DVB-Camera Basics v2

MassArt Professional and Continuing Education 

Documentary Video Boot Camp 

Video Camera Basics 

Thrown together by David Tamés, david@kino-eye.com 

from various sources (see acknowledgement section) 

Panasonic DVX 100B Digital Camcorder 

We’ll be using the Panasonic DVX 100B, a Mini-DV 

camera with many advanced features that were 

not so long ago only available on high-end 

cameras. These features include true 24P, a spot 

meter, cine gamma, scene le controls, a smooth 

servo zoom, etc. 

This camera is a good learning tool, since it has 

many settings and capabilities in common with 

higher end cameras like the Panasonic HVX200, 

HPX170, which are High Denition follow-ups to 

the DVX with very similar operation, so much of 

what you learn using this camera is applicable to 

other cameras as well. 

The DVX is special among prosumer camcorders 

in that it was the rst to support true 24 frame per 

second progressive video and can be congured 

to produce a look that resembles the soft, creamy 

look of lm. Even though it’s not a high denition 

camera, the DVX holds it’s own as one of the best 

standard denition cameras ever made. Many 

lmmakers have used the DVX100 to give their 

lms a lm look on a video budget. Some 

examples include: Acoustics: The Modernism of 

Julius Shulman (2008); Beyond Belief (2007); A 

Scanner Darkly (2006, processed through 

Rotoshop); The Road to Guantanamo (2006); Iraq 

in Fragments (2006); Murderball (2005); Al Otro 

Lado (2005); and Four Eyed Monsters (2005). 

What’s in the camera bag? 

When you check out a DVX 100B from MassArt 

Audio Visual Services, you get a complete kit: the 

camera, a manual, a charger/power adapter (for 

charging the battery or powering the camera 

using a wall outlet), A/C cable for the charger/ 

power adapter, a cable that connects from the 

charger/power adapter to the camera, a short 

shogun microphone, a foam windscreen, 

headphones, and two batteries. 

Using the camera for the rst time 

1. The rst thing you want to do is take the 

camera out of the bag and check it to make sure 

there is nothing obviously wrong with it. Note: 

That clacking noise you hear when you move the 

camera around when it’s turned off is a 

component of the the image stabilization system, 

there’s nothing wrong with the camera. Turn it on 

and the clicking goes away. 

2. Next you will want to insert the battery (you 

push it into place and then slide down to lock) 

and turn the camera on. Push the white button 

while sliding the on/off switch to turn on the 

camera. 

3. Insert Tape. To do this press the blue eject 

button located on the camera. Don’t forget to 

label your tape.

4. Push the “Auto” button to switch to auto 

recording mode. The Camera controls the 

following settings when in auto mode: Focus; Iris; 

Gain; and White Balance. 

5. Make sure that the inputs are on the right 

settings depending if you are using an external 

microphone or other source or using the internal 

microphones. Set Mic/Line switch on the front 

when using external audio source. When using 

external microphones that require phantom 

power, set the MIC POWER switches to ON. 

Set routing of Ch1 and Ch2 audio on the side of 

the camera (you can choose INT mic or EXT input 

to be fed into Ch1 and Ch2. If you are starting out 

using the camera mic, then make sure that that 

Ch. 1 audio is set to INT(L) and Ch. 2 audio is set to 

INT(R), otherwise, you will typically set this to 

route Input 1 to Ch. 1 ( Left ) and Input 2 to Ch. 2 

(Right). 

6. Check and adjust your audio levels. One or two 

red squares once in a while is OK. Several most of 

the time, too loud. But at the same time you want 

to see lots of white lines for a strong enough 

signal, otherwise your audio will be lost in the 

“noise oor.” When you see six (like Ch1 above) 

you’ve hit the digital “brick wall.” The DVX has a 

Limiter instead of Automatic Gain Control, so 

even on automatic you have to set the audio 

levels. This results in better sound, so it’s worth 

the effort. You will not hear the “pumping” or 

“breathing” you hear with the Automatic Gain 

Control common on other cameras. Make sure 

that the limiter is not disabled in the menu (see 

manual). 

Documentary Video Boot Camp Camera Basics v.2 Page 2 / 22

7. Monitor audio with 

headphones. These plug into 

the back of the camera. 

Monitor volume control is 

above the microphone 

switches on the side 

panel. 

8. Begin shooting by 

pressing the red record 

button. The red “REC” 

indicator on the LCD will conrm you’re actually 

recording. Stop shooting by 

pressing the red button again. 

Additional tips 

1. To zoom in and out use the 

toggle located near where the 

tape is loaded. If this does not 

affect the zoom, check the the 

“Manual / Servo” switch located on the front of 

the camera. Never move the zoom ring manually 

when the switch is set to “Servo” as it may 

damage the internal gears. 

2. Never point the camera directly into the sun. 

3. Use the ND Filter when lming outside on 

bright sunny days. You want to avoid shooting at 

small apertures like 11 or 16, so the ND comes in 

handy. 

4. Consider using outlet power when available, 

unless you’re mobile and need to use the battery. 

5. Use a tripod, or another camera stabilization 

device when possible to stabilize your shooting. 

If shooting hand-held, use the Optical Image 

Stabilization (OIS), the button for turing this on 

and off is on the side panel of the camera. When 

using a tripod, turn the OIS off. 

6. Avoid time code breaks: make sure to overlap 

with the previous video clip a little bit. If the time 

code number has gone back to zero, you can use 

the Rec Check button to go back and play a little 

bit of the previous shot which will then stop on 

the last frame of recorded video. If Rec Check 

does not work, you might have to go into play 

mode (on the back of the camera there’s a 

“Camera” / “VCR” button that toggles between 

Camera mode and VCR mode) and back up a little 

bit and play and then stop before the end of the 

clip to make sure it’s overlapping a little bit. The 

camera picks up the time code from the video 

recorded on the last frame of the previous shot. 

Adjustments Overview 

The things we are mostly concerned with when 

we’re adjusting things on the camera are: 

• Focus adjustment 

• Focal Length adjustment 

• Iris adjustment 

• Gain Setting 

• ND Setting 

• White Balance Setting 

• Set the Frame rate option (60i, 30P, 24P, 24PA) 

• Set the Aspect Ratio option (4x3 or 16x9) 

• Shutter speed setting (slow shutter, fast 

shutter) 

• Choose the Scene Settings (gamma, matrix, 

master pedestal, etc.) for a particular look. 

Primary Camera Functions 

White Balance 

A-B-PRESET: When switched into the A position, 

the camera stores the last setting in this storage 

bank – as is the same for the B switch when in 

position. This unique feature allows for two 

custom stored settings in the event of a multiple 

lighted shooting conditions. For instance: You 

may want to set and store and outdoor setting in 

A and then set and store an indoor setting in B in 

the event of needing to switch from indoor to 

outdoor during a shoot. The Preset switch is used 


DVX100 Focus conversion chart (compiled by Eric Petersen) 

50% 3' 10" 59% 4' 10" 68% 6' 6" 77% 10' 86% 22' 9" 

51% 3' 11" 60% 4' 11.5" 69% 6' 9" 78% 10' 8" 87% 26' 6" 

52% 4' 61% 5' 70% 7' 79% 11' 6" 88% 31' 10" 

53% 4' 1" 62% 5' 2" 71% 7' 4" 80% 12' 4" 89% 39' 9" 

54% 4' 2.5" 63% 5' 4" 72% 7' 8" 81% 13' 4" 90% 52' 11" 

55% 4' 4" 64% 5' 6" 73% 8' 82% 14' 7" 91% 79' 5" 

56% 4' 5" 65% 5' 9.5" 74% 8' 6" 83% 16' 92% 160' 8" 

57% 4' 6.5" 66% 6' 75% 9' 84% 17' 9" 93% inf 

58% 4' 8" 67% 6' 3" 76% 9' 6" 85% 19' 11" 

in conjunction with the AWB Button. When the 

white balance switch is on PRST you can push the 

AWB Button to switch between two presets: 

• 3200K incandescent light, indoor. 

