Glossary

Aspect Ration

The easiest way to explain aspect ratio is to say that it means the ratio between the width of the picture and the height of the picture. Normal TV's aspect ratio is 4:3 (1.33:1), HDTV's aspect ratio is 16:9 (1.85:1).

Capture

Capture is the process of digitizing video and storing it as a video clip on a computer hard drive. Video can be captured from a variety of sources including video cameras and VCR's. When capturing from an analog source, a digital conversion product is required such as the Canopus ADVC system used on the LITS video editing machine.

Coverage

Coverage refers to the filming of a scene from several camera angles/set-ups to provide alternative footage to cut away to. This adds dimension to a scene. Included in coverage is an initial shot of the scene also known as the "establishing shot".

Frame Rate (mode)

Frame Rate refers to how many frames per second are shot. When you watch TV, you are watching NTSC mode which involves 29.97 frames being shown every second. It's not that simple however. NTSC is an interlaced signal which means that each frame has an upper and a lower portion that is read thus you are essentially viewing a 59.94 frame per second signal! Progressive Scan, by comparison, is a non-interlaced signal containing only single frames and can contain 30 or 15 frames per second depending on the video camera. Progessive Scan Mode is used to acheive a more cinematic or film-like look.

Gamma

Gamma refers to the shadow portion of an image and is affected by several factors including aperture and white balancing.

IEEE 1394/Firewire/iLink

This is the interface standard that allows for transfer of digital video from a DV camcorder and a computer. Apple Computer calls this standard 'Firewire'. Sony calls the standard 'iLink'.

Interlaced Signal/Non-Interlaced Signal

See discussion of Frame Rate above

"Lock It Up"

This term is often used after a director yells "Cut". This is an indication that the shooting set-up is complete. All cameras and audio recording devices are to be stopped.

Resolution

The amount of video information in each frame, normally represented by the number of horizontal pixels times the number of vertical pixels - 640x480 for example. A higher resolution will deliver a crisper and better better.

Title Safe Area

Footage that is recorded by a digital video camera is often wider than what will fit on some of the intended delivery systems (TV's). To deal with this often problematic reality, title safe area is designated by video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro to give the editor an area that can expect will be viewed by all potential viewers.