Digital Still Image Formats
- PICT: The standard Apple
Macintosh still image Picture file format.
Digital Audio Formats
-
MP3: An
audio file format, especially popular for downloading songs from the web
and for storing music in and portable music players. Named for Moving
Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 1, Layer 3. Uses lossy compression to significantly
reduce file size, but often with little perceptible loss in sound quality.
Used to store large song collections on hard disc, download audio to portable
audio players, and save multiple hours of music to CD. Some consumer audio
players and set-top DVD players can play MP3 audio files stored on CD-R/RW
discs. See also WAV, Windows Media Audio.
-
WAV: The
uncompressed Wave audio file format used with Microsoft Windows. See also
AIFF, MP3, WAV, Windows Media Audio.
-
Windows Media Audio
(WMA): The Microsoft Windows Media native audio file format.
Used for compressing, storing, and organizing CDs and downloaded audio
in albums on disk. Also used to download audio to portable audio players.
Some consumer audio players and set-top DVD players can play WMA audio
files stored on CD-R/RW discs. See also MP3, WAV, Windows Media.
Digital Data Rates
-
Bandwidth:
The amount and rate of data that can be processed or transmitted by a
given device. An analog modem has very little bandwidth compared to a
high-speed cable modem, for instance, so the former cannot download video
from the Internet nearly as quickly as the latter. See also data rate.
-
Data rate:
The speed at which data is transferred, as in bytes per second. Also called
bit rate. For example, the speed to download or stream a video file over
the Internet, or the speed at which the file must play from a hard disk.
When you create a video or audio file, you can specify the target bit
rate at which the file will be played. Also called bit rate. See also
bandwidth.
-
byte:
A data element containing eight bits, or 256 distinct values. Commonly
used to store a single text character. Computer data transfer rates are
traditionally measured in bits, as in Mb for Megabits (millions of bits,
with a lower-case "b"); whereas computer data storage is traditionally
measured in bytes, as in MB, for megabytes (millions of bytes, with an
upper-case "B"). See also bit, GB, KB, MB.
-
MB: Megabytes
( millions of bytes). In computer use, a megabyte actually represents
the closest binary power of 2 to a million, or 1024 squared. See also
byte, GB, KB.
-
GB: Gigabytes
(billions of bytes). In computer use, a gigabyte actually represents the
closest binary power of 2 to a billion, or 1024 cubed. In general use
in advertising DVD disc capacity, however, the number of "GB"
is actually used to specify a different value, a billion decimal. See
also byte, KB, MB.
Video Editing Fundamentals
-
Storyboard:
In video production, a series of cartoonlike panels drawn to describe
a movie, shot by shot. In video editing, an interface that allows you
to organize the sequential flow of your production by arranging thumbnails
of each video clip. See also Timeline.
-
Scene:
A single video sequence, typically shot in one continuous take. For editing
purposes, it is useful to capture or trim your video material so that
each scene is stored as an individual clip that can then be edited on
the Timeline. See also clip.
-
Clip:
A short piece of video and/or audio, often containing an individual scene.
When creating a video project, you import clip files into bins in your
project, and often trim longer clips into individual scenes. You then
edit the clips together on the Timeline to play in sequential order to
tell the "story" of your production, with transitions between
clips and other added effects.
-
Channel:
The subcomponents of a clip. For images, an alpha channel can contain
a matte or mask image to key certain regions of the image to be transparent.
For audio, the separate left and right channels of a stereo clip.
-
Timeline:
In video editing, an interface that allows you to assemble a collection
of clips into a production with multiple overlapping tracks. A timeline
provides a view of multiple sources being combined over time, with separate
tracks for video, audio, and superimposed video, as well as transitions
and effects. See also storyboard.
-
Real-time preview:
To play back a program in the Timeline at full rate, while showing edits
such as transitions, effects, overlays, and titles. Allows viewing the
effects of edits immediately, without the need to wait and render the
program each time. Video editors simulate the frame rate and appearance
of the final program as possible depending on the complexity of the program
and the system performance.
- Render: To generate a video
production in its final form, including transitions, effects, and superimposed
tracks. You can render portions of a Timeline in order to preview your edits
at that point, or render the entire production before exporting it in its
final form, to a disk file or out to tape.
- Scratch Disk: A dedicated
work area on hard disk. Used for temporary storage and for saving preview
files.
-
Preview File:
Temporary file to save the results of rendering a portion of the Timeline.
With these files, editors can preview the results of your editing on the
Timeline at full playback rate, including transitions and effects. See
also scratch disk.
Video Editing - User Interface
-
Project window:
The main window, used to import and save clips used in the program you
are editing and organize them into bins. You save each editing activity
in a separate Project file, including the imported material and editing
context.
- Bin window: A window used
to import and organize folders of source clips.
-
Timeline window:
A window used to assemble, trim, arrange, and superimpose video,
audio, and image clips into a program. See also Storyboard window.
-
Program view:
The Monitor window view that displays the production being assembled on
the Timeline. Depending on the current settings, this can be a simple
preview of the cuts between adjacent clips, or a fully rendered preview
with transitions and effects. See also Source view.
- Title window: A window used
to lay out and design title text and graphics.
-
Palette windows:
Small floating windows that provide convenient access to information,
options, and commands used in video editing. Palettes can be adjusted,
hidden, and docked as desired to accommodate your editing style.
