| C.G. (Character Generator) |
An electronic typewriter that creates titles for video. |
| C.U. |
Close-up shot. |
| Cable/Community Access |
Channel(s) of a local cable television system dedicated to community-based programming. Access centers provide free or low-cost training and use of video production equipment and facilities. |
| cable/community access |
Channel(s) of a local cable television system dedicated to community-based programming. Access centers provide free or low-cost training and use of video production equipment and facilities. |
| Cameo Lighting |
Foreground subjects illuminated by highly directional light, appearing before a completely black background. |
| cameo lighting |
Foreground subjects illuminated by highly directional light, appearing before a completely black background. |
| Cannon |
See XLR. |
| capacitor |
The part of the condenser mic that stores electrical energy and permits the flow of alternating current. |
| capture card |
A piece of computer hardware that captures digital video and audio to a hard drive, typically through a FireWire (IEEE 1394) port. |
| Cardioid |
The most common type of unidirectional microphone; pickup pattern resembles a heart-shaped figure. |
| cardioid |
A microphone that picks up sound in a heart-shaped pattern. |
| Catalogue Number |
A number used to identify compact discs in production. |
| CATV |
Acronym for cable TV, derived from the older term, community antenna television. |
| CCD |
(Charge Coupled Device) Light-sensitive computer chip in video cameras that converts images into electrical flows. Less prone to image irregularities -- burn-in, lag, streaking -- than are older image sensors. [See pickup.] |
| CCTV (Closed Circuit TV) |
A video system used in commercial internal installations for security, medical and educational. |
| Character Generator |
Device which electronically produces letters, numbers, symbols, and other graphic displays for on-screen video titling. |
| character generator |
A device that electronically builds text which can be combined with a video signal. The text is created with a keyboard and program that has a selection of font and backgrounds. |
| Charge/Charging |
Powering a battery back to full capacity. |
| Charging Station |
The place or device that connects an EV to a power source for charging. |
| chroma |
Characteristics of color a videotape absorbs with recorded signal, divided into two categories: AM (amplitude modulation) indicates color intensity; PM (phase modulation) indicates color purity. |
| Chroma Corrector |
A device used to correct problems related to the chroma of the video signal, as well as color balance and color noise. |
| Chroma Key |
The process of overlaying one video signal over another by replacing a range of colors with the second signal. Typically, the first (foreground) picture is photographed with a person or object against a special, single-color background (the key-color). The second picture is inserted in place of the key-color. The most common example is in broadcast weather segments where pictures of weather maps are inserted "behind" the talent. |
| Chroma Noise |
Noise which manifests itself in a video picture as colored snow. |
| Chromakey |
Electronically matting or inserting an image from one camera into the picture produced by another. Also called "keying." The subject to be inserted is shot against a solid primary color background. Signals from the two sources are merged through a special effects generator. |
| CHROMINANCE |
The color portion of a video signal. |
| chrominance |
Portion of video signal that carries color information (hue and saturation, but not brightness); frequently abbreviated as "C," as in ?Y/C? for luminance/chrominance. [See luminance.] |
| Chrominance & Chrominance Level |
The color portion of a video signal separate from the luminance component, representing the saturation and tint at a particular point of the image. Black, gray and white have no chrominance, but any colored signal has both chrominance and luminance. The higher the chrominance level, the stronger the color (e.g., a strong signal produces red, and a weak signal, pink). Color saturation level can be changed using a proc amp. |
| Chrominne |
Portion of video signal that carries color information (hue and saturation, but not brightness); frequently abbreviated as "C." [See luminance.] |
| Clapstick |
Identification slate with hinged, striped top that smacks together for on-camera scene initiation. Originally used to synchronize movie sound with picture. [See lip-sync.] |
| Clipping |
The electronic process of cutting off the peaks of either the white or black excursions of a video signal to limit the signal. Sometimes, clipping is performed prior to modulation, and sometimes to limit the signal, so it does not exceed the limits of the composite video signal (7.5 and 100 IRE units). |
| Closeup |
Tightly framed camera shot in which principal subject is viewed at close range, appearing relatively large and dominant on screen. Extent of view may be designated "medium closeup" or "extreme closeup." [See long shot, medium shot.] |
| Coaxial Cable |
A standard cable consisting of a central inner conductor and a cylindrical outer conductor. Used for many video connections, especially the cable TV wire that comes into your home. |
| CODEC |
(compressor/decompressor) A piece of software that converts a raw stream of uncompressed video to a compressed form. The same piece of software can also play the compressed video on-screen. |
| Color Bars |
A standard video test pattern which includes samples of primary and secondary colors. Used to conform the colors in video monitors and other equipment. |
| Color Burst |
The portion of a color video signal which contains a short sample of the color subcarrier used to add color to a signal. It is used as a color synchronization signal to establish a reference for the color information following it and is used by a color monitor to decode the color portion of a video signal. The color burst acts as both amplitude and phase reference for color hue and intensity. The color oscillator of a color television receiver is phase locked to the color burst. |
| Color Correction |
A process in which the coloring in a television image is altered or corrected by electronic means. (See CHROMA CORRECTOR) |
| Color Corrector |
Electronic device that dissects the colors of a video signal, allowing them to be adjusted individually. |
| Color Decoder |
A device which divides a video signal into its basic color components. In TV and video, color decoding is used to derive signals required by a video monitor from the composite or Y/C signals. |
| Color Phase |
The phase of the chroma signal as compared to the color burst, is one of the factors that determines a video signal's color balance. |
| Color Subcarrier |
The carrier frequency (3.58 MHz in NTSC and 4.43 MHz in PAL) on which the color information is impressed. Color TV sets use special circuits which decode the color component for accurate display. |
| Color Temperature |
