Post Production Glossary

2K: A term used to describe an image that has approximately 2000 horizontal pixels. The widest use of 2K is as a scanning resolution for 35mm film. When Kodak first made their Genesis film scanner, they defined a 35mm 4-perf full aperture film frame as having a resolution of 2048x1556. 24p refers to a HD signal that is 24 frames per second. This corresponds closely to the cinema frame rate and therefore has been widely adopted for HD productions which have a cinematic release. 25p, 30p. 25 or 30-frame progressive, is a non-interlaced format and produces video at 25/30 frames per second. Progressive (non-interlaced) scanning mimics a film camera's frame-by-frame image capture and gives clarity for high speed subjects and a cinematic-like appearance. Shooting in 30p mode offers video with no interlace artefacts. 3:2 pulldown: Film is shot at 24 fps and NTSC video is displayed at 29.97 fps. In order to convert film to video (for telecine or TV broadcasting for example), some frames will have to be repeated to prevent the footage from speeding up. The fields are repeated in a 3:2 pattern - field A three times, field B twice, field C three times, etc. Where there is an odd number of fields, the last field will merge with the first field of the next frame, blending them together. 4:2:2. A ratio of sampling frequency for a digitized video signal. The first number refers to the luminance part of the signal, the second two refer to the chroma (colour) samples. In this ratio the luminance is sampled 4 times whilst the chroma values are sampled twice at the same rate. Chroma is sampled at a lower resolution than luminance because the human eye has more luminance receptors (rods) than colour receptors (cones). 4:4:4: A colour sampling sceme that applies equal importance to the resolution of luminance and chrominance samples. Samples are usually in Red, Green and Blue rather than luminance and colour difference signals. 4K: A term used to describe video that has approximately 4000 horizontal pixels, usually 4096 x 3112. This is twice the resolution of 2K. 60i (interlaced; 50i in Europe and Australia), is the standard video field rate that has been in use for decades; it's what you see on your home TV, whether from a broadcast signal, rented DVD, or home camcorder. 720p is a progressive HD format with 720 lines. It is sometimes referred to as medium def. The 720p format is intended always to be high frame-rate, i.e. at least 50 frames per second. This format is useful for sports coverage where high speed action benefits from a higher frame rate. 1080i An interlaced HD video standard notation. 1080 refers to the number of vertical lines. The i refers to interlaced video. Common interlaced standards would be 1080 50i (50 fields per second similar to PAL in Europe) and 1080 59.97i (similar to NTSC in USA). 1080p: A high definition progressive video mode consisting of 1080 horizontal lines. The most common resolution is 1920x1080 but some cameras shoot at 1440x1080. Progressive scanning results in greater visual quality than 1080i footage, and support for 1080p is slowly being integrated into high definition equipment. Academy leader: A countdown from 8 to 3 that allows the cinema projectionist to know when to turn on the lamp in order to catch the start of the movie. See also 2-pop. Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 1

Action safe area: A region of the screen where elements are guaranteed to be visible. This is for compatibility with older CRT TVs where the edge of picture was lost off the edge of the tube. The action safe area is bigger than the title safe area because it is less important for moving elements to be visible at all times. ADR: Automated Dialog Replacement. This process involves re-recording actors' dialog in a studio and syncing it up to their moving lips on screen as if it was recorded on-set. This is usually performed when dialog is recorded poorly or to change certain lines. Alpha channel: The opacity channel in an image. This controls the opacity level of a given pixel, with 0% being fully transparent and 100% being fully opaque. Most commonly used in visual effects systems for defining cut-outs, or mattes. Analogue: Signals that are analogue are smoothly represented between the limits of the system e.g. a smooth linear line between 0 and 1volt. This is opposed to digital where signals can only be represented by discreet levels between 0 and 255 (for an 8-bit system). The world is an analogue place, as are our senses so you would think that analogue would be best and some would say that is the case. Analogue signals, however, are susceptible to noise and degradation and can not easily be manipulated and stored. For this reason, digital has been predominant for some years. Anamorphic: 16:9 footage (widescreen) that has been stretched vertically in-camera or during the post production process that results in the widescreen image filling up the whole of a 16:9 screen. This is in contrast to non-anamorphic screen footage in which black lines appear at the top and bottom of the image (known as letterboxing). Animation: The process of creating a progressively altering image that gives the appearance of continuous motion. Answer print: The first film print of a movie, combining picture and sound for the first time. It is intended for internal scrutiny and not for general release. Artefact: An imperfection on a video image that is not intended to be present. Artefacts are brought about by some part of the production process, whether in camera, or as a side effect of electronic signal manipulation. Aspect ratio: The ratio of image width to height. 4:3 refers to standard definition television, whereas 16:9 commonly refers to widescreen. Assemble edit: A linear method of editing on tape in which new clips are placed one after the other in order to assemble the required result. Assemble editing does not require pre-striping of tapes because the tape machine is able to synchronise to existing footage during preroll and continue to lay down synchronisation marks (control track) once recording. Auto conform: The automated part of the online editing process that assembles the online edit from an EDL or XML file created during the offline edit. AVI: Audio Video Interleaved. A Windows movie file format developed by Microsoft. Much like Apples QuickTime, AVI files can contain synchronous video and audio tracks encoded with a variety of codecs. Avid: A non-linear editing system popularly used for feature film and television work. Bayer Pattern: A mosaic style pattern of Red Green and Blue sensor elements. Used for the sensors on many digital stills cameras, and now increasingly on Digital Cinematography cameras such as the Red Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 2