Video Editing - Import and Capture
-
Import:
To bring media elements into your current working space. Video editors
can import video and audio clips, still images, and animated sequences
in a variety of formats. You can import both individual clips and folders
of clips, and add them to bins in an open Project. See also capture, export.
-
Capture:
To digitize, or import and convert, video and/or audio into digital format
on your computer from external devices, such as a camcorder or VCR. You
typically use a special video capture card to input analog video into
your computer, and then convert and save it into digital files on your
disk. With DV camcorders, you transfer digital data directly into your
computer over a FireWire / 1394 interface. See also import.
Video Editing - Clips and Tracks
-
Duration:
A length of time. For a clip, the length of time that it will play, determined
by its overall length. Or if the clip has been trimmed, the difference
in time between its In point and Out point. See also timecode.
-
Marker:
A placeholder used to mark a specific timecode in a sequence. Use to keep
track of changes, events, or synchronization points in a longer sequence.
You can use the In and Out point markers to mark a clip to be captured
from a source tape, to mark part of a clip to be trimmed, or to mark a
portion of the Timeline to be played. See also In Point, Out Point.
-
In point:
A placeholder used to mark a specific timecode as the starting point of
a segment in a longer sequence. You can use In and Out points to mark
a clip to be captured from a source tape, to mark part of a clip to be
trimmed, or to mark a portion of the Timeline to be played. See also marker,
Out point.
-
Out point: A
placeholder used to mark a specific timecode as the end point of a segment
in a longer sequence. You can use In and Out points to mark a clip to
be captured from a source tape, to mark part of a clip to be trimmed,
or to mark a portion of the Timeline to be played. See also marker, In
point.
-
Four-point edit:
A method of setting In and Out points to precisely control where and how
frames are inserted into a Timeline. In a four-point edit, you set all
four In and Out markers, and the editor displays a warning dialog if the
durations do not match. See also three-point edit.
-
Three-point edit:
A method of setting In and Out points to precisely control where and how
frames are inserted into a Timeline. In a three-point edit, you set any
three such markers, and the software determines the fourth to match the
specified duration. See also four-point edit.
-
Ripple edit:
A method of editing in the Timeline so that when new material is inserted,
or existing material is deleted, other material is adjusted to fit. In
a ripple edit, the change ripples through the rest of the material, as
the existing clips slide apart to make room for the new material, or slide
together to fill a gap. See also rolling edit, slide edit, slip edit.
-
Rolling edit:
A method of editing in the Timeline by adjusting and trimming two adjacent
clips. When you roll the cut point between the adjacent clips, the durations
of the two clips are adjusted to keep the overall program duration unchanged.
The Out point of the first clip is changed in tandem with the In point
of the second clip so that, as one increases in duration, the other decreases
to match it. See also ripple edit, slide edit, slip edit.
-
Slide edit:
A method of editing in the Timeline by moving a clip and trimming neighboring
clips to adjust to the change. When you slide a clip earlier or later
in the program, the neighboring clips are trimmed accordingly by changing
their In and Out points so that the duration of the overall program remains
unchanged. See also ripple edit, rolling edit, slip edit.
-
Slip edit: A
method of editing in the Timeline by changing the trim points in a clip.
When you slip the trim points earlier or later in a clip, the In and Out
points are adjusted correspondingly so that the duration of the clip is
unchanged. A slip edit also does not affect the rest of the program on
the Timeline. See also ripple edit, rolling edit, slip edit.
Video Editing - Titles
-
Title:
Onscreen text (and associated graphics) that can be used to add information
to your production. Used as a title screen at the beginning of your production,
for subtitles superimposed under the video, and for rolling credits at
the end.
Video Editing - Transitions
-
Transition:
A visual effect to segue from the end of one clip or scene and the start
of the next. The most basic transition is a cut, in which the last frame
of one clip is immediately followed by the first frame of the next clip.
More interesting transition effects include fades, dissolves, and wipes
between adjacent clips.
-
Fade:
A gradual transition from one clip to another. With video, the clip changes
from transparent to fully opaque (or vice versa) to fade in or out. With
audio, the gain changes between silence and full volume.
Video Editing - Effects
-
Animate:
To move and manipulate an object over time, such as a title, a superimposed
logo, or a transition between frames.
Video Editing - Compositing
-
Superimpose track:
In video editing, the Video 2 track and above, which can include titles,
logos, and other material to be overlaid on the bottom Video 1 track.
-
Transparent:
Regions of a superimposed image that are invisible, and therefore show
through to the underlying image, as used for logo overlays and blue-screen
effects. May be defined using a key color or alpha mask. Technically,
overlays also can be translucent, and blend portions of the two images.
See also opaque.
-
Key: To
specify a region of an image or video clip to be used as a mask for transparency.
Used to make part of the scene transparent or semitransparent, and then
composite it with other superimposed images or video tracks. The region
can be specified using features such as color (a color key) or intensity,
or with a separate alpha mask or image matte. See also blue screen, matte.
-
Blue screen:
A specially colored backdrop (typically blue or green) that can be matched
with a color key and made transparent so that it can be replaced with
another video layer. For example, you can cut out a subject from the blue
screen background and composite it into another scene. See also matte,
key.
Audio Editing and Effects
- Amplify: Increase the audio
volume.