5.1 CHANNEL DIGITAL SOUND

The film digital sound exhibition standard utilizes five output speaker channels (left, centre, right, right surround, left surround, and subwoofer).

A-ROLL

All of the main footage was shot. The term is connected with the idea of having (at least) a two-camera setup and having an A-Camera for your main footage. A-Roll shot with the A-Camera is also usually meant to designate both the most important footage.

ACTION

The moving pictures we see on screen. Also, the direction is given by a director indicating that filming begins.

AD LIB

Dialogue is which the characters or actors make up what they say in real-time on the movie set or on stage. From the Latin ‘Ad Libitum’, in accordance with desire.

ADR

An abbreviation of ‘Automatic Dialog Replacement’ and also referred to as 'looping', a process of re-recording dialogue in the studio in synchronization with the picture.

AERIAL SHOT

An extremely high angle view of a subject is usually taken from a crane or a high stationary camera position, but may also refer to a shot taken from an actual aeroplane or helicopter.

AFTER EFFECTS

A software primarily used for creating motion graphics and visual effects.

ALIASING

An undesirable distortion component can arise in any digitally encoded information, sound or picture.

AMBIENT LIGHT

General, non-directional, room light.

AMBIENT NOISE

The total sound in a given area is peculiar to that space, room tone.

ANAMORPHIC

An optical system having different magnifications in the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the image. 720×480 becomes 854×480 Square pixels become rectangle pixels.

ANGLE

A particular camera placement.

APERTURE

A variable opening inside a lens regulates the amount of light reaching the image plane. Also known as an iris. Aperture is measured by f-number or f-stops.

APPLE BOX

A wooden box used to raise furniture or actors, such as make a shorter actor taller.

ART DIRECTOR

Designs and oversees the construction of the sets, managing the set designers, graphic artists and illustrators.

ASPECT RATIO

Aspect ratio is the relationship between the width and the height of your video dimensions expressed as a ratio. The most common aspect ratios for video are 4:3, 16:9 and 1.85:1.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Assists the director in planning the timeline and overseeing the day-to-day management of cast and crew

AUDIO/VISUAL SCRIPT

A dual column screenplay with video description on the left and audio and dialogue on the right, used in advertising, corporate videos, documentaries and training films.

AUTOMATIC SLATING

A camera attachment records the film shot and take numbers and a visible sync mark which corresponds to a tone fed to an audio recorder.

B-ROLL

B-roll is supplemental footage that provides supporting details and greater flexibility when editing video. Common examples include the footage used to cut away from an interview or news report to help tell the story.

BABY

Light fixtures in the 750 to 1000w range manufactured with a 5/8′′ female receiver for attaching to mounting hardware.

BABY PLATE

Used for mounting light fixtures that have a Baby, 5/8′′, receiver to a flat surface, such as wall or floor.

BACKGROUND

This is a term with a broad range of meanings, depending upon the context. In production, it has the same connotation as ‘atmosphere’, meaning extras that are staged to supply detail in the form of normal human traffic in a scene.

BAR CLAMP (FURNITURE CLAMPS)

Used to span between larger objects in order to facilitate mounting a small light fixture with a Bar Clamp Adapter.

BARNDOORS

Folding doors are mounted onto the front of a light unit in order to control illumination.

BEAT

A parenthetically noted pause interrupting dialogue, denoted by (beat), for the purpose of indicating a significant shift in the direction of a scene, much in the way that a hinge connects a series of doors.

BED (MUSIC BED)

Background music is used underneath a narrator or foreground dialogue. Primarily applied to commercial radio or television spots.

BEST PERSON (BEST BOY)

Gaffers and Key Grips each may utilize the Best Person, who serves as second in command for their department, coordinating personnel and equipment.

BIG BEN

Cheeseboro clamp with a 1-1/8′′ pin attached. It can serve a variety of purposes including using it with pipe to create a temporary overhead grid.

BIT RATE

Also known as ‘Data Rate;, is the amount of data used for each second of video. In the world of video, this is generally measured in kilobits per second (kbps) and can be constant and variable.

BKG

An abbreviation for 'Background'.

BLONDE

2000-Watt open-faced light fixtures typically of Italian manufacture, formerly sold by Strand Lighting.

BOKEH

Bokeh describes the character of the blur in an image, often used to specifically refer to points of light rendered as fuzzy circles.

BOOM

A telescoping arm for a camera or microphone might be available in a variety of sizes from the very small handheld types to the very large, which might be transported as an integral part of a motor vehicle.

BOOM OPERATOR

A person who holds/operates the microphone boom.

BOUNCE

Refers to the material used to literally bounce or reflect light onto your subject. Handy for an evening out harsh shadows and dispersing light so it doesn’t appear to be coming from a single source.

BUMPER AD

A 3-10 second video ad, usually with a clickable call-to-action. YouTube’s bumper ad is a 6 second, unskippable video ad that plays before a YouTube video. 

