trinity hi-fi

glossary Video Glossary Aerial socket Socket on television that receives high frequency waves picked up by aerial. Can be used as an input for replaying camcorder footage if an RF adapter is used - although this degrades the picture quality. AGC (automatic gain control) Circuitry inside camcorder that electronically boosts the signal from the imaging chip in low light to get a better exposed, though more grainy, picture. ALC (automatic level control) Circuitry inside camcorder that adjusts the recorded volume of the recorded sound boosting quiet sounds and cutting down loud noises. Angle of view A measure of how much of a scene a lens can see from a particular position. Animation An effect that brings inanimate objects to life. It is done by shooting a subject in a series of slightly different shots, each lasting a very short time. Aperture Adjustable opening of lens that is used to control how much light enters the camera. It also has an effect over depth of field. Also known as an iris or diaphragm. Aspect ratio The relationship between the width and height of a picture. The aspect ratio of a normal TV set is 4:3. Assemble edit Editing method where shots or sequences (both sound and pictures) are copied from one tape to another in the order they are to appear on the final tape. Best done with an edit device capable of using exact frame tracking (e.g. VITC enabled). Audio The sound part of a video recording (from the Latin for 'I hear'). Audio dub The replacement of one of the soundtracks on a video recording without affecting the picture. Only possible with some camcorders and VCRs. Audio mixer A device for mixing two or more different sound sources together. Note that the term video mixer when applied to domestic level equipment often simply means an audio mixer for cross mixing microphone and sound track signals. Autofocus A system for automatically focusing a camcorder's lens so that the picture appears sharp. Automatic exposure A system that automatically adjusts settings on the camcorder to ensure the picture is neither too bright nor too dark. Iris, gain and shutter speed settings may be adjusted to make this possible. Autotracking System for ensuring that the video recording heads in a camcorder or VCR are correctly aligned to the existing video tracks. AV (audio-visual or audio/video) Equipment that carries audio and video signals. AV output/input Sockets that connect the audio and video signals between different pieces of equipment. AWB (auto white balance) Circuitry in a camcorder that adjusts the colour of a picture in any given lighting situation to look normal to the human eye. Backlight Light source which is behind the subject - such as when you shoot towards the sun. BCU (big close-up) A shot where the face of your subject fills the screen. Blacked tape Video tape that has been recorded on without a picture. This gives a professional looking start and finish to a video with a black screen, without picture noise. It also means that the tape has a sync signal, which can be useful when editing. BLC (backlight compensation) Button for use in backlight situations which increases the amount of exposure given to the picture - to help avoid silhouetted subjects when shooting against a window, for instance. BNC Bayonet sockets and plugs used on professional level equipment for the video signal. Boom A long stick or pole to which a microphone is attached so that it can be placed close to the subject without the microphone being visible. Cardioid microphone Microphone which records more from in front of it than behind it - with a heart-shaped directional characteristic, hence the name. CCD (charge coupled device) The miniature electronic chip inside the camcorder that converts light into an electrical signal. It is made up of hundreds of thousands of light-sensitive picture elements, or pixels. Character generator Built-in or add-on device which creates title lettering and superimposes it on the picture being recorded by the camcorder. Chromakey Professional trick for seamlessly inserting part of one video picture into another - used for special effects, such as making Superman fly. Chrominance (C) The colour part of a video signal. Close-up (CU) A shot that concentrates on a relatively small part of a subject. When shooting people, it refers to a shot where the head and shoulders of the subject fill the screen. Colour balance Alternative term for white balance. Colour temperature Measurement of the colour of light, often expressed in Kelvin. The human eye adjusts for colour temperature most of the time without our noticing it; on a camcorder the automatic white balance system performs the same adjustment. Component video A video signal where the luminance (brightness) and chrominance (colour) parts of the picture are separated. Found in high-band video formats such as Hi8, S-VHS and S-VHS-C. Composite video A video signal where luminance and chrominance are combined. The opposite of component video. Used on low-band video formats such as VHS, VHS-C and 8mm. Continuity Conformity between successive shots in lighting, direction of movement, appearance, props, etc. Contrast The difference in brightness between the lightest and darkest parts of a