Glossary of film and video terms
4:1:1 A way of measuring the ratio between brightness signal and colour signals. This ratio is the smallest and is roughly 50 per cent of the value of 4:2:2 in terms of horizontal colour resolution (vertical colour resolution remains the same). Panasonic’s DVC Pro uses this ratio.
4:2:0 This sampling ratio is very similar to 4:1:1, except that it is the vertical colour resolution values which are reduced by 50 per cent, while the horizontal remains the same.
4:2:2 This is a higher quality resolution used by many high-end cameras, including Digital Betacam and Sony’s DVC Pro 50. Resolution is about twice the value of 4:1:1 or 4:2:0.
4:4:4:4 This sampling rate is as high as 4:2:2 but has an additional Key signal.
A
Accessory shoe A standard way of mounting a light or microphone on camcorders.
A/D conversion This is another way of saying analog-to-digital conversion. Data coming from an analog device such as a VHS camera or a VCR will need to be translated into digital information before editing software can read them. It looks at the curved electrical waves present in analog information and reduces them to jagged shapes able to be described in numbers.
AE Preset The pre-programmed settings in a camcorder designed to deal with unusual lighting or subject movement conditions.
AES/EBU These abbreviations refer to the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcasting Union, and relate to standards that have been agreed for transmission of audio data.
Aliasing Aliasing refers to the degrading of video pictures by high-frequency video information. This results in jagged edges or lines, and strobing effects on sharp horizontal lines and rotating objects such as wheels.
Alpha channel Alpha channel is used for placing transparent elements over your picture, such as text. When you type in a line of credits, for example, they will need to be seen with the text opaque and the background transparent. This transparency is the alpha channel function.
Alternative cinema A loose term ascribed to any group of films defined by common characteristics, which is in opposition to the dominant, narrative, mainstream film.
Ambient sound Also referred to as ‘presence’, this is the natural background sound of a set or location. It needs to be maintained throughout a scene to ensure continuity. Also known as ‘buzz track’.
Analog This is the method of storing information that was dominant until digital arrived. It involves the recording of information using variable waves, as opposed to digital, which operates only in terms of yes or no, one or zero. Analog data is transferred by the recorder copying the electrical information, but it will lose some of this information each time it copies, leading to an increasing loss of quality in each subsequent copy.
Angle The point of view of the camera.
Animatic A simple animated sequence made from a storyboard, mostly used for television commercials.
Anti-aliasing This is a way of getting smoother pictures in video and graphics. It works by blurring the edges slightly on curved or tilted objects.
Aperture The round hole, the iris, at the front of the lens through which light enters the camera. It is measured in f-stops, with a smaller f-stop number referring to a larger opening, which allows more light to pass through. Each stop admits 100 per cent more light than the last. F-stops also affect depth of field, smaller iris holes allowing more objects to remain in focus.
Art cinema A term loosely applied to any film which rejects the dominant mode of filmmaking and is characterized by a high degree of personal expression. For example, Ingmar Bergman, Peter Greenaway.
Artefact This refers to interference that occurs on video images due to technical limitations or due to excessive data compression.
ASC American Institute of Cinematographers.
Aspect ratio This is the relative lengths of the horizontal and vertical sides of the video image. Television tends to use a ratio of 4:3, with 16:9 becoming more prevalent.
Audio mixer A device or software program for mixing sounds from various sources, such as microphone, CD, tape.
Auteur A term ascribed to a particular kind of director whose control over their films is such that they can be said to be the ‘author’, despite the large number of people involved in the movie. Auteurs develop a body of work through repeating, or developing, certain key concerns in their films.
Auxiliary input Also known as line input or external input. A port which allows a VCR to receive images from an external device such as a camcorder. In the UK few camcorders have DV inputs because of fears from industry regulators regarding piracy, should the user be able to digitize VHS images.
B
Back light Any light that comes from behind the subject, lighting up the background and reverse of the subject.
Bandwidth This describes the rate at which certain amounts of data can be transmitted over a given period of time, usually a second. Modems are graded by how many bits of information they can accept per second, while the level of connection to the telephone network also affects the data rate.
Batch digitizing Batch digitizing is the process of recording data consisting of video clips onto the hard drive, from a DV tape or other format. Only when it has been digitized onto the hard drive can it be edited. When a movie is being cut on digital equipment, a great amount of footage may require a high compression rate, resulting in less data taking up space on the hard disk. However, as the movie gets cut together, space is left over from the redundant footage and the remaining clips used in the film can be redigitized at a lower compression rate, resulting in a much higher quality image.