One. Enables a single array sensor to be used instead of three sensors fed by a beam-splitter or prism (a technique used on some video cameras). This allows greater freedom with the design of the optics, and hence superior visual results. Best light: A telecine transfer performed in one pass with one colour correction setting applied to the whole reel, as opposed to precise scene-by-scene correction. Betacam SP: Analogue component video format using 1/2 inch tapes that used to be the de-facto standard for standard definition broadcasting and acquisition. Used now largely by off-line editors as a medium for film rushes transfers. Blue screen: A blue background that the subject stands in front of that will later be replaced with another background in post production. Commonly used for film cameras, with green screens used for digital cameras due to their differing color sensitivities. Blue screen compositing: The process of making all blue elements in an image transparent and placing a different background underneath. A commonly used technique for visual effects production. Burnt-in Timecode (BITC): Footage with timecode permanently displayed on the image ("burnt in"). This is normally used during offline editing to correctly match shots for the online edit. Call sheet: A list of scenes to be shot on a particular day and the cast, crew members and equipment required. CDL: Similar to an EDL, only for Colour. A Colour Decision List allows creative colour decisions that have been made during one part of the creative process to be replicated later on. E.g. if an on-set colour correction system has been used, the CDL can be used later in a commercials DI system such as Resolve to replicate the DPs on-set colour decisions. Cel: A single frame of an animation, normally drawn on transparent celluloid so that it can be composited into an image. CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery): The process of generating and animating elements in a computer to be composited into a scene as if the elements were present in the scene as it was shot. Some movies are comprised entirely of computer generated imagery, with no live action photography whatsoever. Channel: One of several components used to make up an image. RGB images are made up of red, green and blue channels, with an optional alpha channel for transparency. Chrominance (chroma): A video signal used for carrying colour information. Claymation: The process of animating and filming characters built out of clay. Wallace & Gromit. Say no more. Clipped whites: Peaks in the luminance signal that have been cut off at certain value to prevent them from exceeding the limits of the video system. CODEC. A word formed from the words coder and decoder. A codec refers to a digital encoding algorithm used to store audio and video data in a computer file. Many codecs exist and have been devised for specific applications. Examples include MPEG-2 (broadcast), DV (low bit rate capture), Apple Prores, DNxHD (HD video editing), H-264 and Flash video (web content).

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Colour bars: A test signal recorded onto the start of every tape or reel that is used to synchronize the settings of the camera with those of the capture deck. Colour Grading: The process of altering or enhancing the colour of an image to seamlessly blend cuts together in a scene, remove unintended mistakes (e.g. overexposure of highlights) or for creative effect. Also known as colour correction or colour timing. Colour Space: A mathematical model of colour. Colour spaces differ in how they map colour - for example, RGB (used in TV systems) creates colour from mixtures of red green and blue and CMYK (used in the print industry) creates colour from mixtures of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The XYZ colour space is the broadest colour space and for this reason has been specified as the Colour Space to encode feature films to DCI specifications. Colour Timing: See colour grading. Colour Temperature: A way of defining the white point. Measured in Kelvin (K), it is the temperature that an idealised metallic substance emits certain colours. At 6500K, this will be a fairly neutral daylight white this is the standard used for broadcast TV in Europe and the USA. At 5400, the colour will be warmer (more red) used as the white point for film print. 9300 is a much colder (bluey) colour commonly used in reprographics, and for broadcast in Japan. Colourist: The person that performs colour grading. Colourisation: The process of manually adding colour to black and white movie in post production. Composite Print: A film print with both picture and sound on it. Component signal: An analogue video signal with luminance, colour and saturation values encoded separately, resulting in greater picture quality than composite signals. Composite signal: An analogue video signal with the luminance, colour and saturation values merged into one signal. Inferior to component video due to the artefacts created by combining and decombining the signals. Compositing: A visual effects technique of combining multiple elements shot separately (images, movie clips, CGI, etc) into a final image or sequence to give the impression they were all shot at the same time. Compression: The process of reducing the amount of information required to store video signals. The aim is to reduce storage, transmission and processing costs whilst retaining the most optimal quality. Continuity: The process of maintaining the consistency of the plot, characters, time period, objects, places and events of the film in order to maintain the audience's suspension of disbelief. Continuity Report: A detailed list of occurrences during the shooting of a scene with the aim of tracking, and therefore compensating for, any changed elements that may affect continuity. Cross Conversion: The process of converting from one high definition video standard to another. Cross fade (audio transition): Lowering the volume of the preceding audio clip whilst raising the volume of the following clip at the same time, with the aim of easing abrupt transitions between the two.

