Video glossary
All 121 words from the course, each explained in one sentence, from the 180-degree rule to zebras. In the lessons they're highlighted in color: tap them to read the definition. For photography terms, there's the photography glossary.
1
- 180-degree rule
- In exposure: a shutter speed of double the frame rate. In staging: don't cross the axis of action.
A
- AF-C
- Continuous autofocus: the camera keeps readjusting focus all the time. The usual mode for video.
- Aspect ratio
- The ratio between the width and height of the image: 16:9, 9:16, 4:5…
- Assembly
- The first edit: the pieces put in order, without any polish.
- AV1
- A very efficient video codec, increasingly used by web platforms.
- Axis of action
- An imaginary line between the characters who are interacting. Cameras shouldn't cross it without a reason.
B
- B-roll
- Supporting footage that illustrates what's being said and lets you cover cuts.
- Backlight
- A light placed behind the subject that outlines them and separates them from the background. Also called a rim light.
- Banding
- Visible steps in gradients, typical of heavily corrected 8-bit footage.
- Big close-up
- A shot from the forehead to the chin.
- Bin
- A folder inside the editing project for organizing footage.
- Bit depth
- The number of levels per color channel. 8-bit = 256; 10-bit = 1,024.
- Bitrate
- The amount of data per second in a video or audio file, in Mbps or kbps.
C
- Clapperboard
- A slate with the take's details that is snapped shut to sync picture and sound.
- Clipping
- Overload: the signal goes over the maximum and gets cut off. In audio, at 0 dBFS; in images, blown-out whites.
- Close-up
- A shot of the head and shoulders.
- Codec
- The method used to compress picture or sound: H.264, H.265, ProRes…
- Color correction
- Adjustments that make the image technically correct: exposure, white balance, contrast.
- Color grading
- Treating color with an aesthetic intention.
- Color temperature
- The color of a light source, measured in kelvin.
- Compressor
- An audio processor that reduces the difference between loud and quiet parts.
- Container
- A file format that wraps picture, sound and metadata: .mp4, .mov, .mxf.
- Content ID
- YouTube's system for automatically identifying copyrighted content.
- Continuity
- Consistency between shots: objects, eyelines, direction, action and light.
- Coverage
- The set of shots of different sizes and angles filmed of the same action.
- Cowboy shot
- A shot that cuts at the knees. Also called a medium long shot or American shot.
- Crane shot
- Moving the camera vertically, from low to high or the other way round. Also called a pedestal or jib shot.
- Creative Commons
- A family of licenses that allow works to be used under certain conditions (attribution, non-commercial…).
- Cross dissolve
- A transition where one image blends into the next.
- Cross-cutting
- Alternating between two simultaneous actions in different places. Also called parallel editing.
- Cut on action
- A cut made during a movement so the change of shot goes unnoticed.
- Cutaway
- A shot that moves away from the main action to show something related.
D
- dBFS
- Decibels relative to digital full scale. 0 dBFS is the absolute ceiling.
- De-esser
- A processor that tames the sibilant s sounds in a voice.
- Digital zoom
- Enlarging by cropping the image; it loses quality unless there's resolution to spare.
- Dolly
- Moving the camera toward the subject (dolly in) or away from it (dolly out).
- Dolly zoom
- A dolly and a zoom in opposite directions that warps the background: the Vertigo effect.
- Ducking
- Automatically lowering the music when someone speaks.
- Dutch angle
- A shot with the camera tilted on its axis: a crooked horizon.
E
- Establishing shot
- A shot that shows where the scene takes place.
- Extreme close-up
- A shot of an object or a part of the body. Also called an insert or detail shot.
- Eye-level angle
- Camera at the height of the subject's eyes. It conveys neutrality.
F
- Fade to black
- A transition where the image darkens to black. It signals an ending or a pause.
- False color
- An exposure tool that paints the image in colors according to brightness.
- Fill light
- A weaker light that softens the shadows of the key light.
- Flicker
- Strobing caused by lights that pulse at a frequency different from the recording.
- Fluid head
- A tripod head with hydraulic damping for smooth pans.
- Focus hunting
- Autofocus going back and forth when it can't find the focus point.
- Focus peaking
- A focus aid that highlights sharp edges in color.
- fps
- Frames per second.
- Frame
- Each of the still images that make up a video.
G
- Gimbal
- A motorized three-axis stabilizer.
H
- H.264
- A highly compatible video codec, the standard for delivering on the web (AVC).
- H.265
- A more efficient codec than H.264, also called HEVC.
- Hard light
- Light from a small source that produces shadows with sharp edges.
- Headroom
- The space between the top of the head and the edge of the frame.
- High angle
- An angle from above, looking down. It conveys vulnerability.
- Histogram
- A graph showing how many pixels there are at each brightness level.