Battery A rechargeable power cell used for camcorders. The most common is a Nicad or nickel– cadmium combination, although lithium-ion types are seen as more reliable and capable of holding more power.
Betacam Until digital, this was the highest analog video format available. Recent years have seen the development of Betacam SX, a digital version using MPEG-2 high compression rates.
Bidirectional mic A microphone which picks up sound on two sides of the mic.
Bit A binary digit, the most basic unit in digital technology, not to be confused with a byte.
Boom A microphone attached to an extension arm which is held above or below the action, out of view of the camera.
Breakout box An attachment to a computer commonly bought as part of a capture card set-up, which allows the user to plug in and digitize analog signals.
Bricolage The combination of different styles and genres of cinema, it reflects the use of postmodernism in film.
Broadcast quality This is a standard which all television licensees are required to adhere to, maintaining the highest possible picture resolution. Betacam SP is often regarded as the benchmark and those DV systems which match it are seen as broadcast quality. In technical terms, a compression rate of 1:2 (which is as low as possible) or a data rate of 50 Mbits per second are correct.
Browser A piece of software which allows the user to view Internet contents.
Byte One byte is equal to 8 bits of digital information.
Call sheet A daily list of who is needed for that day’s shooting, what parts of the script will be covered and where this will be.
Capture The means of digitizing analog material or recording digital material onto a computer. Specific software is available to accomplish this, but it is also a part of editing software.
Capture card Also known as a digitizer, this is a board that connects to the computer and enables video digital signals to be read. Some also allow analog to be read by first converting it into a digital signal, hence the name digitizer.
Car clamp A type of camcorder brace designed to keep a camera fixed to the side of a car.
Cardioid mic A type of microphone which has a range spreading in a heart shape on both sides of the mic.
Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) A chip situated near the camera lens which converts images into digital information.
Chrominance This is the colour part of the video signal referring to hue and saturation, the other being the luminance, or brightness, of the signal.
Clip A single sequence of video footage.
Close-up (CU) A shot of a subject which usually shows the head from the neck up.
Codec Compressor/decompressor. A piece of technology which enables the compression of video. In order to be able to view (to decompress) the compressed movie, the viewer must have a copy of the same codec as the sender.
Colour temperature A term describing the colour value of certain light sources. Light sources which are blue/white, such as winter sunlight, have a high colour temperature, while candlelight, which emits an orange cast on the subject, is very low.
Compression Since so many data are generated by video files, methods have been developed for reducing the sizes of these files and making editing more feasible for smaller systems. There are many methods of compression, differing in what parts of the video signal they economize on and what information is excluded. Compression often results in a loss of visible picture quality, but in some cases, notably MPEG-2, quality is visibly equal to the original uncompressed version.
Contact mic A microphone which is attached to a surface, for recording musical instruments.
Continuity The means of maintaining the smooth flow of events within narrative film.
Continuity editing A method of editing, dominant in Hollywood cinema, which determines that the style of editing must be as invisible as possible and that the viewer can become immersed in the plot and characters.
Contrast The degree to which the brightness (luminance) of the video image contains light and shadow. A high-contrast picture has few middle tones and mostly bright light and deep shadow.
Crane A piece of camera equipment which can move in any direction. Video cranes now also have the facility to be remotely operated, obtaining greater varieties of shot.
Cross-cutting A way of editing a simple dialogue sequence in which the two actors are shot symmetrically, cutting between the two.
Cut The transition from one scene to another in editing.
Cutaway A shot away from the main action.
D
D1, D2, D3, D5, D6, D7, D9 Video formats for recording, developed by different companies to provide varying levels of sound and vision resolution. D1 is the most expensive form of recording, used in high-end work. Sony’s D2 has all but been discontinued as the rival to this format, Panasonic’s D3, has gained ground. D5 is the favourite for post-production work because it works without data reduction. D6 allows for 12 audio channels, developed by Philips, while D7 is the standard for Panasonic’s DVC Pro. D9 was developed by JVC and marketed as Digital S.
DAT Digital Audio Tape offers three hours of digital sound on a tape half the size of an analog audio cassette tape. DAT is the only consumer recording standard that does not compress audio data, meaning that the whole signal is held on the tape. DAT is easy to use on location; indexing of the tape and rewinding are extremely fast (50 seconds for a 120-minute tape), so you can quickly access any place on the DAT tape.
Data rate The amount of data that can be transmitted in a set period of time.