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Crosscut: Cutting to another scene or set of events whilst an existing scene is taking place, to give the impression that they are both taking place at the same time. Crushed blacks: Reduction of the detail in the shadow regions of an image by compressing the lower section of the contrast range. Once crushed, further processing can not recover the shadow detail. Cut: To move abruptly from one shot to another angle or scene. Cutaway: Cutting to a shot of something other than the main focus of the scene. This can be used to hide an edit or give significance to a particular object or hand movement, for example. D1: Uncompressed 8-bit component 4:2:2 standard definition VTR format developed by Sony and operates at a resolution of 720x486 (NTSC) and 720x576 (PAL). Records to tape. D2: A lower cost alternative to D1, developed by Ampex. The signal on tape is an uncompressed composite digital signal. Again, uses tapes. D3: A format developed by Panasonic and designed to compete with D2. Like D2, it features an uncompressed composite signal recording onto tape. D4: D4 was never developed because the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan. D5: A tape format developed by Panasonic that uses the same inch tapes as D3. Standard definition footage is uncompressed but high definition footage is compressed at a 4:1 ratio. Da Vinci: A company specialising in producing creative colour correction systems for the commercials, TV drama and Feature film markets. Their products include linear systems which control telecine systems such as the 2K Plus, and stste-of-the-art non-linear DI systems such as Resolve. Dailies: Unedited footage that is generally screened the day after it was shot to check for mistakes. Also called Rushes. DAT (Digital Audio Tape): An industry standard audio recording medium, originally developed by Sony. Commonly used for transferring soundtracks between facilities before file based alternatives like WAV. dB (decibel): A unit of measurement for the intensity of a sound wave. Debayer: The process of generating images which have co-sited Red, Green and Blue pixels, when the raw footage has been shot with a Bayer Pattern sensor (creates a mosaic of non co-sited samples). Cameras such as Red, SI-2K and the Arri D21 require that Raw data is debayered before it can be used in postproduction. Decode: The process of reading video data and outputting it in a format readable by a device or computer. This process often involves decompressing the data. See also encode. Depth of field: The distance range from the camera lens at which objects are in focus. This distance varies based on the length of the lens or the zoom level. Difference key: A matte extraction technique that separates a subject from its background using colour differences between the two.

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Digital Betacam (commonly abbreviated to Digibeta). The de-facto 10-bit SD digital video recorder made originally by Sony. It records a DCT-compressed component video signal at 10-bit YUV 4:2:2 sampling in PAL (720576) or NTSC (720486) resolutions at a bitrate of 90 Mbit/s plus 4 channels of uncompressed 48 kHz PCM-encoded audio. Digital Imaging Technician (DIT): A person that works with the cinematographer when using digital cinema cameras like Red and SI-2K on such aspects as data workflow copy, backup, delivery etc. Digital Intermediate (DI): The process of digitising a film, manipulating the colour in a non-linear colour correction system such as Resolve, then re-outputting to film. Digitise: The process of converting analog video formats into a digital form that can be used with a computer. This term is often misused to refer to the process of transferring digital data from, for example, a P2 card. The correct term in such instances would be transfer. Dissolve: Merging of one shot into another by gradually decreasing the opacity of the first shot over time until it is completely transparent whilst doing the opposite to the incoming shot. Dolby 5.1: Six channel (five speakers and one subwoofer for bass) digital surround sound system by Dolby. Sound for HD drama TV productions is now commonly given a 5.1 mix. Dolby-E: A system devised by Dolby Laboratories to record up to 8 channels of audio onto a stereo pair of audio tracks. Allows 5.1 audio to be recorded onto 2 channels. Dolby E can not be played back without a decoder and in fact should not be played back onto standard stereo speakers as it can blow the tweaters! Down-conversion: Converting from a HD format to a SD format e.g. 1080 25P to 625 (PAL). Drop-frame timecode: This is a modified 30fps timecode which accounts for the slight inaccuracy of 29.97fps systems (NTSC) with respect to the clock on the wall. If this type of timecode is not used, then a 1 hour program will not run to exactly 1 hour on the tape. In order to retain accuracy, the first two timecode frames of every minute are dropped, with the exception of every tenth minute. Note that only the timecode references are lost; not the actual frames themselves. See also non-drop frame timecode. Not generally used for short-form commercials production where timecode consistency is preferred. Dropout: A brief loss of signal off a tape due to dirt, tape inconsistency, head clog etc. that results in a noticeable disturbance to the video or audio signal. Dubbing: The process of copying a videotape. Can also mean adding extra voice tracks to a soundtrack in order to change lines or prepare the film for foreign markets. Dust bust: The process of removing dust, dirt, scratches, etc, from a digitally scanned film frame. DV (Digital Video): A popular standard definition compressed video tape format supported on almost all recent digital cameras. Records 4:1:1 encoded video (NTSC) or 4:2:0 (PAL) using a DCT intra-frame compression scheme at a fixed bitrate of 25 mbits /second. DVD (Digital Video Disc / Digital Versatile Disc): An optical disc format that has improved capacity and bandwidth over its predecessor, the CD-ROM. It consists of microscopic reflective pits that a laser scans. The displacement of the laser beam allows the drive to work out if the pit represents a 1 or a 0 in binary code. Generally used to distribute feature films, TV series to the general public. Can be used to store any kind of data when used in the RW, +RW or RAM formats. Stores 4.5GB approx when single sided and single layer. Can be recorded dual layer and dual sided. Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 6

