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Video Editing > Video Editing Terminology > Flashcards

Video Editing Terminology Flashcards

1
Q

30 degree rule

A

A cousin to the 180 degree rule, this rule decries that when recording coverage for a scene from differing camera angles within the film set, the camera
should be moved around the 180 degree arc at least 30 degrees from one shot to the next to create enough variation on the angle-on-action so that the two different shots will edit together and appear different enough in their framing.

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2
Q

4:3

A

The aspect ratio for standard definition television. Four units wide by three units tall — more square in its visual presentation than high definition’s 16:9 aspect ratio .

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3
Q

180 degree line

A

The imaginary line established by the sight lines of talent within a shot that determines where the 180 degree arc of safe shooting is set up for the camera coverage of that scene. The camera should not be moved to the opposite side of this action line because it will cause a reversal in the established screen direction.
See also 180 Degree Rule, Axis of Action, and Sight Line.

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4
Q

180 degree rule

A

In filmmaking, an imaginary 180 degree arc, or half circle, is established on one side of the shooting set once the camera first records an angle on the action in that space. All subsequent shots must be made from within that same semi-circle. Since screen direction, left and right, for the entire scene is established, the camera may not photograph the subject from the other side of the circle without causing a reversal in the screen direction.

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5
Q

16:9

A

The aspect ratio for high definition video. Sixteen units wide by nine units tall — a widescreen display is generated.

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6
Q

Act (noun)

A

In long form programming (feature films, episodic television, etc.) the “ story ” is broken down into several major sections known as acts. In fictional narrative
filmmaking, a story will traditionally have three acts loosely termed the set-up, the confrontation, and the resolution

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7
Q

Action

A

What the director calls out to signify that the acting for the shot being recorded should begin.

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8
Q

Action line

A

The imaginary line established by talent’s sight line used to dictate from where on the film set the camera may be placed for coverage shooting.

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9
Q

ADR (automatic dialogue replacement)

A

A process where actors record lines of dialogue in a recording studio. Used to replace poor quality or all together missing production audio. An editor may then use these clean recordings for the actual edit.

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10
Q

Ambience (sound)

A

The general background sounds of any location where a scene for a film is shot. Examples: school cafeteria, football game arena, subway car.

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11
Q

Angle on action

A

The angle from which a camera views the action on the film set.

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12
Q

Angle of incidence

A

The angle from which incident light falls upon a film set. A single lighting fixture directly overhead will have a 90 degree (from horizon) angle of incidence.

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13
Q

Angle of view

A

The field of view encompassed by the light gathering power of a film lens. A wide angle lens has a wide angle of view. A telephoto lens has a narrower angle of view on the world.

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14
Q

Aperture

A

In motion picture equipment terms, the aperture refers to the iris or flexible opening of the camera lens that controls how much or how little light is used to expose
the image inside the camera. A wide aperture or iris setting lets in a larger amount of light. A smaller aperture lets in less light. On many camera lenses, the aperture can also be fully “ stopped down ” or closed all the way for total darkness on the image.

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15
Q

Artificial light

A

Any light generated by a man-made device such as a film light, a desk lamp, or a neon sign.

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16
Q

Aspect ratio

A

The numerical relationship between the dimensions of width and height for any given visual recording medium. In the example 16:9, the first number, 16, represents
the units of measure across the width of a high-definition video frame. The second number, 9, represents the same units of measure for the height of the same frame.

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17
Q

Assemble edit

A

The phase during the post-production process where an editor first assembles the raw footage into a basic story structure.

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18
Q

Assistant editor

A

A support position within a post-production environment. The duties and responsibilities of an AE change with the complexity of the program edited, the budget, and the facility in which the edit is completed. General tasks include capturing and organizing footage within an editing project, attending to the chief editor’s needs,
authoring proof copies for review and approval, etc.

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19
Q

Atmosphere (sound)

A

The general background sounds of any location where a scene for a film is shot. Examples: school cafeteria, football game arena, subway car.

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20
Q

Atmospherics

A

Any particulates suspended in the air around a film set or location, such as fog or mist or dust, which will cumulatively obscure the distant background.

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21
Q

Attention

A

The direction in which a character faces within the film space. The attention of a character may be drawn by another character, an inanimate object, or anything
that draws his or her attention. An imaginary line connects the eyes of the character and the object of their attention and, most often, the audience will trace this line to also see what the character sees. See also Sight Lines.

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22
Q

Audio mix

A

The process of blending together the many different audio tracks used in an edited program such that their levels (volumes) work appropriately together. Spoken
dialogue, voice-over narration, music, sound effects, etc., are all blended so they sound good with one another under the picture track.

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23
Q

Axial edit

A

Cutting two shots together that view the subject from the exact same angle on action but only change the magnification of the subject. See also Cut-In and
Punching-In.

