D
 

D connector

A type of connector that has a trapezoidal shell resembling a "D."

D/A converter (digital to analog)

A device that converts digital signals to analog signals.

D1

A component digital videotape recording format that conforms to the specifications set in the CCIR (ITU-R) 601 standard.

D2

An 8-bit composite digital videotape recording format in which the composite video signal is digitized by sampling it at the rate of four times the frequency of subcarrier (4fsc). The 4fsc frequency in NTSC is 14.3 MHz and 17.7 MHz in PAL.

D3

An unofficial term for a composite digital videotape recording format invented by Panasonic.

Dailies

The first positive prints made by the laboratory from the negative photographed on the previous day. It also now refers to video which is transferred from that original negative. (Laboratory)

Dance Floor

A floor built of 3/4 inch plywood which is usually covered with masonite to provide a smooth surface for free-form dollying. (Grip)

DAT

The file type used for video data on a Video CD disc. Contains MPEG-1 video.

DAT

Digital Audio Tape, generally high-quality 4mm magnetic tape in a cassette, with capacities up to over 1 Gigabyte, that has been used in the computer arena mainly as an archival and back-up medium. For CD-ROM, it is used as a transfer medium. For DVD, which deals in gigabytes, DAT has been replaced by Digital Linear Tape (DLT). (See, Transfer Media)

DAT (Digital Audio Tape)

Two-channel digital audio has become increasingly common as a professional master reference and for use in field recording. (Sound)

Data compression

A technique that provides for the transmission or storage, without noticeable information loss, of few data bits than were originally used when the data was created.

data layer

In CD-R, the organic dye sandwiched between the polycarbonate substrate and the metalized reflective layer of the media. CD-Recordable discs do not have any data on them until they are recorded. Instead the recording laser selectively melts "pits" into the dye layer -- but rather than burning holes in the dye, it simply melts it slightly, causing it to become non-translucent so the reading laser beam is refracted rather than reflected back to the reader's sensors. In pressed CDs, the data layer is part of the polycarbonate substrate, and is pressed into the top side of it by a "stamper" during the injection moulding process.

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

A computer-based recording and editing machine used for manipulating sounds. (Sound)

Day Out of Days

A form designating the workdays for various cast or crewmembers of a given production.

dB (decibel)

A measure of voltage, current, or power gain equal to l/10 of a Bel. Given by the equations 20 log Vout/Vin, 20 log Iout/In, or 10 log Pout/Pin.

dBm

A measure of power relative to 1 mW. 0 dBm equals 1 mW.

Dc offset

The amount that the dc component of the signal has shifted from its correct level.

Dead spot

A place in which a sound waves are canceled by reflections arriving out of phase with the wanted signal thus creating an area of silence or poor audibility. (Acoustics)

Dead Sync

An editorial term meaning that sound and picture elements are perfectly aligned. (Film Editing)

Deal Memo

A form which lists the pertinent details of salary, guaranteed conditions, and other essentials of a work agreement negotiated between a member of the cast or crew and a production company.

Decoder

The device which reads the enclosed signal or pulse and turns it into some form of usable information.

Deep Focus

A style of cinematography and staging that uses relatively wide angle lenses and small lens apertures by maintaining objects in the extreme background and foreground simultaneously focused. (Cinematography)

Degausser

A device used to erase recordings on magnetic tapes and films or to demagnetize magnetic recording heads.

Delay

The time required for a signal to pass through a device or conductor.

Demodulator

A circuit that demodulates or decodes the desired signal from amplitude and/or frequency modulation present on a carrier wave.

Demultiplexer (demux)

A device used to separate two or more signals that were previously combined by a compatible multiplexer and are transmitted over a single channel.

Densitometer:

A quality control devise to measure the density of printing ink.

Density

A factor which indicates the light-stopping power of a photographic image.

Density:

The degree of color or darkness of an image or photograph.

Depth of Field

The amount of space within lens view which will maintain acceptable focus at given settings (i.e. camera speed, film speed, lens aperture). (Cinematography)

Deuce

A 2K fresnel lighting unit. (Lighting)

Developing

The chemical process which converts a photographic exposure into a visible image. (Laboratory)

DGA

Director's Guild of America. A union which represents directors, assistant directors, production managers, and various video personnel.

Dialogue track

A sound track which carries lip sync speech. (Sound)

Diazo:

A light sensitive coating used on printing plates.

Die cutting:

Curing images in or out of paper.

Die:

Metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process.

Differential dc

Maximum dc voltage that can be applied between the differential inputs of an amplifier while maintaining linear operation.

Differential gain

A change in subcarrier amplitude of a video signal caused by a change in luminance level of the signal. The resulting TV picture will show a change in color saturation caused by a simultaneous change in picture brightness.