picture. Contrast ratio A relationship between the extremes of brightness in a picture. Camcorders can cope with a contrast ratio of about 1:30. However, some subjects are more contrast (such as a person standing against a sunlit window where the ratio might be 1:1000) so some detail is lost on the video. The human eye is capable of coping with a contrast ratio of about 1:100. Control-L Remote control socket found on some camcorders and VCRs (notably those made by Sony) that is used in editing set-ups for controlling tape transport via an edit controller. It can also be used to contro1 other camcorder functions, such as zooming. Control track The part of a video tape that records the sync signals - these ensure that the recording heads are synchronised with existing video tracks, and ensure that tapes are played at the correct speed. Crab Camera movement where the camcorder operator moves sideways while shooting. Crossing the line A change in camera position between successive shots which makes it look as if the subject has changed their direction of movement, or the way they are looking. As this looks confusing for the viewer, it should be avoided. CRT (cathode ray tube) The picture tube used in most television sets. Cut The joining of two different shots on tape, one directly after another - the simplest edit and one with least generational loss when using a digital editor. Cutaway A shot which shows us something that was not featured in the previous shot, but is somehow relevant to it. A useful device for separating two very similar shots or for creating a visual break. Day-for-night Special effect in which daylight is made to look like night- time. It is achieved by setting a tungsten white balance, or by using filters, to make everything look blue, then the scene is deliberately underexposed. dB (decibel) A logarithmic scale for comparing different levels of power. A doubling of power level is an increase of 3dB, a thousand-fold increase in power level represents 60dB. Used in the measurement of signal-to-noise ratio, sound volume, sensitivity of microphones, etc. DC (direct current) Type of electrical current used to power all camcorders. It can be supplied by batteries or by a mains transformer. Depth of field A measure of how much of a picture is in focus - from the nearest point in the scene to the camera that looks sharp, to the furthermost point that looks sharp. Depth of field is dependent on iris setting, subject distance, and focal length of the lens. Dew sensor Detection device inside all camcorders and video players that shuts down all power when dampness or humidity is detected. This prevents the tape sticking to the recording heads and causing damage. VCRs have a small heater permanently on to help keep the unit dry. Digital A signal which has been processed and encoded as a series of ones and noughts. Digital technology is used in processing the picture signal on some camcorders and on all DV equipment.. A couple of domestic camcorders record sound digitally (those with PCM sound). Digital effects A whole range of effects, useful and not so useful, are possible using digital technology. Examples include: wipes, mixes, slow shutter speeds, electronic zooms, time base correctors, picture-in-picture and image stabilisers. Digital signal processing (DSP) Used on an increasing number of camcorders to offer certain special effects and to cut down on the overall number of components needed. Digital superimposer Facility on a camcorder adding graphics and titles to a video. The camera memorises titles placed in front of the lens and these can be called back on screen and superimposed over the video picture when required. DIN socket Large family of circular, multi-pin sockets with between three and 14 connections. Once common on audio and video equipment, now found as AV connections on German editing equipment. Mini-DIN 8-pin sockets are also used as AV out connections on JVC camcorders. Dioptric adjustment Adjustment on camcorder viewfinders that allows you to correct the distance between lens and viewfinder screen to suit the user's eyesight. Alternatives for most of us are either to wear glasses and fail to see the whole image, or wear contact lens. Directional microphone Microphone that is more sensitive to sounds from in front of it, than to sounds from the left, right or rear. Discharger Accessory that ensures that a rechargeable battery's voltage is reduced to an ideal level before charging commences. This helps prolong the life and optimum performance of the battery. Dissolve Special effect in which one shot slowly appears as another disappears. Performed using a vision mixer. Dolly Set of wheels that fix to the bottom of a tripod that allow it to move smoothly while shooting. Dropout A dropout is a form of noise appearing momentarily as white or black specks or lines in the picture during playback. They are caused by imperfections in the tape, or by dust on the tape's surface - causing a momentary signal loss in that area. Dubbing The technical term for recording a video (or soundtrack alone) from one tape to another. Edit Editing is the cornerstone of professional video-making. It allows you to improve on the original camcorder footage by cutting out unwanted