## Glossary of Key Terms (Expanded) ## Actors Performers who embody characters on stage, including singers and dancers in musical theatre. ## AD (Assistant Director) Supports the Director creatively and logistically, often acting as a liaison between the director, actors, and other departments. ## Adobe Suite A collection of creative software from Adobe Inc., often used in film/TV post-production and design (e.g., Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro). ## AI Visualization The use of Artificial Intelligence algorithms to generate or modify visual representations, such as predicting how a costume might look on a specific actor's digital model. ## Alpha / Beta Testing Phases in software and game development where nearly complete versions are tested internally (Alpha) or by a wider external audience (Beta) to find bugs and gather feedback before launch. ## Animatic A preliminary version of a film or animation sequence, created by editing storyboard images together with a soundtrack, used to plan timing and pacing. A key step in film/animation previs. ## API (Application Programming Interface) A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other. Relevant for integrating visualization tools with other production software. ## AR (Augmented Reality) Technology that overlays digital information or virtual objects onto the real world, typically viewed through a smartphone, tablet, or specialized glasses. ## ArchViz (Architectural Visualisation) The art and technology of creating digital representations of architectural designs. Using 3D modeling, rendering, and animation, it helps architects, designers, and clients visualize spaces, materials, and lighting before construction, enhancing communication and decision-making. ## ASM (Assistant Stage Manager) Part of the Stage Management team, typically responsible for specific backstage tracks, prop management, and assisting the DSM and SM during rehearsals and performances. ## AutoCAD A widely used commercial Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software application. ## Automation (Stage Machinery) The use of computer-controlled mechanical systems to move scenery, fly bars, revolves, or other stage elements during a performance. ## Baked Lighting A technique in 3D graphics where complex lighting calculations are pre-computed ("baked") into textures for efficient real-time rendering. ## BECTU / Equity Major UK trade unions representing workers in the media, entertainment, and arts sectors, including theatre. ## BIM (Building Information Modeling) A process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. BIM models are data-rich 3D models used extensively in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) for planning, design, construction, and operation. ## Blender A free and open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset used across various creative industries. ## Blocking The process during rehearsal where the director and actors determine the specific movements and positioning of actors on stage. ## Budget Tiers (Scale) Productions categorized by budget, influencing resources and timelines (e.g., Small Scale: ~£50k-£100k, Mid Scale: ~£250k-£1M, Large Scale: £1M+ in UK theatre context). ## Burnout A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, a documented issue in creative and production industries. ## CAD (Computer-Aided Design) Software used to create precise 2D drawings and 3D models (e.g., AutoCAD, Vectorworks). ## Capture Specialist lighting previsualization software known for accurate photometrics simulation. ## Casting Director Specialist role organising and overseeing actor auditions. ## Choreographer Designs and directs dance or stylized movement sequences. ## Clash Detection A process, often using BIM models in architecture/construction, to identify where different building systems (e.g., plumbing, electrical, structural) interfere with each other in the design phase, preventing on-site problems. ## Cloud Computing Delivery of computing services (storage, processing) over the internet. ## Cloud-Hosted Assets Digital files stored on remote servers for shared access. ## Co-production A production funded and produced jointly by two or more different companies or organizations. ## Combat Director / Fight Director Specialist who choreographs and rehearses staged violence safely. ## Commercial Theatre Theatre funded primarily through private investment aiming for profit. ## Commissioning Hiring an artist to create a new work for a specific production. ## Company Manager Manages logistics and pastoral care for the acting company and sometimes crew. ## Composer Writes original music for a production. ## Concept Art Illustrations created early in development to visualize the look, feel, style, and atmosphere of characters, environments, or key moments. Crucial in film, games, and theatre design. ## Corporate Event Live events produced for businesses, such as product launches, conferences, or award ceremonies, often requiring high technical reliability and clear messaging. ## Costume Designer Responsible for the visual appearance of actors through clothing and accessories. ## Cover / Understudy / Swing Performers hired to learn roles to cover for absent primary actors. ## Cues / Cue-to-Cue Specific points for technical actions. A "Cue-to-Cue" is a rehearsal focusing on these transitions. ## Dark (Theatre) A theatre closed to the public between productions or on specific days. ## Data Exchange Transferring digital information between different software or departments, often a technical challenge. ## Depence² Lighting visualization software noted for advanced features like VR. ## Development Deal Agreement providing resources for developing a new script