In filmmaking, video production, and other media, the term live action refers to cinematography, videography not produced using animation. As it is the norm, the term is usually superfluous, but it makes an important distinction in situations in which one might normally expect animation, as in a Pixar film, a video game or when the work is adapted from an animated cartoon, such as Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones or Josie and the Pussycats films, or The Tick television program. Use of puppets in films such as The Dark Crystal is also considered to be live action, provided that stop-motion is not used to animate them.

The term is also used within the animation world to refer to non-animated characters: in a live-action/animated film such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Mary Poppins, in which humans and cartoons co-exist, "live-action" characters are the "real" actors, such as Bob Hoskins and Julie Andrews, as opposed to the animated "actors", such as Roger Rabbit himself.

Live action can also mean that a film or a television show is adapted from comics. Adaptations from comics include live-action film versions of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man and X-Men, DC Comics' Superman and Batman, or manga such as Death Note, Detective Conan and Great Teacher Onizuka.

Shang Tsung (尚宗) is a boss and player character from the Mortal Kombat series. He is a powerful and deadly sorcerer and a recurring antagonist from the series. Shang Tsung is a shapeshifter who absorbs the souls of those he slays in order to maintain his youth and power. He has also frequently appeared in the other media in the franchise.

There are several different origin stories for Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung's bio in the Mortal Kombat II comic book Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition states his origin as "Earthrealm/Outworld". According to Midway's defunct Mortal Kombat Mythologies website, Shang Tsung was originally from Earth. However, his Armageddon bio makes reference to Tsung binding his soul to Shao Kahn, which could provide a loophole allowing him to represent Outworld in the tournament despite not being a native of that realm.

Dan Trachtenberg is a filmmaker and video podcast host from the Philadelphia suburbs who currently resides in the Los Angeles metro area. He is one of the three hosts of The Totally Rad Show and a former co-host of Geekdrome. Both programs are hosted at Revision3. In addition to working on Internet shows, Trachtenberg is the writer/director of the 2003 short film Kickin' and the director of various television commercials and public service announcements.

Trachtenberg has directed commercials for Lexus, Nike, and Coca Cola. In April, 2008, he joined Tight Films, for which he collaborated with Matt Wolf on an alternate reality game for Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

He directed the internet show, "Ctrl+Alt+Chicken."

On August 23, 2011, Trachtenberg released the short film, Portal: No Escape. Based on the video game, Portal, the film drew more than one million views within its first day on YouTube.^{[citation needed]} Within two months, the number of viewers surpassed six million.^{[citation needed]}