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24
Q

Axis of action

A

The invisible line established by talent sight lines that helps establish what side of the action the camera can record coverage for that scene. The camera should not be moved to the opposite side of this action line because it will cause a reversal in the established screen direction. See 180 Degree Rule, Sight Line, and
Imaginary Line.

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25
Q

Background

A

The zone within a filmed frame that shows the deep space farther away from camera. Most often the background is out of focus, but serves to generate the
ambience of the location.

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26
Q

Back light

A

A light used on a film set placed behind the talent but pointed at their backside. It generally serves to help separate the body from the background by providing
a rim or halo of light around the edges of the body, head, and hair.

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27
Q

Back timing

A

Laying in audio from a known and desired end point with an uncertain start point in your program.

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28
Q

Beat

A

A moment in time. A pause of no precise timing but appropriate for the needs of the edited piece. When strung together, several beats can account for the editor’s gut instinct in proper timing of shots, titles, transition effects, and so on.

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29
Q

Binocular vision (human visual system)

A

Having two eyes located at the front of the head. The slight distance between the two eyes causes the human to see nearby objects from two distinct vantage points. The brain then combines the two distinct images into
one picture where the overlapping elements take on a three-dimensional aspect.

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30
Q

Blocking

A

The movement of talent within the film space and the corresponding movement, if any, of the camera to follow the actions of the moving talent.

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31
Q

Boom arm

A

Deriving its name from the armature on a sailing ship’s mast, a boom arm is used to swivel and extend the camera’s placement to get sweeping shots or keep
the camera buoyant without a tripod directly beneath it.

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32
Q

Boom operator (audio recording)

A

The crew member whose job it is to hold and manipulate the audio recording microphone suspended from a long, telescoping pole usually over the heads of the acting talent.

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33
Q

Break frame

A

When a recorded object accidentally moves to the edge of the frame and falls outside the visible area of the image.

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34
Q

B-roll

A

Any footage captured at a location that shows the environment and other details or non-specific visual aspects of an area or process that does not involve the
principle subject of focus or main talent. Often used with news reporting while a reporter speaks over the imagery.

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35
Q

Business

A

Any busy work performed by an actor with their hands while acting in a scene.

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36
Q

Butt-cut

A

A straight edit between two picture frames in film or video with no transition effect such as a dissolve, wipe, or fade.

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37
Q

Camera angle

A

The angle at which a camera views a particular scene. Camera angles can be based on horizontal camera positioning around the subject or vertical camera
positioning below or above the subject.

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38
Q

Camera person/camera operator

A

The person, man or woman, who physically handles
the camera during the shooting. The main responsibility is to maintain proper framing and composition and to verify good focus.

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39
Q

Camera set-up

A

A place on the film set where a camera is positioned to record a shot. Each time the camera is physically moved to a new position it is considered a new
camera set-up.

40
Q

Camera support (tripods, etc.)

A

Any device or piece of film equipment that is used to
support the motion picture camera. Tripods, dollies, car mounts, etc., are all examples of various kinds of camera support.

41
Q

Canted angle

A

Dutch Angle

42
Q

Charge-coupled device (CCD)

A

The electronic light sensor built into most video cameras that turns light wave energy into electronic voltages. These voltages get recorded as brightness and color values on a tape or hard drive in the camera.

43
Q

Chiaroscuro

A

Italian for light/dark. The term is used in the visual arts to talk about the high contrast ratio between light areas of a frame and dark areas. Filmmakers, as well as painters, use this technique to show or hide certain visual elements within their frames.

44
Q

Clapper board

A

This is the visual record of the shot which is to be filmed. On the clapper board is marked the scene and the take number, together with other information about the shooting. The sound of the board “ clapped ” together is the point at which sound and vision are synchronized together during post-production. If a board is clapped it indicates that sound and vision are being recorded. If the board is held open it indicates that vision only is being recorded. If the board is shown upside down
it shows that it was recorded at the end of the shot and is called an “ end board. ” An end board can be also either clapped or mute. See also Slate.

45
Q

Clean single

A

A medium shot to a close-up that contains body parts of only one person even though other characters may be part of the recorded scene.

46
Q

Clip

A

Any piece of film or segment of digital video media file that will be used in an edited sequence.

47
Q

Close-up shot

A

Any detail shot where the object of interest takes up the majority of the frame. Details will be magnified. When photographing a human being, the bottom of frame will just graze the top part of their shoulders and the top edge of frame may just cut off the top part of their head or hair.

48
Q

Color bars

A

In video, these are the thick, colored vertical lines that are recorded first on a tape. They are used to calibrate or “ line up ” the editing machines, so that each time a picture is copied the color is the same. The colors are, from the left of the screen, white, yellow, cyan, green, magenta, red, blue, and black.