DVD-R: A recordable DVD format. Can only be recorded once i.e. not erasable. DVD+R: A competing, some would say superior format to DVD-R due to its more robust recoding and playback technology. DVD-RW: DVD-R that can be re-written. DVD+RW: DVD+R that can be re-written DVD-RAM: Another data DVD format popular with camcorders due to the ease that it can be selectively erased and re-recorded. DP: Director of Photography. Sometimes called the cinematographer the person in charge of all aspects on set relating to the look of the images captured by the camera. Directs the lighting crew and camera operators. Edge numbers: Numbers printed along the edge of a strip of film that allow the negative cutter to correctly identify which frames to cut. Editing: The process of manipulating and rearranging footage in order to achieve a finished sequence. EDL (Edit Decision List): A way of writing the edit decisions of an off-line editor in an easily readable standard file format so that the edit sequence can be re-created in an online system. Effects animation: The animation of non-character elements such as explosions, smoke, rain, etc. Effects Stock: Film stock optimized purely for shooting visual effects footage. It has very fine grain to allow easier compositing. Encode: The process of taking video or audio data and writing it out to a file or tape in a specified format. This process often involves compressing the data using a codec. See also decode. eSATA: Stands for External SATA. Its a fast way of attaching external drives to PCs and Macintosh computers. An eSATA card needs to be fitted into the PC/Mac to make this work. Enables transfers at 1.5Gb/s or 3Gb/s (SATA2). Eyematch: Time consuming editing process where the editor has to find the correct shots by eye rather than having timecode references for each shot. Generally only necessary where an EDL has not been supplied, or does not work. Fade: The process of causing an image to gradually disappear into darkness. FHA (Full height anamorphic): A way of recording 16x9 material onto a 4x3 recording technology by squeezing the image horizontally and making non-square anamorphic pixels. Field: Interlaced video is split into two fields: one comprising the odd-numbered scan lines, and the other comprising the even lines. There are 50 fields for every second of PAL video. If footage has been captured with an interlaced camera (Digibeta camera or 50i HD camera), each field is separated in time th by 1/50 of a second. The advantage of interlace is that it produces less flickery images, the disadvantage being that it has the vertical resolution of frame based footage, and a more video style look rather than being cinematic. Converting fields to frames can be done by either throwing away one in two fields and line doubling (low quality result, but easily processed) or by producing a combined frame Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 7

by motion estimating the two fields to produce one frame coincident in time (high quality, but complex processing). Film grain: The visual texture of film, caused by particles of metallic silver present on the film strip. Film stock: A term to describe film that is used for shooting and reproduction. Filter: A software add-on to simulate a given effect upon the footage. Common filters include blurs, degrain and colour correction. Firewire: An interface standard that is commonly used for connecting hard drives and cameras to computers. It is available in two speeds - Firewire 400 (IEEE 1394a) at 400 Mbps and Firewire 800 (IEEE 1394b) at 800 Mbps. Fixed Bitrate: A codec working with Fixed Bit Rate means that the data rate is the same, no matter the picture content. The results are not as good as with Variable Bit Rate codecs, but the encoding is quick and simple and can be implemented easily in hardware. Flame: A non-linear editing and visual effects system made by Autodesk. Predominantly used for visual effects projects for commercials and TV. Flex file: A computer-generated file that establishes the relationship between timecode, keykode and often audio timecode. Flex files are important in the online editing process. They have the file extension .flx. Focal length: The distance from the centre of the camera lens to the object of focus. Foley: The process of recording sound effects on-the-fly as the picture plays. Sound effects are often created from everyday household objects. Fps: The number of frames played every second. The standard film frame rate is 24 fps, with NTSC video at 29.97 fps and PAL video at 25 fps. Shooting higher than these rates will result in slow-motion footage and shooting lower will result in fast-motion. Frame: A single image that represents the movie at a given point in time. When several of these images are played in sequence, they give the impression of motion. See also frame rate. Frame cut: A technique used by editors to create rapidly varying motion speed effects. So called because the editor cuts 1 frame at a time from the original live action footage. Popular for certain commercials and feature film visual effects sequences. Frame rate: The rate at which frames are played or recorded. Common frame rates are 23.98 (NTSC HD productions), 24 (film), 25 (PAL), and 29.97 (Standard definition NTSC). Freeze frame: The repetition of a single frame of footage to give the effect that the action has stopped or that the audience is looking at a still image. Gain: An increase in signal amplification. It also results in an increase in signal noise. Gamma: A measurement of the level of midtones in an image. Adjusting the gamma adjusts the level of the midtones while leaving the blacks and whites untouched.

