting day, with times for sunrise, sunset, and the angles in between.
- [Tech scout](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/tech-scout): A tech scout is the final location visit before shooting, attended by the department heads, where the plan is fixed: camera positions, lighting, power, rigging, parking, access, safety, and the order of the day.
- [Third-party materials clearance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/third-party-materials-clearance): Third-party materials clearance is confirming that artwork, photographs, music, signage, or other copyrighted material visible or audible at a location can be used.
- [Trademark clearance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/trademark-clearance): Trademark clearance is establishing whether brand names and logos visible at a location may appear on screen, and covering, removing, or replacing them where they may not.
- [Traffic control](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/traffic-control): Traffic control is the management of vehicle movement around a location, ranging from a couple of certified flaggers to a full traffic management plan with diversions and police support.
- [Truck line](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/truck-line): The truck line is the arrangement of production vehicles along a curb or lot at a location, ordered so departments can work and so the unit can leave in sequence.
- [Two-banger](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/two-banger): A two-banger is a trailer split into two private rooms, the smaller sibling of the three-banger, used for cast and sometimes for key crew at base camp.
- [Unit base](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/unit-base): Unit base is the British term for base camp: the site holding unit vehicles, trailers, catering, and crew parking away from the shooting location.
- [Walkthrough](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/walkthrough): A walkthrough is the joint inspection of a location by the production and the property owner, done before the production takes possession and again at wrap.
- [Weather cover](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/weather-cover): Weather cover is the plan for what the unit shoots if weather makes the scheduled exterior impossible, usually an interior cover set held ready for the purpose.
- [Wrap-out](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-locations/wrap-out): Wrap-out is the process of closing a location down: striking dressing and rigging, removing equipment and vehicles, cleaning, restoring, completing the walkthrough, and settling the punch list.

## Film accounting glossary — full term list

- [Above-the-line](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/above-the-line): Above-the-line (ATL) is the section of a film budget covering the creative talent whose deals are negotiated before production starts: story and rights, writers, producers, the director, and principal cast.
- [Account code](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/account-code): An account code is the number a production's chart of accounts assigns to each category of spending, so every cost lands in a consistent place on the budget and cost report.
- [Accounts payable](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/accounts-payable): Accounts payable (AP) is the money a production owes to vendors, crew, and service providers that has been invoiced but not yet paid.
- [Accounts receivable](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/accounts-receivable): Accounts receivable (AR) is money owed to the production company that has not yet been collected, such as a financier's funding installment, an unpaid tax credit claim, or a rebill to another production.
- [Accrual](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/accrual): An accrual is a cost recorded in the period when it was incurred rather than when it is actually paid.
- [Actuals](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/actuals): Actuals are the real, documented costs a production has incurred to date, as opposed to the estimates in the budget.
- [Adjusted gross participation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/adjusted-gross-participation): Adjusted gross participation is a profit deal in which a participant is paid from gross receipts after a defined set of deductions, but before the full studio overhead and interest load applied to net profits.
- [Advance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/advance): An advance is money paid to a production or rights holder up front against future revenue that has not yet been earned.
- [Aggregate cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/aggregate-cost): Aggregate cost is the total spend on a title across every phase and entity, development through delivery, regardless of which company or budget it was booked in.
- [Allocation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/allocation): An allocation is the split of a shared cost across the accounts, episodes, or productions that benefited from it.
- [Amortization](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/amortization): Amortization is the spreading of a cost across the episodes, seasons, or revenue periods it benefits instead of charging it all to one place.
- [Ancillary revenue](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/ancillary-revenue): Ancillary revenue is income a title earns outside its primary theatrical or first-window release, including home entertainment, television licensing, streaming, airline and hotel rights, music, merchandising, and format sales.
- [Approved budget](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/approved-budget): The approved budget is the version of the budget that the financier, studio, or completion guarantor has formally signed off on and against which all performance is measured.
- [Assistant production accountant](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/assistant-production-accountant): An assistant production accountant supports the production accountant by processing purchase orders, coding invoices, reconciling petty cash, entering timecards, and preparing the paperwork behind the weekly cost report.
- [Audit trail](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/audit-trail): An audit trail is the unbroken documentary chain behind a cost: the purchase order, the approval, the invoice, the proof of payment, and the account it was coded to.
- [Automated clearing house](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/automated-clearing-house): Automated clearing house (ACH) is the U.S. bank network used to move money electronically between accounts, and it is how most productions now pay crew and vendors instead of cutting paper checks.
- [Backend](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/backend): Backend is the share of a title's revenue paid to a participant after release, as opposed to the fixed fee paid up front.
- [Bank reconciliation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/bank-reconciliation): A bank reconciliation is the monthly exercise of matching the production's own ledger to the bank statement and explaining every difference.
- [Bank signatory](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/bank-signatory): A bank signatory is a person authorized to sign checks or release payments from the production's account, and the signatory scheme is one of a production's core financial controls.
- [Below-the-line](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/below-the-line): Below-the-line (BTL) is the section of the budget covering the technical and logistical cost of actually making the picture: crew, equipment, locations, transportation and picture cars, construction, post-production, and insurance.