BURN-IN TIME CODE

A videotape in which a 'window' displaying the time code count on the tape is superimposed over part of the picture.

BUTTHEAD

A producer who thinks he knows more about a film technicians job than the tech himself knows.

C-STAND

A C-stand is essentially a heavy-duty tripod. C-stands are used by the grip department to execute various lighting and rigging tasks on a set.

CAMERA ANGLE

The viewpoint was chosen from which to photograph a subject.

CG (CHARACTER GENERATOR)

Text on screen, used for adding titles.

CGI (COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGE)

A term denoting a computer that will be used to generate the full imagery.

CLIPPING

The phenomenon where an input signal exceeds the capability of electronic or digital equipment to reproduce the signal. This results in an audible distortion (analogue) or an incomprehensible noise.

CLOSE UP

A close-up is a shot composition where the frame is filled almost entirely with the subject’s face.

CODEC

An abbreviation for 'Compression Decompression', a codec is the method a computer uses to determine the amount of change between frames of a video and compresses the data. A popular codec is H.264.

COLOUR CORRECTION

The process where colour and luminance values of video footage can be altered for colour accuracy and image consistency in post-production.

COLOUR TEMPERATURE

Colour temperature is a characteristic quality of the visible light in an image. It ranges from cool to warm and is measured in the unit Kelvin.

COMPOSITING

Compositing is the process of combining multiple images using post-production software.

COMPRESSION

The reduction of a span of amplitudes is done for the purpose of limiting the reproduction of those amplitudes. While it can take time to compress a video, it will upload faster, and also download quicker for anyone you choose to share the original file with.

CONDENSER MICROPHONE

The simplest type of microphone in which the capacitance, electrical charge, is varied by sound, causing movement in one plate, diaphragm, in relation to a fixed backplate.

CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK (CDN)

A computer system network across the web that delivers content to end-users. Each network can contain thousands of users, which allows massive networking and makes CDN ideal for online video content marketing.

COOKIE

Also known as a ‘Cucoloris’, perforated material is used to break up light or create a shadow pattern. Hard cookies, plywood, soft cookies, plastic, and natural cookies, tree limbs.

COVERAGE

An indeterminate number of more detailed shots are intended to be intercut with a master shot or scene.

CRAFT SERVICE

Catering service provided on set or location.

CRANE

A crane is a device used to capture moving shots with height, comprised of an arm with a camera attached to one end and a counterweight attached to the other. Often called a jib.

CRAWL

Text that moves right-to-left across the screen, usually on television and news programs. It usually appears at the top or bottom of a screen.

CROP FACTOR

A number, generally in the range of 1.3 to 2.0, indicates the ratio of a sensor’s imaging area to that of a full-frame sensor. Multiplying a lens’ focal length by a sensor’s crop factor gives the actual focal length for that sensor/lens combination.

CROSSFADE

The gradual mix of sound sources is accomplished by the simultaneous manipulation of two or more mix console faders.

CROSSING THE AXIS

Mistake in shooting where the camera physically crosses an imaginary line drawn from the nose of the interviewer to the nose of the interviewee. The result of crossing the axis is both heads face the same direction when edited together.

CU (CLOSE UP)

A very close camera angle on a character or object.

CUT-IN

Cut-ins are also known as insert shots, typically show objects or props that a character is manipulating.

CUTAWAY

A single shot is inserted into a sequence of shots that momentarily interrupts the flow of action, usually introducing a pertinent detail. Many times used as a reaction shot to some action. Also covers an edit to the A-roll.

CUTTERS

Large or odd-shaped flags are used to 'cut' the light off certain areas of the set. Sizes larger than 30′′ x 36′′ as well as odd-shaped ones such as 12′′ x 42′′ or 18′′ x 48′′ are considered cutters.

CYC LIGHT

Row lights for evenly illuminating a cyclorama or other background.

CYCLORAMA

Permanent background built in a studio which is nearly always coved or curved at the floor line to create a shadowless, unending backdrop.

DEPTH OF FIELD (DOF)

The amount of space within the lens view will maintain acceptable focus at given settings, camera speed, film speed, lens aperture. The shallow depth of field has the background out of focus.

DIALOGUE

The speeches between characters in a film or a play.

DIEGETIC SOUND

Diegetic sound refers to the sound that is present and/or captured during the recording of the video.

DIFFUSION

Diffusion simply refers to the material used on lights to reduce harsh shadows by softening light.

DIGITAL LIGHT PROJECTION (DLP)

A type of projector technology that uses a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). A DMD consists of thousands of tiny computer-controlled mirrors, that together with a fast-spinning Color Filter (or Color Wheel) forms a moving image.

DIGITAL SINGLE-LENS REFLEX (DSLR)

DSLR is a type of camera that uses a mirror to reflect the light coming through the lens onto the viewfinder. When you press the shutter button on the camera, this mirror swings out of the way to allow light to reach the image sensor.