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Gamut: The range of colours that can be accurately reproduced. Out of gamut means that the signal recorded can not be displayed accurately. Garbage matte: A matte designed to tell the computer which areas of an image to ignore or remove. Genlock: The process of matching the internal sync generator of a device such as a camera with an external source. Commonly used on music video shoots to sync audio to a timecode slate. This makes it easier to sync the lyrics of the song to the performer's mouth later on. Go motion: Similar to stop motion, but more realistic due to the application of motion blur, achieved by moving the models slightly during exposure. Sometimes this is achieved through a series of complex rods connected to a computer for precise movement, and sometimes (on lower budgets) it is achieved by flicking or nudging the model so that it vibrates. GOP (Group of Pictures): The MPEG-2 codec is an inter-frame recording scheme. It can achieve a large amount of compression in an efficient way by only recording the differences between subsequent frames. The compression scheme works over Groups of Pictures or GOPs. If a long GOP is used (maximum 15 frames for PAL), then a large bit-rate reduction can be achieved without a significant drop in picture quality. Such a file would be very difficult to edit, but is very useful for distribution via DVD or broadcast. Green screen: A green background that the subject stands in front of that will later be replaced with another background in post production. Green screen compositing: The process of making all green elements in an image transparent and placing a different background underneath. Commonly used where skin-tones need to be composited over a different background. Skin tones dont contain much green and can therefore be separated in the digital compositing envirironment with a chroma keyer. H.263 is a video codec originally designed as a low-bitrate compressed format for video conferencing. It was adopted by Macromedia and Real Networks as the compression scheme in Flash video /Real video. Subsequently superseded by the superior H.264 codec. H.264: A complex, block orientated video codec that achieves advancements from MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and H.263 compression schemes by the use of Motion Compensation. Popular for web based content like Flash Video. Handles: This is extra material beyond the in and out points. This extra footage provides the flexibility to perform dissolves and adjust edits. HD (High Definition): A general term for a video signal with a significantly higher resolution than standard definition footage. Such footage has superior visual quality to SD video.

HD-D5. A HD video recorder made by Panasonic which uses standard D5 video tape cassettes to record 10-bit HD material, using an intra-frame compression with a 4:1 compression ratio. HD D5 supports 1080i, all 720 progressive line standards and the 1080 progressive line standard at 24, 25 and 30 frame rates. Eight PCM audio channels sampled at 48 kHz, 20 bits per sample, are also supported. HD D5 has a datarate of 250 Megabits/second. HDCAM, introduced in 1997, is an HDTV version of Digital Betacam, using an 8-bit DCT compressed 3:1:1 recording, in 720p or 1080i-compatible (1920x1080) resolution, and adding 24 and 23.976 PsF modes. The recorded video bitrate is 144 Mbit/s. Audio is also similar, with 4 channels of AES/EBU 20bit/48 kHz digital audio. It is used for Sony's cinematic CineAlta range of products. Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 9

HDCAM SR, introduced in 2003, uses a higher particle density tape and is capable of recording in 4:4:4 RGB with a bitrate of 440 Mbit/s. The increased bitrate (over HDCAM) allows HDCAM SR to capture much more of the full bandwidth of the HDSDI signal (1920x1080). Some HDCAM SR VTRs (SR camcorders are not available) can also use a HQ mode with an even higher bitrate of 880 Mbit/s, allowing for a single 4:4:4 stream at a lower compression or two 4:2:2 video streams simultaneously. HDCAM SR uses the new MPEG-4 Studio Profile for compression, and expands the number of audio channels up to 12. Hue: The shade of a colour. This is the general colour category that the colour falls into, for example pink, crimson and plum are different colours but they all fall under the hue of red. Illegal colours: Colours present in a video signal that are not supported by the current video playback system. This can result in the image being displayed incorrectly and is especially important when preparing content for TV broadcasts, as NTSC televisions have limited colour support. See also gamut. In point: The timecode value at which a clip begins. See also out point. Insert edit (tape): The process of recording video or audio tracks (or both) directly onto a pre-striped tape. The new material will overwrite material on the existing tracks. Insert edits do not disrupt the control track of the tape. They are most useful on long-form projects where a shot needs to be replaced on a master without having to record the whole program again. Insert edit (NLE): The process of inserting a clip onto a timeline and pushing content aside to make room for it. In this method, no content is overwritten. See also overwrite edit. Interlace: When TV technology was first marketed and sold on CRT display technology, the process of interleaving 50 fields, rather than displaying 25 frames, produced a much more watchable, less flickery image on screen. Video cameras captured fields and the whole production, distribution and display chain th used interlaced fields. Each field is offset from the next by 1/50 of a second. This was the dominant video technology until recently when progressive capture video cameras and progressive LCD / Plasma displays have come to proliferate the domestic market. Interpolation: This is used in animation to calculate the motion in between two user-generated keyframes so that each frame does not need to be animated manually. This speeds up the process and makes the resulting animation smoother. Jog: To move forward or backward through video by playing it one field or frame at a time. Jump cut: A cut in which the action does not completely match that of the preceding shot, causing characters to "jump" to a slightly different position. This is generally a mistake but is sometimes used for creative effect, such as to simulate the passing of time. Kerning: The horizontal spacing between textual characters. Keyframe: A frame that contains a record of specific settings (e.g. scale, rotation, brightness, etc). By setting multiple keyframes, you can adjust these parameters as the video plays to animate certain aspects. For example, you could set a keyframe for brightness at 100% and then set one at 50% when the camera enters a bright area. Keying: The process of generating a matte dependant upon the isolation of an image based on its content. Chroma keys isolate on the basis of hue, luma keys on the basis of luminance.