• 5200K typical daylight, outdoors. 

AWB Button 

Sets the white balance. The AWB button is in front 

of the camera. When this button is pushed while 

the white balance switch is in the A or B position, 

the white balance is automatically adjusted. The 

white balance value is then stored in the memory. 

When the AWB is pressed while the white balance 

switch is in the Preset position, the current white 

balance value is displayed. It 

also allows you to toggle 

between the Daylight and 

Tungsten settings while in 

Preset. 

ND Filter 

This can be considered sunglasses for the camera. 

The ND lter is used outside when it’s sunny or 

even when it’s cloudy there are two settings: 1/8 

& 1/64. 

Focus Switch and Button 

Auto, Manual, Push: Use Push in the manual 

position to quickly establish the focus setting and 

still maintain manual control. Be 

aware that the auto focus is slow, 

so you’ll want to hold this in for 

several seconds as the camera 

seeks to the new focus setting. 

Focus Ring 

Manually controls the focus. The 

distance is displayed in the 

viewnder as a number. To translate this curious 

number only an engineer can appreciate to feet 

and inches preferred by most humans, use the 

conversion chart on this page. 

Zoom Control 

Servo control of the zoom is provided by this 

rocker switch on the camera above the tape 

compartment. Notice you can press it a little for a 

slow zoom and press it further for a faster zoom. 

The Zoom Servo/Manual switch on the front of 


the camera needs to be set to Servo for this 

rocker switch to work. 

Zoom Ring 

Switch the camera to MANUAL before doing 

manual zoom by hand. See Zoom Servo/Manual 

below. 

Iris Button 

When the Iris button is 

pressed, it toggles 

between the auto iris and 

manual iris modes. 

Iris Dial 

This is used to adjust the lens iris. It can be used in 

both the manual and auto setting. (See Iris Dial 

item in the menu under SW mode) 

Secondary Camera Functions 

Handle Zoom 1 2 3 

These are the speed 

settings for the handle 

zoom. This zoom is 

different from the other 

zoom because it is not 

pressure sensitive. In the 

menu of the camera the 

speed can be set to Low- 

Medium-High or Low-Off- 

High. 

Zoom Servo/Manual 

Use to choose auto zoom 

(controlled by the zoom buttons) or manual zoom 

(controlled manually by the zoom ring). Make 

sure to set the MANUAL/AUTO switch at the front 

of the camera to MANUAL before manually 

adjusting zoom. 

EVF DTN End Search Button 

This button can be set to search for blank tape or 

the last shot in the playback mode 

Counter - Reset Buttons 

This button is used to reset the counter value on 

the counter display and memory counter value to 

zero, not time code 

Mode CHK Button 

Use this button to check the current status of the 

camera in the Viewnder or LCD monitor. 

OIS 

The Optical Image Stabilization is used to set the 

camera shake compensation to on or off. In other 

terms this make the picture steadier when you are 

lming hand held. Avoid this setting when using 

a tripod. 

Zebra 

When turned on this can tell you when you are 

overexposing your shot, a zebra-like pattern will 

appear over the overexposed area. This button 

can be set for Zebra 1 = 80%, Zebra 2=100% (See 

Set Up mode in Menu to change the value of the 

Zebra). Pushing on the Zebra button takes you 

through the settings, Zebra 1, Zebra 2, Marker On, 

Marker Off. 

Shutter & Speed Sel Button 

Press the shutter button to change the speed 

then press the Speed-Sel button to set the speed. 


Record Check 

Is used to view 2 seconds 

of the last recording, 

from with in the shooting 

pause mode. The 

recorder will reposition at 

the pause point of that 

most recent recording. 

User Buttons 

User 1,2, and 3: The setting options for the user 

buttons are in the menu under SW Mode. There 

are eleven functions that can be allotted to the 

user buttons for special shooting conditions or 

effects. 

VCR/Record 

Button 

When these two 

buttons are pressed 

at the same time in 

the VCR mode the 

camera can be used 

as a VTR. 

Audio Functions 

Audio Mon/Var Buttons 

Use these buttons to adjust the volume of the 

built in monitor or headphones connected to the 

camera. 

Audio Control Dials 

These dials control the audio recording level. 

Refer to the level readout (discussed later) and 

listen with headphones for the best results. 

Other Goodies 

Cold Shoe (a.k.a. accessory shoe) 

Used to mount a light, microphone, wireless 

receiver, or other gear. 

Tally Lamp 

A light that alerts you when you are recording or 

in some cases when the battery is running low. 

There is a lamp in the front and rear of the 

camera. These lights can also be turned off from 

the Menu – Other Functions – Rec. Lamp. 

Tripod Socket 

The camera has a standard 1/4-20 (1/4" diameter, 

20 threads per inch) socket for attachment to a 

tripod. This can also be used for attaching the 

camera to custom made mounts. You can nd 

compatible bolts at most any hardware store. 

Make sure that any bolt you get is not too long, 

you don’t want the bolt to bottom out in the 

threaded socket and risk damaging the socket or 

camera. 

Lens and Lens Shade 

Always keep the lens clean. If you need to clean 

the lens, apply a drop of lens uid and then clean 

gently with a crumpled piece of lens tissue. Never 

press on the lens while cleaning, as a small grain 

of dirt could easily scratch the lens. If you’re not 

condent with lens cleaning, ask someone with 

experience to show you how to do it. 


The lens shade is removable (loosen the screw on 

the side an then turn gently, the lens shade 

attaches via a bayonet mount). 

Menu Functions 

The only reason to go into the menu is for 

changes in the functionality of the camera. There 

is no need to use the menu for basic shooting if 

you are happy with the camera defaults or how it 

was set up before you started using it. However, if 

someone was in the menus messing around, they 

have have set things you don’t want. This is the 

joy of a prosumer cameras, so many settings to 

mess you up (or give you creative options). 

If the camera is ever functioning in a manner 

inconsistent with this handout, it’s possible that 

there’s a menu setting that has been changed. 

Consult the user’s manual for specic details on 

adjusting the various menu settings. 

Menu 

The VCR controls double as menu controls 

depending on the mode. Push the pause button 

and left/right arrows for menu setting changes. 

Menu Options 

Camera Mode 

1. Scene File (changes with scene le dial on back 

of camera) 

2. Camera Setup 

3. SW Mode 

4. Auto SW 

5. Record Setup 

6. Display Setup 

7. Other Functions 

VCR mode 

1. Playback Functions 

2. Recording Setup 

3. AV In/Out Setup 

4. Display Setup 

5. Other Functions 

Scene File Settings 

Scene le dial 

This dial has setting designed for various shooting 

conditions. When shooting the needed le can be 

quickly loaded using this dial. (see the menu for 

Scene le mode options.) 

Scene File Dial Settings 

F1. Scene: Standard Settings (start with this one) 

F2. Scene Flou: Indoor shooting under uorescent 

lights 

F3. Scene Spark: Events increase color and detail 

F4. Scene B-STR: Enhanced gradation in dark 

areas of sunset shots 

F5. Scene 24p: 24p mode + Cine-Like gamma (use 

this one for a more lm-like look, be aware you’ll 

have 3-2 pulldown embedded in your video, if 

you’re not sure what this means, start with F1). 

F6. Scene Advance: Advanced 24p mode (only 

used 24pA if you know why you want to use it 

and are aware of the post-production issues 

associated with it, so start off using F1 or F5 until 

you have a specic need for 24pA.) Don’t use this 

scene le setting if you’re editing with Final Cut 

Express or another editing system that does not 

support 24p advanced (24pA). 

