B
 

Baby

Usually a reference to a 1K light unit. It is also used to describe any light unit which is smaller than a standard size unit of comparable intensity (i.e. baby 1K, baby 2K, baby 5K, etc.). For grips, it refers to anything with a 5/8 inch stud (i.e. baby plate). (Grip/Lighting)

Baby Legs

A short tripod. (Camera)

Baby Plate

A steel plate with a baby pin (5/8 inch pin) welded on to it. These plates are used for mounting lights or grip heads on a wall, box, or other surface. (Grip/Lighting)

Back porch

The portion of a video signal that occurs during blanking from the end of horizontal sync to the beginning of active video. The blanking signal portion which lies between the trailing edge of a horizontal sync pulse and the trailing edge of the corresponding blanking pulse. Color burst is located on the back porch.

Back up:

Printing the second side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Background

This is a term with a broad range of meanings, depending upon the context. In production, it has the same connotation as 'atmosphere', meaning extras who are staged to supply detail in the form of normal human traffic in a scene. In sound, it can mean the same as 'ambience' or it may refer to relative volume.

Backing Track

Prerecorded accompaniment for a singer or voiceover actor who then listens through headphones to a replay as he/she performs. Generally, the two signals are ultimately mixed to produce the final recording. (Post Production)

Backlight

A light which is generally mounted behind a subject to light the subject's hair and shoulders without illuminating a subject's front. (Lighting)

Backplane

(Rear connector channel, motherboard.) The physical area, usually at the rear of an electronics frame, where modules and cables plug into the system.

Backup supply

A redundant power supply that takes over if the primary power supply fails.

Balance Stripe

On magnetic-striped film, a narrow band of magnetic coating applied to the edge opposite the magnetic sound track which serves to make the film lie flat when it goes over magnetic sound heads.

Balanced

An audio circuit with 3 wires, two which carry signal, and a third which is contected to a ground (grounded). (Sound)

Balanced

A circuit having two sides (conductors) carrying voltages which are symmetrical around a common reference point, typically ground.

Banding:

 Method of packaging printed pieces of paper using rubber or paper bands.

Bandwidth

Originally a range of frequencies, in current computer circles it describes the capacity or amount of traffic (data, voice, video, etc) per unit of time. In computerized communications it is expressed in Mbits/sec

Bar Sheets - Lead Sheets

A chart showing words of dialogue which have been recorded, and the number of motion picture frames of duration for each syllable.

Barndoors

Folding doors which are mounted on to the front of a light unit in order to control illumination. (Lighting)

Base-to-Base Splice

A splice made with the base side of the end of one piece of film overlapping the base side of the piece to which it is being attached. (Film Editing)

Basis weight:

Weight in pounds of a ream of paper cut to the basic size for its grade.

Bazooka

Similar to a 2K stand, but without support legs. It has a junior hole at one end and a junior stud at the other, and it usually has a sliding riser. (Grip/Lighting)

BCD (binary coded decimal)

A coding system in which each decimal digit from 0 to 9 is represented by four binary (0 or 1) digits.

Beat

A periodic variation of amplitude resulting from the addition of two slightly different frequencies. (Sound)

Beaver Board

A 2K pigeon on an apple box. (Lighting/Grip)

Bed

Background music used underneath a narrator or foreground dialog. Primarily applied to commercial radio or television spots.

Beep

A short duration sound track tone aligned to a point on the film for precise reference in synchronization in the editing and printing processes.

Below the Line

Refers to the technical elements of the production staff. Literally, these are the budget elements that appeared below a bold line on a standard production budget form. (Production)

Beta

Informal name for Betacam, a professional color difference videotape recording format that uses the Y, R-Y, and B-Y color difference components. Also the name of a consumer videotape recording format that is completely different from the professional Betacam format.

Betacam

Portable camera/recorder system using 1/2-inch tape originally developed by Sony. The name may also refer just to the recorder or the interconnect format; Betacam uses a version of the Y, R-Y, B-Y color difference signal set. Betacam is a registered trademark of the Sony Corporation.

Betacam SP

A superior performance version of Betacam. SP uses metal particle tape and a wider bandwidth recording system.