Differential looping input

A video input port that allows the signal to be looped through to another input.

Differential Rewind

A device designed to permit simultaneous winding of film on more than one reel at a time even though the diameters of the rolls are unequal. (Film Editing)

Digital

A reference to a system whereby a continuously variable analog signal is reduced and encoded into discrete binary bits that establish a mathematical model of an original signal or other information.

Digital

Circuitry in which data carrying signals are restricted to either of two voltage levels, corresponding to logic 1 or 0. A circuit which has two stable states: high or low, on or off.

Digital Linear Tape

DLT is the preferred or prescribed transfer or input medium-- so that the client's application or title (magnetic) can be input to the Laser Beam Recorder (LBR) at DVD-Video and DVD-ROM mastering and replication plants.

Digital Recording

A method of recording in which samples of the original analog signal are encoded on tape or disk as binary information for storage or processing. The signal can then be copied repeatedly with no degradation. (Sound)

Digital Versatile Disc

DVD - Also known as Digital Video Disc

Digitization

Digitization generally refers to the process of converting data and information (in paper, analog sound tracks, graphics, etc..) into binary coded files for use in computers. Text can be keystroked or OCR'd, graphics are scanned, analog video signals are digitized, sound is sampled and quantized, and so on.

Dimmer

A device for varying power to the lights. (Lighting)

Dingle

Branches which are placed in front of a light as a cookie would to cut the light and provide a shadow pattern. (Grip/Lighting)

DIP switch

Dual in-line package switch. A PC module mounted switch package of dual inline style, typically mounting from two to eight switches and used in such functions as mode assignment and address selection.

Direct Cut

This process, essentially, 'masters' a 'DVD one-off' on glass substrate. Generally, this is done for testing and demonstrations. A Direct Cut disc can not be used to produce the metal stampers for replication.

Directional Characteristic

The variation in response or perception for different angles of sound incidence. (Acoustics)

Disc

Term commonly used to refer to optical storage devices such as DVD and CD. See also disk.

Disc Format

CD-Recordable and CD-Rewritable discs implement physical formatting to add functionality to the encoding technology. The format options were basic for developing the multiread specifications (for CD-ROM pressed discs, CD-R, CD-RW, and specially for DVD), and they can be: a) Land and Groove Technology (Toshiba), used for CLV Phase Change discs (uses a caddy to prevent damage to timing information in the formatted tracks), b) Wobbled Pre-Groove (Sony), used for CD-R and CD-RW, generally implements CLV for write-once (as in CD-R), and CAV for CD-RW discs, and c) Land and Groove with Continuous Wobbled Signal (Hitachi), also backed by Toshiba, seemed to be a compromise option.

Disc Image

A single file that contains the data for a complete DVD production. A disc image can be burned very efficiently to a DVD disc because it is in exactly the format that the data will be stored on a DVD. The disc image can be recorded directly to DVD to create the proper data structures and DVD volume directories. It also can be transferred to DLT tape be used at a replication facility to manufacture multiple copies of the disc. See also format.

Disk

disk -- Term commonly used to refer to magnetic storage devices such as hard disks. See also disc.

Dissolve

A transition between two scenes where the first merges imperceptibly into the second. (Film/Video)

Distortion

A modification of the original signal appearing in the output of audio equipment which had not been present in the input. (Audio)

Distribution amplifier (DA)

A device used to replicate an input signal, typically providing 6 outputs, each of which is identical to the input. May also include delay and/or cable equalization capabilities.

DLT

 Acronym for Digital Linear Tape. A half-inch magnetic tape format used extensively for computer file backup and retrieval. Commonly used for transferring premastered DVD productions to a replication facility for manufacturing.

Dolby Digital

Also called AC-3. Multichannel surround-sound audio encoding, used for cinemas and the home. Supports one to five full-range channels, plus a Low-Frequency Effects (LFE) channel for carrying low bass sounds. The five channels are Front Left, Front Center, Front Right, Left Surround, and Right Surround. Full surround-sound Dolby Digital is referred to as "5.1," for these five channels plus ".1" for the low-frequency channel. DVD-Video discs for NTSC are required to provide at least one Dolby Digital or PCM audio track. PAL/SECAM discs are required to provide at least one Dolby Digital, PCM, or MPEG-2 audio track. Discs may also have a separate stereo track, or DVD players can downmix a surround-sound signal to stereo. See also Dolby Headphone, Dolby Surround, DTS, SDDS, virtual surround sound.

Dolby Digital

This is a 5.1 channel digital film format that if optically recorded on to a film release print in the blocks of space located between the film's sprocket holes. (Sound)

Dolby Headphone

Dolby Headphone -- Audio signal processing that allows conventional stereo headphones to create a surround-sound effect. See also Dolby Digital, virtual surround sound.