Dead acoustic Describes an environment where there is little or no echo, resulting in a sound recording with poor atmosphere.
Depth of field The area within which objects are in focus. It varies according to the aperture (size of the iris).
Diagetic This refers to the parts of a shot that directly relate to the narrative. Diagetic sound, for example, would refer to sounds emanating from the scene itself and not added later in post-production.
Digital In video terms, a system of recording which records images in binary language, representing a mathematical model of the original signal. They do not degrade when copied, but are prone to other problems from the system that plays or stores the digital information.
Digital 8 A format for recording digital signals on Hi-8 tapes instead of the smaller DV tapes.
Digital S See D9.
Digitize The method of translating analog information into digital information.
Distribution A term referring to the marketing of a movie between the production studio or filmmaker and theatres and broadcasters.
Documentary A form of film which uses real events, either recorded or retold, as part of a thesis or narrative.
Dolby Digital A multi-channel sound format in which five channels are stored as well as the additional woofer effect channel. Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories and is used in DVD and cinema projection.
Dolly A camera support on wheels that can be moved in any direction.
DoP Director of Photography, a person responsible for overseeing how the camera is used on a movie and how the set is lit. To the DoP, lighting is as crucial as camera angle.
Drop-frame timecode A form of timecode which caters for the odd frame rate of 29.9 fps in NTSC television standard. It works by removing 108 frames – from the timecode not the film – per hour, but does not drop a frame every 10th minute. The result is accurate timecode in a whole number.
Dropped frames A common problem of many editing software capture facilities. When capturing, a clip may lose several frames and this can lead to problems if the amount of these frames is sufficient to lead to jumps within the edit. Designated capture software, rather than editing software, is less likely to drop frames.
DV A format for recording sound and vision on 6.35-mm-wide tape. It compresses data at a rate of 5:1, sampling the image at 4:2:0 for PAL and 4:1:1 for NTSC. It functions at a rate of 25 megabits per second.
DVCAM A format for recording sound and vision, developed by Sony. The difference with DV is that it runs on wider tape track (15 mm) and the tape speed is higher, resulting in shorter playing times for cassettes.
DVC Pro A format for recording video and sound developed by Panasonic. It is similar in quality to DV, but uses wider tape (18 mm) and has a slightly higher chrominance level.
DVC Pro 50 A tape format similar to DVC Pro, but using a higher sampling rate of 4:2:2 and double
(50) the megabits per second to that of DV.
DVD Digital Verstaile Disc. A method of storing large amounts of video material on small, CD-sized discs (12 cm diameter). Dynamic range The difference between the quietest and the loudest usable sounds.
E
Edit Decision List (EDL) The EDL is a list of shots that are to compose a final cut for a movie, listed in the form of the timecode at the start and end of the appropriate clips on the footage tape. ENG Electronic News Gathering. This refers mainly to the use of light, mobile equipment for news
reports in situ.
Establishing shot A shot, usually at the start of a scene, which informs the audience of the basic elements of the scene: who is present, what period in history, what time of day and so on. Exposure The amount of light that enters a camcorder lens, hitting the CCD chip. Extreme close-up (ECU) A camera angle which, when on a face, focuses only on the eyes or mouth.
F
Fill light After a key light has set the main focus of light on a subject, a fill light softens the effect.
Filter In non-linear video editing, a filter refers to a special visual effect, such as cropping, stretching
or recolouring an image. FireWire See IEEE 1394.
Fluid effect A more expensive type of tripod where movement is eased through lubricant oil.
Focal length A measurement of the magnification of a lens indicated in millimetres. A zoom lens allows the camera to film closer or further from the subject, without moving either, because it has a variable focal length.
Focus A point at which the rays of light from a subject converge after passing through a lens, resulting in maximum sharpness of vision.
Frame The smallest unit of video footage. In each second of video there are, in the PAL standard, 25 frames per second (fps). NTSC uses 29.9 fps.
Framing The process of arranging the elements of a scene within the camera viewfinder.
Fuzzy logic A complex series of settings in a camcorder designed to ensure that, when changing exposure, white balance or focus, a change in one leads to a slight change in the others.
G
Gaffer A crew member responsible for the placing and rigging of lighting equipment.
Generation loss In video reproductions, this refers to any loss of picture or sound quality resulting from the copying of information. In DV editing, it is rare to encounter losses, but successive compression and decompression of a clip will result in losses occurring.
Genre A way of categorizing movies in which a group of films share characteristics such as story, style, setting and so on. Genre is becoming increasingly fragmented, with movies fusing different genres together.