Recommended Settings 

For starting out, simply use one of the preset 

Scene File Settings mentioned above. However, if 

you want a nice creamy lm-look or your own 

custom look, you can adjust the camera settings 


to your liking. These are the settings I like using 

with the DVX100: 

• Vertical Detail Frequency: Thin [See Note 1] 

• Vertical Detail: 0 

• Detail: -3 [See Note 2] 

• Detail Coring: 0 [See Note 3] 

• Skin Detail: Off 

• Chroma: 0 

• Phase: +3 

• Gamma: Cine Gamma 

• Matrix: Cine Look 

• Master Pedestal: -3 to -6 

• Format: 4:3 or 16:9 LETTERBOX [See Note 4] 

• Time Code: Record Run 

• First Record: Preset (set Tape #) 

• Shutter Speed: 1/48 [See Note 5] 

• Exposure: Use spot meter (”Marker”) in 

camera, highlights with some textural detail 

at 90%, “middle grey” ay 45-55%, dark areas 

with textural detail at 10-15% 

• Mode/Frame Rate: 24P (or 24P Advanced if 

you are using it with a good reason to be 

using it) [See Note 6] 

Start by resetting all camera settings to their 

default values, then set your scene settings and 

then name and save them into one of the camera 

scene les. Double check settings each time you 

insert a new tape or power-up the camera. These 

settings are a starting point, you should do your 

own testing and establish the look appropriate for 

your project. Refer to your DVX-100 User Manual 

and Barry Green’s most excellent DVX Book and 

DVD (links below) for more details. 

Notes on these settings 

1: Vertical Detail Frequency. If you are intending 

to do a video to lm transfer, up-convert to HD, or 

plan to project at festivals and other venues that 

are using 720P projectors, use the Thin setting. 

This provides the full 480 lines of vertical 

resolution the DVX is capable of and yields a 

better image when the SD video is up-converted 

(start with the sharpest and best image you can). 

The problem is that most television monitors are 

interlaced and thus can’t handle the high 

resolution, so you see what’s called line twitter (as 

a result of interlacing), but if you’re using a 

progressive display, projector, going out to lm, 

or able to do post-processing in post production, 

it’s the way to go. The Mid setting brings the 

vertical detail down to about 400 lines reducing 

the twitter artifacts on an interlaced display. The 

Thick setting offers about 360 lines without any 

artifacts and ideal for material intended for SD 

broadcast. You will notice the twitter effects of 

the Thin setting when looking at a scene with lots 

of ne detail on an interlaced display. Another 

alternative is to shoot with the Thin setting and 

process the video in post to lower the resolution if 

you need material for both up-conversion to HD 

an SD. 

2: Detail. Detail enhances edges, too much and 

the image starts to look electronic and articial, 

like oh too many bad wedding videos. Leave off 

unless you have a specic need for it. A slightly 

softer image is part of the lm look. Exaggerated 

edge detail is part of the video look. 

3: Detail Coring. When you enhance detail, you 

add noise, especially in the shadows. Detail 

Coring reduces the added noise. 

4: Aspect Ratio. Shooting 4:3 of 16:9 letterboxed 

within the 4:3 frame assures it plays on every TV, if 

you choose squeeze, you limit your screening to 

televisions and projectors capable of 16:9, which 

is not yet universal, also, some experts suggest 

even if you want squeeze, the scalers you can use 

in post will do a better job than the scaler built 

into the camera for creating a squeezed 16:9 

version. Shoot 4:3 with vertical detail set to thin 

and you will get the best up-convert to 16:9 HD or 

lm out possible. And while it’s more work to do 

the squeeze in post, the creative advantage is you 

can correct framing slightly up or down in post, 

so you might even consider shooting 4:3 even if 

your nal destination is a 16:9 video. 

5: Strobing. When shooting 24P, because you are 

“exposing” 24 frames per second (rather than 60 

elds per second as with video) you will notice 

“strobing” when you do a fast pan. This can be 


educed by panning slowly. The rule of thumb is it 

should take seven seconds for an object to cross 

the screen as you pan. Another approach is to 

move with the subject and distract the viewer’s 

attention from the strobing background. Another 

way to deal with strobing is to use a lower shutter 

speed, the default for the DVX is 1/48 when 

shooting 24P, you can lower it to 1/24, for 

example. This will increase motion blur (not 

always a bad thing, it’s kind of cool and another 

element of the lm look). At the 1/24 shutter 

speed there is less strobing that at 1/48, however, 

more motion blur. Shooting at 30p exhibits less 

strobing, however, this format does not convert 

gracefully to other formats like lm (24fps) or PAL 

(25fps). 

6: Frame Rate and Scan Mode: For the standard 

video look, shoot 60i. For the lm look, shoot 24P 

Standard or 24P Advanced. Unless you 

understand clearly why you want to shoot 24P 

Advanced, Shoot 24P Standard and capture your 

project at 60i in Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express. 

24P standard will provide you with the lm look 

and the ease of editing a standard video project 

at 29.97fps. Final Cut Express does not support 

capture of 24P Advanced material. If you chose to 

shoot 24P Advanced, make sure you capture the 

project in Final Cut Pro as 23.97. 24P advanced 

has advantages if you want a 24fps master, which 

is what I personally prefer. It’s easy to derive 60i 

from 24P. Getting 24P from 60i involved reverse 

telecine and some loss of quality. For web video 

24p is a good choice. For DVD 24P is a good 

choice. True 24P (shooting Advanced w/ the 

camera) is a universal standard easily converted 

to other standards. 24P advanced uses a 2:3:3:2 

candence to encode 24p onto 60i video and then 

the editing system reconstitutes the 24fps video 

from the 60i. Your editing system needs to know 

how to handle this. Some argue that it’s easier to 

simply shoot 24P standard which uses the 

standard video to lm cadence of 2:3 and edit 

standard 29.97 (60i) video in your editing system. 

If you are OK staying in 60i, then it’s OK to shoot 

24p standard. I prefer a true 24p master and I 

think the extra trouble in capture is worth it. 

However, it does require the use of Final Cut Pro 

or another non-linear editor that supports 24P 

Advanced and a lot of additional care and 

attention. Whatever you do, test your workow 

before you leap. One nice thing of tape going 

away is the digital card formats make it possible 

to shoot and ingest 24p material without any of 

these hassles. 

LCD Display 

The LCD display screen can seem like it’s literally 

swarming with information. In the following 

section I’m going to try and sort out what the 

most commons symbols and ashing light mean. 

Red ashing box in the upper left corner: This 

means you do not have a tape in the camera. 

TC with a bunch of numbers: The Time Code is a 

digital code or number inserted into videotape, 

unseen on the nal product, for editing purposes. 

The time code identies every frame of the 

videotape and displays hours, minutes, seconds 

and frames (HH:MM:SS:FF). When editing, Time 

Code allows each video frame to be addressed 

individually. 

Hand with lines: No you’re not hallucinating. 

That’s the image stabilization symbol, if you can 

see it, it is on. But, if you’re not as steady as you 

used to be, you’ll want this to be on. When the 

camera is mounted on a tripod you will want it to 

be off. 

Battery icon in bottom right corner: This is the 

power level of the current battery that you have 


in the camera. Watch out if it’s ashing your 

battery is about to go kaput. 

Lines that move: The audio meters. Be sure to 

keep them out of the red, but at the same time 

you want to see lots of white lines for a strong 

enough signal. 

SP in the upper left corner: That stands for 

standard play and is the setting you want to 

record in. If you don’t record in SP the footage 

from your tape won’t work in some decks . 

There is a lot more to the display screen, but 

that should give you a general overview of the 

things you need to know to successfully operate 

the camera. 

If you don’t see timecode numbers as shown 

here, press the “Counter” button on the side panel 

of the camera (you may have to do this several 

times) to display time code on the LCD. 

Shooting Basics 

To ensure you can capture everything you shoot, 

start off each tape with either black or bars for 

about 15 seconds at the start of tape. 

Properly white balance the camera whenever 

light changes. 

Shoot to edit - allow for at least ve-second preroll 

time. Take into consideration with all shots in 

relation to how they may look in an editing 

situation. 

Make sure that there is enough room in the shot 

to add titles, graphics, lower thirds, or other 

possible adjustments in the editing process.. 