- [Bid](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/bid): A bid is a vendor's written price for a defined scope of work or rental, used by the production to budget the line and to demonstrate competitive pricing.
- [Bond fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/bond-fee): A bond fee is what a production pays a completion guarantor to guarantee delivery of the finished picture, customarily quoted as a percentage of the budget with a portion rebated if the bond is never called.
- [Box rental](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/box-rental): A box rental is a weekly payment to a crew member for the use of their personally owned tools, kit, or supplies on the production.
- [Break-even](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/break-even): Break-even is the point at which a title's revenue, as measured by a specific contractual definition, equals the cost it has to recover before profit participants are paid.
- [Bridge financing](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/bridge-financing): Bridge financing is short-term borrowing that covers a timing gap between when a production needs cash and when committed money actually arrives.
- [Budget](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/budget): A production budget is the detailed, account-by-account estimate of what a picture will cost, organized above-the-line, below-the-line, and post, and summarized on a top sheet.
- [Burn rate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/burn-rate): Burn rate is how fast a production is spending, usually expressed per shooting day or per week.
- [Buyout](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/buyout): A buyout is a single payment that covers a defined set of rights or overtime obligations in advance, instead of paying each use or hour separately.
- [Capitalized cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/capitalized-cost): A capitalized cost is spending recorded as an asset on the balance sheet rather than expensed immediately, because it produces value over time.
- [Cash flow schedule](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/cash-flow-schedule): A cash flow schedule maps when a production will actually need money, week by week, against when funding will arrive from each source.
- [Cash position](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/cash-position): Cash position is how much money the production actually has available right now, after clearing checks, outstanding commitments, and pending payroll.
- [Chart of accounts](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/chart-of-accounts): A chart of accounts is the numbered list of every account a production can code a cost to, and it is the backbone of the whole accounting system.
- [Check request](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/check-request): A check request is the internal form that starts a payment: it identifies the payee, the amount, the account code, the supporting documentation, and the approvals.
- [Co-production](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/co-production): A co-production is a picture made jointly by companies in two or more countries, usually structured to qualify for incentives and funding in each.
- [Collection account management](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/collection-account-management): Collection account management (CAM) is the use of an independent third party to receive a title's revenue and distribute it according to an agreed waterfall.
- [Commitment](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/commitment): A commitment is money the production has contractually promised but not yet been invoiced for, most often an open purchase order.
- [Completion bond](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/completion-bond): A completion bond is a guarantee, issued by a completion guarantor, that the picture will be delivered on schedule and to specification or the guarantor will fund the shortfall or repay the financiers.
- [Completion guarantor](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/completion-guarantor): A completion guarantor is the company that issues a completion bond and monitors the production to protect its exposure.
- [Contingency](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/contingency): Contingency is a budgeted reserve, customarily around ten percent of the below-the-line and post total on an independent film, held against the unforeseen.
- [Controller or comptroller](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/controller-or-comptroller): A controller (comptroller in some studio and public-sector structures) is the senior accounting officer above the production accountant, responsible for policy, consolidated reporting, and financial controls across one or more productions.
- [Cost report](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/cost-report): The cost report is film accounting's central document: a weekly, account-by-account comparison of the approved budget against actuals to date, open commitments, and the estimate to complete, producing an estimated final cost and a variance for every line.
- [Cost to complete](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/cost-to-complete): Cost to complete is the estimate of everything still left to spend from today through delivery, and it is the judgment call at the heart of the cost report.
- [Credit memo](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/credit-memo): A credit memo is a vendor document reducing an amount previously invoiced, issued for a return, an overcharge, a damage adjustment, or a rental that was cut short.
- [Cross-collateralization](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/cross-collateralization): Cross-collateralization is the practice of offsetting losses in one territory, medium, or title against profits in another before calculating what a participant is owed.
- [Currency hedge](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/currency-hedge): A currency hedge is a financial contract, usually a forward or an option, that locks in an exchange rate so a production shooting abroad knows what its foreign spend will cost in its home currency.
- [Cut-off date](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/cut-off-date): A cut-off date is the point at which the books close for a reporting period, so everything after it falls into the next cost report.
- [Day-out-of-days](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/day-out-of-days): A day-out-of-days is the schedule report showing exactly which days each cast member, stunt performer, vehicle, or animal works, holds, travels, or drops.
- [Deal memo](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/deal-memo): A deal memo is the short written agreement setting a crew member's or vendor's rate, term, guaranteed hours, box rental, kit fee, and any overtime or buyout terms.
- [Deferment](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/deferment): A deferment is compensation a participant agrees to postpone, taking a reduced or zero fee during production in exchange for payment later out of revenue or at a defined trigger.
- [Deficit financing](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/deficit-financing): Deficit financing is the television model in which a studio produces a series for a license fee that is less than the cost of production, absorbing the shortfall in expectation of recouping through downstream sales.
- [Deliverables cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/deliverables-cost): Deliverables cost is the budget for everything a distributor contractually requires at delivery beyond the finished picture itself: masters and versions, textless elements, M&E audio, captions and subtitles, dubbing scripts, artwork, chain-of-title documents, errors and omissions insurance, and music cue sheets.