over time. ## Digital Asset Management Systems for storing, organizing, and sharing digital files. ## Digital Twin An accurate, often data-rich, virtual replica of a physical object, space, or system. Used differently across industries (e.g., lifecycle management in architecture vs. production planning in theatre). ## disguise (Media Server) A prominent hardware and software platform used extensively in live events (concerts, corporate, theatre) for integrated video playback, projection mapping, real-time effects, and show control. ## Dramaturg Specialist focusing on research, development, and structure of scripts. ## Dress Rehearsal A full run-through shortly before opening, incorporating all elements including costumes. ## DSM (Deputy Stage Manager) Usually "calls the show" during performances from the prompt book. ## Environmental Storytelling Using the design of a game level or environment to convey narrative information or atmosphere implicitly, without explicit text or dialogue. ## E-Tech A forward-looking term for integrated, next-generation technology solutions (often involving spatial computing, VR/AR, and real-time rendering) designed to streamline theatre production processes, particularly previsualization and technical rehearsals. ## ETC's Augment3d A lighting visualization tool integrated into ETC's Eos lighting consoles. ## Executive Producer Oversees funding, strategy, and high-level aspects, particularly in commercial productions. ## Extended Reality (xR) Often used in live events/virtual production to describe techniques blending camera footage with real-time rendered virtual backgrounds and foregrounds, often using LED screens and camera tracking. Also an umbrella term for VR/AR/MR. ## Facility Management The maintenance and operational management of buildings and infrastructure, increasingly aided by data from digital twins in architecture. ## File Formats (3D) Standard ways of storing 3D model data (e.g., .obj, .fbx, .gltf for meshes; .dwg, .vwx for CAD). ## Fly System / Flys System of ropes, pulleys, counterweights/motors to hoist scenery/lights. Operated by a Flyman/Fly Crew. ## Followspot Operator Technician operating a spotlight to manually follow a performer. ## Fourth Wall Imaginary "wall" between stage and audience. ## Frame Rate Frequency of images displayed per second (FPS). Crucial for smooth VR/real-time visuals. ## Freelancer Independent worker hired project-by-project; majority of theatre workforce. ## Funding (Models) How theatre is paid for (public subsidy vs. private investment/commercial). ## Game Engine / Real-time Engine Software framework for creating interactive experiences (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity). ## Game Mechanics The rules, systems, and interactions governing gameplay in a video game. Prototyping these is key in game development. ## General Manager Oversees business and administrative operations of a theatre company/production. ## Get-in / Load-in Period when equipment is brought into and installed in the venue. ## Global Illumination Advanced lighting calculation simulating indirect light bounces for realism. ## Green/Blue Screen Screens used in filmmaking to allow the background to be digitally replaced in post-production (chroma keying). Also used in some virtual production setups. ## Ground Plan Technical drawing showing a top-down view of the stage set. ## Haptics Technology simulating touch via force feedback or vibrations, used in some VR controllers. ## Head of Department (HOD) Senior manager overseeing a specific technical department. ## Health & Safety (H&S) / Risk Assessment Identifying hazards and implementing controls for safety. ## Immersive Installation / Experience Events or artworks designed to surround the audience, often using multiple sensory inputs and sometimes interactivity, blurring the line between observer and participant. ## Immersive Theatre Theatre where the audience is situated within the performance environment. ## Intimacy Director / Coordinator Specialist choreographing intimate scenes ensuring performer safety/consent. ## Iterative Development A development process common in gaming where features are built, tested, and refined repeatedly based on feedback (e.g., playtesting). ## Kitbashing The practice of assembling or modifying pre-existing digital assets (e.g., 3D models, textures) to quickly create new designs or virtual environments, commonly used in theatre design to build virtual model boxes or stage setups. ## Latency Time delay between action and system response. Low latency is crucial for VR comfort. ## Leapfrogging The phenomenon where late adopters of technology (e.g., theatre industry) bypass intermediate stages of development and adopt advanced solutions. ## LED Volume / Wall Large screens composed of LED panels used in virtual production to display background environments in real-time, captured directly by the camera. ## Level Design The process in game development of creating the environments, stages, or "levels" that players navigate, involving layout, pacing, challenge, and environmental storytelling. ## Librettist Writer of the text (libretto) for an opera or musical. ## LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Remote sensing method using lasers to create precise 3D maps/models. ## Lifecycle Management Managing all phases of an asset's life (design, construction, operation, maintenance, disposal), often facilitated by digital twins in architecture. ## Lighting Designer Responsible for the artistic design of the lighting. ## Lighting Previsualization Software Specialized software (e.g., Capture, WYSIWYG, Depence², Augment3d, MA3D) for simulating and programming lighting virtually. ## Lighting Programmer Works with the LD to