Video EOPT Review

Film Treatment

a description of a film story written as if you were seeing the film, often used to "sell" a movie to a studio, or the step before the script is prepared

Video Resolution

a measure of the clarity of an image, measure of the ability of a video camera to reproduce fine detail

Wireless Microphone

a mic that uses a short cable to connect the mic to a radio transmitter with an antenna, or the transmitter may be built into the mic itself. The transmitter wirelessly sends the FM signal to the receiver, which sends the mic signal through a cable to the recorder. Also called RF Microphones.

Microphone Boom

a pole carrying an overhead microphone projected over a film or tv set

Cutaway shot

a shot that briefly interrupts the representation of a subject to show something else. Used to show reactions.

Dimensional Merger

can cause important scene elements to run together and lose meaning such as when palm trees are seemingly jetting out of this girl's head

Vectorscope

- displays and measures the color, or chrominance, of the video signal - is a reliable instrument to judge the accuracy of color and for setting up equipment to accurately reproduce colors.

Waveform Monitor

- graphically displays and monitors the brightness or luminance leve of a video signal regardless of its format (eg NTSC or PAL) - is especially helpful in two phases of video productions: shooting and online edit

Additive Color Theory

also known as the additive color principle. the process of combining the primary additive colors of red, green, and blue to create a new lighter color

Jump cut

an abrupt, inexplicable shift in time and place of an action not signaled by an appropriate shot transition

Progressive Scanning

Each frame of video is scanned by the electron beam as a single field. If slowed down, each frame would appear on the monitor in its entirety on the screen, rather than line by line, as is the case with interlaced scanning

Fill Light

The lighting instrument that is placed opposite the key light to provide illumination on the other side of the talent's face or object in the shot

Back Light

The lightning instrument placed above and behind, at the twelve o'clock position, the talent or object in a shot to separate the talent or object from the background.

Soft Light

light which has a soft edge and produces subtle shadows and tones

Program Proposal

Written document that outlines the process message and the major aspects of a television presentation.

Dolly

physically moving the camera, its tripod, and dolly perpendicularly toward or away from the set

Aspect ratio

ratio of width to height in the dimensions of a frame; i.e., frame aspect ratio of NTSC video is 4:3, some motion-picture frame sizes use a more elongated aspect ratio of 16:9

Zoom

the camera is stationary but the lens moves, making objects appear to grow larger or smaller

DVD

"Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc." A DVD is a high-capacity optical disc that looks like a CD, but can store much more information. While a CD can store 650 to 700 MB of data, a single-layer, single-sided DVD can store 4.7 GB of data. Commercial DVD movies are encoded using a combination of H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 compressed video and audio of varying formats. Resolution 720x480.

Y/C

(Luminance and Chrominance) A term used to describe the separation of video signal components used in systems such as Hi-8 and S-VHS.

Component video signal

3 separate cables/wires, RGB, that give us color

Steadicam

A camera mount, worn by the operator, that allows the camera to remain level even when the operator moves, ensuring extremely smooth hand-held traveling shots.

Tilt

A camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward or downward on a stationary support. It produces a mobile framing that scans the space vertically.

Script

A cluster of knowledge about sequences of events and actions expected to occur in particular settings.

Composite video signal

A combined video signal of red, green, and blue into one cable/connector.

Video Frame

A complete video picture.

Wind Screen

A covering, usually foam, placed over a mic to reduce the rumble or flapping sound created when wind blows across the mic.

Camera Iris

A diaphragm consisting of thin overlapping plates that can be adjusted to change the diameter of a central opening controlling the amount of light that can enter the camera lens.

Shotgun/Boom Microphone

A directional mic with an extremely narrow pick-up pattern.

Macro focus

A feature found on some zoom lenses that allows the operator to focus on objects very close to the lens.

Storyboard

A sequence of drawings representing the shots planned for a film or television production.

