A Mouthful of Words for the Wise
No one wants to sound stupid. And with me around, there's no need for it.
This month's Edit Points will dazzle you with terms guaranteed to transform you from a groveling neanderthal to a serene and confident techno-master. With this jargon in your mouth, you need never sound ignorant again.
Ready?
Let's go:
A-B Roll
When dissolving or effecting from one moving picture to another, the images must come from different sources-live cameras, computers, character generators, or VCRs. The two tapes are called the A-Roll and the B-Roll. They're edited with the same audio, but when there's a picture on the A-Roll, the B-Roll's in black, and when there's a picture on the B-Roll, the A-Roll's in black. The tapes are rolled simultaneously; the dissolve or effect kicks in where they overlap.
Ambient Sound
The audio you pick up in the field. On-camera dialogue would be primary sound; traffic noise, surf, falling rain, and the like would be ambient. Picking up ambient sound can be good or bad, depending on whether it strengthens or distracts from your i…
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