- [Depreciation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/depreciation): Depreciation is the accounting recognition that a physical asset loses value over its useful life, charged as an expense across the years the asset is used.
- [Detail page](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/detail-page): A detail page is the part of a budget that shows the individual assumptions behind a single account: the rate, the quantity, the number of weeks, and the fringe treatment for each line.
- [Development costs](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/development-costs): Development costs are everything spent before a picture is greenlit: option payments, writer fees, research, script clearance, legal work, and packaging expenses.
- [Direct cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/direct-cost): A direct cost is a cost attributable to one specific production, department, or account without any allocation: a camera operator's wages, a specific vehicle rental, one location fee.
- [Distribution fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/distribution-fee): A distribution fee is the percentage a distributor retains from gross receipts as its compensation before expenses and participations are calculated.
- [Distributor advance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/distributor-advance): A distributor advance is money paid by a distributor before delivery, in exchange for rights, that the distributor recoups from the receipts of that release.
- [Double-entry bookkeeping](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/double-entry-bookkeeping): Double-entry bookkeeping is the principle that every transaction is recorded twice, as a debit in one account and an equal credit in another, so the books always balance.
- [Drawdown](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/drawdown): A drawdown is a request that a financier or lender release the next installment of committed funds into the production account, supported by the cash flow schedule and the current cost report.
- [Employer identification number](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/employer-identification-number): An employer identification number (EIN) is the federal tax ID that identifies a production company, or a loan-out corporation, to the IRS.
- [Employer of record](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/employer-of-record): The employer of record is the entity legally responsible for a worker's wages, tax withholding, workers' compensation, and employment filings.
- [Encumbrance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/encumbrance): An encumbrance is an amount of budget formally set aside against a known future obligation, so the money cannot be spent twice.
- [Equity financing](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/equity-financing): Equity financing is money invested in a production in exchange for an ownership share of the picture and a position in the revenue waterfall, rather than a loan to be repaid with interest.
- [Escrow account](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/escrow-account): An escrow account is a restricted bank account held by a neutral party and released only when defined conditions are met.
- [Estimate to complete](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/estimate-to-complete): The estimate to complete (ETC) is the forecast of remaining spend from the cut-off date through delivery, built department by department rather than derived by subtracting actuals from budget.
- [Estimated final cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/estimated-final-cost): Estimated final cost (EFC) is what the picture is now projected to cost in total: actuals to date, plus open commitments, plus the estimate to complete.
- [Exchange rate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/exchange-rate): An exchange rate is the price of one currency in another, and on any cross-border production it is a live cost driver rather than a footnote.
- [Expenditure credit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/expenditure-credit): An expenditure credit is an incentive structured as a taxable credit calculated on qualifying production spend, paid directly to the production company rather than sold to a third party.
- [Expense report](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/expense-report): An expense report is the itemized claim a crew member or producer submits for out-of-pocket costs, with receipts, account codes, and an approval.
- [FICA](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/fica): FICA is the U.S. federal payroll tax funding Social Security and Medicare, split between employee and employer, and the employer half is a real budget cost inside the fringe rate.
- [Film accounting](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/film-accounting): Film accounting, also called production accounting, is the practice of budgeting, tracking, controlling, and reporting the money on a film or television production.
- [Final cost report](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/final-cost-report): The final cost report is the closing statement of what the picture actually cost, issued after wrap once every invoice, residual accrual, and reconciliation is settled.
- [Financing plan](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/financing-plan): A financing plan is the document showing where every dollar of the budget is coming from: equity, debt, presales, tax incentives, grants, deferments, and gap.
- [First-dollar gross](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/first-dollar-gross): First-dollar gross is the strongest form of profit participation: the participant is paid a percentage of gross receipts from the first dollar received, with almost no deductions taken first.
- [Fiscal period](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/fiscal-period): A fiscal period is the accounting window a report covers, whether a production week, a month, or a company's financial year.
- [Fixed fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/fixed-fee): A fixed fee is a set amount paid for a defined scope regardless of hours worked or units used, common for above-the-line talent, post-production packages, and some vendor deals.
- [Flat deal](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/flat-deal): A flat deal pays a crew member or vendor one weekly or daily rate covering all hours worked, with no separate overtime.
- [Float](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/float): A float is the fixed sum of cash advanced to a department or individual to spend and account for, most often as petty cash.
- [Force majeure claim](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/force-majeure-claim): A force majeure claim covers costs caused by an event outside anyone's control that suspends or delays production: extreme weather, a natural disaster, a public health order, or the death of a principal.
- [Forecast](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/forecast): A forecast is a forward-looking estimate of cost, cash, or revenue, as opposed to a record of what has happened.
- [Fringe benefits](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/fringe-benefits): Fringe benefits, or fringes, are the employer-paid costs that attach to wages: payroll taxes, union pension, health and welfare, vacation and holiday pay, and workers' compensation.
- [Fringe rate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/fringe-rate): A fringe rate is the percentage applied to a category of wages to estimate the employer's total burden on top of them.