material, re-ordering sequences or shots, and changing the soundtrack. It is done by copying material from one tape to another electronically - from a camcorder (or video player) to a video recorder. Edit controller A device from which you can control both the source deck and recording deck during editing. Edit switch Switch found on some camcorders that switches off the picture enhancement circuitry when using the camcorder as a source deck for editing. This is necessary as most VCRs make this enhancement when replaying tapes anyway and a double enhancement would not be desirable. Effective focal length The equivalent focal length on a 35mm SLR stills camera which gives the same angle of view and magnification as the focal length of the camcorder. Useful as direct comparisons between focal lengths on different camcorders is made difficult as the focal length is dependent on the size of the CCD chip (four different sizes are commonly found on today's camcorders). Electret microphone A design of microphone found on most camcorders. EP (extended play) Facility found on American and Japanese camcorders and VCRs using the NTSC television system, which allows you to play and record tapes at a third of the normal speed - therefore allowing you to triple the normal maximum recording time of a tape. Only found on VHS-family format equipment. EVF (electronic viewfinder) TV screen found on most camcorders used to watch what you are shooting and for reviewing what you have just shot. Many cameras now also come with an LCD for this purpose. External microphone socket Socket found on some camcorders, necessary for using a different microphone to the one built into the camcorder. Plugging a microphone into this socket turns off the built-in microphone. Eyeline The direction in which a subject's eyes are looking on screen. Fade To make the picture, sound or both gradually disappear or appear. A fade function is found on most camcorders and turns the picture to or from plain black or white. Field Half of one television picture - lasting 1/50th second (1/60sec on the American NTSC television system). A field contains alternate lines of the picture - the next field contains the missing lines from the first. The two fields make up a frame. Fluorescent The usual name for for strip lighting in which a gas discharge tube, coated on the inside with a phosphorescent paint glows when power is applied. This light flickers at a frequency which matches the AC current applied i.e. 50Hz in the UK. Flying erase head Before you can re-record on a tape, the old recording has to be erased. A flying erase head is positioned on the rotating head drum of the camcorder or VCR, and can erase the section of tape needed precisely, so there is no picture disturbance before or after the new recording. Fixed heads are not as effective and cause such picture distortion at each end of the new recording. Flywheel correction Essentially implemented by a judicious capacitor in the circuitry this caters for the longer gap between frames that occur on a standard two head VCR flywheel as the head comes round to pick up the next track. This does not applies to S-VHS where the tape is wrapped round 240 degrees of the head, only to VHS where the tape is wrapped 180 degrees around the head. If flywheel correction is not implemented when required the top 5% of the picture display will glitch as the scan attempts to catch up with the tardy image. The point is that although the screen scan displays continuously the video tape output is discontinuous. Obvious when you think about it. FM audio A soundtrack recorded beneath the video tracks in diagonal ' stripes. Used on some VHS-family stereo camcorders. 8mm and Hi8 models use PCM. It gives a HiFi quality sound recording with a wide frequency response. FM stands for frequency modulation. Focal length Measure (in millimetres) of the magnification and angle of view of a given lens setting. Focal length is also dependent on CCD size, so the focal length of different camcorders can only be directly compared if they have the same size CCD. Frame A single video picture - lasting 1/25sec (1/30sec on the American NTSC television system). Made up of two fields. Frequency Used to describe sounds or electrical signals, and measured in cycles per second or Hertz (Hz) (1Hz = 1 cycle per second). Frequency response The range of frequencies of sound that an audio system is capable of recording. Gain Amplification of an electrical signal. Many camcorders have a gain up mode which is used in low light to boost the picture signal. This makes the picture easier to see, but the amplification process also increases the noise, so the picture is more grainy than usual. Generation Each successive copy of a tape is called a generation. The original camcorder tape is the first-generation, the edited tape of this on VHS is second-generation, and a copy made of this is the third-generation. The picture and sound quality will deteriorate between each successive generation and VHS copies will start to colour bleed. Genlock A device used to enable the synchronisation of the start of a field on one signal with that of another piece of equipment. e.g. when taking an unsynched camera output and a computer generated