Dolby SR

Spectral Recording. An encoding/decoding noise reduction system developed by Dolby Laboratories and used increasingly in film sound.

Dolby Surround

Dolby Surround -- A method of processing audio to achieve four-channel surround sound with conventional analog audio signals. The signal sounds like normal stereo, with left and right channels when played back through a conventional stereo system. When played through an audio system equipped with a Dolby Surround Pro Logic decoder, it extracts the two additional channels, center and surround. See also Dolby Digital, virtual surround sound.

Dolby Surround Pro Logic

The technology that decodes program material encoded in Dolby Surround format.

Dolly Shot

Any shot made from a moving dolly. These may also be called tracking or traveling shots. (Production)

Doorway Dolly

A plywood dolly with four soft tires which is narrow enough to fit through a doorway. It is used to carry a camera on a tripod or for transporting other heavy items. (Grip)

Dot gain or spread:

A term used to explain the difference in size between the dot on film v paper.

Dot:

An element of halftones. Using a loupe you will see that printed pictures are made many dots.

Dots

Small nets and flags used to control light. (Grip/Lighting)

Double burn:

Exposing a plate to multiple images.

Double Sided Disc

 A DVD disc with both sides used for data storage (unlike a manufactured DVD-Video or CD Audio disc with one side used for the label). Often used to distribute two versions of a commercial movie, with a widescreen version on one side and a standard 4:3 aspect ration on the other. With both sides, the storage capacity doubles from 4.7 to 9.4GB (actually billion bytes). Also called DVD-10. See also dual-layer disc.

Double-System Sound

Sound and picture on separate transports. This refers to the normal methodology of recording the picture on a camera while recording sound of a separate magnetic tape recorder. (Film)

Downmix

To convert from a multichannel audio program to fewer channels. For viewers who not have a surround-sound audio system, DVD players can downmix the DVD soundtrack to two-channel analog stereo, so the DVD can be played on a television or stereo system.

DPI

Dots Per Inch (dpi) defines the size of the pixels that determine the resolution of a digital image.

Draw-down:

A sample of ink and paper used to evaluate ink colors.

Drift

Flutter which occurs at random rates. (Acoustics)

Drop Frame

American system of time code generation that adjusts the generated data every minute to compensate for the spread of the NTSC television system running at 29.97 frames per second.

Drop Out

Loss of a portion of a signal, usually due to a loss of a tape's oxide coating or due to dirt or grease covering a portion of a tape.

Drop-In

The process of inserting recorded audio by playing up to a chosen point and switching from playback to record mode. (Video/Audio)

Drop-out:

Portions of artwork that do not print.

DTS

 Acronym for Digital Theater Systems. A surround-sound audio system used in many movie theaters. An optional format for DVD-Video that requires a separate decoder. See also Dolby Digital, PCM.

DTS

This is a film sound system which utilizes a CD-ROM disc which is sychronized to film by means of timecode which is optically encoded into the exhibition film print. (Sound)

Dual Layer Disc

A DVD disc with two layers of data on a side, accessed by refocusing the laser beam through the top layer to read the second layer. Often used to distribute a commercial title that is too long for a single-sided DVD while avoiding the need to continue the movie on a second disc. With the second layer, the storage capacity almost doubles from 4.7 to 8.5GB (actually billion bytes). Also called DVD-9. See also double-sided disc.

Dub

To make a taped copy of any progam source record, CD, tape. Also, the copy itself. Sometimes used to refer to the ADR process. (Audio/Video)

Dub Stage

Term generally used in California but to refer to the room where the final audio mix is made for a program or film. It might also be known as a mix stage.

Dubber

A high quality sound reproducer which is mixed with outputs from other dubbers that are generally loaded with sprocketed magnetic film. (Post Production)

Dubbing

An actor's voice synchronization with lip movements which are not the originally recorded sound. This is used to replace unusable dialogue or recordings, and also used to prepare foreign films for new markets. (Post Production)

Dummy:

A rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size.

Duotone:

A halftone picture made up of two printed colors.

Dupe

A copy of a negative. Short for duplicate negative.

Duplication

To record a small quantity of DVD (and CD) discs using a dedicated recorder. See also replication.

Dutch Angle

This is the process where a camera is angled so that the horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon. (Production)

Duvetyne

A heavy black cloth, treated with fire proofing material, which is used for blacking out windows, making teasers, hiding cables, and hundreds of other uses. (Grip)

DVD

 Originally an acronym for Digital Versatile Disc (or Digital Video Disc). A family of optical disc formats used both for prerecorded content, especially movies, and as recordable media for consumer devices and computers (that is, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM). A family of data format standards for video, audio, and data storage (that is, DVD-Video and DVD-Audio) for consumer electronics products and computers. DVD discs are the same diameter as CD discs (120mm. or 12 cm, in diameter), and most formats hold 4.7GB (actually billion bytes) of data on a side. A smaller size mini-DVD disc is also used, especially in camcorders.

