Camcorder Glossary

by Chuck Peters
December 1999

automatic exposure

Circuitry that monitors light levels and adjusts camcorder iris accordingly, compensating for changing light conditions.

automatic gain control (AGC)

Camcorder circuitry that adjusts incoming audio signal levels automatically, alleviating distortion of loud sound.

dollying

Camera movement toward or away from a subject. Effect may appear the same as zooming, which reduces and magnifies the image, but dollying in or out maintains perspective while moving closer to or further from subject.

field of view

Extent of a shot that's visible through a particular lens; its vista.

focal length

Distance from the center of a lens to the focal plane (usually the camcorder's image-gathering CCD). Short focal lengths offer a broad field of view (wide-angle); long focal lengths offer a narrow field of view (telephoto). Zoom lenses have a variable focal length.

iris

Camcorder's lens opening, or aperture. Regulates the amount of light entering the camera.

long shot

Camera view of a subject or scene, usually from a distance, showing a broad perspective.

medium shot

Defines any camera perspective between long shot and closeup, whereby subjects are viewed from medium distance.

pan

Horizontal camera pivot, right to left or left to right, from a stationary position. Follows a subject, redirects viewer's attention from one subject to another, shows relationships between subjects and scans subjects too large to fit into one shot.

point of view (POV)

Shot perspective whereby the camera assumes subject's view and thus viewers see what the subject sees as if through his/her/its eyes.

polarizing filter

Mounted at front of camcorder lens, reduces undesirable glare and reflections.

rack focus

Shifting focus during a shot in progress, typically between background and foreground subjects.

shot

A unit of video recorded without interruption from a single camera view.

selective focus

Adjusting camera focus to emphasize desired subject(s) in a shot. Selected area maintains clarity and image sharpness while remainder of image blurs. Useful for directing viewer's attention.

swish pan (whip pan)

Extremely rapid camera movement from left to right or right to left, appearing as image blur. Two such pans in the same direction -- one moving from, the other moving to a stationary shot -- edited together can effectively convey passage of time.

tally

Automatic indicators on camera front and within viewfinder that signal recording in progress -- seen by both camera subject(s) and operator.

telephoto

Camera lens with long focal length, narrow horizontal field of view. Opposite of wide-angle, captures magnified, close-up images from considerable distance.

tilt

Camera rotation in a vertical direction, down or up, from a stationary position. Follows movement, contrasts differences in size between two subjects or gives viewer point-of-view sense of a subject's height.

white balance

Electronic adjustment of camcorder circuitry to compensate for the color temperature of the dominant light in a given location. Necessary to retain truest colors of recorded image.

wide angle

Camera lens with short focal length and broad horizontal field of view. Opposite of telephoto, supports viewer perspective and tends to reinforce perception of depth.

zoom

Variance of focal length, making subject appear closer to or further away from the camera. Lens capability permits change from wide angle to telephoto, or vice versa, in one continuous move. "Zoom in" (movement toward telephoto) and "zoom out" (movement toward wide angle) are common terms.

• Digg This!
• del.icio.us
• Technorati
• StumbleUpon
• Reddit