undercrank

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verb

To shoot a scene while advancing the film in the camera more slowly than it will advance on playback. This results in speeding up the action in the final film.

Opposite
overcrank
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

verbundercrank (third-person singular simple present undercranks, present participle undercranking, simple past and past participle undercranked)

present singular third person undercranks · participle present undercranking · participle past undercranked · past undercranked

  1. broadcastingTo shoot a scene while advancing the film in the camera more slowly than it will advance on playback. This results in speeding up the action in the final film.

    Antonyms: overcrank

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo shoot a scene while advancing the film in the camera more slowly than it will advance on playback. This results in speeding up the action in the final film.

Opposite
overcrank

Origin

From under- + crank; dating from a time when movie film was advanced in a camera by the turning of a crank.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

undercrank. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undercrank

MLA

“undercrank.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undercrank. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “undercrank,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undercrank.

Source: undercrank on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.