We will continue expanding this resource for imagemakers interested in learning more about video production.

When NTSC color was being introduced into broadcast television, compromises had to be made for it to be compatible with previous black and white systems. The field rate was changed by 1/1.001 – from 60 to 59.94 frames per second. Older B&W TVs could receive color broadcasts and show them in B&W and the new color information could be encoded into the broadcast signal so that the new color TVs would show the broadcasts in color. Today, digital and HD signals have to fit in; 24, 30, and 60 frames/fields per second become 23.98, 29.97, and 59.94 to be compatible with existing NTSC formats and workflows.

Internationally standardized High Definition production format ITU BT 709 has a digital sampling structure of 1920 (H) x 1080 (V) and operates at 24 frames per second progressively scanned. This also loosely describes the format operating at 23.976P.

Standard High Definition production format (SMPTE 274M and ITU 709) with digital sampling of 1920 (H) x 1080 (V), operating in interlaced scan mode at 60 fields per second. Loosely describes the 59.94i system as well.

A high definition digital sampling structure of 1280 horizontal pixels and 720 vertical pixels. All 1280x720 video is progressively scanned: 720p.

The aspect ratio standard for HDTV and Widescreen SDTV, with a width of 16 units and a height of 9 units.

Using the 16x9 aspect ratio for HDTV and Widescreen SDTV, the ratio of the horizontal screen size to its vertical screen size is 1.78 units wide to 1.0 units high.

The most common screen ratio for motion pictures – 1.85 units wide to 1.0 units high.

A digital sampling structure of 1920 horizontal and 1080 vertical pixels, with images either interlaced (1080i) or progressive (1080P).

For converting 24 frame per second film or 24P video into 59.94 interlaced video. The frame rate is slowed from 24 fps to 23.976 fps (a factor of 1000/1001) and a "3:2" field cadence is created. This is done by taking one frame of the 24 frame source and filling three of the 59.94 fields, with the next frame of the 24 frame source filling only two of the 59.94 fields, the next frame three fields, the next two fields, and so on. This results in four of the 24 frame per second original material fitting into five frames of the destination 59.94i video. Pulldown now describes any combination of 1000/1001 speed change and/or 3:2 cadence creation. The term "pulldown" originates with the mechanical action of the pulldown gate in a telecine pulling each film frame into the imaging area.

Resolution of 2,048 pixels wide. The vertical pixels depend on the aspect ratio.

A widescreen motion picture film format of 2.35 units wide by 1 unit high.

A video image rate of 23.976 (usually shortened to 23.98) frames per second. A simple 3:2 process will produce standard 59.94 fields per second interlaced video for distribution.

A 24 (aka 23.98) frame progressive video divided in segments of even and odd lines for transmission, storage and display. Though transmitted like an interlaced signal, if treated as a progressive signal it does not create the same harmful artifacts caused by interlace scanning.

29.97 full frames per second progressively captured digital video.

30 full frames per second progressively captured digital video; more properly 29.97P.

Both high definition and standard definition systems where the ratio between luminance and chrominance samples is 4:1 – one set of color difference samples (R-Y,B-Y) for every four luminance samples (Y). In standard definition video signals it represents luminance (Y) sampling at 13.5 MHz and R-Y/B-Y channel sampling at 3.75 MHz.

A digital video format where the two chrominance components are sampled at half the sample rate of luminance; the horizontal chrominance resolution is halved. While this reduces the bandwidth of the video signal by one-third, there is little to no visual difference. This is used by many high-end digital video formats and interfaces.

Standard definition video signals with luminance (Y) sampled at 13.5 MHz and color difference (R-Y,B-Y) channels each sampled at 6.75 MHz. Now in common usage describing both high definition and standard definition systems with the ratio between luminance and chrominance samples at 2:1 – two sets of color difference samples (R-Y,B-Y) for every four luminance samples (Y).

Standard definition video signals with all signals (usually R,G,B but also Y, R-Y,B-Y) sampled at 13.5 MHz. Now in common usage describing both high definition and standard definition systems with sampling done on the RGB video signal components.

