Glossary of Shooting and Editing Terms

A

Ambient sound. Unintelligible background noise

Aperture. Opening of the camera lens controlling and allowing the light to pass through

Assemble edit. A video editing procedure which records new video, audio, and control track information simultaneously

Available light. Light from a natural source or commonly used lamp, as opposed to light added to a scene by using special television lights

B

Background light. Any light used to illuminate the background of a set or scene, but not intended to illuminate the subject

Backlight. Light striking a subject from the direction opposite to the camera. Generally used to highlight the subject and set it apart from the background

Base light. An even, diffuse, light filling a setting

C

Close-up. A shot Getting close to the subject.

CU. Close-up.

Cut. The transition from one picture or audio source to another.

Cutaway. A shot added between two edit points

D

Depth of field. The range of distances in front of the lens in which objects appear to be in acceptable focus.

Depth of focus. The range of distances from the rear of the lens to the face of the pickup tube in which acceptable focus can be achieved.

Dolly. A device with wheels attached to a tripod to allow smooth movement of a camera.

E

Edit. The process of adding pictures and sound together on one source.

Establishing shot. A shot used to introduce a scene, usually a wide angle view. It illustrates the setting and the environment.

F

Fade. In Video the gradual change of a picture to black or vice versa, and in audio the gradual chance from sound to silence or vice versa.

Fill light. Light used to fill in shadows.

Flare. Haziness of an image caused by reflections of light within the lens itself.

Flood light. Any light throwing a broad, even illumination with diffused shadows.

Focal length. The distance from the optical center of a lens to the focal plane of the camera

Focus. To cause a sharp image from a lens to be projected onto the focal plane of a camera.

Frame. A complete television picture consisting of two interlaced fields of video. The frame rate for PAL is 25 frames per second and for NTSC is thirty frames per second.

Freeze frame. The continuous repetition of a single frame of video. It is technically not possible for helical videotape recorders to display freeze frames, since they read only one field of video on each pass across the videotape.

Fresnel. A special light-weight lens used in focusing beams of light. Originally used in lighthouses, now also used in high-quality studio and theatrical lights.

f-stop. The size of the aperture in a lens, given in f-numbers. The lower the f-number, the more light passes through the lens. Measured in stops for example f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22 each have one stop between them, so f2.8 to f16 will be 5 stops

G

Gaffer. The crew member principally responsible for transporting, maintaining, and setting up lighting equipment.

Gaffer's tape. A strong adhesive tape used in film and television production.

Gain. Degree of amplification. The difference between the signal level at the input of a device and the level at the output, usually expressed in dB.

Grip. The crew member principally responsible for the transportation, maintenance and mounting of the camera.

H

Head room. The space between the top of a subject's head and the top of the video frame.

I

Incident light. Light striking a subject, as opposed to light reflected by a subject.

Insert. A shot or sequence inserted into a existing edit package.

Insert edit. A video or audio edit mode which is recorded on a tape which already has a reference on it.

J

Jump cut. An edit cut which makes the subject seem to "jump" on screen

K

Key light. The primary illumination for a scene, generally giving the impression of a natural light source.

L

Lavalier. A microphone worn on the body and held in place either with a lanyard worn around the neck or a clip fastened to clothing. 

Lens hood. Also lens shade. A cone or square fastened to the front end of a lens to keep incident light from striking the lens directly and causing lens flare.

Live. Not prerecorded. Occurring at the same instant as it is seen on the Television

Live on tape. Unedited. Recorded exactly as occurring with no compression of time or alteration of any sequence of events.

Long shot. A shot including a relatively wide view of an overall scene, often used as an establishing shot.

M

Master. The tape where the edit is recorded on

Master. The finished copy of a program from which copies are made for distribution.

Medium shot. (MS). A shot showing a single subject, rather than an overall scene, but not in detail. For example, a shot of a person including the body from the waist to slightly above the top of the head.

N

Neutral Density Filter. A filter which reduces the overall amount of light reaching the lens having no effect on color. Either used on the lens or/and on the light source

Nose room. The space between the nose of a subject's head in profile and the edge of the video frame the subject is facing.

O

Original. First generation videotape. The tape which is recorded in the camera

One-hundred eighty degree rule. A rule of visual continuity which states that when dealing with two or more subjects, shots may only be cut together if they are taken from the same side of a line drawn through the subjects. Used to maintain proper direction on the screen.

P

Pan. A camera movement in which the camera is rotated in the horizontal axis. The proper commands are "pan right" and "pan left."

Profile. Side view of a person.

R

Reflected light. Light reaching the camera after being reflected by a subject.

Reflector flood. A sealed floodlight with a self-contained reflector.

Reflector spot. A sealed spotlight with a self-contained reflector.

S

Safe area. The area which is almost certain to be displayed on any television set. About 80% of the scanned area. Some camera viewfinders have an safe area index.

Slow motion. Playback of a videotape at a speed slower than the speed at which it was recorded. 

Superimposition. The adding or mixing of two video signals to produce and image with two or more pictures visible simultaneously.

T

Telephoto lens. Any lens with a focal length significantly greater than the standard focal length for the format in which it is to be used. The standard length for 35mm still cameras and one inch television cameras is 50mm.

Thirty-degree rule. A principle of visual continuity which states that the relative angle of view of any two similarly framed shots of the same subject which are to be cut together should vary by at least thirty degrees.

Tilt. A camera movement in which the camera is rotated in the vertical axis. The commands are "tilt up" and "tilt down."

W

Wide angle. Any lens with a focal length significantly less than the standard length for the format in which it is used. For 35mm still cameras and one inch television cameras, the standard length is 50mm.

Wide Shot (WS). A picture showing a subject in the context of the surroundings to establish the relationship between the subject and the surroundings.

Z

Zoom. To change the focal length of a zoom lens.

Zoom lens. A lens with a variable focal length.

Zoom ratio. The ratio of the longest focal length to the shortest focal length of a zoom lens.