picture. Used to be done by a signal store and forward mechanism, nowdays its done digitally. Helical scan Recording system used on all camcorders and VCRs. It uses a rotating head to write the picture signal in diagonal stripes along the moving tape. Also used for Hi-fi audio tracks on some camcorders. Hertz (Hz) Unit used for measuring frequency - one hertz is once cycle per second. Hi8 High-band version of the 8mm camcorder format which records luminance and chrominance separately on special tape to give a high-quality image with up to 400 lines of resolution. Hi-fi (high fidelity) Any high-quality sound system (mono or stereo) that has a frequency response of 20 - 20,000Hz or better. High band General term for all video systems with a superior picture recording capability - i.e. S-VHS, S-VHS-C and Hi8. High speed shutter Facility that allows the shutter speed on a camcorder to be set at a faster shutter speed than the usual 1/50sec. However, the number of frames shot per second remains the same - so footage shot at higher shutter speeds on such as a waterfall can look quite different to that of a lower shutter speed where the drops would blur. The facility is designed for cutting down light and thus forcing the iris open and thus reducing depth of field. HQ (High Quality) Picture enhancement circuitry found on most camcorders and VCRS used for sharpening the image on playback. Hyper cardioid Type of microphone which picks up sounds predominantly from a 90 degree arc in front of it. Infrared autofocus Autofocus system that sends out beams of infrared light to measure subject distance. Insert edit Facility found on some VHS-family camcorders and VCRs that allows you to re-record over the picture without affecting the mono linear soundtrack. IR (infrared) Invisible wavelengths of light, used on video equipment for sending signals over short distances - such as in autofocus systems, or in remote control units. Iris Adjustable opening in the lens of a camcorder used to regulate how much light reaches the CCD image sensor. Jitter Picture fault caused by the tape not running smoothly over the recording heads. Shows up as a shaky picture on playback. Also caused by attempting to put adjacent odd or even fields onto a tape. Jog/shuttle Twin-ring control found on top-quality video recorders - used for finding a particular frame on a tape quickly. The shuttle (outer) ring will fast forward or rewind the tape at varying speeds, depending on how far the ring is turned (and in which direction). The central jog ring is for fine adjustment allowing you to go through the tape a frame at a time. An essential facility when editing. Jump cut A cut between two shots where the subject appears to jump, inexplicably, on screen. Generally to be avoided at all costs. Kelvin Unit used for measuring colour temperature. Lanc A type of edit control socket. Also known as Control-L. LCD (liquid crystal display) A type of information display panel. Colour LCD panels are now being used as an alternative to the traditional black-and-white CRT viewfinder. Linear audio Sound track that is recorded by a stationary head along the side of the tape. Used for the mono audio track on all VHS-family recorders and camcorders. HiFi and stereo soundtracks, however, are recorded using the helical scan system. Line input Sockets found on very few camcorders that allow you to record pictures and sound directly from another video player. In audio terms this can be used to refer to the sound level of the input - line input is appropriate for a signal from a tape player, mixer or other equipment as opposed to mic input which is designed for the much lower level of signal from a microphone. Note that a radio mic receiver may have a "line" level output. Lithium ion Type of rechargeable battery - lighter than nicads, less prone to memory effect, easier to monitor its state of charge, and more expensive. Pioneered by Sony. Long shot (LS) Shot in which a human figure occupies about half to two- thirds of the screen height. Low-band General term for all video formats which are not high-band - i.e. VHS, VHS-C and Hi8. LP (long play) Feature found on many camcorders and VCRs that halves the normal tape speed during playback or recording. It doubles the normal maximum recording time of a tape - although the quality will suffer. Luminance (Y) The brightness component of the video signal (the black and white part of the signal). Lux Unit of measure for light intensity. Macro Facility on most camcorders for shooting very close to a subject - so the subject appears larger than life on the TV screen. Manual iris Facility for opening and closing the iris on a camcorder manually to change exposure - found only on a few camcorders. All camcorders have an automatic iris facility. Manual white balance Facility for altering the white balance on a camcorder manually - either by choosing one of a number of presets, or by taking a reading from a white surface in front of the lens. All camcorders have an auto white balance system - only a few have one of these manual controls. MCU (medium close-up) Shot in which a human figure appears on screen from the chest upwards to just above the head. Memory effect Problem associated with nicad