A digital video sample format with all signals (usually R,G,B but also Y, R-Y,B-Y) sampled at 13.5 MHz., and a key channel added.

Resolution of 4,096 pixels wide. The vertical pixels depend on the aspect ratio.

An interlaced video signal with half the total lines of the picture captured and displayed every 1/59.94th of a second.

A progressive video signal with all lines of the picture captured and displayed every 1/59.94th of a second.

An interlaced video signal with half the total lines of the picture captured and displayed every 1/60th of a second.

A progressive video signal with all lines of the picture captured and displayed every 1/60th of a second.

A High Definition production format (SMPTE 296M) with a digital sampling structure of 1280 x 720, at 60 frames per second progressively scanned. Also used to describe a 59.94P capture system.

Short for analog to digital conversion.

An image created by using special lenses that optically squeeze a wide aspect ratio into a smaller ratio. The projection system uses specialized lenses to restore the aspect ratio to normal.

Short for American Society of Cinematographers.

Short for Advanced Television System Committee, which established such advanced systems as HDTV, or high definition television.

A circuit designed to keep a desired output signal constant when the input signal strength varies, by changing the amplification (otherwise known as gain)

Short for Advanced Video Codec High Definition, this is a specific version of a compressed MPEG-4 format (AVC/H.264)

Short for Audio Video Interleave, it is a digital format containing both audio and video in a compressed form.

Originally film from a second camera (camera B) shooting a different perspective from the main camera (camera A) in a documentary or interview situation, with footage from the B camera (B-roll, B roll, Broll) edited into the main footage.

The distance between the image sensor and the rear element of the lens, with lens mounted on the camera and focused at infinity. This distance must remain constant with zoom lenses to ensure constant subject focus during zooming.

The quantity of data transmitted during a given time period. With video, the higher the quality, the greater the required bandwidth; digital video, in particular, requires large amounts. Audio and video compression lowers bandwidth requirements. The term also applies to the allotted spectrum for a broadcast station, the difference in hertz between the lowest and highest frequency it uses.

The smallest element of binary digital data, either a 1 or a 0. Often used to describe the attributes of a pixel used in digital video, representing signal quality – an 8 bit signal can have 256 levels from black to white, a 10 bit signal can have 1024 levels.

Tells how much color information is available to describe each pixel in an image. For example, 8 bits per pixel X 3 colors (RGB) delivers 24 bits. Also describes the number of bits of information recorded for a digital audio sample.

Data transfer rate, expressed in bits per second (bps), with higher numbers delivering higher quality. Some Canon VIXIA camcorders, for example, captures video at a rate of up to 24 Mbps.

Short for Bayonet Neill-Concelman. A common RF connector often used with video or sync cables. The advantage of this connector is the locking system, so the cable cannot be pulled out without first pushing it in and turning it.

Used to describe the number of times per second that a picture is taken or captured in an imaging system. In a progressive system the capture rate is equal to the frame rate. In an interlaced system, the capture rate is double the frame rate because at each capture interval, only one field (a half resolution image) is acquired. It takes two fields to make a complete frame. It is standard practice to refer to the capture rate of an image as well as how it is captured when describing it instead of the frame rate (i.e. 60i (60 captures, 30 frames per second), 30P (30 captures, 30 frames per second) and 60P (60 captures, 60 frames per second)) Also see Frame Rate, Interlace Imaging, Progressive Imaging.

Short for CompactFlash. Typically used to refer to a flash memory card.

A video signal with luminance (brightness) and chrominance (color) signals separate. Signals retain detail components; encoding/decoding artifacts commonly found in composite signals are eliminated.

The process of reducing the bandwidth or data rate in a video or audio signal. Often used with audio and video to reduce storage and transmission costs. Compression techniques common in digital imaging rely on removing both redundant data and data that is deemed less critical or imperceptible to the viewer. This can be done either within a frame (intra-frame compression) or across multiple frames (inter-frame compression). Compression systems are developed to reduce perceptible losses, however most compression systems in use today will exhibit some level of distortion.