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Keykode: A Kodak-developed machine-readable edge code system. All negative film rolls produced by Kodak (and other manufacturers) have unique barcode numbers recorded along the edge of the film outside of the perforations. This number allows a film frame to be uniquely identified. The Keycode numbers are required when the film is cut. Leading: spacing. Pronounced ledding. The vertical spacing of textual characters. Also referred to as line

Letterbox: The process of fitting a 16:9 image on a 4:3 screen by placing black lines at the top and bottom. Linear editing: A form of video editing in which cuts are laid out sequentially, one by one, to produce the final scene. This is in contrast to non-linear editing in which cuts can be performed in any order. Log: A record of start and end timecode, reel numbers, scene descriptions and other information for a specified clip. Lossless: A compression scheme that results in no loss of data from the file. Lossless files are generally quite large (but still smaller than uncompressed versions) and sometimes require considerable processing power in order to decode the data. One method of achieving lossless compression is by replacing repeated sequences of characters with a shorter description of the data e.g. 7000 spaces. Lossy: A compression scheme that discards data in order to lower file sizes. Video compression schemes are usually lossy. LTC (Longitudinal timecode): Time code recorded on one of the audio channels of video tape. It can only be read if the tape is playing. Luma key: The process of creating a matte from data related to the brightness of certain areas in an image. See also keying. Luminance: A measure of the brightness or intensity of each pixel in an image. Matchmove: The process of matching the motion of a computer generated object with the motion of the camera or an object in the scene in order to blend it seamlessly within the scene. Matte: An image mask that is used in visual effects to control which parts of the image the effect will be applied to. See also matte painting. Matte artist: A person who creates background art for use in a matte shot. Matte painting: The process of placing a glass-painted or digital background on footage in order to simulate a different or larger environment. It is used commonly in film because it saves money on setbuilding. Modeling: The process of creating 3D objects inside a computer, similar in many ways to the process of sculpting. MOS: Shooting without recording sound. Originated from a German to English mistranslation. Motion artefact: Visual interference caused by the difference between the frame rate of the camera and the motion of the object. The most common display of this is when filming a computer or television Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 11

screen. The screen will flicker or a line will scan down it, and is caused by the difference in frame rates and a lack of synchronization between the camera and television. Motion blur: The "streaking" effect caused when an object passes quickly across the screen. This is because the object is in many positions during the exposure of one frame of film. Motion capture (mocap): The process of digitally recording an actor's movement in order to apply this movement to a computer-generated object. See also performance capture. Motion control: The process of controlling the motion of the camera by computer in order to obtain precise control over its movement. Commonly used to match up a model with a live-action shot in order to composite the two together later. MPEG: Moving Pictures Experts Group. A group that standardises video formats. Known best for MPEG2 for DVDs and MPEG-1 Layer 3 (MP3) for audio. MPEG-2: A long GOP intra-frame codec. Great for reducing bit-rates but not easy to edit. Generally used for distribution on DVD and broadcast TV. MPEG-4: A set of standards which define advanced audio and visual encoding techniques. If used on its own, MPEG-4 refers to an advancement from the MPEG-2 video encoding standard which includes DRM capabilities. This should strictly be referred to as MPEG-4 Part-2. Other parts of the MPEG-4 standard include Part-3 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) and Part-10 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) which is identical to H.264. Negative cutter: A person who physically cuts the film negative according to the cut list and then splices the film together in the desired order, ready for the final print. Negative: Film stock in which colours are reversed - black is white and white is black. It must be reprinted as a positive before it can be projected. Film cameras shoot onto negative. Bright scenes create dense areas on negative films, dark scenes create transparent areas. NG (No Good): Commonly seen on camera and editor reports to indicate a particular take is unusable. Non-linear editor (NLE): An editing system in which edits can be performed at any time, in any order. Access is random, which means that the system can jump to specific pieces of data without having to look through the whole footage to find it. Computer software such as Avid and Final Cut Pro are examples of non-linear editing systems. Noise: Extra information in a video or audio signal that is not intended to be present. See also artefact Non-drop frame timecode: Timecode that counts every frame and does not compensate for the inaccuracies that occur when 29.97 fps is converted to 30. Frames count consecutively, but the timecode will gradually go out of sync with the clock on the wall. NTSC: Standard United States broadcasting system for standard definition television. It is a 525 line system (including field flyback lines) and is broadcast at 59.94f fields per second. Offline edit: The process of editing a project at a lower resolution than the final output, in order to cut equipment costs or reduce disk space - or in the case of film projects, to preserve the original negative.