Pre-production check-list 

• Program outline 

• Shot list 

• Interview questions 

• Subject releases 

• Location releases 

• Location agreements (if needed) 

• Shooting permits (if needed) 

Shooting in the Field 

Stable body position - leg spacing, kneeling arm 

support, hold viewnder up to your eye for the 

steadiest hand-held shot (you head is very 

steady), or use a tripod if it’s more appropriate for 

what you’re shooting. 

Use your environment to your advantage: 

For support use a wall, step, chair or whatever you 

can nd. A monopod provides an interesting 

alternative to a tripod, and when used hand-held 

off the ground, helps to lower the camera centerof-gravity, 

which makes for a more stable shot. 

Find a unique angle, the more variety and mix of 

shots you have the more interesting your nal 

piece will be. Not everything should he shot at 

eye level. Documentary is an expressive medium. 

Focusing: different types: setting focus, depth of 

eld, deep focus. 

Zooming 

• Telephoto: perspective at, narrow eld, lacks 

depth 

• Wide angle: emphasize space and depth, 

distortion 

• Manual vs. servo zoom 

Framing and shot composition 

• Rule of thirds 

• Head room / Lead room 

• Cropping - crop at joints, allow for overscanning 

(still important to consider) 

• Foreground / background 

• Move with subjects / subject pushes frame 

Shot selection 

• Types: XLS, LS, MS, MCU, CU, XCU 

• Motivation 

• Light 

• Composition 

Remember to shoot to edit with these basic 

principles. It may be necessary to experiment 

with several clips in Final Cut in order to learn 

how best to apply these principles in a shoot to 


edit situation. We’ll discuss the concept of 

coverage. 

Audio 

• Handheld - Omnidirectional 

• Lavaliere 

• Shotgun 

• Mic Cables 

• Boom Pole 

• Pistol Grip or other mount 

• Microphone Stands 

• Wireless system (avoid if you can, but oh so 

convenient, interference can be a problem) 

• Mixer (optional) 

Lighting 

• Reector (ex-ll) 

• Light Kit (soft/open/fresnel) 

• Gels 

• Diffusion material 

• Reective umbrellas to use w/ Tota lights 

• Light Stands 

• Clothes pins, groves, gaffer tape 

• Stingers 

Things to avoid 

Pointing camcorders at a bright light source will 

cause a vertical smear on the video, usually 

undesirable. Do not use the camcorder in 

situations under 32ºF or over 100ºF. Do not store 

camcorder in car trunk or in a closed van; it may 

be exposed to harmful conditions or theft. Do not 

expose camcorder to rain or moisture. 

Location Pre-Production Check List 

Permissions 

• Obtain permission to shoot location or event 

if needed. 

• Obtain release forms from subjects. 

• Shot List, think about transitions and cover 

shots, you want to express your idea visually, 

not just with people talking 

Location 

• Scout location prior to shoot if possible 

• Check for power outlets, lighting and audio 

issues. 

• Verify set-up time with location and crew. 

• Ask about a convenient unloading/loading 

area if you have more gear than you can easily 

carry in one trip 

• Inform any security or PR staff of your 

schedule if shooting in an institutional setting 

• Have any release or location release forms 

that may be needed, especially when working 

in a school or institution that may have 

particular concerns with cameras in their 

space, and usually you’ll need to get 

permission to use the location in advance. 

Things to Have on the Shoot 

• Camera 

• Tripod 

• Tapes 

• Batteries 

• Extension cords, extra audio gear, gels, trickline, 

gloves, tools, gaffer (not duct) tape 

• Forms, subject and location releases, parking 

permits, admittance waivers, etc. 

• Garbage bags 

• First aid kit 

Lighting 

• Where will the sun and shadow be during the 

shoot? 

• If shooting indoors, are there windows in the 

background? 

• Where will the lighting go? 

• Is there enough power? Watts = Voltage x 

Amps 

• Will others be drawing power from the same 

circuits? 

• Fluorescent office lights, even “warm” ones are 

not attering on faces, use lighting for formal 

interviews when you can. 

Audio 

• Is there a lot of background noise? Can you 

get mics close enough to subject? Lavalieres 

work well in noisy environments as long as 

they are placed close to the subject speaking. 

• Do you need more than one microphone? 


• If using a wireless, try it out rst. There may be 

interference from electrical sources or 

competing transmitters. 

More Information 

This handout is not a substitute for looking over 

the camera manual, so if it’s not clear how to 

make a particular adjustment, take a gander at 

the users manual. Point your browser to ftp:// 

ftp.panasonic.com/pub/Panasonic/Drivers/PBTS/ 

manuals/OM_AG-DVX100B.pdf to download the 

manual. The DVX Book by Barry Green is the 

perfect companion to this camera. It explains 

many of the things that are described but not 

explained in the owners manual. The book is 

available from: http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/ 

dvxbook/ 

Glossary of Video and Camera 

Terminology 

360-degree pan. A panning shot which turns 

around a full circle. 

24p, 24pA, 30p,. See Progressive Scan. 

3:2 Pulldown. A technique used to convert 24 

frames per second lm to 30 frames per second 

video. Every other lm frame is converted to 3 

video elds resulting in a sequence of 3 elds, 2 

elds, 3 elds, 2 elds, etc. See also Progressive 

Scan. 

4x3. The aspect ratio of standard television, as 

opposed to the 16x9 of high denition television. 

Also known as 1.33: 1. 

16x9. The aspect ratio of wide screen television 

(may be either standard or high denition) as 

opposed to the 4x3 of standard television. 

Sometimes referred to as 1.77: 1 or 1.78:1. 

60i. See Interlace Scan. 

Aerial shot. An overhead shot, usually taken from 

a helicopter or airplane or some clever 

contraption involving wires. Can also refer to any 

high angle view of a subject taken from a crane or 

any high stationary position. 

Aliasing. Defects in the picture caused by too low 

of a sampling frequency or poor ltering. Usually 

seen as jaggies or stair steps in diagonal lines. 

Aliasing also can occur in the temporal domain, 

for example, as wagon wheels moving backward 

or slower than the wagon is moving, due to the 

frame rate of the camera vs. the speed of the 

wheel. Any undesirable distortion of image or 

sound that is a result of less than perfect digital 

encoding can be considered aliasing. 

Analog. A signal that varies continuously in 

relation to some reference. In contrast, a digital 

signal varies in discreet steps. 

Anamorphic lens. A lens that allows a wide image 

to be photographed on a standard-sized frame. 

For example, anamorphic lenses are available for 

the Panasonic DVX100 (and several other video 

cameras) which allows the use of the full 4x3 

video frame when shooting 16x9 video. The 

anamorphic lens essential takes a 16x9 image and 

squeezes it into a 4x3 frame. In video terms this is 

often called “squeeze” or anamorphic video. 

Angle. See Camera angle. 

Angle of view. The angle of acceptance of a lens 

which depends on the focal length of the lens 

and the camera aperture (related to the size of 

the imaging device or lm frame). Wide angle 


lenses have a wide angle of view, telephoto lenses 

have a narrow angle of view. 

Anti-aliasing. The process of removing aliasing 

artifacts. For example, adding vertical blur to an 

interlaced video image, which assures that any 

ne detail straddle more than one line, prevents 

“line jitter” on an interlaced display. 

Aperture. An adjustable opening (iris) in a camera 

lens that controls the amount of light passing 

through a lens, often expressed as an f-number (a 

ratio of the opening and the focal length of the 

lens). The aperture has an effect on depth of eld. 

Wide openings (e.g. f/2.8) result in shallow depth 

of eld, smaller openings (e.g. f/11) result in 

greater depth of eld. Thus the aperture affects 

both the exposure and the depth of eld. 

Apple box. A sturdy rectangular box commonly 

used in media production made of wood used to 

support equipment, people, props, etc. 

Sometimes called a “man maker” since they are 

used to stand on to appear taller. Available in 

various sizes: Full, Half, Quarter, and Pancake 

(eight of a Full). Also works well on it’s side as a 

temporary place to sit on the set. 

Artifact. A visual effect caused by an error or 

limitation in the system. 