- [FUTA and SUTA](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/futa-and-suta): FUTA and SUTA are the federal and state unemployment insurance taxes an employer pays on wages, and both are employer-only costs inside the fringe rate.
- [GAAP](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/gaap): GAAP is generally accepted accounting principles, the U.S. standards that govern how companies recognize revenue and cost in audited financial statements.
- [Gap financing](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/gap-financing): Gap financing is a loan that covers the part of a budget not already backed by presales or incentives, secured against the unsold territories' estimated future value.
- [General ledger](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/general-ledger): The general ledger is the complete record of every transaction a production has posted, organized by account, and the source from which the cost report is built.
- [GL code](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/gl-code): A GL code is the specific general ledger account number a cost is posted to, taken from the chart of accounts.
- [Golden time](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/golden-time): Golden time is the premium overtime rate, often double time or higher, that applies once a crew member has worked beyond a defined number of hours in a day under their union agreement.
- [Grant](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/grant): A grant is non-repayable funding awarded to a production by a film agency, regional fund, cultural body, or foundation, usually against defined cultural, economic, or local-spend criteria.
- [Gross box office](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/gross-box-office): Gross box office is total ticket revenue at the theater before the exhibitor's share is deducted, and it is the number reported publicly.
- [Gross participation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/gross-participation): Gross participation is a backend deal calculated on gross receipts with limited deductions, ranking above adjusted gross and far above net profits in value.
- [Gross receipts](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/gross-receipts): Gross receipts are the total revenues actually received by the distributor from all sources for a title, including film rental, home entertainment, television, and streaming licenses, before deducting the distribution fee and expenses.
- [Hard cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/hard-cost): A hard cost is money that actually leaves the production account for goods, services, and labor, as distinct from soft money like tax credits, deferments, and contributed services that reduce the cash requirement without being spent.
- [Health and welfare](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/health-and-welfare): Health and welfare (H&W) is the employer contribution to a union member's medical and benefit plan, usually calculated as a fixed dollar amount per hour or per day worked rather than as a percentage of wages.
- [Hiatus](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/hiatus): A hiatus is a planned suspension of production, typical between television seasons or across a holiday, during which most crew come off payroll but certain costs continue.
- [Holdback](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/holdback): A holdback is money withheld from a payment until a condition is satisfied, most often a percentage of a vendor's or producer's fee retained until delivery is accepted.
- [Hot costs](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/hot-costs): Hot costs are the daily report of what yesterday's shooting actually cost in the volatile, schedule-driven categories: crew overtime, meal penalties, extras, additional equipment, and unplanned vehicle or transportation spend.
- [Hourly rate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/hourly-rate): An hourly rate is the base pay per hour from which straight time, overtime, and golden time are all calculated, and under union agreements it is derived from the negotiated weekly scale.
- [Housing allowance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/housing-allowance): A housing allowance is a payment to a crew member on distant location to cover lodging, either instead of production-arranged accommodation or on top of per diem.
- [Hurdle rate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/hurdle-rate): A hurdle rate is the return an investor must receive before money begins flowing to the next position in the waterfall.
- [IATSE fringes](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/iatse-fringes): IATSE fringes are the employer contributions required under International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees agreements for below-the-line crew, principally pension, health, annuity, and vacation and holiday pay.
- [Idle time](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/idle-time): Idle time is paid time when a crew member or asset is on the clock but not productive: a driver on standby, a picture car staged and unused, a unit waiting on weather.
- [Imputed income](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/imputed-income): Imputed income is the value of a non-cash benefit that has to be treated as taxable wages, such as personal use of a production vehicle, certain travel for a companion, or gifts above a de minimis threshold.
- [In-kind contribution](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/in-kind-contribution): An in-kind contribution is goods or services provided to a production at no charge or below market value, such as a donated location, a loaned vehicle, or a promotional partner's product.
- [Incentive](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/incentive): A production incentive is a government program that reduces the net cost of shooting in a jurisdiction, delivered as a refundable or transferable tax credit, a cash rebate, a grant, or an expenditure credit.
- [Independent contractor](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/independent-contractor): An independent contractor is a worker paid without employment withholding and reported on a 1099 rather than a W-2, appropriate only where the working relationship genuinely lacks the control that defines employment.
- [Indirect cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/indirect-cost): An indirect cost is a cost that benefits more than one department, episode, or production and therefore has to be allocated rather than charged directly.
- [Insurance certificate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/insurance-certificate): An insurance certificate is the document evidencing that the production's coverage is in force and, where required, naming a vendor or location owner as additional insured or loss payee.
- [Interest expense](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/interest-expense): Interest expense is the cost of borrowed money in the budget: production loans, gap financing, bridge loans against tax credits, and any discounting of presale contracts.
- [Interim financing](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/interim-financing): Interim financing is borrowing used to fund production against money already committed but not yet received, most often presale contracts and incentive claims.
- [Internal controls](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/internal-controls): Internal controls are the procedures that keep a production's money where it belongs: separation of duties, dual signatures above a threshold, purchase orders before commitment, matched invoices before payment, independent bank reconciliation, and verified vendor bank details.
