STUNT & ACTION-CINEMA GLOSSARY
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A working document. Definitions are how I use them; real practitioners
may use them slightly differently.


80% rule
  Talent does 80% of the visible work, double does the 20% that would
  break them. Heard most often around prep-heavy fight scenes.

Air ram
  Pneumatic device used to launch a performer (or dummy) upward or
  back. Cleaner than a wire pull for short throws.

Beat
  One exchange in a fight — typically attack + response + reset.
  Choreographers count beats, not strikes.

Body cross
  An actor passing in front of the lens, used to hide an edit.
  Cheap and effective if the lighting is consistent on either side.

Cable cam
  Camera rigged to a tensioned wire above the action. Lets you push
  in or pull out at speed without a dolly.

Decking
  Padding under the floor or the set surface. Different from a pad;
  it's structural.

Hard pad / soft pad
  Hard pad: dense foam, takes a heavy fall, hurts a little.
  Soft pad: airbag-style, takes the bigger falls.

Handoff
  Moment in a "one-take" shot where the cut is hidden. Common
  handoffs: pan past a wall, whip pan, prop or actor wipe, blackout
  on a doorway.

Oner
  A scene presented as a single uninterrupted take. Most "oners" in
  modern action are stitched from 2-6 takes.

Pre-vis
  Animated previsualization of a sequence, usually low-fi 3D, used
  to plan camera and choreography before anyone is on set.

Pull (wire pull)
  Performer attached to a cable and yanked, usually back and up.
  Read in editing as "got hit hard."

Rehearsal-to-camera ratio
  Hours rehearsing per second of finished footage. Anything above
  20:1 is unusual; the best fight scenes are often 40:1 or higher.

Reset
  A pause inside a fight scene — catch breath, change weapon, look
  at the carnage. Gives the viewer geography back.

Stunt coordinator
  Runs the stunt department on the production. Different from the
  fight choreographer, though one person sometimes does both.

Two-shot rhythm
  Wide-tight-wide-tight cutting pattern. Wide for geography, tight
  for impact. The default mode of post-Hong-Kong action.

Wire removal
  VFX cleanup of the cables used for wire stunts. Usually invisible
  in a final cut; sometimes catchable on a freeze frame.