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November 06, 2008
Are you Hoovering?
Yesterday was the first day of filming. Well, yesterday wasn’t the first day of filming, really, because, as you may know if you’ve been keeping up, I’ve been filming lighting tests, wig tests, dry-runs, auditions and the like. So yesterday was technically the First Day of Principal Photography. But that sounds rather too grand.
I have a problem with jargon. Basically I don’t like it because it’s exclusive and creates elites and cliques. But there are some times when it can be useful.
To say, for instance, that I spent the evening looking through all the film that I shot during the day is clumsy and long winded. With jargon [which came from the camera assistants rushing back to the studios with a print from the negative stock developed after work had finished so the directors could see what the camera operators had been seeing all day] I can simply say I watched the rushes and people know what I mean. Though I think that sounds pretentious too, and is not entirely accurate because I’m recording on tape and no-one is rushing anywhere.
Are you still Hoovering if you’re using a Dyson? Tell someone you spent the afternoon Dysoning and confusion might ensue.
Jargon seeps into everyday use as people try to show they’re part of each specific group, and so it is slowly diluted. Language is an ever evolving medium used for communication, and if communication occurs, then the language used is correct, whatever it was that was said. But when jargon is used to denote superiority that’s not so good. And it happens all the time, in whatever group you’re in, whether it be knitting circles or motor racing.
Posted by john at November 6, 2008 11:14 PM