- [Interparty agreement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/interparty-agreement): An interparty agreement is the contract among a production's financiers, lender, sales agent, completion guarantor, and collection agent that establishes whose rights rank where and how money flows.
- [Invoice](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/invoice): An invoice is a vendor's formal demand for payment, and in production accounting it is only payable once it has been matched to an approved purchase order and evidence of receipt.
- [Job number](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/job-number): A job number is the identifier assigned to a production, episode, or commercial spot so that costs can be tracked separately when a company has more than one project running.
- [Joint venture](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/joint-venture): A joint venture is a shared entity two or more companies form to produce a title together, with contributions, control, and revenue split by agreement.
- [Journal entry](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/journal-entry): A journal entry is a manual posting to the general ledger, used to record accruals, reclassify miscoded costs, allocate shared expenses, or correct an error.
- [Jurisdiction](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/jurisdiction): In incentive terms, a jurisdiction is the state, province, or country whose program a production is claiming under, and each one sets its own rules for qualifying spend, labor residency, minimum spend, caps, and audit.
- [Kit fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/kit-fee): A kit fee is a payment to a crew member for supplying their own consumables and small equipment, common for hair, makeup, sound, and script departments.
- [Labor burden](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/labor-burden): Labor burden is the total employer cost of employing someone beyond their gross wage: payroll taxes, union pension and health, vacation and holiday, workers' compensation, and payroll company fees.
- [Letter of credit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/letter-of-credit): A letter of credit is a bank's undertaking to pay a beneficiary if defined conditions are met, used in production as security for a location, a foreign vendor, a completion obligation, or a residuals reserve.
- [Line item](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/line-item): A line item is a single row in the budget or cost report, representing one specific cost with its own account code, rate, quantity, and total.
- [Line producer](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/line-producer): A line producer is the person responsible for delivering the physical production on budget, and the production accountant's primary partner.
- [Loan-out company](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/loan-out-company): A loan-out company is a corporation an individual forms to contract out their own services, so the production engages the company rather than the person.
- [Local hire](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/local-hire): A local hire is a crew member engaged in the shooting jurisdiction who does not require travel, housing, or per diem, and who usually counts as qualifying labor for incentive purposes.
- [Locked budget](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/locked-budget): A locked budget is the approved version that is frozen as the measurement baseline, so subsequent changes are tracked as variances or formal amendments rather than absorbed by re-typing the budget.
- [Loss and damage](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/loss-and-damage): Loss and damage (L&D) is the budget line and the process for equipment, vehicles, locations, and property damaged or lost during production.
- [Manual check](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/manual-check): A manual check is a payment issued outside the normal payroll or accounts payable run, cut on the spot for an urgent need such as a same-day location fee or a crew member's missed wages.
- [Materiality](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/materiality): Materiality is the threshold above which an error or omission would actually change a reader's decision, and it is what stops accounting from spending a day on a twelve-dollar discrepancy.
- [Meal penalty](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/meal-penalty): A meal penalty is a payment owed when a crew member is not given a meal break within the interval their union agreement requires, and it accrues in escalating increments the longer the violation runs.
- [Minimum guarantee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/minimum-guarantee): A minimum guarantee (MG) is the floor amount a licensee or distributor commits to pay for rights in a territory, recoupable from that territory's receipts.
- [Monetization](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/monetization): Monetization is converting an earned tax credit into cash, either by selling a transferable credit to a taxpayer with liability in that jurisdiction, or by borrowing against a refundable credit while waiting for the government to pay.
- [Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/motion-picture-industry-pension-and-health-plans): The Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans (MPI) administer the pension, individual account, and health benefits for union crew working under IATSE and Basic Agreement contracts in the U.S.
- [Multi-currency budgeting](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/multi-currency-budgeting): Multi-currency budgeting is building and reporting a budget in more than one currency, necessary whenever a production spends locally in a jurisdiction other than the one financing it.
- [Negative cost](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/negative-cost): Negative cost is the total certified cost of producing the finished picture, from development through delivery of the answer print or its digital equivalent, excluding distribution and marketing.
- [Negative pickup](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/negative-pickup): A negative pickup is a deal in which a distributor commits in advance to acquire a completed picture for a fixed price on delivery, and the producer borrows against that commitment to fund production.
- [Net participation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/net-participation): Net participation is a backend deal paid only after the distributor has recovered its fee, its distribution expenses, the negative cost, interest, overhead, and any prior participations.
- [Net profits](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/net-profits): Net profits are what remains of a title's gross receipts after every contractual deduction, and the definition runs for pages precisely because each clause moves the finish line.
- [Non-qualified spend](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/non-qualified-spend): Non-qualified spend is production cost that does not count toward an incentive claim, because of where it was incurred, what it was for, or who was paid.
- [Nonresident withholding](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/nonresident-withholding): Nonresident withholding is tax a production must deduct and remit when paying an individual or company that is not resident in the paying jurisdiction, common for foreign talent and for loan-outs working across state lines.
- [Off-cycle payroll](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/off-cycle-payroll): An off-cycle payroll is a run processed outside the regular weekly schedule to correct an error, pay a missed timecard, or meet a same-day obligation.
