Camera and Audio Summary (Lectures,
Book & Knowledge Clips
Additive primary colours: Red, green and blue. Ordinary white light (sunlight) can be
separated into the three primary light colours. When these three coloured lights are
combined in various proportions, all other colours can be reproduced. The process is called
additive colour mixing.
Analog: A signal that fluctuates exactly like the original stimulus.
Aspect ratio: The width-to-height proportions of the standard television screen and
therefore of all standard television pictures: 5 unites wide by 3 units high. For HDTV the
aspect ratio is 16x9. The small mobile media (cell-phone) displays have various aspect ratios.
Beam splitter: Compact internal optical system of prisms within a television camera that
separates white light into three primary colours: red, green, and blue. Also called prism
block.
Binary: A number system with the base of two.
Bit: Stands for binary digit – the smallest amount of information a computer can hold and
process. A charge is either present, represented by a 1, or absent, represented by a 0. One
bit can describe two levels, such as on/off or black/white.
Camcorder: A portable camera with the videotape recorder on some other recording device
built into it to form a single unit.
Camera chain: The television camera (head) and associated electronic equipment, including
the camera control unit, sync generator, and power supply.
Camera control unit (CCU): Equipment, separate from the camera head, that contains
various video controls, including colour fidelity, colour balance, contrast, and brightness. The
CCU enables the video operator to adjust the camera picture during a show.
Charge-coupled device (CCD): The imaging sensor in a television camera. It consists of
horizontal and vertical rows of tiny image-sensing elements, called pixels, that translate the
optical (light) image into an electric charge that eventually becomes the video signal.
CMOS: Stands for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. A camera imaging sensor
similar to a CCD but which operates on a different technology. It translates light into an
electronic video charge that eventually becomes the video signal.
Digital: Usually means the binary system – the representation of data in the form of binary
digits (on/off pulses).
, Digital cinema camera: A high definition television camera with sensors that can produce
extremely high resolution pictures exceeding 4000px (4K) per line. It records on memory
cards, with a variable frame rate for normal slow, and accelerated motion capture.
EFP camera: High-quality portable, shoulder-mounted field production camera that must be
connected to an external video recorder.
ENG/EFP camcorder: High-quality portable field production camera with the recording
device built-in.
Field: One-half of a complete scanning cycle, with two fields necessary for one video frame.
There are 60 fields, or 30 frames, per second in standard NTSC television.
Frame: (1) the smallest picture unit in film, a single picture. (2) a complete scan from top to
bottom of all raster lunes by exposure and subsequent electric charge, or one single frame
of a motion series.
Frame rate: The number of complete video frames the video system is producing each
second. Also expressed as fps. The NTSC standard of traditional television is 30 fps. The 480p
and 720p scanning systems normally have a frame rate of 60fps. Some HD digital cinema
cameras have a frame rate of 24 fps and/or variable frame rates. The standard 1080i HDTV
system has a frame rate of 30 fps.
Gain: Electronic amplification of the video signal, boosting primarily picture brightness.
HDTV camera: Video camea that delivers gigh-definitoon video of superior resolution (720p,
1080i and 1080p), colour fidelity, and light-and-dark contrast; uses high-quality imaging
sensors and lenses.
Imaging device: The imaging element in a television camera. Its sensor (CCD or CMOS)
transduces light into electric energy that becomes the video signal. Also called chip and
sensor.
Pixel: Short for picture element. (1) A single imaging element (like the single dot in a
newspaper picture) that can be identified by a computer. (2) the light sensitive elements on
a CCD that contain a change.
Raster: The scanning pattern of a video image.
Refresh rate: The number of complete digital scanning cycles (frames) per second.
Resolution: The measurement of picture detail, expressed in the numbet of pixels per
scanning line and the number of visible scanning lines. Resolution is influenced by the
imaging device, the kens, and the television set that sows the camera picture. Often used
synonymously with definition.
RGB: Stands for red, green, blue – the basic colours of television.