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OMF(Open Media Framework): A file format intended for transferring media between different software applications on different platforms. It is commonly used for transferring audio from the timeline in Final Cut Pro or Avid to Pro Tools sessions. One light: Telecine transfer in which the film is graded on the first shot and the settings are then applied to the rest of the reel. Commonly used for transferring dailies. Online edit: After an offline edit, the sequence is then reassembled using high resolution media for the final output, normally using an EDL as a reference. Only the footage used in the final output needs to be recaptured. Opticals: Shots composited in an optical printer to be output to film. Commonly used to add fades and titles, as its visual effects work has largely been superseded by digital compositing. Optical soundtrack: A soundtrack printed on film that takes the form of a varying sound wave and is limited to stereo output only. Nowadays it serves as a backup if the separate surround sound system fails. Opacity: A measure of the transparency (or lack of) in an image, which is of importance when compositing. Opacity information is stored in an image's alpha channel. Out point: The timecode value at which a clip ends. See also In point. Overwrite edit: An editing method within an NLE in which existing data is overwritten when dragging a new clip onto a timeline. PAL: Phase Alternating Line. A standard definition broadcast standard in Europe. Has 625 lines and runs at 50 fields per second. Pan: The act of rotating the camera whilst keeping the tripod in a fixed position. Pan and Scan: A method of converting widescreen images to a 4:3 aspect ratio. The video is cropped so that it fills the entire screen and is panned into position to show most essential part of the scene. Perf: Short for perforation. Square holes in the side of a roll of film that are used to wind it through the camera or projector's mechanism. Standard 35mm has 4 perfs per frame but sometimes a 3-perf configuration is used. See also sprockets. Performance capture: Similar to motion capture but with an emphasis on capturing the intricacies of the actor's hand movements, facial expressions, etc, rather than simply their overall motion. Pickups: Reshooting a certain shot or scene due to errors on a previous day. Pillarbox: The black bars displayed at the sides when a 4:3 image is shown on a widescreen TV. PIP (Picture in Picture): A small window of footage superimposed over a larger window at the same time. Pixel: Picture element. The smallest possible element of a digital image. Pixel Aspect Ratio (PAR): The ratio of the width of a pixel to its height. Often, rectangular pixels are used for anamorphic sequences to maximize the available resolution.

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Pixelation: The display of large, blocky pixels in an image, caused by over-enlarging it. Plate shot: An empty shot of the background with no foreground elements, used for removing certain foreground elements from the scene such as light stands, wires, etc. Positive print: A print created from a negative that is suitable for projection. Post Production: The final stage of the filmmaking process, normally involving picture editing, sound design, visual effects and outputting the film to a format suitable for release. Post Production Co-ordinator: An assistant to the Post Production Supervisor who focuses on logistical aspects such as scheduling, budgeting and ensuring the smooth operation of the Post Production department. Post Production Supervisor: The person in charge of the entire Post Production department. They are in charge of seeing that the director's requirements are met on time and on budget, and liaise with vendors such as optical houses and sound facilities. Pre-Production: The planning stage before shooting commences. This includes casting, location scouting and budgeting. Pre-roll: The amount of time that a VTR or camera takes to reach full speed, typically 3-5 seconds. Principal Photography: The main period of filming in which shooting occurs with the main actors. This differs from visual effects photography and B-camera shooting. Print: A version of a film that is intended for projection. Production: The stage at which principal photography occurs. Progressive: Frame scanning technology that processes each frame as one complete image, as opposed to two separate fields as with interlacing. Progressive segmented Frame (PsF) is a HD video format used to store progressive content on interlaced media and display on interlaced displays. Each progressive frame is segmented into two interlaced fields. QuickTime: Cross-platform video compression software developed by Apple used extensively by video professionals on the Macintosh platform. Rack: A standardized storage area for computer servers and other equipment. They are 19" wide and heights are measured by a proprietary measurement called a "U". 1U is equal to 1.75" or 44.4mm in height. Rear projection: An alternative to green or blue screen photography, in which the actor stands in front of a screen and the background is projected onto the screen behind them. An old-school visual effect used largely to project moving scenery in travel scenes. Red: The name of a camera company that makes digital cinematography cameras such as the Red One. Red cameras have gained popularity due to their high definition, latitude, simplicity of use, and low cost. Records compressed progressive images with a bayer-pattern that need to be processed before postproduction work can begin. Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 14

Reel: A strip of film wound upon a disc for attaching to a projector. Reels are generally 15-25 minutes in length. Reference tone: An audio tone of fixed frequency and amplitude that occurs at the beginning of a tape, allowing the operator to set the correct audio level when duplicating the tape. Render: The act of processing data for output, such as applying an effect, drawing a 3D model or outputting a video file to disk. Render farm: An array of computers that each process small segments of a large task in order to speed it up. Resolution: The amount of data used to make up a digital video or audio file, specified as the number of pixels (for video) or the number of bits (for audio). Resolve: The best non-linear colour correction system on the market. Made by Da Vinci Systems. RGB: The primary colours used to make images in monitors, cameras and digital projectors. RGBA: A file containing an RGB image plus an alpha channel for transparency information. Roll edit: A method of shortening one clip and lengthening an adjacent one at the same time in order to maintain the original length of the sequence. Rotoscoping: The process of tracing the outlines of live action elements frame by frame, normally used to create matte elements for compositing. Rushes: Another name for dailies. Scrub: The ability of the editing software to play back audio as the playhead is dragged across the timeline. SD (Standard Definition): Standard quality television broadcasting standard with half the resolution of 720p high definition. The US SD broadcasting format is NTSC and the European format is PAL. SECAM: Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire (Sequential Colour with Memory). A standard definition video standard similar to PAL, used almost exclusively in France. The only difference between SECAM and PAL is that the colour information is encoded differently. 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. Shutter speed: The amount of time it takes for the camera shutter to open and close. Faster speeds produce crisp motion and slower speeds produce motion-blur. Shuttle: The process of viewing footage at speeds greater than realtime. Slow motion: A shot in which action takes place at a slower than normal speed. It is achieved by speeding up the camera and then playing back the frames at a normal frame rate. SMPTE: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. A film and television standards group that among other things, standardised the use of SMPTE timecode. Post Production Glossary 2009 Page 15