49
Q

Color temperature

A

Often referenced on the degrees Kelvin scale, color temperature is a measurement of a light’s perceived color when compared to the color of a “ perfect
black body ” exposed to increasing levels of heat. The color temperature for film lighting is generally accepted as around 3200 degrees Kelvin. Sunlight is generally accepted as around 5600 degrees Kelvin. The lower numbers appear warm orange/amber when compared to “ white ” and the higher numbers appear cool blue.

50
Q

Complex shot

A

Any shot that involves talent movement and movement of the camera (pan or tilt).

51
Q

Composition

A

In motion picture terms, the artful design employed to place objects of importance within and around the recorded frame.

52
Q

Continuity

A

In motion picture production terms: (1) Having actors repeat the same script lines in the same way while performing similar physical actions across multiple
takes, (2) making sure that screen direction is followed from one camera set-up to the next, and (3) in post-production, the matching of physical action across a cut point between two shots of coverage for a scene.

53
Q

Contrast

A

The range of dark and light tonalities within a film frame.

54
Q

Contrast ratio

A

The level of delineation between strong areas of dark and strong areas of light within a film frame as represented in a ratio of two numbers; Key +
Fill.

55
Q

Coverage

A

Shooting the same action from multiple angles with different framing at each camera set-up; for example, a dialogue scene between two people may require a
wide, establishing shot of the room, a tighter two-shot of both players, clean singles of each actor, reciprocal over-the-shoulder shots favoring each actor, cut-aways of hands moving, the clock on the wall, etc.

56
Q

Crab

A

When a dolly moves the camera sideways or parallel to the movement/action recorded. The camera lens is actually perpendicular to the subjects most often.

57
Q

Crane

A

Much like the large, heavy machinery used in construction, a crane on a film set may raise and move camera or have large lighting units mounted to it from high above the set.

58
Q

Critical focus

A

As with the human eye, there can be only one plane or physical slice of reality that is in sharpest focus for the motion picture camera. The plane of critical focus
is this slice of space in front of the lens that will show any object within that plane to be in true focus; for example, when recording a person’s face in a medium close-up their eyes should be in sharpest focus. When the eyes are in sharpest focus then the plane of critical
focus has been placed at the same distance away from the lens as the actor’s eyes.

59
Q

Cross cutting

A

The process of film construction where one plot line of action is intercut with another, potentially related plot line such that the audience is given an alternating
taste of each one through a single scene. See also Parallel Editing.

60
Q

Cross fade

A

An audio treatment applied to audio edits where the end of one piece of audio is faded down under the rising audio level of the next piece of sound.

61
Q

Cross the line

A

Based on the concept inherent to the action line or 180 degree rule, this expression refers to accidentally moving the camera across the line and recording
coverage for a scene that will not match established screen direction when edited together. See also Jump the Line.

62
Q

Cut

A

An edit point (noun). To edit a motion picture (verb).

63
Q

Cut away (verb)

A

Editing out of one shot to another shot that is different in subject matter from the previous one, e.g., “ cut away from the postman coming through the gate to the dog inside the house, waiting. ”

64
Q

Cut-away (noun)

A

Any shot recorded that allows a break from the main action within a scene. The editor will place a cut-away into an edited scene of shots when a visual
break is necessary or when two other shots from the primary coverage will not edit together smoothly.

65
Q

Cut-in

A

A tighter shot taken either with a long focal length lens or a closer camera position but along the same lens axis as the original wider shot. See also Axial Edit or Punching-In

66
Q

Daylight balance

A

Film and video cameras may be biased toward seeing the color temperature of daylight as “ white ” light. When they are set this way, they have a daylight balance.

67
Q

Degrees Kelvin

A

The scale used to indicate a light source’s color temperature, ranging roughly from 1000 to 20,000. Red/orange/amber colored light falls from 1000 to 4000
and bluish light falls from 4500 on up to 20,000.

68
Q

Depth

A

The distance from camera receding into the background of the set or location. The illusion of three-dimensional deep space on the two-dimensional film plane.

69
Q

Depth of field (DOF)

A

In filmmaking terms, the depth of field refers to a zone, some distance from the camera lens, where any object will appear to be in acceptable focus to the viewing audience. The depth of field lives around the plane of critical focus, it appears one-third in front of and two-thirds behind the point of critical focus instead of
centered equally. Any object outside the depth of field will appear blurry to the viewer. The depth of field may be altered or controlled by changing the camera to the subject distance or by adding light to or subtracting light from the subject.

70
Q

Developing shot

A

Any shot that incorporates elaborate talent movement — a zoom, a pan or tilt, and a camera dolly.

71
Q

Diegetic

A

Generated by something within the film world, usually associated with sound elements in a fictional motion picture; for example, a song playing on a jukebox in a diner.

72
Q

Director of photography (DP, DOP)

A

The person on the fi lm’s crew who is responsible
for the overall look of a motion picture project’s recorded image. He or she helps in planning the angles, composition, and movement of the camera as well as design details like color palettes, textures, and lighting schemes.

