ottoja

Ottoja is a Finnish noun form that denotes multiple takes or shots in media production. Specifically, it is the partitive plural of otto, a term used in film, television, and photography to refer to an individual recording or capture. In practice, a scene or sequence may require several ottoja to achieve the desired performance, framing, or timing. The word is commonly found in production notes, schedules, and casual conversations among crew members.

Etymology and meaning: The noun otto comes from the verb ottaa, meaning to take or to capture. By nominalizing the verb, otto expresses the act of taking or capturing a shot, scene, or recording. The suffix -ja marks the partitive plural form in this usage, signaling multiple instances rather than a single one.

Usage notes: Ottoja is primarily used in professional media contexts but can appear in informal speech among filmmakers and photographers. It is most often encountered in phrases such as kuvaukset sisälsivät useita ottoja (the shoots included several takes) or elokuvan kuvausprosessissa esiintyi paljon ottoja (the film’s shooting process involved many takes). While related terms may exist to describe still images or final cuts, ottoja specifically emphasizes the capture events across attempts.

Overall, ottoja functions as a domain-specific plural indicating multiple takes, reflecting a common workflow concept in filmmaking and photography within Finnish usage.