Glossary J - O

term	definition
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)	Key Performance Indicators are the measurable goals or targets set for your activity, which you’ll need to report on.
Letter of intent	A letter of intent is used during the packaging or financing stage, to indicate to the producer and the marketplace that, subject to finalisation of an acceptable creative and financial proposal, the writer of the letter is interested in supporting the project financially. A letter of intent does not represent a binding contract.
Letter of interest	A letter of interest is issued by a broadcaster, distributor or sales agents and signifies that they are aware of your project and believe that it has market potential pending further development, but they have not yet made a commitment, financial or otherwise, to it.
Light entertainment or infotainment	The Australian Content Standard defines an infotainment or lifestyle program as “a program the sole or dominant purpose of which is to present factual information in an entertaining way, where there is a heavy emphasis on entertainment value.” For a more detailed discussion of the distinctions between documentary and infotainment and light entertainment please see http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/aba/tv/content/requirements/australian/documents/documentaryguidelines.pdf
Licence fee	A fee paid in exchange for the right to use a film or television production for a particular purpose, i.e. to screen a project on free-to-air, broadcast and/or other platforms.
Live action	Film and television productions that are acted out by human actors or real people, as opposed to animation.
Location Offset	The Location Offset is a 16.5 per cent rebate which supports the production of large-budget film and television projects shot in Australia. This Offset is part of the Commonwealth Government's Australian Screen Production Incentive (ASPI) and is administered by the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts: http://www.arts.gov.au/film-tv/australian-screen-production-incentive/offsets
Mentor	A suitably qualified and experienced practitioner engaged to provide their expertise to less experienced individuals in order to help them advance their project through any stage of development. The mentor cannot have an interest of any kind in the project.
Mid career practitioner (Industry Activities):	A mid career practitioner may have a combination of the following experience: - 5 or more years experience in professional film and TV production, usually in a particular department or role - 5 to 10 production credits on commercially released screen industry productions, usually in a particular role or department - May have graduated from tertiary study in film and TV, digital media production - Can demonstrate a commitment to career progression in a particular role or department
Milestones	Stages of project development, as defined in an Agreement with Film Victoria, which involve reporting on project progress to date and which triggers payment of an instalment of funding.
Mini-series	A drama production made for broadcast television which tells a story in a limited number of episodes (generally four or less), as distinct from a series.
Mobile	Hand held media platforms (e.g. mobile phones, PDAs, iPods etc).
Mobile distribution	To distribute content to mobile devices such as phones, generally using wireless networks.
Narrative	A structured story or account of a series of events or experiences, whether documentary or fiction.
Narrative fiction	A non-documentary outline/treatment/script for film or television that develops a sustained and coherent story across the duration of the piece. Note: this excludes sketch comedy and scripted reality.
No-budget productions	A film made with limited or no financial support from investors. This may mean they defer payments and much of their resources are provided in-kind.
Official co-productions	A feature film or television production by producers from two or more countries which is made under a treaty or another form of government arrangement, and has been approved by Screen Australia as meeting official co-production eligibility criteria. For more information please refer to the section on co-productions on the Screen Australia website: http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/coproductions/
Offline editing	Footage is digitised at a low resolution and edited using a non-linear editing suite and software such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Lightworks. There are typically three distinct stages of offline editing: assembly, rough cut and fine cut. Once the fine cut is completed, the online editing process may begin.
Online	Content made specifically for web-based distribution, e.g. streaming video, alternate reality games, interactive and social networking websites.
Online editing	When the offline editing is complete, the selected shots from the original footage are re-captured at full resolution. The picture and sound quality of the film or television project are adjusted and brought to their optimum levels. This is also referred to as 'conforming'. Visual effects, titles, and colour correction are typically added at this stage. There are generally no changes to the choice or order of shots at this stage.
Outline	A 3-8 page outline document for a fiction project, expanding on a synopsis to give a more detailed overview of the narrative, as it will be told on screen.

Film Victoria

Glossary J - O