Actuality Media Glossary of Terms
Specialized terms for when only our words will do
Actuality
A word to describe the good in our world.
B-roll
Footage for a film that is given less importance, and less attention than other footage, and is therefore subpar. If you are “going out to shoot b-roll” you are literally planning to shoot footage that is not as good as it could be.
“By definition B-roll is footage of lesser quality. Why would you ever want to plan on putting sub-par footage in your film?”
Changemaker
A person or organization that is combating a problem that plagues humanity, and doing so in a new, sustainable way that makes for real change in the world.
Chicken Bus
A roller-coaster ride on the road that gets you where you need to go. Crew members may recognize their former, childhood bus by the district names that are sometimes still written on the side of the bus.
Excursion
Maybe it’s an easy walking tour, maybe it’s exciting adventure through the tree-tops or up a mountain, usually at the end of a long, winding, long, winding, winding road.
Failure
A learning experience that is often a necessary step on the path to success.
For Impact
A descriptor for an organization that, regardless of business model, is trying to enact good change.
Inflammable
Very flammable!
Irregardless
Not the opposite of regardless, but more like inflammable is to flammable.
Also – an in-joke used when “regardless” doesn’t carry enough emphasis.
Jump shot
That annoying group photo-op everyone groans about, when everyone jumps skyward and you end up with a picture that actually looks pretty cool.
Karaoke
No new definition. It’s just here so that you know we like karaoke.
Location Independent
A state of being that is bereft of a permanent, kept location to periodically return to – i.e. the state of one who is always on the move
Statements no longer relevant include:
“I’ll hang this on my wall.” “After work I’m going home.”Learned
As opposed to educated, learned people study the world around them. Being educated doesn’t mean you’ve ever stepped out into the real world.
A wise man once told us “I hate the term ‘educated.’ Everybody these days is educated and they can still be idiots.”
Mapigator
A person who sits in the navigators chair but has no sense of direction, and points the way with no tools other than a digital map on a smartphone to guide by.
Movies the must be remade:
“Flight of the Mapigator” “Space Mapigator” “Brendan, the Mapigator” (alright, so not that many)
Non-traditional Travel
Moving from one point on the earth to another for purposes greater than getting from Point A to Point B, laying poolside or gawking at a big, white-gloved mouse. Examples include helping people, rowing across the Atlantic, racing a tuk-tuk across Southern Asia, or making short documentaries with us.
Hitchhiking is a toss-up.
Embrace the journey!
Outreach
Study abroad that is pointedly focused on being a film-centered learning experience. An experience creating a short documentary that helps changemakers, that crew members will want to show off; a documentary that can change the world.
Philosoph-off
An unofficial competition to out-philosophize other people. Often encountered in businesses with menial jobs, and on long treks in small vehicles.
Protag
Our films show the good works that changemakers are doing. To tell the story well, a film needs a person – volunteer, beneficiary, or… you get the idea – a person to follow. That person is the key to a short film that is compelling and satisfying to watch.
Short Doc
A short film encompassing a moving story that lays claim to reality.
Tuk-tuk
A quick path to a bumpy road in a 3-wheeled tin can full of excitement.
Whelmed
Rather than “over-” or “under-” we are sometimes just plain old “whelmed.” It’s anything between “displeasing” and “exasperating,” between “blah” and “holy cow.”
Uses include:
“That five hour bus ride was whelming.”
“That movie could still use some work. At best, I was whelmed.”