DIGITAL ZOOM

This is a method of giving an appearance of zooming without an actual optical lens change. This is accomplished by cropping the image to a central area while maintaining the same aspect ratio.

DISSOLVE

A transition between two scenes where the first merges imperceptibly into the second.

DOLLY SHOT

Any shot made from a moving dolly. These may also be called tracking or travelling shots. Officially a dolly shot moves the camera towards the subject or away from the subject.

DOORWAY DOLLY

A plywood dolly with four soft tires is narrow enough to fit through a doorway. It is used to carry a camera on a tripod or for transporting other heavy items.

DOUBLE-SYSTEM SOUND

Sound and picture on separate transports. This refers to the normal methodology of recording the picture on a camera while recording the sound of a separate magnetic tape recorder.

DRAFT

An early version of a script that is not been approved, a work in progress. Each draft of rewrites/revisions should be numbered differently.

DROP FRAME

System of time code generation that adjusts the generated data every minute to compensate for the spread of the NTSC television system running at 29.97 frames per second.

DROP-IN

The process of inserting recorded audio by playing up to a chosen point and switching from playback to record mode.

DUBBING

An actor’s voice synchronization with lip movements which are not the originally recorded sound. This is used to replace unusable dialogue or recordings and also used to prepare foreign films.

DUTCH ANGLE

This is the process where a camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon.

DUVETYNE

A heavy black cloth, treated with fireproofing material, which is used for blacking out windows, making teasers, hiding cables, and hundreds of other uses.

DVI

DVI is the digital connector successor to VGA. DVI plugs are often coloured white.

DYNAMIC RANGE

Dynamic range is the range of which a camera can successfully capture the lightest and darkest areas of an image without losing detail.

EDIT DECISION LIST (EDL)

The list of SMPTE codes, in footage and frames, and including instructions for fades, dissolves and other special effects which corresponds to all the segments that are used in the final cut.

EDIT MASTER

The video industry term for the tape containing the finished (edited) programme.

EDIT POINTS

Also known as 'edit in' and 'edit out'. The beginning and endpoints of an edit are when a video program or soundtrack is being assembled.

EQUALIZATION

The alteration of sound frequencies for a specific purpose, such as to remove ‘noise’ frequencies or to improve speech clarity.

ESTABLISHING SHOT

A cinematic shot that establishes a certain location or area.

EXPORT

Exporting refers to the process of assembling your edited video project into a single file that can then be played back on it’s own, shared, or uploaded.

EXPOSURE

Exposure is the amount of time light is allowed to hit the sensor. The longer your exposure, the more light will get in and the brighter your image will be.

EXT (EXTERIOR)

The outdoors.

F-STOP

A term used to describe the size of the aperture opening. The lower the F-stop number, the bigger the aperture. If the aperture is low, more light is able to reach the image sensor. Common f-stops are: f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22.

FADE

The transition effect between a normal image and a black screen. When you dissolve from an image to black, it’s ‘fade out’. When you dissolve from black to an image, it’s ‘fade in’.  

FADE-TO-BLACK

Dissolve video to a black screen.

FAUXTOGRAPH

A fauxtograph involves using a camera, which records video but isn’t specifically a video camera, and telling your subject you’re taking a photo, but secretly taking a video.

FF (FREEZE FRAME)

An effect in which a single frame image is repeated so as to appear stationary when viewed.

FG (FOREGROUND)

Represented by the area of space. That stands between the camera lens and the individual that is being filmed. The foreground is often a blank space, essentially an area filled with air.

FIVE-BY-FIVE (5×5)

A 5×5 is a video composed of five 5-second clips and using original sound.

FLAG

Anything used to create shadow areas or cut off the light on the set or location

FLASHBACK

A scene from the past that interrupts the action to explain the motivation or reaction of a character to the immediate scene.

FLOOD

The widest beam spread on a lensed light.

FLOP-OVER

An optical effect in which the picture is shown reversed from left to right.

FLUORESCENT LIGHTS

Fluorescent lights emit light via mercury vapour and phosphor, they produce a soft, even light. The colour temperature of a fluorescent light depends on the lamp being used, and it can also be completely colour-corrected in post.

FOAMCORE

Polystyrene is sandwiched between paper. It is used for reflectors, softboxes, and other items because it is stable and easily cut.

FOCAL LENGTH

The distance from the lens to the image focus point inside the camera. A high focal length makes distant objects appear magnified while a low focal length gives a wide view of the scenery facing the lens.

FOCUS PULL

The refocusing of a lens during a shot to keep a moving subject in focus or to change the person or object of attention.

FOLEY

Creating sound effects by watching pictures and mimicking the action, often with props that do not exactly match the action.

FOLLOW FOCUS

Follow focus is a control mechanism that allows you to easily make changes on the focus ring of your camera lens.

FONT

The look of the printed text on the page or TV screen.