Gigabyte One gigabyte equals 1024 megabytes.
Grip Crew member responsible for handling props, scenery and equipment.
H
Hard disk A magnetic storage component of a computer for recording large quantities of data. A hard disk is measured not just by the amount of data it can store, but by the speed at which it revolves, enhancing performance.
HD High Definition. A video format which is a vast improvement in picture quality over other DV formats. It records at 720 1080 pixels, interlaced. It requires large amounts of storage when recording.
Hi-8 An analog 8 mm video format geared towards the consumer market.
HMI lamps Very powerful lamps which replaced arc lamps on sets.
Hollywood cinema A term ascribed to a collection of conventions of filmmaking, including continuity editing, character identification and certain moral codes, which gained its peak in the Hollywood of the 1920s.
Hot spot The point at the centre of a beam of light which has greater intensity.
Hypercardioid mic A type of microphone that has an extremely narrow pick-up, but which works well in picking up sounds at long distances.
IEEE 1394 (FireWire, iLink) A standard method of transmitting data, connecting a peripheral (camera or VCR) to a computer. It is far superior to any other cable used in video and transmits at a rate of 400 Mb per second, four times faster than the main consumer connection, USB.
Independent film Strictly speaking, an independent film is one that has not been financed by a major production studio, but with independent production houses being bought up by larger companies, it has also come to denote a certain approach to filmmaking based on challenging movie convention, either in terms of subject matter or style.
Insert A cut that is inserted into the action as a cutaway. It also refers to a method of analog editing in which clips can be inserted into a programme without disturbing the control track.
Interlace A term used in video referring to the way picture information is split up. A first field contains all the uneven lines of the picture, while the second field contains all the even lines, so in the PAL standard, 50 fields are transmitted, leading to 25 frames – the human eye cannot distinguish between the two sets of fields, reading them as one image.
Iris The opening at the front of the lens which allows light to enter the camera.
ITU International Telecommunications Union, a body which oversees technical standards in broadcasting.
J
JPEG A method of compressing data for still images, standardized by the Joint Photographic Experts Group.
Jump cut A tool used by some directors to introduce disturbance into a scene, produced by cutting between two shots of the same subject but from slightly different angles, within the 30-degree rule.
Key frame A way of determining how a clip is altered, by the use of filters, transitions or fades. A key frame is marked at the start, middle and end of the clip, with appropriate settings given for each part. Key light A main dominant lamp that focuses on the subject.
Lavalier mic A type of microphone that is clipped to the actor or attached to a section of a set, with
limited pick-up range, but discreet and flexible. Layers A term referring to the layers of video that are composited together to form a final cut, including superimposed images or text.
LCD Liquid Crystal Display. A small monitor attached to consumer camcorders which enables better
quality viewing of an image. Levels Commonly used in association with sound, this refers to the relative volume of different audio tracks. In compression, the term is used to describe the quality steps in MPEG.
Linear editing A term referring to analog editing systems in which two or more VCRs are connected
and clips are recorded from one to another in the correct sequence. Logging A term referring to the searching and noting of takes on a tape of footage. If timecode is used, this will determine more easily where tracks are located.
Longitudinal timecode (LTC) A way of recording timecode in which the signal holding the code is recorded onto a soundtrack or separate longitudinal track. Long shot A wide image showing a panorama or landscape.
Luminance The brightness element of an S-video signal. Lux A measure of light. It is equivalent to one lumen per square metre, or the same as 0.0929 foot candle. A well-exposed picture needs something around 10 000 lux.
M
Match shot A way of setting up two shots so that the camera cuts between them with no loss of continuity. Movements of the subject, lighting and camera angle are all arranged so that the matched shots blend seamlessly with each other.
Medium shot A shot that shows the subject from the waist up.
Modem A device for decoding data sent across the Internet via telephone cables. The speed of the modem determines the amount of data that can be received per second, measured in bits. Most consumer modems operate at a speed of 56 kb per second.
Monitor A television screen attached to a camera while shooting so that a clearer view of the shot can be seen. It is useful for ensuring that colour, contrast and light values are kept at the same level throughout shooting. In digital editing, it is used to refer to the window in which clips are cut down to a more exact size before placing on the timeline.
Monopod A one-legged camera support.
Montage An approach to editing in which seemingly unlikely shots are placed together. Two shots can be made to create or suggest a third meaning. There are many variations of montage editing, including parallel montage, in which simultaneous events are told in parallel, and involuted montage, in which a narrative is told without regard for chronology.