Usually expressed as a ratio – such as 5:1 (5 to 1) – it's the difference between the original quantity of data and how much is left after bandwidth compression, or the degree to which the data has been reduced numerically.

Short for digital to analog conversion.

Shortform for decibel.

A logarithmic unit of sound level measurement.

The middle step in a film-to-video-to-film process. Film is scanned to create high quality digital file, to which is applied color treatment, special effects or other creative processes. The finished video is transferred back to film for final release (theatrical, for example). The file also can become the master for video duplication.

The broadcast of a digital signal. The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) allows both standard definition and high definition programs transmitted digitally to be called DTV.

Receipt by consumers of TV programs directly from a satellite, typically using a small "dish" pointed at and locked onto a single satellite. The received, compressed signal enters a "black box" (usually referred to as a set-top box) where it is decoded for display on a standard TV.

A specialist technician and advisor, supporting the digital camera crew during preparation and production, and acting as a link between location and post-production.

The process of reducing the sampling rate of a signal, usually done to reduce the data rate and/or the quantity of data.

Alteration of timecode to match the framerate of NTSC video to a time of day clock. NTSC video actually runs at 29.97 frames per second (30/1.001). To keep the timecode on an NTSC videotape synchronous with a time of day clock, it needs to make up 1 in 1001 frames. It does this by changing the count by two frames on nine out of every ten minutes. So the frame following 10:35:59:29 would be numbered as 10:36:00:02. 30 frame HD formats are often run at 29.97 to allow conversion and synchronization to NTSC video. These formats support Drop-Frame timecode. Note that there is no drop frame format for native 24-frame video formats. Also see Non-Drop-Frame, Timecode.

A gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio or video signal, or the gradual transition from one image/clip to another, or to a blank screen/solid color.

The frequency with which a camera produces unique consecutive images (frames), measured in frames per second. The standard frame rate for motion picture capture is 24 fps.

In color reproduction, including computer graphics and photography, the gamut, or color gamut, is a certain complete subset of colors. The most common usage refers to the subset of colors which can be accurately represented in a given circumstance, such as within a given color space or by a certain output device. Another sense, less frequently used but not less correct, refers to the complete set of colors found within an image at a given time. In this context, digitizing a photograph, converting a digitized image to a different color space, or outputting it to a given medium using a certain output device generally alters its gamut, in the sense that some of the colors in the original are lost in the process.

High Definition video and broadcast standards: 1080i delivering 1080 horizontal scan lines, interlaced; 720p with 720 horizontal scan lines, progressive scan; 1080p delivering the highest-quality signal, used in most feature film production (1080p24, the 24 meaning frames per second).

A block-oriented, motion-compensation-based codec standard developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). A product of the Joint Video Team (JVT) partnership. The two standards – ITU-T H.264 and ISO/IEC 14496-10 - MPEG-4 Part 10 (aka ISO/IEC MPEG-4 AVC) – are jointly maintained with identical technical content.

Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group. A "lossy" digital image file compression system; data is removed to create a smaller file size than if the file contained all the raw data.

 

For displaying a wide aspect ratio format on a narrow aspect ratio screen, while maintaining the original aspect ratio. Letter boxing delivers a display with black bars at top and bottom of the screen.

Structured information describing the file, i.e. data about the file data, making it easier to use the file. In digital video, this information may include title, director, actors, content summary, recording length, as well as file name, status.

Apple QuickTime video file format.

An audio and video compression standard from the Moving Picture Experts Group. MPEG-4 was originally designed for video streaming but is also used for CD distribution, voice and broadcast applications.

Short for Moving Picture Experts Group, creators of the MPEG video formats.

Unlike drop frame, this timecode counting system always counts 30 frames in a second, so the timecode will not match the time of day, as NTSC video runs at 29.97 frames per second. (There is no drop frame format for native 24p; specifying drop or non-drop frame is unnecessary.)

Allows random access to any frame in a digital video clip in film and TV post-production. Also used in consumer digital video editing programs.

Short for National Television Systems Committee. Also the name given to a 525-line, 30 frame per second color TV standard mainly used in North America, Central and South America and Japan.