FORMAT

The size or aspect ratio of a motion picture frame, such as 4×3 and 16×9.

FRAME

The individual picture image on a strip of motion picture film. Also, one complete screen on videotape.

FRAME RATE

The frequency at which film or video frames run, such as 24 fps, 29.97 Hz in NTSC, 25 Hz in PAL European format.

FREQUENCY

The number of times a signal vibrates each second as expressed in cycles per second (cps) or Hertz (Hz).

FREQUENCY RESPONSE

This represents the sensitivity of a given sound, video, or other recordings/playback system.

FRESNEL

A stepped convex lens. It is most commonly used to describe tungsten-incandescent lamps, in order to focus the light given off into a controllable beam.

GAFF TAPE

Also referred to as ‘Gaffers Tape’, is a type of non-damaging, super durable tape used on film sets, most often by the gaffer and grip department.

GAFFER

The chief lighting technician for production is in charge of the electrical department.

GAIN

The ratio of the signal level at the output of an audio device to the signal level at its input. Expressed in decibels (db).

GAMMA

The degree of contrast in a negative or print.

GELS

Gels are pieces of coloured plastic used on lights. Gels allow light to pass through while changing the colour tone of the light itself.

GENRE

The category a storey or script falls into, such as a thriller, romantic comedy, action, screwball comedy.

GIGABYTE (GB)

A unit for measuring computer memory capacity, equivalent to 1,000 megabytes (MB).

GOBO

A grip head or 'C' stand head is used as a clamping device for holding other equipment.

HANDLE

An extra number of frames is attached to the head and tail of a video clip as a safety precaution, in case you need extra for a transition.

HARD DISK

A data storage and retrieval device consisting of a disk drive and one or more permanently installed disks. Increasingly common for storing sound effects and archiving for future use.

HARMONIC DISTORTION

Acoustic distortion is characterized by unwanted changes between input and output at a given frequency.

HIGH DEFINITION MEDIA INTERFACE (HDMI)

A digital connector prevalent across both consumer electronics and modern computers. HDMI carries both HD video and the audio signal to the TV.

HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)

The compositing of two images, one that properly exposes the highlights, and another that properly exposes the dark areas. When composited together, you get a properly exposed image.

HOT SHOE

The hot shoe is a mounting point at the top of some cameras that allow you to attach a flash unit, microphones or other accessories.

HYDRARGYRUM MEDIUM-ARC IODIDE (HMI)

An enclosed, AC mercury arc lamp. Colour balanced for outside. HMI lights emit light via pressurized mercury vapour and metal halides. Ideal for imitating daylight, they keep cooler and have a very high light output.

IMAGE SENSOR

The image sensor is what your digital camera uses to convert an optical image into an electric signal that your camera interprets to produce the image you see. Common types of sensors are APS-C, micro four thirds, and full-frame.

IMPORTING

Importing refers to the process of transferring videos from your camera onto your computer or into a piece of editing software.

INSERT EDITING

Used in videotape or digital audio editing to describe the process of replacing a segment located between two specific and previously dubbed segments.

INT (INTERIOR)

The indoors.

INTERACTIVE VIDEO

An online video that allows viewers to manipulate the video content by clicking options. For example, users can click on a product to know more info or make a purchase, or watch the video from a different angle.

INTERCUT

A script instruction denoting that the action moves back and forth between two or more scenes.

INTERCUTTING

An editing method whereby related shots are inserted into a series of other shots for the purpose of contrast or for some other effect.

IRIS

A variable aperture that controls exposure or the amount of light that is released from a lighting unit.

IRIS WIPE

A wipe effect in the form of an expanding or diminishing circle.

ISO (INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION)

A camera setting in digital cameras changes how sensitive the sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor is to light, allowing you to shoot video in low light conditions.

J-CUT

A J-cut is a type of cut in which the sound of the next scene precedes the picture. The name comes from the shape these clips make in the timeline of an editing program.

JUMP-CUT

An editorial device where the action is noticeably advanced in time, either accidentally or for the purpose of creating an effect on the viewer.

K (DEGREES KELVIN)

The unit of measurement is used for absolute temperatures and colour temperatures. 6500K, daylight colour temperature, versus 3000K, tungsten colour temperature, versus 4500K, fluorescent colour temperature.

KEY LIGHT

The main light on a subject.

KICK

An object with a shine or reflection on it from another object.

L-C-R-S (LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT, SURROUND)

The four playback channels used in 35mm motion pictures, now available on home hi-fi systems. L, C and R speakers are located behind the screen. The S channel surrounds the audience and maybe mono or encoded stereo.

L-CUT

A type of cut in which the picture changes but the audio continues. The name comes from the shape these clips make in the timeline of an editing program.

LAMP

A reference to the bulb inside a lighting unit, but may sometimes be used to refer to the entire lighting unit.