- [Off-production costs](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/off-production-costs): Off-production costs are amounts charged to a production's books that did not arise from the physical making of the picture, such as corporate overhead allocations, financing fees, or legal costs on unrelated matters.
- [Operating account](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/operating-account): The operating account is the dedicated bank account through which a production's day-to-day money moves, kept separate from any other project or from the parent company's general funds.
- [Overage](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/overage): An overage is spending above the approved amount on a line, department, or the picture as a whole.
- [Overhead](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/overhead): Overhead is the general cost of running the production company rather than the specific picture: executive salaries, permanent offices, and corporate services.
- [Overtime](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/overtime): Overtime is pay above straight time for hours worked beyond the daily or weekly threshold in the applicable union agreement or wage law, typically at time and a half and escalating to double time and golden time.
- [Participation statement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/participation-statement): A participation statement is the periodic report a distributor issues to a profit participant showing gross receipts, deductions, the running unrecouped balance, and any amount now payable.
- [Pattern budget](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/pattern-budget): A pattern budget is the template episodic budget for a television season, showing the standard cost of a typical episode before episode-specific variations.
- [Payroll batch](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/payroll-batch): A payroll batch is a group of timecards submitted to the payroll company together for one pay period and cost-coded as a unit.
- [Payroll company](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/payroll-company): A payroll company is the specialist service that processes production payroll, calculates union fringes and overtime, remits taxes, files returns, and usually acts as employer of record for the crew.
- [Payroll service fee](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/payroll-service-fee): A payroll service fee is what the payroll company charges for processing, quoted as a percentage of gross payroll or a per-check amount, plus charges for off-cycle runs, manual checks, and year-end filings.
- [Pension and health](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/pension-and-health): Pension and health (P&H) is the combined employer contribution to a union's retirement and medical plans, calculated per the applicable agreement as a percentage of wages, a per-hour amount, or both.
- [Per diem](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/per-diem): Per diem is a daily allowance paid to crew on distant location to cover meals and incidentals without receipts.
- [Petty cash](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/petty-cash): Petty cash is money advanced to department heads and coordinators for small immediate purchases where a purchase order is impractical.
- [Petty cash envelope](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/petty-cash-envelope): A petty cash envelope is the physical or digital packet in which a crew member accounts for a float: an itemized log listing each receipt with its account code, the receipts themselves, and the reconciliation to cash remaining.
- [Prepaid expense](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/prepaid-expense): A prepaid expense is a cost paid in advance of the period it covers, such as insurance premiums, stage rent, or a location deposit paid months before the shoot.
- [Presale](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/presale): A presale is a license of distribution rights in a territory or medium agreed before the picture is finished, usually for a minimum guarantee payable on delivery.
- [Prints and advertising](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/prints-and-advertising): Prints and advertising (P&A) is the budget for releasing a picture rather than making it: media buys, creative and trailers, publicity, festival and premiere costs, and physical or digital delivery to exhibitors.
- [Pro forma](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/pro-forma): A pro forma is a projected financial statement modeling how a picture is expected to perform: revenue by window and territory, the recoupment waterfall, and each participant's likely return under stated assumptions.
- [Production accountant](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/production-accountant): The production accountant is the head of a production's accounting department, responsible for the cost report, payroll, accounts payable, purchase orders, petty cash, bank accounts, incentive tracking, and reporting to the studio, financiers, and completion guarantor.
- [Production report](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/production-report): The daily production report (DPR) is the official record of a shooting day: call and wrap times, scenes and pages completed, cast and crew worked, meal breaks, and any incidents or delays.
- [Profit participation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/profit-participation): Profit participation is any contractual right to share in a title's revenue after defined recoveries, spanning first-dollar gross, adjusted gross, and net profits.
- [Purchase order](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/purchase-order): A purchase order (PO) is the production's written commitment to a vendor for a defined scope and amount, issued and approved before the goods or services are ordered.
- [Purchase order log](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/purchase-order-log): A purchase order log is the running record of every PO issued: number, vendor, department, account, amount committed, amount invoiced, and open balance.
- [Qualified labor](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/qualified-labor): Qualified labor is the portion of a production's wage spend that counts toward an incentive claim, defined by each program in terms of residency, work location, and sometimes role and salary caps.
- [Qualified spend](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/qualified-spend): Qualified spend is production expenditure that counts toward an incentive claim under the rules of a specific program, generally goods and services purchased from vendors in the jurisdiction and used there.
- [Quarterly payroll return](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/quarterly-payroll-return): A quarterly payroll return is the employer's periodic filing reporting wages paid and taxes withheld and remitted, filed federally on Form 941 and separately in each state where the production had employees.
- [Rate card](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/rate-card): A rate card is a vendor's published pricing for its services or inventory: daily, weekly, and monthly rental rates, delivery and standby charges, and any overtime or damage terms.
- [Reallocation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/reallocation): A reallocation is a formal move of budget from one line or department to another to cover an overage with an identified saving, leaving the total unchanged.
- [Rebate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/rebate): A rebate is an incentive paid as cash directly to the production from a jurisdiction's fund, rather than delivered through the tax system as a credit.
