ADR refers to re-recording dialogue in a controlled studio environment to replace or enhance audio captured during filming for clarity and sound consistency.
After Effects is Adobe’s motion graphics and visual effects software used to create animations, compositing, and cinematic effects in professional video post-production workflows.
AI video editing uses artificial intelligence to automate tasks like scene detection, color correction, and captioning, improving efficiency and reducing manual editing time.
An alpha channel represents the transparency of information within a video or image, allowing editors to layer multiple visual elements seamlessly in compositing.
Ambient sound includes background audio naturally present in a scene—like wind or city noise—used to enhance realism and depth during sound design.
Animation refers to the process of creating moving images or graphics frame-by-frame, often used in explainer videos, motion graphics, and title sequences.
A-Roll is the primary footage containing the main subject or dialogue, often supported by B-roll for added visual interest or narrative depth.
Aspect ratio describes the width-to-height proportion of a video frame, such as 16:9 for widescreen or 9:16 for vertical mobile content.
Audio ducking automatically lowers background music volume when dialogue or narration occurs, ensuring clear speech and balanced sound across a video.
Audio mixing adjusts and blends multiple sound elements—dialogue, effects, and music—to achieve a balanced and cohesive audio experience in the final edit.
Audio syncing aligns sound and video, so dialogue, effects, and music match visual timing accurately during the editing process.
B-Roll refers to supplemental footage used to support A-roll by providing context, transitions, or visual variety in storytelling.
Batch rendering enables exporting multiple video files or sequences simultaneously, saving time during post-production in software like Adobe Media Encoder.
Bitrate indicates the amount of data processed per second in a video file, influencing visual quality and file size during compression or export.
Bleed refers to extra visual area beyond the intended frame, ensuring no unwanted borders appear after cropping or display adjustments.
A boom mic is a directional microphone mounted on a pole, capturing focused audio from subjects while minimizing ambient noise during video shoots.
Cinematic look describes a stylized visual aesthetic achieved through color grading, depth of field, frame rate, and lighting for film-like quality.
Clipping occurs when brightness or audio levels exceed limits, causing loss of detail in highlights, shadows, or sound peaks during editing.
A clip is a single piece of video or audio media imported into an editing timeline for trimming, arranging, or enhancement.
A close-up focuses tightly on a subject’s face or object, emphasizing emotion, detail, or reaction in visual storytelling.
A codec compresses and decompresses digital video or audio files for storage and playback, commonly used formats include H.264, ProRes, and HEVC.
Color correction adjusts white balance, exposure, and contrast to create natural, balanced visuals before creative color grading.
Color grading enhances or stylizes footage by manipulating tone, contrast, and saturation to establish mood and visual consistency across scenes.
Compositing combines multiple visual elements—live footage, CGI, or graphics—into one cohesive frame to create seamless effects or layered visuals.
Contrast measures the difference between the lightest and darkest parts of an image, influencing visual clarity and depth perception.
Cropping removes unwanted edges from a video frame, helping focus attention on the main subject or correct composition.
Cross dissolve is a transition that gradually fades one clip into another, creating a smooth visual blend between scenes.
A cut is the simplest editing technique where one shot instantly transitions to another, forming the foundation of visual storytelling.
DaVinci Resolve is a professional video editing and color grading software by Blackmagic Design, widely used for advanced post-production workflows.
Depth of field refers to the range of distance in focus within a shot, often used to emphasize a subject and blur the background.
A dialogue track is the audio channel dedicated to recorded speech or conversation, edited separately from effects and background music.
Dynamic range is the difference between the darkest and brightest tones a camera or video file can capture, affecting visual detail quality.
The editing timeline is the workspace in video software where clips, effects, and audio are arranged sequentially to form the final video.
Export settings determine the file format, resolution, frame rate, and bitrate used when rendering or saving the completed video project.
Eyeline match ensures continuity by aligning the viewer’s perspective with a character’s line of sight between consecutive shots during editing.
Fade in is a transition effect where an image or video gradually appears from black or transparent, often used at the beginning of scenes.
Fade out gradually darkens or lightens a video to black or white, signaling the end of a scene or transition to another clip.
Final Cut Pro is Apple’s professional video editing software designed for Mac users, known for advanced editing tools, magnetic timeline, and fast rendering performance.
A frame is a single still image within a video sequence. When displayed in succession, frames create motion, typically 24, 30, or 60 per second.
Frame blending combines adjacent frames to create smoother motion between them, often used when adjusting playback speed or frame rate.
Frame rate refers to the number of frames displayed per second (fps) in a video, affecting smoothness and motion perception.
Freeze frame is an effect that halts motion on a single frame, emphasizing a key moment or creating a dramatic pause.
Gamma correction adjusts midtone brightness levels in a video to ensure consistent contrast and color across different screens and devices.
A gimbal is a handheld stabilizer that keeps a camera steady while moving, reducing shakes and ensuring smooth, cinematic footage.
Green screen, or chroma keying, replaces a solid background (usually green or blue) with another image or video in post-production compositing.
A hard cut is an abrupt transition between two clips with no visual or audio overlap, commonly used for fast-paced storytelling or scene shifts.
Headroom is the space between a subject’s head and the top frame edge, ensuring balanced composition in video shots.
HDR increases video contrast and brightness range, displaying more detail in shadows and highlights for lifelike visual quality.
A histogram is a graphical representation of tonal values in a video frame, helping editors balance exposure and color during correction.
Importing means bringing external media files—video, audio, or graphics—into an editing software project for further manipulation and arrangement.
