Media Editing Terminology
These are some of the terms related to media editing and capturing which are used in this document.
Storyboard
The Storyboard is a graphical representation of the movie, showing the clips in the order that they will play in. Between the clips are transition cells. (You are not required to apply a transition for every scene change.) Effects, music, narration, and text can be added to each clip.
Clips
A video clip is any section of the video that is handled separately by the editor. Auto Movie Creator uses the word "clip" to mean either a scene (a part of a larger video file, divided out during scene detection) or one of the video segments seen in the Storyboard. A clip can also be an entire video file, if an entire file is dragged to the Storyboard.
Media
The media used in Auto Movie Creator are video, audio, and still pictures.
Project
A project contains information about the arrangement of clips, video transitions, video effects, sound, and titles you have added to the Storyboard. A saved project file has a ".amc" file name extension. Saved projects can be re-opened later for additional editing. A project file does not contain actual video or audio, only information about what video and audio to play at what time. To create a playable movie, you must export your project.
Movie
A project that you have finished editing can be made into a movie using the Export feature. You can choose from among several formats.
Transition
A transition takes place whenever one scene in a video is replaced by another. A transition, such as a fade or wipe, can be added at transition points to emphasize the scene change or change the impact of it. Some transition effects (such as Chroma key Color) can also be used to enhance the movie by combining two video clips into a single scene.
Effect
A visual effect changes the appearance of a video clip (or still picture), i.e. a "special effect." In Auto Movie Creator, multiple effects can be added to a single clip.
Media Properties
Video Properties
- Dimensions: The dimensions of a video are the height and width (measured in pixels). For example, a video of 320x240 pixels is 320 pixels wide (width) and 240 pixels tall (height).
- Color Depth: Measured in bits per pixel (bpp), color depth of a video is the amount of color information it stores per pixel. High color videos are typically of 24bpp. The higher the color depth, the more different colors can be used in the picture. Lower color depth (fewer colors) can make pictures and video look "cartoony" and less realistic.
- Frame Rate: Measured in frames per second (fps), frame rate of a video is the number of times the screen is updated per second. Higher frame rates can produce smoother-looking motion on screen. Frame rate is especially important when motion is fast.
- Bit Rate: The bit rate is the amount of information used to represent one second of video. Higher bit rates mean more information is available, so high bit rate video files can store either more frames, larger frames, or more color information (or all three). The effect of this is that higher bit rates produce better looking movies, at the expense of also producing larger files and more demanding downloads.
- Key Frame Rate: The key frame rate of a video is the number of non-key frames that are allowed before a key frame is required. For instance, a key frame rate of 40 means that at least every 40th frame must be a key frame. Higher key frame rates make it easier to "seek" within a video (and therefore easier to edit the video). In general, more key frames will improve quality but produce somewhat larger files.
Audio Properties
- Sample Frequency: The sample frequency is the number of times each second that the audio levels are measured when converting it into a digital file. The higher the sample frequency, the less information is lost, and thus the better the reproduction of the original sound. Sample frequency is usually measured in kilohertz (khz), thousands of samples per second.
- Bit Rate: The bit rate of audio files is the amount of data used to represent each second of audio. Generally higher bit rates mean higher-quality sound reproduction is possible.
- Channels: A file can contain more than one audio "stream". Each is meant to be played over a different speaker. Mono audio files have 1 channel of audio, stereo has 2, and some files contain as many as nine different audio streams.
ASF (Advanced System Format)
ASF is a simple file format designed to stream audio and video across networks. (The original expansion of ASF was "Advanced Streaming Format".) An ASF file that uses Microsoft's Windows Media compression system is called a Windows Media file and uses a different filename extension.
AVI (Audio Video Interleaved)
AVI is a simple file format designed to stream audio and video across networks. (The original expansion of ASF was "Advanced Streaming Format".) An ASF file that uses Microsoft's Windows Media compression system is called a Windows Media file and uses a different filename extension.
Compressor/Codec
Uncompressed video or audio can take up huge amounts of disk space. Using a Compressor/Codec reduces file size but lowers quality. Creating or paying a compressed file requires more computing resources than working with uncompressed media. (Codec="COmpressor/DECompressor)
WMV/WMA (Windows Media Format)
Windows Media Format is a video file format that produces small files designed for streaming over networks. Video files saved in Windows Media Format have the extension WMV (Windows Media Video) and Audio files saved in Windows Media Format have the extension WMA (Windows Media Audio).
Profiles
A Video/Audio Profile describes how to create media files with particular properties. When making Windows Media files, an appropriate profile is selected. Each profile is intended for a particular purpose, and videos made using a profile target a specific audience. Auto Movie Creator can use both built-in and custom-defined profiles.
Capture Devices
Capture Devices are devices connected to your PC that convert video or sound into computer files. Web Cameras (WebCam), DV Cameras, etc. are video capture devices. Microphones and sound cards are audio capture devices. Auto Movie Creator can use and capture from all capture devices.
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