batteries, caused by repeatedly recharging the battery before it is discharged to its optimum level. It manifests itself by batteries lasting for a shorter and shorter time between recharges. Avoided by only recharging batteries once they will no longer power the camcorder. Some battery chargers have a built-in discharger (or refresh facility) to avoid this problem. Dischargers can also be bought as accessories. Slow, overnight chargers can also be bought to help eliminate the problem. Metal evaporated (ME) High quality Hi8 format tape. Metal oxide Type of tape used by VHS-family camcorders and VCRs. Metal particle (MP) Type of tape used by 8mm and Hi8 camcorders. Mixed lighting Situation in which there are two or more light sources of differing colour temperatures. Mixer See audio mixer and vision mixer MLS (medium long shot) A shot in which a human figure practically fills the screen height, from just below the feet to just above the head. Monitor A television screen used for watching video footage (therefore one that does not necessarily have a TV tuner). Monopod An extending leg that attaches to a camcorder to give extra support when shooting - a one-legged tripod! MS (medium shot or mid-shot) Shot in which a human figure appears on screen from just below the waist upwards to just above the head. Neutral density filter Grey-coloured filter that cuts down the amount of light entering the lens. Used in very bright conditions, or when you want to force the iris to open to restrict depth of field. Nicad (nickel cadmium) Type of rechargeable battery most commonly used on camcorders. Nickel Hydride Type of rechargeable battery. More efficient than nicad types, and less prone to memory effect and more expensive. Pioneered by Panasonic. Noise Unwanted interference in audio or video signals. NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) Colour television standard used in Japan, USA and some other countries. Uses 525 lines and 60Hz. Omnidirectional mic Type of microphone that picks up sound equally well from all directions. Overexposed Picture in which too much light has passed through the lens, giving a white, washed-out look. PAL (Phase Alternating Line) Colour television standard used in the UK, most western European countries, Australasia, much of Asia, and some other countries. Uses 625 lines at 50Hz. Palmcorder Panasonic trade name for a range of palm-sized camcorders. Pan To move the camera in a horizontal arc while shooting. PCM (pulse code modulation) A digital HiFi stereo sound recording system found on a few Hi8 camcorders. As it is recorded on a separate section of tape, using the helical scan system, it can be audio dubbed. Can carry lots of seperate tracks at once enabling multi language dubs for example. Peritel Another name for the Scart plug/socket. Phono plug Widely used for audio and video connections. Separate phono plugs are used for composite video, left channel audio, right channel audio, and mono audio. Coloured Red, White, Yellow and Black. Yellow is always video, Red usually right audio and white or black is left audio. Pixel (picture element) A single light-sensitive cell in a CCD image sensor. Each CCD has hundreds of thousands of pixels. The term is also used of a single coloured dot in a computer stored image. Polariser Individual photons are always polarised i.e. they vibrates only on one plane, but most light sources cannot define the polarisation of their photons. However a photon's polarisation can be reoriented by reflection off a surface, or filtering through such as water vapour. A Polariser also filters light vibrating in one plane. Thus it can be used to exclude light from a specific plane, while allowing to pass light in other planes. As such it can be used to deepen the colour of part of a picture, such as the sky. It can also be used to eliminate reflections from non-metallic surfaces such as water or glass. It must be rotated in front of the lens until you get the desired effect in the picture. Post-production General term for the editing process. Everything that is done to a video after shooting - including cutting, sound mixing, titling, picture enhancement, processor effects and copying. POV (point of view) Camera angle that shows you exactly what the subject in the last shot can see - from their point of view. Not to be confused with persistance or vision or POVRAY, a ray trace computer modelling animation generator. Pre-roll Time that it takes for a camcorder or VCR to get from pause to play or record. RCA socket/plug Same as phono plug/socket. RCTC (rewritable consumer timecode) Sony's timecode system used on some of its Hi8 camcorders. Reaction shot Shot that shows someone's reaction to something that has happened in the previous shot - such as a shot of someone smiling. RF-adaptor A unit that converts the composite video and audio signals from a camcorder into radio frequencies which can be input into the aerial socket of a TV or VGR. RGB (red-green-blue) High-quality picture signal with separate red, green and blue components. Used mainly for colour computer screens or big video projectors. RGB converter Device that transforms S-Video signals to RGB signals for connecting high-band camcorders to TVs that do not have