Aspect ratio. The ratio of the horizontal 

dimension to the vertical dimension of a picture. 

35mm lms are typically shot with an aspect ratio 

of 1.85: 1 or 2.35:1, widescreen video is 1.78:1 

(a.k.a. 16x9), and standard video and 16mm lm is 

1.33:1 (4x3). 

ATV. Advanced Television. An acronym for the 

new digital television standards. See HDTV. 

ATSC. Advanced Television Systems Committee. 

The standards organization that recommended 

the new digital television standards to the FCC. 

Automatic white balance. A circuit in a video 

camera that attempts to adjust the white balance 

automatically. See White Balance. 

B-roll. Shots in a documentary that are used to 

illustrate what an interviewee is talking about or 

to cover breaks in an interview. Often used to 

refer to the footage that is shot for the purpose of 

using later as cut-away shots. See Cut-away shot. 

Balanced signal. An audio circuit with 3 wires, 

two carry the signal, and the third provides the 

ground. Compared to unbalanced circuit using a 

single signal wire and a ground, balanced signals 

are much less susceptible to picking up 

interference. Therefore, professional sound 

recording equipment is usually designed to work 

with balanced wiring. While XLRs are the most 

widely used connectors with balanced wiring, a 

particular connector does not guarantee the 

existence of balanced wiring. Better camcorders 

provided balanced XLR connectors for audio 

input. 

Bandwidth. The amount of information that can 

be passed through a system at a given time. 

Typically, the greater the bandwidth the better 

the image or audio quality, however, the 

compression techniques (if any) used also 

inuence this, since some compression formats 

allow for a reduction of bandwidth while 

maintaining very similar image quality, for 

example, H.264 vs. MPEG-2. 

Bird's eye view. See Overhead shot. 

Bit. 1. A single element (1 or 0) of digital 

representation of information. 2. A minor role in 

which an actor may speak only a few lines of 

dialog. Also known as a bit part. 

Bit rate. The amount of data transported in a 

given amount of time, usually dened in Mega 

(Million) bits per second (Mbps). Bit rate is one 

way to dene the amount of compression used 

on a video signal. Uncompressed standard 

denition video has a bit rate of 270 Mbps. The 

DV and HDV video standards have a bit rate to 25 

Mbps. These video standards reduce the bit rate t 

Broadcast quality. An nebulous term used by 

marketing people to describe video products. 

Camera angle. The position of the camera in 

relation to the subject during lming. It may be 

straight (eye-level shot), tilted up at the subject 


(low-angle shot), tilted down at the subject (highangle 

shot), or tilted off the vertical axis to either 

side (Dutch-angle shot). 

Camera movement. Any movement of the 

camera during a shot, such as panning, tilting, 

dollying, tracking, etc. 

Camera log. A sheet used to keep track of 

information about scenes or shots on a particular 

tape or memory card. 

Camera speed. The rate at which lm is run 

through a motion picture camera in frames per 

second (fps). The normal speed for sound lm 

recording is 24 fps. Video cameras that simulate 

lm shooting at 24 fps use the same terms as lm 

cameras to describe the camera speed. See also 

Overcrank and Undercrank. 

Canted frame. See Dutch angle. 

Chrominance. The color component of a video 

signal. See Luminance. 

Cinéma vérité. In French, literally, “cinema truth.” 

A style of documentary lmmaking in which the 

lmmaker captures real people in real situations 

with spontaneous use of hand-held camera, 

naturalistic sound recording, and with 

participation on the part of the lmmaker, for 

example, Chronicle of a Summer (1961, Jean Rouch 

& Edgar Morin, French title: Chronique d'un été). 

Also called direct cinema, however, direct cinema 

sometimes refers to a different style that was 

dominant in the United States in the 1960s and 

differs in terms much less lmmaker involvement, 

for example, Salesman (1968, Albert & David 

Maysles). 

Cinematographer. The person responsible for the 

camera work and lighting in a lm. Sometimes 

the term is used even though the medium in use 

is video. Also called a lighting cameraman or 

director of photography. 

Clipping. When an input signal exceeds the 

capability the equipment to reproduce the signal, 

clipping occurs. In an analog recording system 

the results are audible distortion, however, in a 

digital system you end up with incomprehensible 

noise. 

Close-up (CU). A close view of a person or object 

which features details isolated from their 

surroundings. A close-up of a person typically 

only shows their head. 

Component video. A video signal in which the 

Luminance and Chrominance signals are kept 

separate. This requires a higher bandwidth, but 

yields a higher quality picture. 

Composite video. The luminance and 

chrominance signals are combined in an encoder 

to create the common NTSC, PAL or SECAM video 

signals. Typically the format that comes out of a 

consumer VCR or camera (connector RCA 

connector color-coded with yellow). Essentially a 

form of analog video compression to allow the 

economical broadcasting of video. 

Compression. The process of reducing the 

amount of digital information required to 

represent an image. This is usually accomplished 

by throwing out redundant information, or doing 

sophisticated calculations to represent portions 

of the image in a manner that they can be 

reconstructed with minimal amounts of data. 

Compression techniques using DCT techniques 

simply throw out redundant information, other 

techniques like MPEG-2 and H.264 use more 

sophisticated analysis, modeling, and 

reconstruction techniques. 

Compression ratio. The ratio of the amount of 

data in the original video compared to the 

amount of data in the compressed video. The 

higher the ratio the greater the compression. 

Coverage. Additional and more detailed shots 

which are intended to be intercut with a master 

shot or scene. Typically involves shots and their 

respective reverse-shots in a dialog scene, along 

with inserts and possibly a two-shot, and any 

additional shots that will help the editor construct 

the scene. 

Crane shot. A shot taken from a crane or large 

mechanical arm that moves the camera and its 


operator smoothly and noiselessly in any 

direction. See also Jib arm. 

CRT. Cathode Ray Tube. The technical name for a 

glass video picture tube. LCD at panel displays 

have all but replaced them, and most 

manufacturers have stopped making them for 

environmental and cost reasons, but some 

colorists and cinematographers still prefer to 

evaluate images on “glass” monitors (e.g. Sony 

BVM-A20F1U 20" BVMA14F5U 14" HD monitors) 

with SMPTE-C/EBU phosphors, providing the 

most accurate color, tonal range, and solid black. 

In spite of their image quality, their time is slowly 

coming to an end as LCD monitors improve and 

offer a weight, cost, and environmental 

advantage over CRTs. 

Curtain. Placing a conventional 4:3 video image 

within a wide screen image (typically 16x9) in a 

frame by placing black bands at the left and right 

of the screen. 

Cutaway. A shot of an image or action in a lm 

which is not part of the main action, sometimes 

used to cover breaks in a scene's continuity. In 

documentary often called “B-roll.” 

Dailies. In lm production the rst positive prints 

or video transfer made by the laboratory from the 

negative shot on the previous day. Also known as 

rushes. It can also mean on a video production 

the video shot the same day when it’s watched at 

the end of the day. 

Deep-focus cinematography. A cinematographic 

technique which keeps objects in a shot clearly 

focused from close-up range to innity. Involves 

the use of wide lenses and small apertures. 

Citizen Kane contains some wonderful examples 

of deep focus cinematography. 

Depth of eld. The range in front of the camera 

lens within which objects appear in sharp focus. 

Diagonal. A shot where the camera pivots both 

horizontally and vertically, a combination of 

DCT. Discrete Cosine Transform. A widely used 

method of video compression. The technique is 

employed in formats like DV and DVPRO HD. DCT 

requires more space than formats like MPEG-2, 

however, it exhibits signicantly fewer artifacts. 

Digital. A representation format in which data is 

translated into a series of ones and zeros. 

Numerical data (base 10) is translated into binary 

numbers (base 2). Symbolic data is translated 

according to codes (for example, the ASCII code 

system assigns binary numbers to characters so 

they can be encoded digitally). Audio and images 

are sampled. See also sample, sampling rate. 