MPEG A standard for compressing video data. The difference between MPEG and other forms of compression is that MPEG is more sophisticated, analysing data from groups of frames and making decisions about what data can be excluded. MPEG-1 and MPEG-4 work with relatively low amounts of data and are suited to telecommunications. MPEG-2 is one of the most widely used versions, used in consumer DVD compression, and results in high quality images.
Multimedia A much misunderstood term used to refer to any interactive medium. Strictly speaking, it refers to the combining of more than one means of communication in one medium.
N
Nanotainment A term referring to new forms of video product that are very short, often less than 30 seconds. But it also refers to video that asks for a short attention span, delivered in continual short bursts of interest.
New Hollywood A term referring to the development of a new kind of Hollywood movie in the 1970s, including such directors as Scorsese and Coppola.
Noise A term referring to the variations in picture signal that produce unwelcome disturbances in quality. It refers most often to vision, despite its connotations with sound.
Non-linear editing Also known as digital editing, this term is the more accurate one, since it refers to the ability of the editor to access and rearrange any part of the movie, without having to re-edit the rest of it, as was the case with linear, analog editing.
NTSC National Television Standards Committee, a body which set standards for television transmission adopted in many territories, including the USA.
O
Off-line editing When editing a movie, this refers to the process in which clips are edited on lower cost systems first and then passed on to an on-line editor for final cutting on more expensive systems. Since digital editing allows for high quality at very little cost, this practice is becoming obsolete.
Omnidirectional mic A type of microphone which picks up sound from all around the mic.
On-line editing This refers to the practice of compiling a final edit of a movie as a second-stage cut, derived from the earlier, off-line edit.
P
PAL Phase Alternating Line, a broadcasting standard used in the UK, Australia and other territories, which is based on a lower frame rate than NTSC, at 24 fps. But PAL also uses a greater number of lines on the screen, at 625, leading to a slightly higher resolution.
PALplus A new system derived from PAL, but which uses a slightly different aspect ratio, 16:9, and which produces a higher quality of picture through pre-filtering of the video signal.
Pan A horizontal movement of the camera at a fixed position to show several aspects of a setting, or following a subject in movement.
Parabolic mic Not a mic as such, but a dish-like attachment to a mic that greatly enhances the pinpoint range of the mic, used with cardioid mics.
Pixel A picture element or picture point, the smallest dot on the television screen. Video pictures are measured in pixels with PAL at 720 576 pixels.
Plan sequence A French term referring to a single, uncut shot involving several camera movements to make a whole scene.
Plug-in An extension to software which serves to extend the capacity of the software in some way. For example, many editing programs promote plug-ins capable of enhancing the range of special effects available in the program.
Point of view shot (POV) A shot which aims to show the viewpoint of a subject, typically with a hand-held camera.
Polymedia A term referring to moving images that incorporate more than one medium – for example, video, text, sound lighting, environment. It is gaining currency as a replacement for ‘multimedia’.
Post-modern A term referring to a cultural development in the late twentieth century which still affects cinema. It is characterized by the borrowing and fusing of different elements from global and historical culture to forge provocative and interesting new combinations.
Post-production The stage in filmmaking in which shots are edited, soundtrack is added and any further effects or modifications are made.
Post-structuralism The movement away from the academic confines of the structuralist approach to analysing movies, gathering pace in the 1990s. It sought to move attention in film studies away from the movie itself and look at the spectator and the context within which the film is viewed.
Pre-production In filmmaking, the stage in which the film is planned in terms of the script, visuals, budget, schedule and other demands, prior to the start of shooting (production).
Production In filmmaking, the shooting stage of the process, in which all clips and sounds are gathered.
Progressive download In video streaming, this refers to a method of sending video data on the Internet that enables a movie to start playing before the whole file has downloaded. Picture quality is greater than with real-time downloading, though there is a slight wait to start playing the film, the length of which depends on the speed of your connection. A calculation is made as to how long it will take for the whole movie to download and the film starts playing only when there is enough video to sustain uninterrupted playback.
PZM A pressure zone microphone, a small sensitive mic often fixed on the camcorder.
Q
QuickTime A trademark of Apple Computers, this is one of the most popular video formats, enabling high quality video data to be used on all types of computer.
R
RAM Random Access Memory, the temporary data section of a computer that the processor is currently using at any given point, erased when it is switched off, when the data must be saved and transferred elsewhere.