Designed to create an Edit Decision List (EDL) using using less expensive editing equipment. The EDL will later be used for assembling a high definition program using more expensive HD equipment. With offline editing, EDLs carry information on shot selection and basic transitions.

In film recording, frames are recorded at a faster speed than the anticipated playback rate, creating a “slow-motion” effect on playback. An "undercranking" effect is possible with some video cameras

Short for Phase Alternation Line. Refers to a 625-line, 25 frame per second standard definition color TV system used in the United Kingdom and Europe.

An alternative to letterboxing when showing motion picture or down converted HD video on a standard definition TV. Pan and scan shows the full image height but not its width, requiring the image to be moved from side to side to show its full width.

A high definition video format (sometimes called sF, SF) designed to acquire, store, modify, and distribute content using interlaced equipment and media. A progressive frame is divided into two segments, odd lines in one, even lines in the other, with both fields representing the same instant in time. (These segments appear equivalent to interlaced fields, but there is no motion between the two.) This allows for a progressive picture to be processed through the same electronics used to handle interlaced video.

All lines in a video frame are captured at the same moment, delivering higher vertical resolution and a more "film-like" look than interlaced video. This requires much higher bandwidth.

Short for Red, Green, Blue, the colors used to create all color television and video. Often, the Red, Green and Blue components are only directly present at the image capture stage (in the camera) and on display (on the monitor). At other times they are converted to other forms such as Y, R-Y, B-Y for transportation, storage, and processing. See Y, R-Y, B-Y

Short for Systeme Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire, the 625-line, 25 frame per second color television system used in France and the Middle East.

A non-volatile memory card format for use in portable devices (Developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, and Toshiba.)

SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity, SD 2.0) is an extension of the SD standard which increases card's storage capacity up to 32 GB. SDHC cards share the same physical and electrical form factor as older (SD 1.x) cards, allowing SDHC-devices to support both newer SDHC cards and older SD-cards. To increase addressable storage, SDHC uses sector addressing instead of byte addressing in the previous SD standard. Byte addressing supported card capacities up to 2GB, whereas sector addressing can theoretically support capacities up to 2 TB (2048 GB). The current standard limits the maximum capacity of an SDHC card to 32 GB.

See PsF.

Short for Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the organization responsible for defining standards and specifications for the motion picture and broadcast industry.

Standard format for recording time information on videotape or file. Each frame is given a unique number that is represented in the form of Hours: Minutes: Seconds: Frames. When used correctly, a specific frame of video can be located on a videotape by using its timecode number. When doing offline editing, proper timecode handling is critical because the timecode is what is used to reference the master tapes or files in the final assembly process. See LTC, VITC

The area of a screen where it is possible to place a title so there is no chance that it will not be displayed in its entirety. In high definition production it is often combined with what downconversion format is used. For example “4x3 title safe” would mean that all titles are positioned such that when the HD program is downconverted or edge-cropped, none of the titles would be cut off.

In film recording, frames are recorded at a slower speed than the anticipated playback rate, creating a “fast-motion” effect on playback An "undercranking" effect is possible with some video cameras.

Describes a video signal where all colors are within the gamut of all the different color spaces that it is expected to be translated into. If a signal contains colors that are within the gamut of its native color space (is legal), but outside the gamut of a color space to which it is being converted to (for example a Y, R-Y, B-Y signal being converted to RGB for display on a monitor), the video may be distorted, folded, clipped or passed depending on how the particular device handles that particular out-of-gamut condition. See Legal Gamut, Gamut, Color Space

Short for Vertical Interval Timecode (pronounced VIT-see). Timecode information encoded in the vertical blanking of a video signal. Allows a time code reference to be read when a videotape is in slow jog/shuttle or pause mode.

In editing, the replacement of one image by another using a distinct edge that forms a shape – for example, a simple edge, an expanding circle, or the turning of a page.

Terminology to describe the luminance (Y) and color difference signals (R-Y) and (B-Y) of component video. Y is luminance information and the R-Y and B-Y signals together provide the color information. These signals, derived from the original RGB source, are used in most video systems as a bandwidth reduction technique.