73
Q

Dirty single

A

A medium shot to a close-up that contains the main person of interest for the shot that also contains some visible segment of another character who is also part
of the same scene. The clean single is made “ dirty ” by having this sliver of another’s body part in the frame.

74
Q

Dissolve

A

A treatment applied to the visual track of a program at an edit point. While the end of the outgoing shot disappears from the screen, the incoming shot is simultaneously resolving onto the screen.

75
Q

Dolly

A

Traditionally, any wheeled device used to move a motion picture camera around a film set either while recording or in between takes. A dolly may be three or four wheeled, ride on the floor or roll (with special wheels) along straight or curved tracks, or have a telescoping or booming arm that lifts and lowers camera.

76
Q

Domestic cut-off

A

The outer ten percent of transmitted picture information that is cut off at the outside edges of a cathode ray tube (CRT) television set and not viewable by the in-home audience. This phenomenon should be taken into account when composing a shot for a project that will be broadcast on television.

77
Q

Dutch angle/Dutch tilt

A

In filmmaker terms, any shot where the camera is canted or not level with the actual horizon line. The Dutch angle is often used to represent a view of objects or actions that are not quite right, underhanded, diabolical, or disquieting. All horizontal lines within the frame go slightly askew diagonally and as a result any true vertical lines will tip in the same direction.

78
Q

Edit

A

The actual cut point between two different shots (noun). To assemble a motion picture from disparate visual and auditory elements (verb).

79
Q

End frame

A

Any time the camera has been moving to follow action, the camera should come to a stop before the recorded action ceases. This clean, static frame will be used
by the editor to cut away from the moving shot to any other shot that would come next. Moving frames cut to static frames is a very jarring visual cut and this static end frame helps prevent this mistake.

80
Q

Establishing shot

A

Traditionally the first shot of a new scene in a motion picture. It is a wide shot that reveals the location where the immediately following action will take
place. One may quickly learn place, rough time of day, rough time of year, weather conditions, historical era, etc., by seeing this shot.

81
Q

Exposure

A

In motion picture camera terms, it is the light needed to create an image on the recording medium (either emulsion film or a video light sensor). If you do not have
enough light you will under expose your image and it will appear too dark. If you have too much light you will overexpose your image and it will appear too bright.

82
Q

Exterior

A

In film terms, any shot that has to take place outside.

83
Q

Eye light

A

light source placed somewhere in front of talent that reflects off the moist and curved surface of the eye. Sometimes called the “ life light, ” this eye twinkle brings
out the sparkle in the eye and often informs an audience that the character is alive and vibrant. Absence of the eye light can mean that a character is no longer living or
is hiding something, etc.

84
Q

Eye-line

A

The imaginary line that traces across the screen from a talent’s eyes to some object of interest. See also Sight Line.

85
Q

Eye-line match

A

When shooting clean single coverage for a two-person dialogue scene, the eyes of the two characters should be looking off frame in the direction of where the other character’s head or face would be. Even though both actors may not be sitting next to one another as they were in the wider two-shot, the eye-line of each “ looking ” at the other must match from shot to shot so there is consistency in the edited scene.

86
Q

Eye trace

A

The places on a screen that attract the interest of a viewer’s eyes. As the motion picture plays on the screen the audience will move their focus around the composition to find new pieces of information.

87
Q

Fade

A

A treatment of an edit point where the screen transitions from a solid color to a full visible image or from a fully visible image into a frame of solid color.

88
Q

Fade-in (fade up)

A

Transitioning from a solid black opaque screen to a fully visible image.

89
Q

Fade-out (fade down)

A

Transitioning from a fully visible image to a solid black opaque screen.

90
Q

Fill light

A

A light of lesser intensity than the key light. It is used to help control contrast on a set but most often on a person’s face. It is “ filling ” in the shadows caused by the dominant key light.

91
Q

Film gauge

A

In the world of emulsion film motion pictures, the physical width of the plastic film strip is measured in millimeters (i.e., 16mm, 35mm). This measurement of
film width is also referred to as the film’s gauge.

92
Q

Film space

A

The world within the film, both currently presented on screen and “ known ”to exist within the film’s reality.

93
Q

Fine cut

A

A later stage in the editing process where the edited program is very near completion. Any further changes will be minor.

94
Q

Fisheye lens

A

A camera lens whose front optical element is so convex (or bulbous like the eye of a fish) that it can gather light rays from a very wide span. The resulting image formed while using such a lens often shows a distortion in the exaggerated expansion of physical space, object sizes, and perspective.

95
Q

Flashback

A

A device in film construction that jumps the narrative from the present time of the story to an earlier time. Usually used to explain how the current circumstances
came about.

Video Editing (5 decks)

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