Digital recording. A method of recording video 

(or audio) in which samples of the original analog 

signal are encoded on tape or a le as binary 

information for storage and retrieval. Unlike 

analog recordings, digital video (or audio) can be 

copied repeatedly without degradation. 

Digitizing. The act of taking analog video and 

converting it to digital form. The term is often 

used synonymously with ingest or capture, which 

is the process of transferring a digital video 

format into a non-linear editing system (it’s 

already digital, so you are simply capturing or 

ingesting, you’re not actually digitizing). 

Direct cinema. See Cinéma vérité. 

Distortion. The addition of artifacts to the original 

audio signal appearing in the output which was 

not present in the input. 

Documentary. A non-ction lm, usually 

photographed using actual people in real 

locations rather than with actors and a scripted 

stories. Dened by John Grierson as “the creative 

treatment of actuality,” a denition that allows for 

a wide range of lms to fall under the denition, 

which has always been a source of debate among 

lmmakers, viewers, and theoreticians. 

Dogme 95. An avant-garde lmmaking 

movement started in 1995 by directors Lars von 

Trier and Thomas Vinterberg with the signing of 

the Dogme 95 Manifesto and the "Vow of 

Chastity". The goal of the Dogme collective was to 

purify lmmaking by refusing expensive and 

spectacular special effects, postproduction 

modications and other gimmicks. More 


information may be found on the official Dogme 

95 web site at: http://www.dogme95.dk/ 

Dolly shot. See Tracking shot. 

Doorway dolly. A versatile plywood dolly with 

four soft tires which is narrow enough to t 

through a doorway. On big features it is used to 

transport equipment and cables, on smaller 

productions it is used as a camera dolly with the 

camera placed on a tripod which in turn sits on 

the plywood platform. The four soft tires can be 

replaced with track wheels allowing the doorway 

dolly to operate on standard track. Panther has 

developed a version of the doorway dolly called 

the briefcase dolly that folds up into a smaller unit 

for easier transport. 

Double exposure. The superimposition of two or 

more images. Also called multiple exposure. With 

lm it is achieved with multiple exposures. 

Double-system sound. The technique of 

recording sound and image using separate 

recording devices. In lm production this is the 

normal methodology since lm camera can’t 

record sound, however, it is sometimes used in 

video as well when mobility is required by the 

sound recordist who may want to avoid running 

wires to feed the video camera with the audio 

signal. 

Drop Frame (DF). A system of time code 

generation that adjusts the generated data every 

minute by skipping frames as it counts up (not 

dropping video frames) in order to compensate 

for the spread of the NTSC television system 

running at 29.97 frames per second. Otherwise, 

the running time code would not match real time. 

Drop out. Loss of a portion of an audio or video 

signal, usually caused by an imperfection in the 

tape’s coating or dirt covering a portion of the 

tape. HDV, due to its long GOP format is 

particularly susceptible to drop outs because an 

drop out is likely to affect multiple frames. Hi8 

was a format notorious for drop outs. 

DTV. Digital Television. Another acronym for the 

new digital television standards. See HDTV. 

Dutch-angle. A tilted camera angle obliquely 

slanted to the frame's vertical axis so that the 

horizontal frame line is not parallel to the horizon. 

Also called an oblique angle shot or a canted 

frame. 

DV (Digital Video). A digital video format 

developed by Sony, Panasonic, and JVC using a 

small tape that has become a widely used 

standard among consumers and professionals 

video production and well suited for 

documentary video using small camcorders. The 

DV specication (IEC 61834) denes both the 

codec and tape format. The intraframe DCT codec 

with a bit rate of 25 Mbit/sec provides good 

image quality and simplied editing. DV cameras 

are easy to connect to non-linear editing systems 

via a FireWire (IEEE 1394) interface. Unlike Hi8, 

which was notorious for video dropouts, DV 

provided excellent image and audio quality 

acceptable for video documentaries intended for 

broadcast and theatrical distribution. Sony also 

introduced DVCAM which uses a wider track pitch 

for increased reliability. See also HDV. 

Dynamic range. The difference in decibels 

between the loudest and quietest portions of 

audio that a system is capable of processing. 

Establishing shot. A camera shot, usually a long 

shot, which identies, or establishes, the location 

of a scene. 

Ethnographic lm. An anthropological lm that 

records and perhaps comments on a group of 

people and their culture of which the lmmaker is 

not a part of. 

Exposure index (E.I.). A lm's sensitivity denoted 

as a number, for example, EI 100 is relatively slow 

lm, EI 800 is relatively fast lm. often used to 

express sensitivity of a video camera. 

Extreme close-up (XCU). A very close view of a 

person or object which features specic details. 

An extreme close-up of a person typically shows 

only their eyes or mouth. 

Extreme long shot (XLS). A panoramic view of a 

scene, photographed from a great distance. 


Eye line match. Editing shots that are aligned, or 

matched to suggest that two characters in 

separate shots are looking at each other. 

Fast motion. Shots photographed slower than 

the standard speed of 24 fps so that the action on 

the screen appears faster than normal when 

projected at standard speed. See Slow motion, 

Under-cranked, Over-cranked. 

Field. One half of a complete video image (frame), 

containing all the odd or even scanning lines of 

the image. See also Interlace, Frame. 

Filter. A piece of glass tted in front of a camera 

lens to control the color or quality of light 

entering the camera. 

First-person shot. See point-of-view shot. 

Fisheye lens. An extreme wide-angle lens that 

distorts the image so that straight lines appear 

rounded at the edges of the frame. 

Flicker. The alternation of light and dark which 

can be visually perceived. 

Focus pull. The process of refocusing a lens 

during a shot in order to keep a subject in focus 

or to change the subject of attention. 

Focal length. The distance from the center of the 

lens to the point on the lm plane where light 

rays meet in sharp focus. A wide-angle lens has a 

short focal length; a telephoto lens has a long 

focal length. 

Focus. The sharpness or denition of a lm image. 

Following shot. A shot in which the camera pans 

or travels to keep a moving gure or object within 

the frame. 

Footage. 1. Exposed lm stock. 2. Recorded video 

tape. 

Format. The video codec, resolution, and frame 

rate used for a production. For example, DVCPRO 

HD 720/24p (1280 x 720 progressive scan at 24 

frames per second using the DVCPRO HD video 

codec). 

Frame. 1. An individual photograph recorded on 

motion picture lm. The outside edges of a lm 

image on the screen. 2. One complete video 

image, or two video elds. There are 30 frames in 

one second of NTSC video. Also a single video or 

lm image. See also Interlace, Field. 

Framing. The visual composition of a shot within 

the frame. 

Frequency. The number of times a signal vibrates 

per second. Expressed in Hertz (Hz), which is the 

number of cycles per second. 

Full shot. A long shot that includes the human 

body "in full" within the frame. 

Gain. The ratio, expressed in decibels (dB), of the 

signal level at the output of an audio device to 

the signal level at its input. 

Gaffer’s tape. A strong cloth-based tape with a 

special adhesive that does not leave behind any 

residue when carefully “peeled” off surfaces. Not 

to be confused with duct tape which leaves a 

sticky mess behind. 

Gigabyte. 1 Billion bytes. 

Hand-held camera. A shot where a camera 

operator, rather than a tripod or a mechanical 

device, supports and moves the camera during 

lming. 

HDTV. High Denition Television. A television 

format with a wide screen (16x9 as opposed to 

the classic 4x3) and higher resolution. Rather than 

a single HDTV standard the FCC approved several 

different standards, allowing broadcasters to 

choose which to use. This means that HDTV 

television have to support all of them. All of the 

systems are broadcast as component digital. The 

New HDTV/SDTV standards include: HDTV 1920 x 

1080 @ 30i or 30p or 24p frame rate with a 16 x 9 

aspect ratio; HDTV 1280 x 720 @ 60p, 30p, 24p 

frame rate with a 16 x 9 aspect ratio; SDTV 720 x 

483 @ 60p, 30p, 24p frame rate with a 16 x 9 

aspect ratio; SDTV 640 x 480 @ 30i with a 4 x 3 

aspect ratio (i = interlaced, p = progressive, scan). 