LAPEL

A small microphone is easily clipped onto a person’s clothing, usually within a foot or less of the mouth, for voice amplification.

LATITUDE

The range between overexposure and underexposure in which a film will still produce usable images.

LAVALIER MICROPHONE

A small microphone that can be easily hidden on a piece of clothing so as not to be seen by the camera. Shortened to 'Lav'

LAYBACK

Transfer of the finished audio mix back onto the video edit master.

LEKO

An ellipsoidal reflector spotlight. Usually used for theatrical purposes.

LEVEL

The ratio of an acoustic quantity to a reference quantity. Measurement of amplitude in decibels.

LIBRARY SHOT

Stock footage shot or other footage which is germane to a given visual presentation but which was not generated for that specific film or television presentation.

LIP-SYNC

The relationship of sound ad picture exists when the movements of speech are perceived to coincide with the sounds of speech.

LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY (LCD)

Similar to Plasma screens and are comprised of a thin layer of special liquid crystals sandwiched between sheets of polarized glass or plastic. Unlike a Plasma screen, however, the liquid crystals don’t emit light.

LITHIUM

Lithium-ion batteries are the preferred type of battery for use in high-end film equipment. Most cameras are designed to use lithium-ion batteries, which are proprietary, meaning they are made for a specific camera model.

LONG PORTRAIT

A long portrait is similar to a fauxtograph, except this time your subject is in on it. Takes portraiture photography and transfers it to video form, revealing a subject’s subtle expressions, mannerisms, and gestures.

LONG-FORM VIDEO

Video footage runs over 5 minutes. Long-form video usually refers to full-length films or TV shows.

LOOPING

A continuous soundtrack that runs repeatedly in playback as a guide for re-recording.

LOW-KEY

A high contrast lighting style with lots of shadows and large areas of darkness.

LOWPASS FILTER

A filter that attenuates frequencies above a specified frequency and allows those below that point to pass.

M.O.S. (MIT OUT SOUND)

Without sound, so described because a German-born director wanting a scene with no sound told the crew to shoot ‘mit out sound’.

MACRO

A lens that uses a long barrel for close focusing. Typically, a macro lens is capable of creating a reproduction ratio greater than 1:1. The reproduction ratio is the size of your subject on your image sensor to the size of your actual subject.

MAFER CLAMP

Used to attach fixtures and equipment to a variety of irregular surfaces including furniture. With a padded grip surface and a unique design combining one flat and one v-notched jaw.

MASTER (PRINT MASTER)

A positive print made specifically for duplicating purposes.

MATCH CUT (MATCH-ACTION CUT)

A cut made on action or movement between two shots in which the action has been overlapped either by repetition of the action or by the use of more than one camera.

MATCH DISSOLVE

A dissolve linking images that have similar content.

MATCH-IMAGE CUT

A cut from one shot to another shot having an image of the same general shape as the one in the prior shot.

MATCHING

Arranging for the impedances presented by a load to be equal to the internal impedance of the generator. This is essential to avoid loss of power. In microphones, the loss results in a poorer signal-to-noise ratio.

MATCHING ACTION

The process of aligning or overlapping the shots of a film sequence in order to achieve a smooth transition from the action in one shot to the action of the succeeding shot.

MATTE BOX

A box that sits on the front of the camera lens to block and absorb light, usually held up by a set of rails attached to the bottom of the camera. They're used mainly to hold lens filters and to reduce lens flares by controlling the light.

MEMORY BANK

A memory bank is a video that documents certain time periods or events in someone’s life. It can be set to music, make use of natural sound, record vacations, or just capture moments in everyday life.

MEMORY CARD

A memory card is a data storage device used to store the digital information of your photos and videos on your camera. The two main types of memory cards are Secure Digital (SD) and Compact Flash (CF).

MID-STREAM ADS

Ads that appear during a web video. Less popular compared to usual ads as viewers often close their browsers instead of watching these.

MONOPOD

A monopod is similar to a tripod, but with only one ‘foot.’ It provides support but also mobility, and is handy in situations where bringing a tripod would be too cumbersome.

MONTAGE

The assembly of shots and the portrayal of action or ideas through the use of many short shots.

MOTION GRAPHICS

Using animation or video to generate the false impression of movement. Compared to ‘talking head’ advertisements, motion graphics are considered more effective although a little more expensive.

MOTIVATED LIGHTING

A lighting style in which the light sources imitate existing sources, such as lamps or windows.

MULTIMEDIA

Writing and filmmaking encompassing more than one medium at a time which, script-wise, usually refers to CD-ROM games or Internet-based programming.

MUSIC

Instrumental Stock music library music cut.

NEUTRAL DENSITY (ND) FILTER

Colourless filters that reduce the amount of light in controlled degrees. ND gels used inside to cut down on window lighting. ND filter used by TV cameras outside during very sunny days.

NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE BATTERIES (NIMH)

NiMH batteries are a type of battery used in some lower-end cameras. Although cheaper than Lithium-ion batteries, they tend to lose charge when not in use and don’t provide as much overall power.

NOIR

Usually refers to the classic black and white film noir style used in detective mysteries, typically employing hard lighting and dark, low key lighting.

NTSC (NATIONAL TELEVISION STANDARDS COMMITTEE)

The organization that sets the American broadcast and videotape format standards for the FCC.

NUMBERED SCENES

Numbers that appear to the right and left of the scene heading to aid the Assistant Director in breaking down the scenes for scheduling and production.

O.C. (OFF-CAMERA)

Denoting that the speaker is resident within the scene but not seen by the camera.

O.S. (OFF-SCREEN)

Denoting that the speaker is not resident within the scene.

ONE-MINUTE VIDEO

A one minute video is a video exactly one minute in length, containing no camera movements (panning, tilting, etc.) or editing, and making use of original sound.

OPENING CREDITS

On-screen text describing the most important people involved in the making of a movie.

OPTICAL ZOOM

Optical zoom is the lens’ ability to change the focal length either closer to or further from a central subject.

OVER-THE-SHOULDER

Over-the-shoulder shots are framed with an emphasis on a particular character’s perspective. This shot is used in dialogue scenes to show conversations between two people.

PAL (PHASE ALTERNATING LINE)

The European colour television standard specifies a 25Hz frame rate and 625 lines per frame.

PAN

A camera direction indicating a stationary camera that moves left to right or right to left. A horizontal movement of a camera on a fixed axis.

PHANTOM POWER

A method of remotely powering the preamplifier or impedance converter is built into many microphones by sending a voltage along the audio cable. Many lavs use phantom power instead of batteries.

PIXEL ASPECT RATIO

Your video image is made up of thousands of little squares called pixels. The width of each pixel relative to its height is know as the pixel aspect ratio. For uploading to Vimeo, set your pixel aspect ratio (PAR) to 1:1 or 1.00.

PLASMA

Comprised of hundreds of thousands of tiny gas-filled cells sandwiched between two sheets of glass. When an electric charge is applied to one of these gas-filled cells, it emits light, making up one of the thousands of pixels on-screen.

POLARIZING FILTER

A piece of glass that fits over the front end of a lens to change the way that your camera sees and treats light, while ultimately cutting down on glare.

POST-PRODUCTION (POST)

All stages of production are done after the video are recorded. This might include music, editing, and special effects. These are essential in making an engaging video.

POV (POINT OF VIEW)

A camera angle is placed so as to seem the camera is the eyes of a character.

PRACTICAL

Any light that appears in the scene.

PRESS KIT

Provides background information on a film for members of the press for promotional purposes. It can include an in-depth synopsis, cast and crew bios, reviews of the film, and production stills.

PRIME LENS

A prime lens is a lens with a fixed focal length. Although less versatile than a zoom, prime lenses often provide superior optical quality and wider apertures (often down to 1.2 or 1.4) and are lighter weight and less bulky.

PRODUCTION SCRIPT

A script in which no more major changes or rewrites is anticipated to occur, which is used day by day for filming on a movie set.

PROFILE PICTURE

Refers to the four dimensions of in-camera picture settings: sharpness, contrast, saturation, and colour tone. You can create a custom picture style, or use an already established picture style or download one from a third party.

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

Video content to promote or market something, such as a product, brand, or company. These videos don’t get direct revenue, but can indirectly boost sales by creating interest in the product or service.

REACTION SHOT

A shot of a player listening while another player’s voice continues on the soundtrack.

RESOLUTION

A measure of the number of pixels a video contains both horizontally and vertically. Some common resolutions are 640×480 (SD) 1280×720 (HD), 1920×1080 (HD). Sometimes these are referred to just by their vertical dimension.

REVERSE ANGLE

A shot that is turned approximately 180 degrees in relation to the preceding shot.

REVISED PAGES

Changes are made to the script after the initial circulation of the Production Script, which is different in colour and incorporated into the script without displacing or rearranging the original, unrevised pages.

ROOM TONE

The 'noise' of a room, set or location where dialogue is recorded during Production. Used by film and dialogue editors as a 'bed' to form a continuous tone through a particular scene.

ROTOSCOPING

Creating animated characters by tracing an action movie with real actors frame by frame. Rotoscoping works by projecting each movie frame onto a frosted glass easel, from which the illustrator traced and redrew the image.

ROUGH CUT

A preliminary trial stage in the process of editing a film. Shots are laid out in approximate relationship to an end product without detailed attention to the individual cutting points.

RULE OF THIRDS

A method of composing your shots in an aesthetically pleasing way.

SANDBAG

Typically weighing 11 & 15 kgs, are used to secure stands and equipment around the set or on location. Sandbags used in film and video production are specifically made for this purpose and include a handle for ease of movement.

SCREEN LEFT

In an interview situation, the interviewee is framed on the left side of the TV screen, with their nose pointed to the right of the screen.