Parabolic Microphone

A highly directional microphone assembly that uses a reflector in the shape of a parabola to focus sound into a microphone usually used to collect sound in a sports setting from the sidelines.

Scoop light

A large bowl shaped light open in front, provides illumination over a large area.

Telephoto lens

A lens with a long focal length, which gives a narrower than normal field of view, and compresses depth in space, appearing to bring distant subjects nearer, and giving the image a flattened effect (opposite of wide-angle photography).

Fresnel Light

A light fixture with spherical reflector and ability to change beam size. Light is soft and even.

Lavalier microphone

A small clip-on personal microphone used to gather sound.

Shoot and protect

A technique where widescreen footage is shot with the main action centered so as to provide easier pan and scan conversion to 4:3.

BNC Connector

A type of connector commonly used in television production. the female and male versions lock together securely with a simple 1/4 turn.

Hard Light

A type of illumination used in the studio that creates sharp, distinct, and very dark shadows

Analog signal

A type of signal where the data is represented by continuous waves.

4 Point Lighting

A typical lighting composition using four lights; key light, fill light, hair light and backlight.

Time-Code

A unique number based on hours, minutes, seconds, and frames that identifies each frame of video.

Key Light

Also known as the Main or Source Light. This is the primary source of illumination and is customarily set first. Positioned to one side of the camera, creates Hard Shadows.

Cut Transition

An abrupt transition that occurs when one scene is immediately replaced by another one; joins two non-consecutive frames of film

Reflector

Anything used to bounce and filter light onto the subject.

Mpeg-4

Better compression and video quality than MPEG-2. Also called H.264. Use in iPod, web, and Blue Ray playback.

Diffusion Filter

Created a soft focus, sometimes called a "gauze shot"

Wireless Mic Receiver

Diversity receivers have two antenna to prevent signal loss. Non-diversity receivers only have one and can be easily obstructed.

Truck

Entire camera moves side to side in relation to the subject

Crossing-the-Line

Having one camera shot come from one side of the axis of action/conversation and another camera shot come from the other side. If the two shots are cut together, the movement in the shot will appear to change direction. AKA: 180 Degree Rule and Action Axis

HDTV

High-definition television, capable of receiving and displaying high-resolution images, videos, and broadcasts.

Codec

How the digital video information is compressed

Ellipsoidal light

I light fixture with a long barrel. A work horse of industry, captures and shoots light out in parallel lines, like human eye

Lead space

Refers to space in front of your subject. Leave extra space in the direction your subject is looking

Post-production

The editing that is done after the movie, film, or video has been taped.

Character Generator

Piece of equipment that electronically produces a series of letters and numbers directly onto the tv screen.

Wide Angle Lens

Produces wide-angle views. Makes subjects appear farther apart then they actually are. Though its nearly complete depth of field, renders almost all objects in the frame in focus.

Cardiod Microphone

Records sounds that are directly in front of the mic and limited sounds from the sides of it; tends not to pick up sounds that are behind it. -Pattern resembles a heart, good for recording vocals

Light Meter

Reflected light meter measures the amount of light being reflected from (off of) subject matter. An incident light meter can tell you how bright the light is that's falling on a scene from a specific light source. The information is used to make the aperture and shutter settings on a camera.

Lines of resolution

SDTV 525 HDTV 1125

SDTV

Standard Definition Television

Firewire connector

Supports data transfer speeds at upwards of 400 Mbps 6-pin connector is used when making connections between PCs 4-pin connector is used to connect to peripheral devices

Lighting Ratio

The amount of light from fill light to key light, The proportional relationship between the amount of light falling on the subject from the main light and other lights, expressed in a ratio, such as 3:1.

Letterbox

The black box that appears around an image, such as a widescreen video when it is displayed on a screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. (3)

Safe Area

The inner 90 percent of the video frame. Since the outer 10 percent of a broadcast picture is typically cut off by over-scanning, this area is considered safe for most subject matter

f-stop

The number defining how large or small your aperture is set to. Smaller numbers (1, 1.4, 2, 2.8) equal a larger opening, whereas larger numbers (22, 32, 45, 64) equal a smaller opening.