program cues into the lighting console. ## Load-out / Get-out Synonym for Strike; dismantling and removing the production. ## Location Scouting Searching for and evaluating real-world locations for filming or inspiration. ## Look Development (LookDev) / Visual Development (VizDev) Process, originating in animation/VFX, defining the final visual appearance of assets or shots, considering textures, lighting, rendering, and compositing. ## Lumen Unreal Engine 5's dynamic global illumination and reflections system. ## MA3D 3D visualization tool for MA Lighting control consoles. ## Markerless Tracking Performance capture using cameras/AI without physical markers. ## Marketing Lead / Execs / Social Media Mgr. Team responsible for promoting the show and managing audience engagement. ## Maya Professional 3D graphics software often standard in film/VFX/animation. ## Media Server Specialized hardware/software (e.g., disguise) used in live events to store, manage, process, and play back video content across multiple displays or projectors, often synchronizing with lighting and sound. ## MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) Building systems often coordinated using BIM models in architecture. ## MIDI Show Control (MSC) / OSC (Open Sound Control) Protocols allowing different entertainment technologies to communicate. ## Modular Design Designing systems or environments using interchangeable components or modules, common in game level design for efficiency and scalability. ## Mood Board Visual collection of images, materials, etc., communicating style or atmosphere. ## MotionBuilder Autodesk software often used in film/games for character animation and motion capture editing. ## Movement Director Works with actors on physical movement and characterization. ## Musical Director (MD) Responsible for musical elements, conducting, coaching. ## Musicians (Band / Orchestra) Perform live music. ## Nanite Unreal Engine 5's virtualized geometry system for highly detailed models. ## Narrative-Driven Design Game design approach where the primary focus is on telling a story and guiding the player through a predefined narrative arc. ## Nuke Node-based digital compositing software from Foundry, widely used in film/TV post-production. ## Optimization (3D Models) Reducing complexity for efficient real-time rendering. ## OpenUSD (Universal Scene Description) An open-source framework for describing, composing, and exchanging 3D scenes. See appendix [6. OpenUSD In Detail](6.%20OpenUSD%20In%20Detail.md) ## Pain Points Specific challenges or inefficiencies within a workflow. ## Papering the House Giving away free/discounted tickets to fill seats. ## Patching (Games) Releasing updates or fixes for a game after its initial launch to address bugs, balance gameplay, or add content. ## Performance Capture (PerfCap / MoCap) Technology recording human movement digitally. ## Photogrammetry Creating 3D models from multiple photographs. ## Photometrics (Lighting) Technical data specifying a lighting fixture's output. ## Photorealism Rendering computer graphics to be indistinguishable from photographs. ## Pixel Streaming Technology for streaming interactive 3D applications remotely. ## Player Agency The ability of a player in a game to make meaningful choices that affect the game state or narrative. A key differentiator from passive media. ## Playtesting The process of having target users play a game during development to gather feedback on gameplay, usability, bugs, and overall experience. Crucial in iterative game design. ## PM (Production Manager) Manages budget, schedule, logistics, technical elements. ## Postvis (Post-visualization) A process in filmmaking where temporary VFX elements (often derived from previs) are composited into live-action footage during editing to guide final VFX work and test cuts. ## Previsualization (Previs) Planning and visualizing complex sequences or designs before physical production, using various tools from storyboards to VR. Focus varies by industry (film: shots/sequences, theatre: staging/sightlines, games: mechanics/levels). ## Preview Public performance before official opening night for adjustments. ## Projection Mapping Projecting video onto surfaces that are not flat, like buildings or complex stage scenery, using software to warp the image to fit the geometry precisely. ## Prompt Book / "The Book" Master copy of the script with all blocking and cues, used by Stage Management. ## Prompt Corner Area, traditionally stage left, where the DSM calls the show. ## Prop / Costume Makers Craftspeople who build or source props and costumes. ## Props (Properties) Objects used on stage by actors. ## Prototyping (Games) Creating early, functional versions of game mechanics or systems to test feasibility and "find the fun" before committing to full production. ## PR (Public Relations) Manages relationship between production and media/public. ## Ray Tracing Advanced rendering simulating light paths for realism. ## R&D (Research & Development) Activities undertaken to innovate. ## Real-time Effects Visual effects generated and rendered instantly, allowing for interactivity, common in games and live event visuals managed by media servers. ## Real-time Rendering Generating images from 3D models rapidly enough for interactivity. ## Reference Imagery Collection of photos, illustrations, or other visuals used as inspiration or guidance during the design process. ## Rehearsal Notes Notes taken during rehearsal documenting changes, corrections, etc. ## Rendering The process of generating a 2D image or animation from a 3D model by means of computer programs, calculating lighting, materials, etc. Can be real-time or offline (pre-rendered). ## RenderStream A disguise technology