S-Video sockets, but which do have Scart sockets capable of accepting RGB signals. Scart A 21-pin AV connector commonly used on televisions and VCRs. Not all Scart sockets are the same - some are wired for S-Video, some are wired for RGB, some are wired for ordinary composite video, some are wired for stereo sound. To add to the confusion, some are AV IN sockets, some are OUT sockets, others can be both. Special care, therefore, must be taken to use a Scart plug that is correctly wired for the socket you are using, and for what you want to do. Most cables that are scart at one end and phono at the other end are switchable as to purpose on the scart connector - IN referring to video IN to the device with the scart socket, OUT referring to video OUT from that device. Scroll To move titles up, down, or sideways, across the screen - so that they appear and disappear at the edges. SECAM (Sequential Couleur a Memoire) Colour television standard used in France, some parts of Eastern Europe, some parts of the Middle East, and some other countries. Uses 625 lines and 50Hz. (See the standards table). alternatives are PAL and NTSC. SEG (special effects generator) General name for processors that produce special effects such as wipes, mixes, chroma key and solarisation. Special effects take of cpu power when done digitally in a computer so it is not generally possible to do it in real time, therefore a seperate effects unit is usually essential. Incorporated into most modern vision mixer units. Sequence A series of linked shots. SFX Abbreviation for special effects. Shot The basic unit of a video, which lasts from when you press the record button on the camcorder until you press it again to put the camcorder into pause. Shotgun microphone Extremely unidirectional microphone of the hypercardioid or supercardioid design. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) A measure of the proportion of noise in video and audio signals. Measured in decibels (dB). The higher the signal-to-noise ratio, the higher quality the signal or recording. Over 100 is very clean, under 50 is very noisy SMTPE Professional time code which can have a global, external timebase enabling multiple cameras to be synchronised and to encode the global timebase onto the tape, such as when using a multi camera shoot. Also valid for digital audio recorders (DAT) and other equipment such as multi track tape recorders and MIDI synchronisation equipment. SP (standard play) The normal playback and recording speed on camcorders and VCRs - as opposed to LP or EP. Storyboard A series of drawings with captions, used to plan out a video before it is shot. Supercardioid Unidirectional microphone which accepts sound, primarily, in a 120' arc. S-VHS (Super VHS) High-band version of the VHS tape format which records luminance and chrominance separately on special tape to give a high- quality image with over 400 lines of resolution. Usually this is accompanied with a Hi-Fi track recorded diagonally on the tape before and thus underneath the video using a different modulation frequency. S-VHS-C (Compact Super VHS) Compact version of the S-VHS format - using the same width tape in smaller cassettes. The high-band version of VHS-C. Note that the head used is a much smaller diameter so wear is much higher and the tape path distortion greater due to the smaller size this tapes don't last as long. S-Video Type of socket and plug used on high-band equipment as a video input or output. It is a 4-pin mini-DIN design, and keeps the luminance and chrominance signals separate. Usually used in conjunction with one or two phono sockets (two if stereo) to connect the audio signal. Also called a Y-C connector this is only found on equipment where seperating the liminance from the chroma is worthwhile - i.e. you won't find it on a VHS camera. Synch signal For each frame that is recorded on the video tape there is a synch (synchronisation) signal - a simple pulse that tells the camcorder where each track is when playing back the tape. On VHS-family tapes the synch signals are found on a separate linear track. On 8mm and Hi8 tapes the synch signals are recorded as part of the diagonal video track. Synchro edit A simple editing system in which a camcorder and recorder can be linked together via a special lead so that both machines can be controlled from one button. So when you press the play button on the camcorder, the VCR automatically goes from record pause to record. It will only work for a single edit at a time. The synchro edit system on one piece of video equipment is not automatically compatible with another. Variations on the same theme can be found called remote pause, duet edit, and master edit control. Tally light Light on a camcorder that lights up when recording. Gives you that professional look, and is a pain when trying to take natural shots at an event. Can usually be disabled so turn it off I say. TBC (time base corrector) System that generates new sync pulses to replace weak ones. Typically it straightens out the wobbly vertical lines that can appear on old recordings. TBCs are built into a select few camcorders and VCRs, but are also available as stand-alone units for professional use. Time base skewing is used to "copy