SCREEN RIGHT

In an interview situation, the interviewee is framed on the right side of the TV screen, with their nose pointed to the left of the screen.

SCREENER

A version of a film for sending to film festivals and press. Often requested as a DVD, but sometimes accepted online, screeners should be formatted correctly and marked with the appropriate information requested by the festival.

SCREENING

The showing of a film for test audiences and/or people involved in the making of the movie.

SCREENPLAY

A formatted written work that includes stage direction, action, character names and dialogue.

SCRIM

A metal ‘window screen’ can be placed in front of a lighting unit to decrease the lighting intensity by a predetermined amount.

SCRIPT

The blueprint or roadmap that outlines a movie story through visual descriptions, actions of characters and their dialogue. The term 'script' also applies to stageplays as well.

SCRUB

Moving the cursor or played across the video timeline manually.

SET

The physical elements are constructed or arranged to create a sense of place.

SETTING

The time and place of a play or screenplay.

SFX

Abbreviation for ‘Sound Effects’, an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media.

SHOOTING SCRIPT (EDITING SCRIPT)

A script that has been prepared to be put into production.

SHORT-FORMVVIDEO

Video footage that is shorter than 5 minutes, typically between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, short videos make up most of the video content online. 

SHOT

What the camera sees. Tracking Shot would mean that the camera is following a character or a character walking in a scene. Wide Shot would mean that we see every character that appears in the scene, all at once.

SHOT LIST

A shot list is a full log of all the shots you want to include in your film; essentially it is a checklist filled with minute details that will give your film a sense of direction and efficiency.

SHOTGUN MIC

A highly directional microphone, usually with a long, tubular body; used by the production sound mixer on location or on the set for film and television productions.

SHOULDER RIG

A shoulder rig is a piece of equipment used to help stabilize a handheld camera.

SHUTTER SPEED

Shutter speed is the amount of time that each individual frame is exposed for when shooting a video on a DSLR. For example, if you set your camera’s shutter speed to 60, each frame is being exposed for 1/60th of a second.

SIGHTLINE

An imaginary line is drawn between a subject and the object that he/she is looking at.

SILK

A lighting diffusion or reflective material, formerly real silk.

SIMULTANEOUS DIALOGUE

When two characters speak at the same time, written in two columns side by side.

SINGLE

A shot with only one subject in the frame.

SINGLE SYSTEM

A method of recording sound and picture on the same medium, most typically used in newsgathering.

SITE SURVEY

Scouting out a shoot location before the shoot day. Notate lighting, power availability, shooting fees, accessibility for heavy equipment and crowd control.

SLATE

The identifier is placed in front of the camera at beginning of a take.

SLIDER

An editing tool that allows you to move a clip to the left or right in a timeline while simultaneously trimming the two clips on either side.

SLIP

A handy editing tool that simultaneously changes the in and out points of a clip in a timeline at the same time, while keeping the time span between them the same.

SLOW-MOTION

The action of slowing down pre-recorded footage to a different speed.

SLUG (NAME OF STORY)

Another name for the Scene Heading

SMASH CUT

A quick or sudden cut from one scene to another.

SMPTE (SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE AND TELEVISION ENGINEERS)

Also known as ‘Longitudinal Time Code’, a high-frequency signal that allows the accurate 'locking' of film audio and video equipment. Locator information is displayed as numbers.

SNORRICAM

A camera rig attached to the body of an actor to create the effect of a background that moves dynamically around a subject that remains stationary. Also known as a chest cam or body mount camera.

SOUND EFFECT

A recorded or electronically produced sound that matches the visual action taking place onscreen.

SPFX (SPECIAL EFFECTS)

Illusions or tricks of the eye are created to simulate the imagined events in a story or imagined world. Special effects for videos are powerful storytelling tools.

SPILL

The light that is escaping from the sides of a lighting unit, or any light that is falling where it is not wanted.

SPLIT SCREEN

A screen with different scenes taking place in two or more sections; the scenes are usually interactive, as in the depiction of two sides of a phone conversation.

SPOT

On a lensed light, the smallest beam spread. (Lighting). In TV lingo, it means a commercial ad.

STEADICAM

A flying camera stabilizer (often comprised of an arm, vest, and sled) that enables cinematographers to get smooth moving shots.

STINGER

A single extension cord. Most often referred to a single ‘hot’ extension that is left lying around for occasional use.

STOCK SHOT

A sequence of films previously shot and available for purchase and use from a film library.

STOP MOTION

An animation technique used to make objects appear as if they were moving freely.

STORYBOARDS

Drawings that show each scene of your film, creating a blueprint for your movie. Storyboards provide a clear and concise visual plan for what you need to shoot or animate.

SUGGESTED SETTING

A setting on stage in which a few set pieces or lighting or other technical elements take the place of elaborate set construction.

