TASC Media Production key terms

An adjustable opening inside a camera lens that controls how much light reaches the sensor; a wider opening brightens the image and reduces depth of field.

The length of time a camera's sensor is exposed to light during a single frame; fast settings freeze motion while slow settings blur it.

A camera setting that increases or decreases the sensor's sensitivity to light; raising it brightens dim scenes but adds visible grain or noise.

The overall amount of light captured in an image, balanced through aperture, shutter speed, and sensitivity so the picture is neither too dark nor too bright.

A camera adjustment that corrects color casts so white objects appear neutral under different light sources such as daylight, tungsten, or fluorescent fixtures.

A measure, expressed in kelvin, describing how warm or cool a light source appears; lower values look orange and higher values look blue.

The number of individual images recorded or displayed per second; it determines how smooth motion looks and how footage behaves when slowed down.

The proportional relationship between an image's width and height, such as 16:9 for widescreen video or 4:3 for older television formats.

The number of horizontal and vertical pixels in a digital image or video frame; higher counts retain more detail but require more storage and processing power.

The range of distance in front of and behind the focal point that stays acceptably sharp; narrow depth isolates a subject against a blurred background.

The distance between a lens's optical center and the sensor when focused at infinity; it determines the angle of view and apparent magnification.

A standard setup using a key light, a fill light, and a back light to shape a subject, soften shadows, and separate the subject from the background.

The primary, brightest light source aimed at a subject; it establishes the main direction of illumination and the dominant shadow pattern.

A secondary, softer light placed opposite the key light to brighten shadow areas and reduce contrast without eliminating the sense of dimension.

A light positioned behind a subject and aimed toward the camera, creating a rim that separates the subject from the background.

A description of how sensitive a microphone is to sound arriving from different directions, such as cardioid, omnidirectional, or figure-eight.

A directional microphone most sensitive to sound from the front and least sensitive from the rear, useful for isolating a single speaker.

A small clip-on microphone worn on the chest or lapel to capture a presenter's voice at a consistent level while remaining out of frame.

Background sound present in a location, such as traffic, ventilation hum, or crowd murmur, that can mask dialogue and require treatment during editing.

A short recording of a location's natural silence, captured without dialogue, used in editing to smooth gaps and mask abrupt audio transitions.

A continuous layer of music or background audio placed beneath dialogue or narration to set mood and smooth transitions between scenes.

Everyday sound effects, such as footsteps or rustling clothing, performed in a studio and synchronized to picture to enrich a scene's realism.

Audio whose source exists within the story world, such as a character's dialogue, a radio in the scene, or a door closing on screen.

Audio that the characters cannot hear, such as a musical score or narrator's voice, added to guide audience emotion and understanding.

The amount by which an audio signal's level is increased during recording or mixing; excessive gain introduces hiss or distortion.

The measured loudness of a recorded or mixed signal, monitored on meters to keep peaks below clipping and dialogue consistently audible.

Distortion that occurs when a signal exceeds the maximum level a system can handle, flattening peaks and producing harsh, crackling audio.

A sequence of sketched panels showing planned camera angles, framing, and action for each shot before production begins.

A written inventory of every shot to be captured, noting framing, location, equipment, and order so production stays organized and efficient.

The planning phase before filming that covers scripting, budgeting, scheduling, casting, location scouting, and assembling crew and equipment.

A composition guideline that divides the frame into a three-by-three grid and places important subjects near the intersecting lines.

The deliberate placement and sizing of subjects within the camera's borders to direct attention and convey relationships or mood.

The space left between the top of a subject's head and the upper edge of the frame, kept modest so the image feels balanced.

An abrupt edit joining two shots of the same subject from nearly identical angles, producing a visible, jarring skip in time.

The most common editing transition, in which one shot ends and the next begins instantly with no added effect.

An editing approach that maintains consistent screen direction, props, and timing so viewers perceive action as seamless and logical.

The process of reducing a media file's size by discarding redundant or less noticeable data, trading some quality for faster delivery and storage.

Software or hardware that encodes and decodes digital media, determining which devices and platforms can play a given file.

A file wrapper that bundles video, audio, subtitles, and metadata together, such as MP4 or MOV, independent of the codecs inside.