Actuality can be any sound recorded when filming, although it usually refers to significant background sound such as a train whistle.
Analogue refers to the transfer of information that is an electrical signal, which is continuous rather than discrete (digital). Examples of analogue systems are analogue telephones that transmit and receive voice transmissions as a continuous voltage; analogue TV, which is television that only receives analogue signals and has not yet switched over to digital and in fact any kind of information that is transmitted in continuous waveforms from person to person and is understood by human senses, like sound speech and pictures.
Analogue recording is therefore a way to record audio or video information and store them as a continual wave. This means that they are physical representations of the waveform of the original signal.
Aperture is a term used when discussing camera set up and lighting. It refers to an opening inside a camera lens that is variable and is designed to control the amount of light that is able to pass through.
Betacam is the name that refers to a group of videotape products, which most commonly encompasses Betacam camcorders, Betacam tapes, and Betacam video recorders and was developed by Sony in 1982. There are many Betacam variants and upgrades including Beta SP and Digital Beta. These latter versions were the industry standard for many years.
CSO – or colour separation overlay. Known also as “green” or “blue” screen. A colour which the camera records behind an interviewee and which can be used in the edit suite to project another image on. Often used by weather announcers.
Digital Television (DTV) is the general term used for all digital and digitised television. To be classed as digital, information has to be composed and transmitted by digits (or discreet) signals, in contrast to the continuous waves that were the older ‘analogue’ systems. Digital technology is of a much higher quality than the older analogue systems.
Digital recording is a method of recording whereby samples of original analogue signals are encoded onto tape/disk as binary information. As digital copies are made and read as computer based numerical codes rather than being directly stored onto film or tapes it means that they can be copied repeatedly and all subsequent copies will uphold the original quality.
Dubbing refers to a process that occurs in post production. It involves adding a soundtrack or audio to a pre-existing film and it can also mean the process of replacing a films original dialogue with that of another language.
DV, Mini DV is a digital video format used for recording and playing back digital video. Mini DV is popular as it can reduce filming costs quite dramatically but not lose any image quality and the small cameras open up possibilities in terms of filming in tricky environments.
DV Cam is Sony’s version of the DV. Tape moves 50% faster than in the above standard DV or Mini DV. It has become the industry standard.
DVD Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk. Basic DVDs can store around 4.7 gigabytes as a minimum, so although it is identical to a CD in appearance, it has a much greater capacity making it the ideal format for storing high quality video and multi channel audio.
Editing is the action that usually takes place in an editing suite, whereby various shots are arranged into a sequence or ‘scenes’.
Encoding is the process of taking information from the source and putting it as a sequence of specialized symbols to be communicated, transmitted or stored effectively.
Hi8 is the improved follow up of the Video 8 format and it is both analogue and digital. It is of a much higher quality, with a better picture quality and was popular in the mid 1990s. It has since been outdated by newer digital video formats.
High Definition Television (HDTV or HD) is broadcast digitally nowadays, after an initial period of using analogue techniques and it refers to the video having resolution that is considerably higher than standard television systems. It provides the highest quality picture and sound simultaneously.
Library shot is footage that is stored in a library and revisited for use in a film or television presentation for which that shot was not originally generated. Campaign has a large video library.
MCU. Medium Close up. A camera shot that captures the head and shoulder of a person.
Panning is a camera term. The action of moving the camera slowly from one side of a scene to the other.
Post production is a term widely used in the filmmaking process, everything from television programs to radio programs. As a phrase it encompasses everything that takes place after the actual shooting or recording of the project, or “after the production”.
Rolling or “up to speed”. A camera needs about 5 seconds to reach effective recording speed.
Shot is the basic way to describe a ‘unit of meaning’ in moving image text and is used widely in production. So, a shot can be explained as an uninterrupted strip of motion picture and is usually filmed with a single camera. Its equivalent in the edit stage is a ‘clip’.
Stop motion is usually a term referred to in the creation of animation. It involves creating an impression of moving 3D objects by simply filming a frame or two and then slightly moving the object before filming another one or two frames and so forth.
Time-lapse filming is the process by which a camera is placed in a location and left there over time, with shots being taken at intervals, eg one per hour, in order to give a fast-moving account of a long-term event, such as the building of a sports stadium or the creation of a motorway
VHS is the abbreviation for the Video Home System and originated in Japan in 1976 by a company called JVC. It received huge popularity at consumer and domestic level, although is now rarely used.
VHS-C is a smaller version of the VHS, still invented by JVC but in the 1980’s and mainly for use in camcorders where it’s more cumbersome predecessor could not be. Through the use of an adaptor a VHS-C tape can still be played in a VHS player.
Video 8 format or the 8mm video format is linked to the three videocassette formats for the NTSC and PAL/SECAM television systems. The original Video 8 format is analogue. Video 8 camcorders were small enough to hold in the palm of the users hands unlike other brands of the time and the Video 8 also had a much larger capacity, holding around 120 minutes of tape as opposed to the VHS-C tapes only holding 40mins. It is however, non compatible on VHS hardware.
Vox-pop is short for the Latin phrase Vox populi and literally means the ‘voice of the people.’ In broadcasting vox pops are referred to when interviewing members of the general public. This is normally a random selection of people who are just approached on the street and asked a question in order to give their own spontaneous opinions on the subject matter.
Wildtrack sound is general ambient sound recorded while filming – traffic or street noise – or a voice over which is not recorded to pictures, but edited to picture later.