DVD Authoring

The process of creating a DVD production. This involves designing the overall navigational structure; preparing the multimedia assets (video, audio, images); designing the graphical look; laying out the assets into tracks, streams, and chapters; designing interactive menus; linking the elements into the navigational structure; and building the final production to write to DVD, CD, hard disk, or tape. Consumer DVD Authoring software applications automate much of this process, including compressing the input files into DVD formats and laying out menus with buttons linking to the assets. More professional DVD Authoring tools separate the asset encoding and premastering steps, and provide more control over the DVD design - including button highlights and programmable scripts with navigation commands.

DVD on CD

DVD on CD -- A CD disc containing a DVD-format directory (VIDEO_TS) and files. Storing the contents of a DVD disc on a CD provides a convenient and less-expensive way to share a short DVD production (about 18 minutes at reasonable quality). DVD on CD discs can be played on a computer with DVD player software, but typically do not play on set-top DVD players. To make these discs more universally playable on any computer, some DVD authoring tools provide the option to include a DVD player software application on the CD disc. See also Video CD.

DVD Player

DVD player -- Either a consumer electronics hardware product designed to connect to a television set to play back DVD movies (a set-top DVD player) or a computer software application that plays DVD movies from a computer DVD drive (a DVD player application). See also DVD recorder.

DVD Recorder

A consumer electronics hardware product that acts like a digital VCR. Records television programming and/or input video (such as from a camcorder) to DVD disc. Some DVD Authoring computer software applications also can record directly from video input to a DVD drive. See also set-top DVD player.

DVD Volume

The DVD disc directory structure and files. You can create a DVD Volume on hard disk to play and test a project with a DVD player software application or burn the same files to a DVD disc. The DVD Volume is stored under a VIDEO_TS directory for the DVD-Video format. It includes Video Object (VOB) files with the actual multimedia data, video and audio; plus associated navigation information (IFO) and backup (BUP) files that describe their contents. These files are created for each Video Title Set (VTS), with the data split into multiple VOB files so that each file is no larger than 1GB. See also layout.

DVD+R

 Alternate DVD - Recordable write-once format developed by the DVD+RW Alliance. See also DVD-R, DVD+RW.

DVD+RW

Alternate DVD ReWritable format developed by the DVD+RW Alliance. Intended to replace the capabilities of DVD-RW and DVD-RAM and also provide higher compatibility with set-top players. See also DVD+R, DVD-RW.

DVD-10

Double-sided DVD disc format, with a storage capacity of 9.4GB (actually billion bytes).

DVD-5

 Single-sized DVD disc format, with a storage capacity of 4.7GB (actually billion bytes).

DVD-9

Dual-layer DVD disc format, with a storage capacity of 8.5GB (actually billion bytes).

DVD-Audio

A DVD Forum-defined format for high-quality surround-sound audio. Also supports optional text, images, video, and menus. Manufactured or packaged with a version of the album in DVD-Video format. Currently designed for audiophiles, and not supported in many DVD players. See also DVD-Video, SACD.

DVD-R

 DVD Recordable. The DVD Forum-defined write-once DVD format. Because the data cannot be erased, the DVD-R is useful for making permanent backups. Recordable discs are more compatible with set-top DVD players than rewritable discs. See also DVD-R for Authoring, DVD-R for General, DVD+R, DVD-RW.

DVD-RAM

DVD Random-Access Memory. The DVD Forum-defined, random-access DVD data format. Designed for data storage applications, with the capability to be accessed like a hard disk by reading and writing randomly, and with built-in error correction and defect management. Whereas DVD-RW discs can be overwritten 1000 times, DVD-RAM is designed to be written more than 100,000 times. See also DVD-R, DVD-RW.

DVD-ROM

DVD Read-Only Memory. The DVD Forum-defined, read-only DVD format. Used for prerecorded audio and data. Also the computer-readable content on a DVD-Video disc. See also DVD-R.

DVD-RW

DVD ReWritable. The DVD Forum-defined, re-recordable DVD format. Like CD-RW, rewritable discs can be reused, but are more expensive than recordable, and are less compatible with set-top players. See also DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM.

DVD-Video

A DVD Forum-defined format for movies on DVD, including high-quality video and surround-sound audio; interactive navigation with menus and programmable control; and multilanguage and alternate viewing support with multiple video, audio, and subtitle streams. See also DVD-Audio, DVD-ROM.

Dylux:

Photographic paper made by DuPont and used for bluelines.

Dynamic Distortion

Alteration of volume range of a sound when it is transmitted. (Acoustics)

Dynamic Range

The difference in decibels between the loudest and quietest portions of audio. (Sound)

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