- [Reconciliation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/reconciliation): A reconciliation is the exercise of proving one record against another and explaining every difference: the bank statement against the ledger, the payroll company's report against the cost report, a petty cash float against its receipts, or a vendor statement against accounts payable.
- [Recoupment](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/recoupment): Recoupment is the recovery of costs and advances out of a title's revenue, in the order set by the waterfall, before profit is shared.
- [Reforecast](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/reforecast): A reforecast is a rebuild of the estimate to complete and the cash flow after something material changes: a schedule slip, a cast change, a weather loss, or a scope addition.
- [Refundable tax credit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/refundable-tax-credit): A refundable tax credit is an incentive paid out in cash to the extent it exceeds the claimant's tax liability, which makes it usable by a production entity that owes little or no tax in the jurisdiction.
- [Reimbursement](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/reimbursement): A reimbursement is repayment to a crew member, producer, or affiliate for a cost they paid personally on the production's behalf, processed against receipts and an account code.
- [Rentals](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/rentals): Rentals are payments for the temporary use of equipment, vehicles, stages, or property, and they are among the largest below-the-line categories on most productions.
- [Reserve](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/reserve): A reserve is money set aside against a known future obligation whose exact amount is not yet fixed, most commonly the residuals reserve a distributor or studio holds against future guild payments.
- [Residuals](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/residuals): Residuals are payments owed to performers, directors, and writers under guild agreements when a title is reused beyond its initial market: television, home entertainment, and streaming exhibition.
- [Revenue recognition](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/revenue-recognition): Revenue recognition is the accounting question of when income can be recorded, which for film is when the license period begins and the title is available to the licensee, not when the contract is signed or the cash arrives.
- [SAG-AFTRA fringes](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/sag-aftra-fringes): SAG-AFTRA fringes are the employer contributions required on performer compensation under the guild's agreements, principally pension and health, calculated as a percentage of covered earnings up to a per-engagement ceiling.
- [Sales agent commission](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/sales-agent-commission): A sales agent commission is the percentage a sales agent retains from the minimum guarantees and receipts it generates for a picture, customarily in the range of ten to twenty percent, plus a capped recoupment of marketing and market-attendance expenses.
- [Sales and use tax](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/sales-and-use-tax): Sales and use tax is the state and local tax on purchases and, in many jurisdictions, on equipment and vehicle rentals, and it is frequently the difference between a quoted rate and what the production actually pays.
- [Sales estimate](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/sales-estimate): A sales estimate is a projection of what a picture can license for in each territory and medium, prepared by a sales agent and used to support gap financing and investor pro formas.
- [Schedule K-1](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/schedule-k-1): Schedule K-1 is the tax form a partnership or LLC uses to report each member's share of income, loss, deductions, and credits, so they can be reported on the member's own return.
- [Section 181](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/section-181): Section 181 is the U.S. tax provision that allowed qualifying film and television production costs to be deducted in the year incurred rather than capitalized and amortized.
- [Shortfall](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/shortfall): A shortfall is the gap between what a production needs and what it actually has, whether in a specific funding tranche or across the whole financing plan.
- [Signatory](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/signatory): A signatory is a production entity that has signed a union or guild agreement and is therefore bound by its wage scales, fringe contributions, working conditions, and residuals obligations.
- [Soft money](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/soft-money): Soft money is the part of a financing plan that comes from incentives, rebates, grants, and subsidies rather than from equity, debt, or sales.
- [Spend](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/spend): Spend is total production expenditure in a jurisdiction, and it is the base on which most incentive calculations are performed after qualified and non-qualified amounts are sorted.
- [Straight time](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/straight-time): Straight time is pay at the base hourly rate for hours worked within the daily and weekly thresholds set by the applicable union agreement or wage law, before any premium applies.
- [Suspense account](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/suspense-account): A suspense account is a temporary holding account for a transaction that cannot yet be coded correctly, used when a payment has cleared but its purpose or department is unconfirmed.
- [Tax credit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/tax-credit): A film tax credit is an incentive delivered through the tax system, reducing the claimant's tax liability by a percentage of qualifying production spend.
- [Tax credit audit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/tax-credit-audit): A tax credit audit is the jurisdiction's examination of a production's claimed qualifying spend, typically performed by an approved accounting firm at the production's expense before the credit is issued.
- [Tax credit broker](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/tax-credit-broker): A tax credit broker matches a production holding a transferable tax credit with taxpayers in that jurisdiction who want to buy it to offset their own liability.
- [Time card](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/time-card): A time card is the record of hours a crew member worked in a pay period, including start and wrap, meal breaks, and any travel or turnaround, approved by the department head and coded to accounts.
- [Top sheet](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/top-sheet): The top sheet is the one-page summary of a budget, showing each major account's total, the above-the-line, below-the-line, and post subtotals, contingency, fringes, and the grand total.
- [Transferable tax credit](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/transferable-tax-credit): A transferable tax credit can be sold to an unrelated taxpayer with liability in the issuing jurisdiction, which is what makes it usable by a production entity that owes no local tax.
- [Travel and expense policy](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/travel-and-expense-policy): A travel and expense policy is the written statement of what the production will pay for, at what limits, and with what documentation: airfare class, hotel rates, per diem, mileage, rental cars, and receipt thresholds.