Bin

A reference to a storage container lined with a cloth bag, into which cut film or sound stock may be arranged and hung. In digital audio and video terms, this can be related to a film and/or directory from which stored shots or sound segments are selected for use.

Binary Code

Bind:

To fasten sheets or signatures with wire, thread, glue. or by other means.

Bindery:

The finishing department of a print shop or firm specializing in finishing printed products.

Birefringence

In CDs and other optical discs, it means double refractive ability. It is caused mainly by improper cooling of the substrate during the injection-molding process. In optical applications, substrate birefringence is unwanted, since it interferes with the read function. Users, however, can not determine that it is birefringence that is causing read errors or poor performance of their CD-ROM applications--it is detected by special equipment and tests.

Bit

A minor acting role in which an actor may only speak a few lines.

Bit (binary digit)

The smallest part of information in a binary notation system. A bit is a single one or zero. A group of bits, such as 8 bits or 16 bits, compose a byte. The number of bits in a byte depends upon the processing system being used. Typical byte sizes are 8, 16, and 32.

Bit-map

A bit-mapped image (sometimes known as line-art) contains pixels that are either white or black. There are no levels of grey as in a greyscale image. Typically, bit-mapped images are used for line drawings and logos. If a bit-mapped image is saved in a TIFF format then most DTP packages allow the black areas to be coloured and the white areas to be transparent. This is a quick and convenient way of producing a coloured logo and gives a sharper result than creating a colour image file. The resolution of bit-mapped images, however, must be higher than greyscale or colour images to maintain smoothness on curves and angles. Typically a resolution of 800dpi or higher will give good results.

Black Leader

Opaque film leader used in conforming original film for A and B roll printing. (Film Editing)

Black Wrap

Black Aluminum foil which is used for wrapping lights, to control light spill, and for making small flags. (Grip/Lighting)

Blanket:

The thick rubber mat on a printing press that transfers ink from the plate to paper.

Bleed

To print an item on a page right up to the edge would be very difficult to achieve given that all print presses have a degree a movement as paper passes through. You would inevitably get some pages where there is a small gap between the edge of the image and the edge of the paper, spoiling the effect. To overcome this the image is allowed to extend outside of the page area or 'bleed'. This ensures that the image 'bleeds off' the page even if there is slight movement of the paper. Larger paper is used and cut down to the correct size after printing. The normal allowance for bleed is 3mm, although you should check with your printer in case he requires a different amount.

Bleed:

Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet after trimming.

BLER

Block Error Rate. "raw" digital error rate before any error correction.

Blind embossing:

An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil.

Blip Tone

A sync pop. This is usually done by placing a piece of 'toned' tape on a particular frame of film to establish a 'synch' point. (Film Editing)

Block

Unlike the blocks used in regular magnetic storage devices, in ISO 9660 CD-ROMs, logical blocks are subdivisions of the sectors in the track. But, in most CD-ROM applications, the logical block specified is the same size as the sector being used--which led to the common notion that blocks and sectors are the same thing, and which is not true for all cases. (See, Frame,  Sector)

Blocking

Plotting actor, camera and microphone placement and movement in a production or scene. (Production)

Blonde

An open face 2K lighting unit, also known as a 'mighty'. (Lighting)

Bloop

The sound produced in an energized amplifier and speaker system when a film splice passes the photo cell to which the amplifier is connected.

Blooping

Any method of silencing unwanted noise produced by the passage of a splice through a sound reproducer. Traditionally, a small opaque tape is fixed over a splice. (Post Production)

Blooping Tape

Tape used to cover unwanted portions of sound tracks.

Blow-Up

A film enlargement from a smaller gauge of film to a larger gauge (i.e. 16mm to 35mm).

Blue Book

Released by Philips-Sony (Dec 1955), the Blue Book was also known as the CD-Extra format in what is often considered the Mixed-Mode family (CD-Extra is Sony's trademark for its Blue Book products

Blueline:

A blue photographic proof used to check position of all image elements.

BNC

Bayonet Neill-Concelman. A cable connector used extensively in television named for its inventor.

Board:

Alternate term for mechanical.