SUPER

Abbreviation for 'Superimpose' meaning laying one image on top of another, usually text over a scene.

SURROUND SOUND

A sound that is reproduced through speakers above or behind the audience.

SWEETEN/SWEETENING

Enhancing the sound of a recording or a particular sound effect with equalization or some other signal processing device.

SYNC BEEP (SYNC TONE)

With multiple video cameras, and audio tone is fed into an audio recorder at the same time that the sound is picked up on the camera microphone. The beep from the camera mic is aligned with the beep tone from the audio recorder.

TAG

A short scene at the end of a movie usually provides some upbeat addition to the climax.

TALKING-HEAD

Where the main action of the video involves someone talking to the camera, either directly or slightly to the side, interview style. 

TB

Terrabyte or one thousand megabytes.

TELEPHOTO

A lens that uses a telephoto group to enable a longer focal length than the physical body of the lens would normally permit. This allows the lens to magnify images while maintaining its small size.

TELEPROMPTER

A screen positioned in front of a person where they can read text while directly looking into a camera.

THREE-POINT LIGHTING

A common type of lighting setup that lights a subject from three different sources in order to control shadows and balance contrast. The three lights are typically called back, key, fill lights.

TILTS

Fixed up and down, or vertical, movements made with the camera.

TIMEBASE SIGNAL

A signal is recorded on the edge of the film in a camera to match a signal recorded on a magnetic recording which is used as a fast means of synchronizing film and sound workprints.

TIME CODE

A coded signal generated by a camera or separate device giving information about such things as frame number or time of recording. This information can be used in post-production to log the shots and organize the video clips.

TIMELAPSE

A technique where each frame in a video is captured at a much slower rate than normal. When played back at normal speed, time appears to go by faster.

TITLE

Text that appears onscreen denoting a key element of the movie, a change of location or date, or person involved in the making of the movie.

TRACKING

Also known as a ‘Dolly Shot’, physically advances or changes the position of the camera relative to the subject, changing the spatial relations between a subject and its surroundings. These shots are captured using a dolly or slider.

TRANSITION

A script notation denoting an editing transition within the telling of a story. For example, DISSOLVE TO: means the action seems to blur and refocus into another scene and is generally used to denote a passage of time.

TRAVELING MATTE

A process shot in which foreground action is superimposed on a separate background with the image is moving.

TREATMENT

A scene by scene description of a screenplay, minus all or most of the dialogue.

TRIPOD

A three-legged camera stand that helps shoot a still video. 

TUNGSTEN

Tungsten lights emit light using a filament of tungsten wire and are larger versions of the everyday lighting found in your home. Tungsten light has a colour temperature of around 3200K.

TV SAFE/TITLE SAFE/ACTION SAFE

The area of an image that will normally appear on a home television set.

UNDERSCORE

Music that provides emotional or atmospheric background to the primary dialogue or narration onscreen.

VGA (VIDEO GRAPHICS ARRAY)

A type of analogue connector found on older flat-panel TVs and computers. VGA connectors and plugs are commonly coloured blue.

VIDEO SEO

Video Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making the most for ranking and indexing a video on search engines.

VIEWFINDER

The part of the camera you look through to see the image from your lens’ field of view.

VIRAL VIDEO

Online video is usually delivered via email or social media which gets far-reaching attention. Touted as the most effective online video marketing media,  being more engaging than traditional ads.

VLOG

A ‘video blog’ which uses talking to the camera instead of writing on a webpage. 

VOICE-OVER (VO)

Narration or non-synchronous dialogue taking place over the action.

VU METER (VOLUME UNIT)

A meter designed to measure audio level in volume units which generally correspond to perceived loudness.

WHITE BALANCE

The process of capturing the correct colours for the type of available light. Think of it as making sure the colour white is always white and doesn’t have blue or red tints.

WIDE-ANGLE

A lens that uses a grouping of glass to enable a shorter focal length than the physical body of the lens would normally permit. This lens can capture more of a subject from an equal distance, compared to a normal lens.

WIDESCREEN

A general term for film presentation in which a film is shown in an aspect ratio of greater than 1.33 to 1. HD is widescreen with a ratio of 16×9. (1.777 ratios) 1920 x 1080.

WILD LINE

A line of dialogue, recorded either on set or at a looping stage, without any picture running.

WILD TRACK

Audio elements that are not recorded synchronously with pictures.

WIPE

A transition effect in which one image is replaced by another with a boundary edge that moves in a selected pattern across the frame.

XLR (EXTERNAL LINE RETURN)

One of several varieties of sound connectors having three pins plus an outer shell that shields the connectors and locks the connectors into place.

ZOOM SHOT

An optical effect in which the image rapidly grows larger or smaller as though the camera is moving closer or away from its subject.

ZOOM LENS

A lens with a ring that allows for zooming in and out between a range of focal lengths within the single lens.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Hopefully, this has provided you with insight to assist you with your business.