protect" commercial video and a TBC unit can correct for this. So although TBC units are legally sold in the UK and elsewhere they are viewed with suspicion by commercial organisations! Telecine Method for transferring cine film or slides to video. The big problem here is synchronisation due to different frame rates. e.g. 15 fps home movie to 25 fps video. Tie-clip mic Very small omnidirectional microphone that is designed to clip inconspicuously on a tie, shirt or jacket. Preferably with a small transmitter to relieve the wearer of cables. Tilt Moving a camera during shooting to point up or down. Time lapse Camcorder feature that allows you to take shots that last a few frames at regular time intervals. When played back, the subject movement is greatly increased. Ideal for condensing events that take a few hours down into several seconds of video footage. Also known as an intervalometer. Only use this under artificial light conditions for obvious reasons. Timecode An electronic code recorded on video tape which uniquely labels each frame with a time and frame number so that the video can be edited with utmost precision using a suitable timecode edit controller. See VITC, SMTPE. Title generator Electronic device for creating text and superimposing it on a video picture. Forget all built in title generators and just use a computer. Really. Track shot Horizontal movement of a camcorder during shooting - such as to move in closer to something, or to follow along with a moving subject. TTL Abbreviation for through-the-lens, used of viewfinders that show EXACTLY what the lens sees - thus there is no parellax error between the view finder and the image recording device. Two shot Any shot in which two people are framed. Unidirectional Type of microphone that records sound mainly from in front. The point being that its catchment covers a wide area. VCR Video cassette recorder. VHS (Video Home System) The most widespread video format in the world, originally developed by JVC and which uses 1/2in-wide tape. VHS-C (Compact VHS) VHS tape in a smaller, shorter-lasting cassette. Video From the Latin for 'I see', this word must be used with care. Although by definition it refers to the picture alone, it is widely used to mean both audio and video combined (as in video recorder). Video head Minute electromagnet used to record audio or video signals on the tape. Several of these are mounted around a rotating drum inside a camcorder or VCR. Video 8 Sony's trade name for its low resolution camcorder format. See also Hi8 Vision mixer Device that allows you mix two different signals together so that one gradually fades or wipes into the other. VITC (vertical interval timecode) Timecode system used on VHS- family camcorders, stored in the vertical interval on the tape, as you might expect really. A VITC controlled edit suite can identify a specific frame in a tape. VITC code is only tape relative, not global. See also RCTC, SMTPE VLS (very long shot) Same as ELS. VTR (video tape recorder) Old-fashioned term for a VCR, which stems from the time that recorders used open reels of tape rather than cassettes. VU meter (volume unit meter) Used for checking the level of audio signals - found on some camcorders, VCRs and audio mixers. Note that digitally recorded sound MUST NOT exceed 0db because clipping will then occur whereas analogue recording has some built in ability to cope with overload and will still faithfully record the signal, the tape naturally applying some compression as it reaches saturation. Digital (LED type) VU meters can have a peak indicator. White balance System used by a camcorder to measure the colour temperature of a light source and then correct it so that whites, and therefore all other colours, are seen as normal to the human eye. Primarily caters for the difference between daylight, flourscent light and tungsten light. Wildtrack Background sound recorded separately from the picture while out on location (often using a separate audio tape recorder) which is later used for audio dubbing at the editing stage. Wind filter Electrical circuitry that cuts out much of the hiss and wind noise that might be picked up by a microphone - It's better to not have the wind in the first place!. Wipe Special effect where a video picture is gradually covered by a coloured background or another video picture - e.g. as occurs in a vision mixer. Y/C signal Component video where the luminance (Y) and chrominance (C) are separated. Signal used by high-band recordings, in our terms this means found on H-8 or S-VHS systems. Zoom lens A lens with a variable focal length - usually which can be moved from a wideangle setting to a telephoto one - found on cameras and projectors. Zoom ratio The ratio between the longest and shortest focal lengths on a camcorder's zoom lens. Acknowledgements : MadMonk to whom all comments should be addressed is incredibly grateful to all those who have written the 20 or so books and magazines over the last fifteen years from which his sketchy knowledge has come, and which knowledge is passed on imperfectly herein. If you really want the complete low down then go to the library if you have one, or book shop if you haven't. 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