- Hook
- An opening designed to grab attention in the first few seconds.
I
- IBIS
- In-body image stabilization, built into the camera sensor.
J
- J-cut
- The sound of the next shot starts before its picture.
- Jump cut
- A cut between two almost identical shots where time has been removed: the image jumps.
K
- Kelvin
- The unit used to measure the color temperature of light.
- Key light
- The strongest source, which sets the exposure and the character of the image.
- Kuleshov effect
- The phenomenon by which the meaning of a shot changes depending on the shot it's edited with.
L
- L-cut
- The picture changes, but the sound of the previous shot carries on.
- Lavalier mic
- A small microphone clipped to the chest. Also called a lav or lapel mic.
- Lead room
- Free space in the direction a character is looking. Also called nose room or looking room.
- Log
- A flat picture profile that keeps the maximum dynamic range for grading later.
- Long take
- A whole scene filmed in a single shot, with no cuts. Also called a oner.
- Low angle
- An angle from below, looking up. It conveys power.
- LUFS
- A unit of perceived loudness. The usual reference for the web: −14 LUFS.
- LUT
- A lookup table that transforms some colors into others. Technical (from log to Rec.709) or creative.
M
- Match cut
- A cut between two different shots that share a shape, movement or sound.
- Medium shot
- A shot that cuts at the waist.
- Multicam
- A clip that groups several synced cameras so you can cut between them.
N
- Native ISO
- The sensitivity at which a sensor delivers its best dynamic range.
- ND filter
- Neutral density filter: it reduces light without changing the colors.
- Node
- In DaVinci Resolve, each block of color adjustments in a chain.
O
- OTS
- Over-the-shoulder shot.
- Outline
- An ordered list of the segments of a show or video with their running times. Also called a rundown.
- Overhead shot
- An angle with the camera directly above the subject, looking down. Also called a bird's-eye or top shot.
P
- Pan
- Turning the camera horizontally on its axis.
- Practical light
- A lamp that is visible in the shot.
- ProRes
- A family of high-quality editing codecs; large files that play back smoothly.
- Proxy
- A lightweight copy of the footage for smooth editing.
R
- Rack focus
- Shifting focus from one point to another within the same shot. Also called a focus pull.
- Reaction shot
- A shot of the person listening to or on the receiving end of an action.
- Rec.709
- The standard HD color space, used by most screens.
- Resolution
- The number of pixels in each frame.
- Retention
- The percentage of a video that viewers watch before leaving.
- Reverb
- Sound lingering because of reflections in a room: the echo of an empty room.
- RGB parade
- A waveform split into the red, green and blue channels.
- Ripple delete
- A delete that removes a section and closes the gap in the timeline.
- Room tone
- A recording of the room in silence, used to fill gaps when editing.
- Rough cut
- The first edit with the complete structure, without polish.
- Rule of thirds
- Dividing the frame into a 3 × 3 grid and placing elements on the lines or their intersections.
S
- Safe zone
- The area of the frame that isn't covered by the interface or the edges of the screen.
- Scopes
- Image measurement monitors: waveform, parade, vectorscope, histogram.
- Shot
- A piece of video between two cuts; also, the size of the frame in relation to the subject.
- Shot list
- A list of the shots to film on a shoot.
- Shotgun mic
- A highly directional microphone.
- Shutter angle
- The fraction of each frame's time during which the sensor receives light, expressed in degrees. 180° means half.
- Skin tone line
- The line on the vectorscope near which anyone's skin tone falls.
- Soft light
- Light from a large source that produces soft-edged shadows.
- SRT
- A subtitle file format with a number, timings and text.
- Storyboard
- A sequence of panels showing each shot before it's filmed.
- Straight cut
- A change of shot where picture and sound change at the same time. Also called a hard cut.
T
- Telephoto lens
- A long focal length lens that brings things closer and compresses perspective.
- Tilt
- Turning the camera vertically on its axis.
- Timecode
- A code that identifies each frame: hours:minutes:seconds:frames.
- Tracking shot
- Moving the camera alongside the subject. Also called a trucking shot.
- Trim
- Fine-tuning a clip's in and out points in the timeline.
V
- Vectorscope
- A monitor that shows the hue and saturation of the colors in the image.
W
- Waveform
- A monitor that shows the brightness of the image from left to right.
- Whip pan
- A very fast pan used as an in-camera transition.
- White balance
- A setting that tells the camera the color temperature of the light so that white comes out white.
- Wide shot
- A shot of the whole person with their surroundings. Also called a long shot or full shot.
- Wide-angle lens
- A short focal length lens that takes in a wide field of view.
- Worm's-eye view
- An angle from the ground, looking almost straight up.
Z
- Zebras
- Stripes the camera overlays on areas that go over a set brightness level.