An in point marks where a video or audio clip starts playing in the editing timeline, used for precise trimming and sequence placement.
Interpolation generates intermediate frames or keyframes to create smooth transitions or motion between two points in animation or video editing.
ISO determines camera sensor sensitivity to light. In video, it affects exposure and noise levels, especially in low-light shooting conditions.
A jump cut is an abrupt transition between two similar shots, used intentionally to create urgency or highlight time passage in editing.
A J-cut allows audio from the next scene to begin before its visual appears, creating smoother, more natural scene transitions.
A keyframe marks the starting or ending point of a change in animation, motion, or effect, controlling how visual properties evolve over time.
An L-cut lets audio from a current scene continue into the next visual sequence, creating a smoother, more natural storytelling transition.
A LUT is a preset file that maps color values, enabling editors to apply specific color grades or cinematic styles consistently across clips.
Lens flare is a bright visual effect caused by light hitting the camera lens, often used stylistically to add realism or drama.
Linear editing is a traditional, tape-based process where video footage is edited in sequence, unlike modern non-linear digital editing systems.
Logo animation involves animating a brand logo using motion graphics or visual effects to create dynamic intros, outros, or promotional visuals.
Looping repeats a video clip or audio segment seamlessly, often used for background animations, GIFs, or continuous playback effects.
Lower thirds are on-screen graphics appearing in the lower area of a frame to display names, titles, or information without distracting from main visuals.
Masking isolates or hides specific areas within a frame using shapes or paths, enabling targeted effects, transitions, or compositing in post-production.
A match cut connects two visually similar shots to create a seamless transition that maintains visual or thematic continuity in storytelling.
Metadata includes descriptive information embedded in video files—like frame rate, codec, and timecode—used for organization, search, and workflow management.
Mixdown is the final step in audio post-production where all sound elements—dialogue, music, and effects—are combined into a single output track.
A mockup video is a sample or prototype version created to visualize concepts, branding, or promotional ideas before full production begins.
A montage compiles a sequence of short clips to show time progression, summarize events, or convey emotion efficiently in storytelling.
Motion blur occurs when fast-moving subjects appear blurred due to slower shutter speeds, often added intentionally for realism or smooth motion.
Motion graphics use animated visual elements—text, icons, and graphics—to communicate information or enhance storytelling in video projects.
Multicam editing syncs and edits footage from multiple camera angles simultaneously, used in interviews, events, and live productions for seamless switching.
Noise reduction removes unwanted visual or audio noise—such as grain or hiss—from footage to achieve cleaner and more professional output.
Non-linear editing allows flexible video editing out of sequence using digital software, enabling easier revisions and faster workflows compared to tape-based methods.
Opacity controls the transparency level of a video or graphic element, allowing editors to blend visuals or overlay effects in compositing.
An overlay is a visual or graphic element placed on top of video footage, often used for branding, effects, or on-screen information.
Overexposure occurs when too much light hits the camera sensor, resulting in overly bright areas that lose detail in video footage.
Overscan refers to the cropped outer edges of a video frame that may not be visible on some displays, requiring safe margin adjustments.
Output format defines the video’s final file type, codec, and resolution—such as MP4, MOV, or AVI—used during exporting for playback or sharing.
An out point marks where a clip ends in the editing timeline, helping define precise trim or cut boundaries in a sequence.
Pan refers to a horizontal camera movement that sweeps across a scene, guiding viewer focus or revealing new information within the frame.
Picture lock marks the final approval stage of video editing where no further visual edits are made before sound design and color correction begin.
Pixel aspect ratio defines the shape of pixels in a video image, influencing how footage displays across different resolutions or screens.
Playback resolution determines how clearly video previews appear within editing software, helping balance real-time performance and visual accuracy during editing.
Post-production encompasses all tasks following filming—editing, sound mixing, visual effects, and color grading—to finalize a professional, ready-to-publish video.
Premiere Pro is Adobe’s professional non-linear editing software used for cutting, assembling, and enhancing videos with effects, audio tools, and color workflows.
The preview window displays real-time playback of edited footage, allowing editors to review changes, timing, and effects before rendering the final video.
A production slate, or clapperboard, identifies each scene and take on set, helping synchronize audio and video during post-production editing.
Proxy editing uses lower-resolution copies of high-quality footage to speed up editing performance, later relinking to full-resolution files for final export.
Rendering converts all visual and audio edits, effects, and transitions into a complete video file ready for export and playback.
Resolution refers to the pixel dimensions of a video frame—such as 1080p, 4K, or 8K—affecting image detail and clarity.
A rough cut is the first assembled version of a video containing arranged clips without final transitions, effects, or color correction.
The rule of thirds divides a frame into nine equal sections, guiding composition by aligning key subjects along the grid lines or intersections.
A scene is a continuous sequence of related shots that occur in one location and time, forming a segment of the video narrative.
A shot list outlines all planned camera angles, takes, and compositions for a shoot, ensuring efficient filming and organized post-production.
Slow motion reduces playback speed, allowing viewers to see fast movements in detail and heighten emotion or drama in a scene.
Split screen displays two or more video sources simultaneously, allowing side-by-side comparisons or parallel storytelling within one frame.
A storyboard visually maps out scenes through sequential sketches or images, helping plan shots, transitions, and pacing before shooting or editing.
The timeline is the main editing workspace where clips, audio, and effects are arranged in sequence to create the final video.
Tracking follows or attaches visual effects, text, or graphics to moving subjects within footage, maintaining realistic motion and spatial consistency.
