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B-Roll
Cutaway shots which are used to cover the visual part of an interview or narration. The term is often used in TV news.
Bidirectional
Microphone pickup pattern whereby sound is absorbed equally from two sides only. [See omnidirectional, unidirectional.]
Black Box
Generic term for wide variety of video image manipulation devices with perceived mysterious or "magical" capabilities, including proc amps, enhancers, SEGs, and TBCs.
Bleeding
Video image imperfection characterized by blurring of color borders; colors spill over defined boundaries, "run" into neighboring areas.
Booming
Camera move above or below subject with aid of a balanced "boom arm," creating sense of floating into or out of a scene. Can combine effects of panning, tilting, and pedding in one fluid movement.
Back Light
Illumination from behind, creates sense of depth by separating foreground subject from background area. Applied erroneously, causes severe silhouetting. [See fill light, key light, three-point lighting.]
Binary Numbers
Binary numbers are a BASE TWO SYSTEM. In this system, any decimal number can be stored as a series of ones and zeros.
Black Burst
A composite color video signal comprised of sync, color burst and black video. Used to synchronize (genlock) other video sources to the same sync and color information. Black burst generators are used in editing systems "lock" the entire facility to a common signal ("house sync" or "house black").
Block
A unit of data comprising of 588 BITS. There are 7350 BLOCKS in each second of information on a Compact Disc.
Burst Error
Consecutive Block Errors. Burst Errors are usually the result of fingerprints, contamination, scratches, or voids, etc. The maximum value of any single burst error must not exceed 5.
Barndoors
Accessory for video lights, two- or four-leaf folding flaps that control light distribution.
Birefringence
A measurement of the stresses within the polycarbonate substrate of a Compact Disc. These stresses are introduced during moulding process. Philip's Red Book states the maximum allowable birefringence is + 100nm. (nanometers).
Black Level
Voltage in a video signal which corresponds to black
BPI
Bits per Inch, usually referring to magnetic tape recording density.
Buy Out
Music or music libraries in which a one-time fee enables the buyer to legally use the music in many productions without paying additional licensing or "needle drop" fees.
Betacam
The most common broadcast quality video format. Also Betacam SP, the enhanced version.
BIT
An abbreviation of BINARY DIGIT. The elementary unit for digital storage. A BIT can be either a 1 (one) or a 0 (zero).
Blanking Level
Also known as the pedestal, it is the voltage level produced at the end of each horizontal picture line which separates the portion of the video signal containing the picture information from the portion containing the synchronizing information. This voltage makes the electron beam "invisible" as it moves to draw the next visible line.
BNC
(bayonet fitting connector) Durable "professional" cable connector, attaches to VCRs for transfer of high-frequency composite video in/out signals. Connects with a push and a twist.
Byte
A unit of digital data comprising eight BITS.
Betamax
The obsolete home video format. Lost the format battle to VHS even though it was slightly superior. The cassette size, however, went on to become BETACAM.
Black a Tape
The process of recording a black burst* signal across the entire length of a tape. Often done before recording edited footage on the tape to give the tape clean, continuous video and sync and to insure there is no video already on the tape.
Blanking Interval (Horizontal & Vertical)
The horizontal blanking interval is the time between the end of one scan line and the beginning of the next. The vertical blanking interval is the time between the end of one video field and the beginning of the next. Blanking occurs when a monitor's electron beam is positioned to start a new line or a new field. The blanking interval is used to instantly reduce the beam's amplitude so that the return trace is invisible. The screen goes blank for a fraction of second. (See VERTICAL INTERVAL SWITCHING)
Boom
An overhead pole device used to position a microphone close to the actors, but out of the shot. A FISHPOLE is the portable version.