HDV. A consumer-oriented high-denition video 

format using MiniDV tapes which differs from DV 

in that it uses MPEG-2 inter-frame compression in 

order to encode the higher resolution needed for 

HD at the same bit rate as DV using the same 

tape. The use of a MPEG-2 long GOP inter-frame 

compression can sometimes produce motion 

artifacts. HDV also complicates the editing 

process since inter-frame compression requires 

signicantly more processing power than DV 

since editing systems have to reconstruct 

intermediate frames computationally. HDV has 

been widely adopted by both consumer and 

professional users who need to work with a small 

and portable camera but want to produce shows 

that are compatible with the newer high 

denition video standard. HDV does not 

implement full-resolution high denition, instead 

it records at 1440 lines (full HD is 1920 lines). See 

also AVCHD, XDCAM EX, and DVCPRO HD. 

Hertz (Hz). A unit for specifying the frequency of a 

signal, formerly called cycles per second (cps). 

High-angle shot (H/A). A shot where the camera 

is tilted down at the subject. 

In-camera editing. Editing done within the 

camera itself by selectively starting and stopping 

the camera for each shot. 

Independent lm. Any motion picture produced 

outside of a commercial lm studio. The term 

applies generally to avant-garde, experimental, or 

underground, narrative, and documentary lms 

made outside of the Hollywood establishment. 

Often the term implies independent vision as well 

as independent nancing. 

Interlace. A process in which the picture is split 

into two elds by sending all the odd numbered 

lines to eld one and all the even numbered lines 

to eld two. Field one is then displayed rst, 

followed by eld 2. This process was necessary in 

the early days of television broadcast when there 

was not enough bandwidth within a single 

television channel to send a complete frame fast 

enough to create a non-ickering image. See also 

Field, Frame. 

JPEG. Joint Photographic Experts Group. A lossy 

standard for compressing still images. JPEG-2000 

provides lossless compression. 

Jump cut. An abrupt transition between shots 

which disrupts (often deliberately) the continuity 

of time or space within a scene. When cuts are 

made between shots that don’t have at least a 30˚ 

angle change, they appear more as jumps rather 

than seamless cuts. Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless 

introduced a whole new way of thinking about 

the jump-cut. 

Kilobyte. One thousand bytes. Actually 1,024 

bytes because computer storage is measured 

using base 2 (binary) number system with each 

digit’s value based on a power of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 

32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1,024) rather than base 10 

based on powers of 10 (1, 10, 100, 1,000) which is 

our everyday number system. 

LCD. A solid state technology used for image 

display. See CRT. 

Lens. An assembly of several pieces of precision 

ground glass through which light rays are focused 

to create an image on lm or imaging device. See 

normal lens, telephoto lens, wide-angle lens, 

zoom lens. 

Lens aperture. See aperture. 

Long shot (LS). A shot that shows a fairly wide 

view of a subject within its setting. A long shot of 

a person typically includes his entire body and 

much of his surroundings. 

Long take. A take (shot) of lengthy duration. 

Low-angle shot (L/A). A shot in which the camera 

is tilted up at the subject. 

Letterbox. Placing a wide screen image (typically 

16x9) on a conventional 4:3 video frame by 

placing black bands at the top and bottom of the 

screen. 

Masking. Blocking out part of an image, usually 

at the edges of the frame, thus altering the size or 

the shape of the frame projected on the screen. 

See Curtains, Letterbox. 


Master shot. A single shot, usually a long shot or 

a full shot, which provides an overview of the 

action in a scene. 

Megabyte. 1 million bytes. 

Medium shot (MS). A relatively close shot that 

shows part of a person or object in some detail. A 

medium shot of a person typically shows their bo 

MPEG. Moving Picture Experts Group. A standard 

for compressing moving pictures. MPEG-1 uses a 

data rate of 1.2 Mbps (Mega Bits per Second), the 

speed of CD-ROM. MPEG-2 supports much higher 

quality with a data rate (a.k.a. bit rate) from 2 to 

10 Mpbs. MPEG-2 is the format specied in the 

DVD standard and is also used in broadcast. 

MPEG-4 is a lower data rate version used for web 

video and mobile devices. For web video, the H. 

264 codec within a MPEG-4 wrapper is widely 

used. 

NTSC. National Television Standards Committee. 

The analog broadcast television and video 

standard in use in the United States. NTSC 

broadcast is scheduled to be turned off in 2009. 

Consists of 525 horizontal lines at a eld rate of 60 

elds per second. (Two elds equals one 

complete Frame). Only 487 of these lines are used 

for picture. The rest are used for sync or extra 

information such as VITC and Closed Captioning. 

Normal lens. A camera lens that shows a subject 

without signicantly exaggerating or reducing 

depth of eld in a shot. Neither wide nor 

telephoto, typically has a 45 degree or so angle of 

view. 

Oblique angle. See Dutch angle. 

Off-screen space. Space beyond the camera's 

eld of view which nevertheless the audience is 

aware of. 

On location. Also called shooting on location. See 

location shooting. 

Out-take. Any footage deleted from a lm during 

editing; more specically, a shot or scene that is 

removed from a lm before the nal cut. 

Overcrank. To run lm stock through the camera 

faster than the standard speed of 24 fps, 

producing slow motion on the screen when the 

lm is projected at standard speed. Also used to 

describe the analogous effect in a video camera. 

See Undercrank. 

Overhead shot. A shot photographed from 

directly overhead, a.k.a. bird's eye view. 

PAL. Phase Alternating Line. The standard 

denition television and video standard in most 

of Europe. Consists of 625 horizontal lines at a 

eld rate of 50 elds per second. (Two elds 

equals one complete Frame). Only 576 of these 

lines are used for picture. The rest are used for 

sync or extra information such as VITC and Closed 

Captioning. 

Pan. Short for "panorama." A shot where the 

camera pivots horizontally, turning from left to 

right or from right to left. Also called panning 

shot. 

Petabyte. 1,000 Terabytes, or 1 million Gigabytes. 

Today Terabyte drives are common, someday... 

Pixel. Picture Element. The basic unit from which 

a digital image is made. Essentially a dot with a 

given color and brightness value. High Denition 

video images are 1920 x 1080 pixels. 

Point-of-view shot (POV). A shot taken from the 

vantage point of a character in a lm. Also called a 

rst-person shot or subjective camera. 

Pull focus. To change the focus of a lens during a 

shot in order to follow a specic object or person. 

See rack focus. 


Progressive scan. An image scanning system 

where each line is displayed progressively (1, 2, 3, 

4, 5 ...) in contrast to interlaced scanning, 

consisting of two elds: the rst eld (lines 1, 3, 5, 

7 … ) and then a second eld (lines 2, 4, 6, 8, ...). 

Computer monitors use progressive scan. The 

HDTV standard includes several progressive scan 

options. Video has historically been 60i (60 

interlaced elds per second, 30 frames per 

second). The Panasonic DVX100 was the rst 

prosumer camera to provide 24p and 30p 

progressive scan. Today, many video cameras 

offer a progressive scan option. Progressive scan 

offers an image that is well suited for web video 

and for display on computer monitors and atscreen 

displays. The Panasonic can be used to 

shoot true 24p progressive using 24pA (24p 

advanced) mode in which the progressive frames 

are recorded onto interlaced video using a 2:3:3:2 

cadence which is then unravelled back into 24p 

by the editing software. This can be tricky, so 

consult with your teacher before shooting 24pA. 

Rack focus. To change the focus of a lens during a 

shot in order to call attention to a specic object 

or person. Also called a shift focus or focus pull. 

RAW. An image format that consists of the raw 

image data collected from an image sensor with 

little or no additional processing. Requires 

processing in post production for use as an image 

with proper color rendition and tonal response. 

D-SLR cameras typically offer a RAW mode, and 

the Red digital cinema camera provides the 

equivalent of RAW images, unlike standard video 

cameras that record raw data off the image sensor 

but then throw away a substantial amount of 

image information in the conversion to a 

standard video format. 