A method for measuring the overall color of a light source, measured in degrees Kelvin (deg.K). Higher numbers indicate bluer light, lower numbers indicate a warmer light. The color temperature of the lighting must match the color temperature of the camera. In video this is accomplished by setting the white balance of the camera. Sunny Daylight is approximately 5500 deg.K. Overcast daylight is higher. Fluorescent Lights are approx. 4100 deg.K. Indoor incandescent lights are 2800 deg.K and professional Movie Lights are 3200 Deg. K |
| Comet Tailing |
Smear of light resulting from inability of camera's pickup to process bright objects -- especially in darker settings. Object or camera in motion creates appearance of flying fireball. [See lag.] |
| Communication Protocol |
A software language for linking computers, VCRs or edit controllers to allow bi-directional "conversation" between the units. |
| Compact Disc Standards |
Green Book : Philip's introduced the Green Book in 1987 to describe the CD-I standard. It goes a little further than Red and Yellow Book in that it also describes the Real Time Operating System (RTOS) that controls the CD-I system. |
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Orange Book : First defined in 1990, the Orange Book describes the standard for recording CD-M.O (Compact Disc Magneto Optical) discs and CD-WO (Compact Disc Write Once), or CD recordable discs. These are known as Part I and Part II respectively. |
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Red Book : Started in 1990 by Philip's and Sony, Red Book is the CD Audio standard describing audio compact discs. All subsequent books are based on Red Book. |
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White Book : Written by Philip's in conjunction with JVC, it describes the Video Compact Disc Format. |
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Yellow Book : Released in 1984 by Philip's and Sony, Yellow Book is the standard which describes CD-ROM. |
| Component Video |
Video signal in which luminance and synch information are recorded separately from the color information. Formats such as Betacam, SVHS and Hi-8 use component signals to achieve maximum quality. Component video comes in several flavors: RGB (red, green, blue), YUV (luminance, sync, and red/blue) and Y/C (luminance and chrominance). Y/C is also called S-Video used in the S-VHS and Hi-8 formats. |
| Composite Sync |
A signal consisting of horizontal sync pulses, vertical sync pulses and equalizing pulses only. |
| Composite Video |
A video signal in which the luminance and chrominance elements have been combined in formats such as VHS. |
| compositing |
Superimposing multiple layers of video or images. Each layer may move independently. Titles are a simple and common example of compositing. |
| Composition |
Visual makeup of a video picture, including such variables as balance, framing, field of view, texture -- all aesthetic considerations. Combined qualities form image that's pleasing to view, and effectively communicates. |
| Composting |
Superimposing multiple layers of video. Each layer may move independently. |
| Compression |
The process of electronically processing video signals so that it requires less storage on a computer hard drive. A 5:1 compression requires more storage space, but yields better quality than a 10:1 compression. |
| Condenser |
Microphone with built-in amplifier, the type installed on camcorders. Also called capacitor or electret condenser, requires battery or external power source. [See electret condenser.] |
| condenser mic |
A high-quality mic whose transducer consists of a diaphragm, backplate and capacitor. |
| Conforming |
Online editing to create the final edit master. The offline edit master is used as a guide. |
| connected home |
A home that utilizes networking technology. |
| Continuity |
[1:visual] Logical succession of recorded or edited events, necessitating consistent placement of props, positioning of characters, and progression of time. [2:directional] Consistency in camera-subject relationships, to avoid confusing a viewer's perspective. |
| Contrast |
The degree to which luminance values contain very dark and very light values. A high-contrast picture has more black and white values with fewer values in between. A low contrast picture has more middle tones without very dark or very light areas. |
| Control Track |
Type of video editing that controls the in and out points of edits by counting pulses on a control track portion of the videotape. The pulses are counted by the edit controller to perform fairly accurate editing. Edit controllers which read time code make more accurate edits. |
| Control-L |
Sony's editing control protocol, also called LANC (Local Application Control), which allows two-way communication between a camcorder or VCR and an edit controller. |
| Control-M |
Panasonic 5-pin edit control protocol. Similar to Control-L, but not compatible. |
| Control-S |
Sony transport control protocol which duplicates a consumer VCR's infra-red remote transport control. Unlike Control-L, Control-S does not allow the controller to read tape counter information. |
| Conversion EV |
A gas vehicle that was converted to an EV. |
| Cookie |
See cucalorus. |
| Crawl |
Text or graphics -- usually special announcements -- that move across screen horizontally, typically from bottom right to left. Produced with character generator. [See roll.] |
| Crossfade |
The audio equivalent of the video picture dissolve. The first sound track gradually fades out while the second sound track simultaneously replaces it. |
| Crosstalk |
The interference between two audio or two video signals. In audio crosstalk this signal leakage may occur between the left and right channels. It can be caused by poor grounding connections or improperly shielded cables. In video, crosstalk between channels can be luminance/sync crosstalk or chroma crosstalk. Video crosstalk can cause ghost images from one source appear over the other. |
| Cucalorus |
(cookie) Lighting accessory consisting of random pattern of cutouts that forms shadows when light passes through it. Used to imitate shadows of natural lighting. |
| Cue |
Signal to begin, end, or otherwise influence on-camera activity while recording. [2] Presetting specific starting points of audio or video material so it's available for immediate and precise playback when required. |
| Cue Card |
A card with the actor's lines written on it to enable the actor to read or remember his lines. |
| Cut |
Instantaneous change from one shot to another. [2] Director's command to immediately terminate on-camera action and recording. |
| Cutaway |
Shot of other than principal action (but peripherally related), frequently used as transitional footage or to avoid a jump cut. |
| Cuts-Only Editing |
Editing limited to immediate shifts from one scene to another, without smoother image transition capabilities such as dissolving or wiping. [See cut, edit.] |
| Cyclorama |
A background where all corners and intersections are rounded. |