Bobbinet

Black mesh cloth which is used for grip scrims. It also is available in rolls for darkening windows. (Grip/Lighting)

Bond & carbon:

Business form with paper and carbon paper.

Bond paper:

Strong durable paper grade used for letterheads and business forms.

Bonding Film

Single and double-layer DVDs require bonding two substrates (0.6mm), which have the recorded pits in the inside face, to make the standard 1.2mm DVD. The bonding materials and technology presented challenges, but experience with LaserDisc and other products served well. (This bonding layer is not the same as the semi-transmissive layer that is placed in between the two coded layers of a double-layer disc--which allows the laser light through.) The bonding methods most used are Hotmelt Adhesive, and Ultraviolet Curing.

Boom

A telescoping arm for a camera or microphone which might be available in a variety of sizes from the very small handheld types to the very large, which might be transported as an integral part of a motor vehicle. (Production)

Bottom Chop

A flag or cutter which is used to keep light off of the floor or the lower part of a scene. (Grip/Lighting)

Box Rental

A fee or allowance paid to a crewmember for providing his/her own equipment or other specialized apparatus for use in a production. (Production)

Branch Holder

A pipe-like unit with a locking nut which is used to hold branches, wooden poles, or other items. (Grip/Lighting)

Break for color:

Also known as a color break. To separate mechanically or by software the parts to be printed in different colors.

Breakdown

The separation of a roll of camera original negative (or in some cases a workprint) into its individual takes or scenes. (Film Editing) Also a very common term which refers to a preproduction function where discrete elements of a script are isolated and noted. (PreProduction)

Breast Line

A guide line attached to anything being hauled up on a crane or by a pulley. (Grip/Lighting)

Bridge

A type of network circuit used to match circuits to each other, ensuring minimum transmission impairment.

Brightness:

The brilliance or reflectance of paper.

Broad

A rectangular open-faced light which is used for general fill or for cyc illumination. (Lighting)

Broadband

Having an essentially uniform response over a wide range of frequencies.

Brute

A brute arc light, usually 225 amps DC powered.

Buffer

A circuit or component which isolates one electrical circuit from another.

Bulk CDs

refers to compact discs with no external packaging

Bulk Eraser

A device which magnetically aligns all of the iron oxide molecules on a magnetic tape or film, thus eliminating any 'sound' on them.

Bulk pack:

Boxing printed product without wrapping or banding.

Bulk:

Thickness of paper stock in thousandths of an inch or number of pages per inch.

BUP File

Backup file in the DVD-Video disc format for the IFO navigation file of a title set. See also DVD Volume.

Burn

To record data to a removable disc. Typically used to record a music playlist to a recordable CD or a video production to a recordable CD or DVD.

Burn:

Exposing a printing plate to high intensity light or placing an image on a printing plate by light.

Burn-in Time Code

A videotape in which a "window" displaying the time code count on the tape is superimposed over part of lhe picture.

Bus

A mixing network that combines the output of two or more channels. (Electronics)

Butt fit:

Printed colors that overlap one row of dots so they appear to butt.

Butt Splice

A film splice in which the film ends come together without overlapping. (Film Editing)

Butt:

Joining images without overlapping.

Button

A selectable option on a DVD menu. Buttons can be graphics, text, thumbnail images, or motion video; with graphical highlighting to indicate the current selection state. See also menu, subpicture stream.

Button per source

A control panel which has a separate button for each source. Also called button per function.

Butt-Weld Splice

A film splice made by joining the two pieces of film, without an overlapping portion, usually by applying both heat and pressure. (Film Editing)

B-Wind

An indication of the emulsion position on a roll of film. A 'B' Wind indicates that the emulsion is facing out, or away, from the center or core of the film roll. (Film Editing)

Bypass relay

A relay used to bypass the normal electrical route in the event of power, signal, or equipment failure.

Bypass switcher

An audio-follow-video switcher usually associated with a master control switcher. Used to bypass the master control switcher output during emergencies, failures, or off-line maintenance.

Byte

A group of data bits which are processed together. Typically, a byte consists of 8, 16, or 32 bits.

 http://www.cddvdnow.com  | http://www.indieartistsalliance.com