Resolution. The amount of detail in an image. 

Higher resolution equals more detail. Also used to 

describe the size of an image, usually in pixels, 

e.g. a high denition video frame consists of 1920 

x 1080 pixels. 

Resolution independent. A term to describe 

equipment or software that can work in more 

than resolution. Some equipment and software 

work with only certain video resolutions, but 

many newer pieces of equipment and software 

are resolution independent (e.g. Final Cut Pro is 

able to work at various resolutions including 

standard denition video, high denition video, 

and digital lm, e.g. 2K). 

Reverse angle, (R/A). A shot where the camera is 

placed opposite its position in the previous shot, 

"reversing" its view of the scene. 

RGB. Red, Green, Blue. The primary colors of light. 

Computers, video cameras, scanners, and similar 

devices typically process images using separate 

red, green, and blue color channels. For example, 

a three CCD cameras has a CCD sensors for each 

primary. 

S-Video. A consumer version of component 

video that separates the luminance and 

chrominance of the video signal to maintain a 

higher quality picture compared to composite 

video. 

Sampling frequency. The number of sample 

measurements taken from an analog signal in a 

given period of time. These samples are then 

converted into numerical values stored in bytes to 

create the digital signal. 

SDTV. Standard Denition Television. The new 

HDTV standards call for a range of different 

resolutions. Those that are higher than today's 

NTSC are considered HDTV. The ones that are 

comparable to NTSC are considered SDTV. 


Because SDTV is component and digital it is of 

higher quality than NTSC. 

Selective focus. See rack focus. 

Set-up. The positioning of the camera and lights 

for a specic shot. 

Shift focus. See rack focus. 

Shooting ratio. The amount of video footage shot 

compared to the length of the lm's nal cut. 

Shot. A single, continuous run of the camera. The 

images recorded by the camera from the time the 

camera starts until the time it stops. 

Shutter. 1. The mechanical device on a motion 

picture camera that shields the lm from light at 

the aperture during lming. Some shutters have a 

variable angle adjustment allowing the camera 

operator to vary the exposure time. The smaller 

the shutter angle, the crisper the image and the 

more “strobe like” its appearance. Used to good 

effect in Saving Private Ryan. Lowering the frame 

rate of a lm camera and step printing provides 

an effect very similar to show shutter on a video 

camera, in which the image update happens less 

often than 24 times per second and each frame 

exhibits motion blur. 2. On a video camera an 

electronic device that varies the effective shutter 

speed of the camera. Fast shutter provides crisp 

frames and the more “strobe like” its appearance. 

Slow shutter increases motion blur providing an 

effect very similar to lowering the frame rate and 

step printing, in other words, a single image is 

translated to multiple frames, with the 

appearance of motion blur when the camera 

moves. You have to experiment with the slow 

shutter of your video camera and see the effect 

for yourself. 

Slow motion. Shots photographed faster than the 

standard recording speed so that the action on 

the screen appears to move slower than normal 

when shown at standard speed. See fast motion. 

Smash zoom. A fast jarring zoom into specic 

detail or object in a scene. 

Soft focus. Blurring the sharpness of a lm image 

with a special lens or a gauze over the lens in 

order to diffuse or "soften" hard edges; used 

especially for close-ups to make the human face 

look more sensual or glamorous. 

Special effects (FX). Shots which are 

unobtainable by straightforward lming 

techniques and may require special models, 

compositing, computer modeling, etc. The term 

also applies to most pyrotechnic and ballistic 

effects in a lm. 

Stop-motion photography. Filming real objects 

or live action by starting and stopping the 

camera, rather than by running the camera 

continuously, in order to create pixilation, trick- 

lm effects, or time-lapse photography. Also 

called stop-action photography. 

Subjective camera. See point-of-view shot. 

Swish pan. A shot in which the camera pans 

rapidly causing motion blur. Also called a whip 

pan or zip pan. 

Take. A shot resulting from one continuous run 

of the camera. A lmmaker generally lms several 

"takes" of the same scene and then selects the 

best one. Rarely done in documentary. 

Telephoto lens, a.k.a. long lens. A camera lens 

with a long focal length that magnies the size of 

distant objects. 

Terabyte. One trillion bytes. A two hour highdenition 

movie at a resolution of 1920 x 1280 

would take about one terabyte to store in an 

uncompressed format. Acquisition formats like 

DVCPRO HD, XDCAM HD, and HDV involve 

signicant levels of compression in order to 

reduce the data required to store video. 

Three-shot. A medium shot with three actors or 

subjects. 

Tilt. A shot in which the camera pivots vertically, 

from top to bottom or from bottom to top. 

Time Code. A time reference recorded on video 

tape or video le to identify each frame. 


Time-lapse. A type of cinematography or 

photography in which the camera photographs at 

time intervals the same scene over an extended 

period of time in order to speed up on the screen 

a lengthy process or action, for example, the 

growth of a eld of corn, traffic on the Golden 

Gate Bridge, the construction of a building, etc. 

Tracking shot. A shot in which the camera, 

mounted on a vehicle, dolly, or other moving 

support device, moves while lming. Some 

people differentiate tracking shots as those 

following a subject as they move. Thus the 

method of support and characteristic of the 

movement determines the actual term used, for 

example, we call it a dolly shot when a dolly is 

used, we call it a tracking shot when tracks are 

laid down for a dolly to roll on, though not always 

true, for the most part, dolly, tracking, traveling, 

and trucking shots are synonymous. 

Trucking shot. See Tracking shot. 

Two shot. A medium shot featuring two actors or 

subjects. 

Undercrank. To run lm stock through the camera 

slower than the standard speed of 24 fps, 

producing fast motion on the screen when the 

lm is projected at standard speed. Also used to 

describe the analogous effect in a video camera. 

See Overcrank. 

VBR. Variable Bit Rate. A video compression 

method in which the amount of compression is 

varied to allow for minimum degradation of 

image quality in scenes that are more difficult to 

compress. For example, the MPEG-2 video 

compression used for making DVDs is typically 

done using VBR. 

Whip pan. See Swish pan. 

Wide-angle lens. A short focal length lens that 

enables the camera to photograph a wider area 

than a normal lens. For 35mm lms a wide-angle 

lens is 30mm or less. Also called a short lens. 

XLR. One of several varieties of sound connectors 

having three or more conductors plus an outer 

shell which shields the connectors and locks the 

connectors into place. 

Zoom shot. A shot made with a zoom lens, which 

makes the image appear closer (zoom in) or 

farther away (zoom out) by varying the focal 

length of the lens. Offers a very different quality 

than a tracking shot. See Tracking Shot. 

Zip pan. See Swish pan. 

Acknowledgments 

This document is based, in part, on “Introduction to 

Digital Camcorder” by Suburban Community Channels, 

White Bear Lake, MN, www.scctv.org. Some materials 

have been derived from notes and sources too 

numerous to properly document. A special thanks go 

out to everyone who has so generously shared their 

knowledge on the web. Special thanks to Eric Petersen 

for the DVX focus chart. 3:2 Pulldown illustration 

courtesy of Adam Wilt. 

Copyright 

© 2009 by David Tamés, Some rights reserved. This 

document is provided to you under the terms of a 

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share 

Alike 3.0 License, a copy of which may be found at: 

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ This 

means you can use these materials and share them as 

long as you provide attribution in the form of a link 

back to kino-eye.com/dvb/ with something along the 

lines of “based in part on…” and share what you create 

with the same license. Any trademarks mentioned in 

this document belong to their respective owners. All 

DVX100 images by the author. 3:2 and 24pA 

illustrations by Adam Wilt, used with permission for 

educational purposes. Other images not credited 

belong to the respective product manufacturers (for 

which they may retain copyright) and are used under 

guidelines of fair use. 

Disclaimer 

Mention of specic products, vendors, books, web 

sites, or techniques does not constitute an 

endorsement nor professional recommendation.

DVB-Camera Basics v2

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