Location Scout

The person responsible for finding shooting sites and getting permission to legally bring cast and crew onsite for filming.

RGB

The primary colors of light (not of the inks used in printing) are red, green and blue, known by the acronym RGB.

Video compression

The process of reducing the amount of data used to output a video, image, or sound. Higher compression rates lead to lower quality.

Montage

The production of a rapid succession of images in a motion picture to illustrate an association of ideas

Interlaced Scanning

The scanning of all the odd-numbered lines (first field) and the subsequent scanning of all the even-numbered lines (second field). The two fields make up a complete television frame.

Frame Rate

The speed at which frames progress in an animation. Measures usually as frames per second (fps).

XLR Microphone connector

The three pronged plug used to connect a microphone to the recording device. (includes male and female ends)

Kelvin

The visible light spectrum is scientifically described in terms of color temperature, and is measured in degrees Kelvin (K). The range for Kelvin on a pro digital camera is approximately 2,000-10,000.. These K settings are the scientific numbers behind the presets of WB on your camera.

RCA connector

Used for connecting to video devices to send audio and video signals.

Rack Focus

When the director shifts the focus from one object to another in the same scene. Changes attention. Signifies power or significance.

Over-exposed

When the photo is too light all over and washed out

UV Filter

a clear, neutral filter that absorbs ultraviolet radiation, with no effect on visible colors. Protects lens from dust and scratches.

Rule of Thirds

a composition rule that divides the screen into thirds horizontally and vertically, like a tic-tac toe grid placed over the picture on a television set. Almost all of the important information included in every shot is located at one of the four intersections of the horizontal and vertical lines

Monopod

a single-legged support used for holding a camera

Tripod

a three-footed stand often used to balance a camera

Digital signal

encodes information as a string of 1's and 0's

Neutral Density Filter

filter that reduces the incoming light without distorting the color of the scene

Leading the subject

generally, when a subject is moving in a particular direction, space is provided at the side of the frame for the subject to "move into."

Amps

measurement for the amount of current in a circuit. When calculating power usage Watts/100=Amps

Pan

moving only the camera to scan the set horizontally, while the dolly and tripod remain stationary

Selective Focus

only a narrow range is sharply focused and becomes the center of attention in an otherwise softly focused subject, Emphasizing an object in a shallow depth of field through focus while keeping its foreground and/or background out of focus.

Border merger

occurs when subject matter is cut off by the edge of the frame at an inappropriate point

Field

one of the two half-frames in interlaced video

Tonal Merger

results when important objects in a scene appear to blend together and lose their identity

Subjective Camera Shot

taken directly from the position of the subject, and consequently attract a great deal of attention to the camera

White Balance

the adjustments of the RGB color circuits in the camera to produce a white color in lighting of various color temperatures.

Depth of Field

the distance between the minimum object distance and the furthest point from the camera a subject can be positioned while remaining in focus

Lens Speed

the largest lens opening (smallest f-number) at which a lens can be set; a fast lens transmits more light and has a larger opening than a slow lens

Pre-production

the process of preparing all the elements of a video production, including planning, storyboarding, script writing, scheduling, props, camera angles and locations

Color Temperature

the relative blueness or redness of white light, measured in Kelvin degrees. Bluish light has high color temperature; reddish light has a low one.

Nose Room

the space from the tip of a person's nose to the side edge of the frame

Head room

the space from the top of a person's head to the top of the television screen

Follow focus

this technique requires the camera operator to continually change the focus as the camera follows the action

Dissolve transition

this transition indicates that time has passed. it briefly superimposes one scene onto another so the viewer still sees part of the first scene while the second is starting.

Keying

this video effect places an image into a different background by taking out the background color

Insert Shot

usually a close-up of an action or object that is inserted into the main action of a master scene

Parallel stories

when to or more stories are running concurrently