- [Trial balance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/trial-balance): A trial balance is the listing of every account with its debit or credit balance, proving that the ledger's totals agree.
- [Turnaround](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/turnaround): Turnaround has two distinct meanings in production.
- [Unallocated](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/unallocated): Unallocated cost is spending that has been recorded but not yet assigned to a department, account, episode, or production.
- [Uncleared check](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/uncleared-check): An uncleared check is a payment issued but not yet presented to the bank, so it appears in the ledger and not on the statement.
- [Union fringes](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/union-fringes): Union fringes are the employer contributions required by a guild or union agreement on top of wages: pension, health and welfare, annuity or individual account, vacation and holiday pay, and in some cases training funds.
- [Unit accountant](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/unit-accountant): A unit accountant is the accountant assigned to a specific shooting unit or location, handling that unit's payroll, petty cash, purchase orders, and cost coding, and reporting into the main production accounting office.
- [Vacation and holiday pay](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/vacation-and-holiday-pay): Vacation and holiday pay (V&H) is a percentage added to union crew wages in lieu of taking paid time off, remitted with fringes rather than accrued as leave.
- [Value added tax](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/value-added-tax): Value added tax (VAT) is a consumption tax charged on goods and services in the UK, EU, and many other territories, and a production registered locally can generally recover the VAT it pays on qualifying costs.
- [Variance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/variance): A variance is the difference between the budget and the estimated final cost on a line, department, or the whole picture, expressed as a favorable saving or an unfavorable overage.
- [Variance report](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/variance-report): A variance report is the narrative accompanying the cost report, explaining each material difference between budget and estimated final cost and what is being done about it.
- [Vendor](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/vendor): A vendor is any company the production buys goods or services from, from an equipment house or picture-car supplier to a caterer or a post facility.
- [Vendor onboarding](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/vendor-onboarding): Vendor onboarding is the process of collecting what accounting needs before a vendor can be paid: a completed W-9 or the foreign equivalent, verified bank details, a certificate of insurance where relevant, and agreed payment terms.
- [Voucher](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/voucher): A voucher is the internal document packaging a payment with its support: the invoice, the purchase order, the approval, the coding, and proof of receipt.
- [W-2](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/w-2): A W-2 is the U.S. form reporting an employee's annual wages and withheld taxes, issued by whichever entity was employer of record, which for most crew is the payroll company rather than the production.
- [W-4](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/w-4): A W-4 is the form on which an employee tells the employer how much federal income tax to withhold from their pay.
- [W-9](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/w-9): A W-9 is the form on which a vendor, loan-out corporation, or independent contractor certifies its legal name, entity type, and taxpayer identification number so the production can report payments correctly.
- [Wage and hour compliance](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/wage-and-hour-compliance): Wage and hour compliance is meeting the legal requirements on minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, and pay timing in every jurisdiction where a production employs people, independently of what any union agreement or deal memo says.
- [Waterfall](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/waterfall): A waterfall is the contractual order in which a title's revenue is applied: typically collection account fees, sales agent commission and expenses, senior debt, gap and bridge lenders, equity plus its premium, deferments, then profit participants.
- [Wire transfer](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/wire-transfer): A wire transfer is a same-day bank-to-bank payment, used for time-critical and international payments where ACH is too slow.
- [Withholding](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/withholding): Withholding is tax an employer or payer deducts from a payment and remits to the authorities on the recipient's behalf, covering federal and state income tax, FICA, and in cross-border cases nonresident withholding.
- [Workers' compensation](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/workers-compensation): Workers' compensation is the insurance covering medical costs and lost wages when a crew member is injured at work, and its premium is an employer cost inside the fringe rate.
- [Working capital](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/working-capital): Working capital is the cash a company needs on hand to operate between paying its costs and collecting its revenue.
- [Wrap costs](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/wrap-costs): Wrap costs are everything spent after the last shooting day to close the production down: returning equipment and vehicles, striking sets, clearing locations, restoring damage, storage, final payroll and fringes, and the accounting staff who stay on to close the books.
- [Write-off](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/write-off): A write-off is the removal of an asset or receivable from the books once it is accepted as unrecoverable: an abandoned development project, an uncollectible holdback, or a disallowed incentive claim.
- [Year-end close](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/year-end-close): Year-end close is the process of finalizing a company's books for its financial year: posting accruals, reconciling every account, valuing work in progress on unfinished productions, and preparing statements and tax filings.
- [Year-to-date](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/year-to-date): Year-to-date (YTD) is the cumulative total from the start of a fiscal or calendar year through the current date, and in payroll it drives every wage-base-limited tax.
- [Zero-balance account](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/zero-balance-account): A zero-balance account is a bank account funded only on demand: checks presented against it draw exactly the amount needed from a master account, leaving the balance at zero.
- [Zero-based budgeting](https://revolution.film/behind-the-lens/film-accounting/zero-based-budgeting): Zero-based budgeting means building every line from the actual script breakdown, schedule, and quoted rates rather than starting from a previous picture's budget and adjusting.