allowing integration of real-time content from third-party engines like Unreal Engine into their media server workflow. ## Revit Autodesk software central to many BIM workflows in architecture, used for creating intelligent 3D models containing project data. ## Rigging (3D Models) Creating a digital skeleton for a 3D model for posing/animation. ## Rights / Licensing Legal permissions to perform a copyrighted work. ## Risk Assessment Identifying potential hazards and implementing controls. ## Run (of a show) Duration of public performances. ## Scenic Designer (or Set Designer) Responsible for the visual appearance and physical environment of the stage. ## Section (Drawing) Technical drawing showing a view as if cut through vertically. ## Second Mover Advantage The competitive benefit gained by industries or organizations that adopt technologies later, leveraging refined tools and lessons learned from early adopters to implement more effective solutions. ## Shot List A detailed list of camera shots planned for a film or video production, specifying framing, angle, movement, etc. Used in simpler previs or alongside storyboards. ## Sightline Analysis Checking visibility from audience seats to the stage. ## Sightlines Lines of sight from audience seats to the stage. ## Sitzprobe Rehearsal focusing on integrating singers and orchestra in musicals/opera. ## SM (Stage Manager) Head of stage management team, responsible for running the show. ## SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) Businesses below certain size thresholds. ## Sound Designer Responsible for all auditory aspects. ## Spatial Audio Audio processing techniques that create the illusion of sound sources existing in three-dimensional space around the listener, crucial for VR and immersive experiences. ## Spatial Computing Technologies (VR, AR, MR) allowing interaction with digital information in 3D space. ## Standing Ovation Audience standing to applaud at the end. ## Step-through / Stagger-through Types of technical rehearsals focusing on cues. ## Storyboard Sequence of drawings representing shots or key moments, a foundational previs technique. ## Stuntviz Previsualization specifically for planning and choreographing stunt sequences in film. ## Strike Dismantling the set and clearing the theatre after closing. ## Subsidised Theatre Theatre receiving public funding. ## Suspension of Disbelief Audience willingness to accept the performance's reality. ## Sustainability Considering the environmental impact of production. ## Synchronization Ensuring different technical elements (lights, sound, video, automation) trigger and run precisely together, critical in live events and often managed by media servers or show control systems. ## Systems-Driven Design Game design approach focusing on creating robust, interacting systems and mechanics that generate emergent gameplay, rather than a strictly linear narrative (e.g., simulation games, sandbox games). ## Table Work Early rehearsals reading through and discussing the script. ## TD (Technical Director) Oversees technical departments, drawings, budgets, safety. ## Technical Drawings Precise drawings for construction (Ground Plan, Section). ## Technical Rehearsal (Tech) Period integrating all technical elements with performers. ## Techvis (Technical Previsualization) A specific form of previs, often used in film, that creates technically accurate 3D mock-ups of shots, considering real-world camera gear, lens properties, set dimensions, etc., to ensure a shot is physically achievable. ## Toolkit Set of tools, resources, or methods available. ## Touring Taking a production to perform in multiple venues. ## Trello Web-based project management application. ## Twinmotion Easy-to-use real-time visualization tool, often used with architectural models. ## Unreal Engine Powerful real-time 3D creation tool (game engine). ## Usability Ease with which users can employ a tool effectively. ## Varjo Company producing high-resolution VR/MR headsets. ## Vectorworks CAD software popular in entertainment design. ## Vertical Slice A fully-realized, short sample of a game used during development to demonstrate the core gameplay loop, visual style, and technical capabilities to stakeholders or potential publishers. ## VFX (Visual Effects) Digitally created or manipulated imagery used in film, TV, and games to create environments, characters, or phenomena that cannot be easily or safely achieved practically. Previs is essential for planning VFX-heavy sequences. ## Virtual Production (VP) Techniques using real-time rendering to combine live and virtual elements during production. ## Virtual Model Box A digital equivalent of a traditional physical model box, created using 3D modeling or visualization software to represent a stage set, allowing designers to test and refine concepts virtually. ## VR (Virtual Reality) Technology immersing a user in a computer-generated environment via a headset. ## White Card Model Simple, uncoloured scale model used in early set design stages. ## Wide Colour Gamut (WCG) Describes displays or image formats capable of showing a broader range of colours than standard RGB, leading to richer, more realistic images. Relevant for high-fidelity visualization. ## Wings (Stage Area) Offstage areas to the immediate left/right of the main performance space. ## Workflow Sequence of steps or processes to complete a task. ## Workflow Optimization Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a workflow. ## Workshop (Development Phase) Period of practical exploration during development of a new work. ## WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Long-established lighting visualization software. ## XR (Extended Reality) Umbrella term for VR, AR, and MR.