Sound Designer: The person responsible for the overall sound of the film. Splice: The process of physically attaching two pieces of film together using tape or cement. Spline: A curve in 3D space defined by control points. Used extensively in 3D modeling and animation. Split edit (L-cut or J-cut): An edit in which the audio starts before or after the picture cut. This is commonly used to ease the transition from one scene to another. Sprockets: Geared wheels that attach onto the perforations on the edge of a film roll and wind it through a mechanism into a camera or projector. Stabilisation: A process that eliminate unwanted frame movement caused by gate weave or camera shake. This causes moving black borders at the edges of the frame that must be removed by zooming in or recreating the missing areas. Standards Conversion: The process of converting from one television standard to another, such as from NTSC to PAL. This normally requires frame rate and resolution conversions. Step: The act of moving forward or backward through video one frame at a time. Stereo: Two-channel audio split onto two separate tracks - one for the right speaker and one for the left. Stop motion: A form of animation in which static objects are physically animated and photographed frame by frame. See also go motion. Striped stock: Tapes which have a black and silence signal pre-recorded down the length of the tape with a pre-set timecode. The tape has a continuous control track, and so can be used immediately afterwards for insert editing. Tape grade: Colour correction performed from a master tape rather than from film. Technical grade: A telecine transfer which is adjusted so as not to lose any colour information. A tape grade will be performed later on to achieve the desired look of the film. Telecine: The process of scanning film in real-time and outputting it to a tape-based format. TIFF: Tagged Image File Format. A cross-platform still image file format that is popular in the industry because of its high quality and lack of compression. TIFF files tend to be quite large, however. Time lapse: A cinematography technique where the camera is set to capture one frame at a time with a relatively large interval between captures. When played back at normal speed, the event appears to be occurring much faster than it would in real life. This is useful for subtle events such as flowers growing or clouds moving across the sky. Timecode: An indexing system that provides a unique index for each frame of video, in the form hh:mm:ss:ff. This makes it easy to locate and reference a particular frame. Timeline: A visual representation of a movie over time, consisting of video clips laid horizontally across the screen. This is a common interface in video editing applications such as Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer.

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Title safe area: A region of the screen where text is guaranteed to be visible. This is for compatibility with older CRT TVs that did not display the full area of the image. Track: A separate audio or video layer on a timeline. Tracking: The process of tracing the movement of a particular pixel or pattern on screen in order to determine how the camera or object in a live-action scene is moving. This is generally done in order to composite extra image material into a scene. Transition: A movement from one shot or scene to another. Transitions can take many forms such as cuts, dissolves, star wipes, etc. Travelling matte: An evolution of the matte process that allowed the matte to change shape and position from frame to frame. Tweaters: Speakers designed specifically to play back high pitched audio. Underscan: A mode on professional broadcast monitors that allows you to see the entire active picture screen area, including areas normally cropped by standard CRT television screens. Up-conversion: The process of converting a standard definition video to a high definition format. Variable bitrate: A variable bit rate within a video codec is able to put more effort into compressing sections of the video which have the most detail. Image results are therefore improved. The downside is that the compression algorithm is compute intensive and therefore takes longer. Vari-speed: Effect where the speed of the camera is changed mid-shot, normally to emphasise a certain action on-screen. Commonly seen in action films such as 300. Vertical Interval: A space between each video field into which extra information such as captioning, copy protection and other data can be stored. Vistavision: A 35mm film format with a large surface area and low grain. It was used for several feature films in the 1950s but was abandoned due to its high cost. It was used for visual effects shots because its low grain and large surface area mean that there is very little noise when multiple shots are composited together, but nowadays has been superseded by computer-generated imaging, digital intermediates and 70mm film. Visual effects supervisor: The head of the visual effects department, who oversees all aspects of the visual effects process. Answers to the Post Production Supervisor and director. VTR: Video tape recorder, also referred to as a 'deck'. These are used for duplicating video tapes and inputting and outputting from a computer. The majority of digital cinema cameras today use tape-based formats so VTRs are common in the industry. WAV file: Waveform Audio Format. Also known as Audio for Windows. A file format for storing audio data. Audio is generally uncompressed in LPCM format, but can also be compressed. Wet-gate: Telecine process in which the film is immersed in fluid whilst being scanned. This removes any dust, dirt or hairs that may be on the film and can cover up scratches and marks.

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White balance: The process of adjusting the camera so that it interprets white areas of the image as pure white. This ensures that the colours are recorded faithfully, and is only an issue with digital cameras. Widescreen: A format in which the width-to-height ratio of the frame is greater than 4:3, so that it is significantly wider than it is tall. Wipe: A transition in which one image is moved off screen to reveal another. Woofers: Speakers designed to play back mid to low pitched audio. YUV: A broadcast colour space comprised of luminance (Y) and chrominance (UV) values. Used in NTSC and PAL video systems. See also RGB.

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