Real-time downloading A term used on the Internet to refer to video that is sent to the viewer without waiting for it to download. Picture quality is sacrificed for speed and it is mostly used for news clips and interviews, where resolution is less of an issue.
Real-time editing A version of editing programs that offers reduced rendering ability, enabling the user to see effects and transitions on clips as soon as they are placed on the timeline, without having to wait for the program to render, or build, the files into a complete film.
Redhead A type of lamp that has become a generic term for a strong, usually 800 W, tungsten halogen lamp made by the Ianiro company. It is versatile and can be used as much for main, key light as for other softer lights, using barn doors and reflectors to bounce the light.
Rendering The process by which editing software builds video files and effects as one complete sequence. When editing, it is not possible to watch the film as it develops because each clip, and any effects placed on them, do not exist as one complete file and must first be rendered to see the movie. Certain programs offer real-time editing, but these are often limited in their reduction of rendering.
Resolution The clarity of the video picture, often another word for sharpness. In technical terms, resolution is measured in lines on the screen, pixels or megahertz. Although the screen may accept a certain level of resolution, each stage of production, including the kind of camera used, through to post-production, including the standard of editing equipment, can affect final picture resolution.
Rushes Rushes are your footage, usually called this because you are looking at them soon after shooting in order to check how the film is progressing.
S
Sampling ratio The amount of data displayed in terms of brightness and colour, or luminance and chrominance. Luminance is often sampled at a much higher rate than colours, often double the amount. Quantities such as 4:2:2, for example, refer to luminance and colour sampling, and vary according to the camera.
SCART Syndicat de Constructeurs d’Appareils Radio Recepteur et Televisuers. A common European standard 21-pin connector, carrying audio and video signals. Known for being unreliable and prone to breakages.
SECAM Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire, a television broadcasting standard developed in France and used in many Eastern European nations. It is most similar to, and compatible with, PAL.
Server A piece of central equipment which acts as a conduit for a user to access the Internet.
Shotgun mic A type of microphone which has a narrow range and is pointed at the subject.
SMPTE/EBU timecode The current standard timecode used in professional video. It consists of four pairs of digits – hours : minutes : seconds : frame. The last pair differs depending on what broadcasting standard is being used (maximum of 24 out of 25 frames for PAL or 29 out of 29.9 for NTSC).
Structuralism A movement in academic circles in the 1970s which sought to understand the structures by which a film is made, but ignoring the variables inherent in the spectator’s viewing of it. It was later superseded by post-structuralism.
Studio system A term referring to the dominance of major studios in Hollywood in the classic period of Hollywood production from the 1920s until the 1950s, when a lawsuit broke the majors’ stranglehold on film production and opened the doors to independent production.
Supercardioid mic A type of microphone with a limited width of range, but which can pick up sounds up to four metres away.
T
Timecode See SMPTE timecode.
Timeline A window in digital editing programs on which the film is built clip by clip. Layers of images or text are placed on separate tracks on the timeline and the final arrangement is rendered to produce a movie.
Tracking shot A movement of the camera alongside a moving subject.
Transition A visual effect in editing programs, in which one clip merges into the next – for example, by a dissolve, a wipe across the screen or other effect.
Trimming The process of reducing the size of clips in editing programs, to the exact length required.
Tripod A three-legged camera support.
U
Unidirectional mic A versatile type of microphone which picks up sound in front of the mic.
USB Universal Serial Bus. A type of cable that allows the camcorder to be plugged into a PC. But it is not effective in transferring DV as it cannot carry sufficient data, being around four times slower than FireWire. USB 2.0 is an improvement but has yet to catch on in the video market.
VHS Video Home System, the most common consumer analog format, developed by JVC, using 12.7 mm tape. VHS is not suitable for professional use because of its poor resolution.
Viewfinder A part of the camera through which the image being recorded can be seen.
VJ Video jockey, referring to the use of video tracks mixed live often in a club or party setting, developed from DJ audio mixing.
W
White balance A feature of consumer camcorders which assesses the correct balance of light to ensure accurate colour representation.
Wide-angle lens A lens with a short focal distance but which can focus on a wide range of objects in a frame.
Wild sound Also referred to as non-synchronous sound, this encompasses all sounds not recorded on location or set, and not related to the action, but which add realism or effect.
X
XLR In audio technology, the XLR-3 is a cable connection able to transmit high quality audio signals.
Y
Y/C A video signal connection in which luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) are transmitted separately, leading to higher picture quality, better than that achieved with composite signals. This connection is often referred to as S-Video.
Z