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A B C D E [F] G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

F

Fade.
The act of dissolving a video picture to either a colour, pattern or titles. Fading a video image is often used as an artistic tool in video productions, most commonly seen as a fade to black. In audio, there is a decrease in the sound level until it is no longer audible. Audio fading is often used in conjunction with video fading causing the sound and image to fade simultaneously.
Fade In/Out
A feature of most audio editing software that allows the user to apply a gradual amplitude increase or decrease over some segment of the sound.
Fader.
Also known as a slider or attenuator, this control allows the user to perform a gradual change to the amplitude of a signal. A commonly found as a feature of MIDI software programs.
Farad.
Standard measurement for capacitance, the ability to store an electrical charge.
FAT, FAT32.
File Allocation Table . A table stored on a disk that tells the computer where to find the data it contains. FAT 32 is a more efficient system used by Windows 98.
F-Connector.
A common type of cable termination used for cable television (CATV).
Feedback.
Portion of the output signal routed back to the input of an electronic component at a reversed polarity and used to reduce distortion, reduce gain, or change frequency response.
Ferrofluid.
Cooling Type of cooling material (ferromagnetic liquid) used primarily with tweeters to keep the driver from overheating by dissipating heat away from the voice coil.
Fiber-Optic Cable.
A cable that uses light beams to transmit information rather than electrical signals traveling over metal wires.
Field.
The TV picture created in one-sixtieth of a second by scanning an electron gun over every other line in the picture. In the United States there are 262-1/2 odd-numbered lines in a field, followed by 262-1/2 more even-numbered lines making the next field one-sixtieth of a second later. The two fields together make a frame, a complete TV picture.
Field dominance.
A determination of which field (the odd or the even) is used first when a videodisc player creates a still frame from two video fields.
Field one dominance.
Attribute of a still frame using the odd field as the first of two fields which comprise the whole picture frame.
Field two dominance.
Attribute of a videodisc still frame which uses the even field first, and then the following odd field to create a still frame.
File extension.
Last part of a computer file name that comes after the dot. BMP is the file extension for the file MYFILE. BMP and tells us that this file is a bitmap (a digitally coded image).
Fill Light.
Fill lights, commonly referred to as "scoops," provide a soft-edged field of light used to provide additional subject illumination to reduce harsh shadows or areas not highlighted by the key light.
Film chain.
Projectors, multiplexors and cameras, connected for the purpose of transferring film to video.
Filter.
A circuit which permits certain frequencies to pass easily while inhibiting or preventing others. Typical filters include low pass, high pass, band pass, and band reject.
Fine cut.
Final edited master, prepared with painstaking care using the best editing equipment available. Fine cut is generally produced in an on-line editing session.
Finger slate.
A slate made by holding one or more fingers in front of the camera at the beginning of a take.
Firewall.
A system or software utility designed to stop unauthorised access to a private network and can be used by a company to control what resourses outside the network can be accessed by employers.
Firewire or IEEE P1394.
Standard for transmitting compressed video data used by DV format digital videocassette recorders.
Fish eye lens.
Very wide angle lens with a bulging glass outer element.
Fixed focus.
Lens which cannot change focus from near to far.
Fixed pattern noise.
Non-moving specks or grain visible when the camera lens is capped, or pans across dark scenes
Flag.
Easily movable flap used with lights for casting shadows and controlling light.
Flagwaving.
The sideways pulling and fluttering seen at the top of a TV picture caused by a skew misadjustment or some other tape tension error.
Flange.
An effect applied to a sound wherein a delayed version of the sound is mixed with the original.
Flare.
A bright spot, streak, or geometric pattern seen in the picture, caused by light streaming directly into a lens and reflecting off its internal glass elements. Flat Shallow, lightweight, standing scenery used as background or to simulate walls of a room.
Flatshade or quickshade.
Simple flat surface applied to wireframes to give them substance and realism. Flat surfaces stretched between wireframe lines render quickly.
FLIC.
A large .FLI or .FLC file holding many image files for sequential playback to create an animation.
Flicker.
A strobing picture artifact, similar to an old-time movie effect, mainly related to vertical syncs and video field display rates. Some flicker normally exists due to interlacing, but is more apparent in 50 Hz systems (PAL) and when converting film (24 fps) to video (30 fps). Flicker may also be a problem when static computer images are transferred to video.
Flip.
Special effect in which the picture is either horizontally or vertically reversed.
Flying erase head.
Facilitates smooth, seamless edits whenever the camcorder recording begins. Without a flying erase head, a video "glitch" may occur at scene transitions. The erase head is mounted on the spinning (flying) video head drum.
Flat Response.
A theoretical ideal for audio components, especially speakers, representing a frequency response that does not deviate from a flat line over the audible frequency spectrum when fed a flat-line test signal.
Flat-Screen Picture Tube.
A direct view television screen that is generally flat.
Flutter.
Pitch variations heard as a fast wavering or wobbling caused by a software medium (such as an audiotape or CD) moving at varied speeds.
FM (Frequency Modulation).
Method of adding an audio signal to a carrier radio frequency (modulating the signal) so that the audio signal can be transmitted from place to place and later decoded from the radio frequency for reproduction.
FM synthesizer.
  1. Inexpensive musical device that electronically simulates familiar sounds by combining internally generated wave patterns.
  2. A synthesis method that involves the interaction of a signal (carrier) by another (modulator).
FMV or Full Motion Video.
Video that proceeds at 60 fields-per-second, filling the whole TV screen (as opposed to a reduced size and frame rate).
Focal plane shutter.
A pair of curtains inside a photographic camera. One opens to let light reach the film, followed by the other one closing to complete the exposure.
Focus.
Sharpness or clarity of an image.
Focus shift.
Also called "pull focus"; the act of changing focus to sharpen objects at different distances from the camera to center attention on them.
Foldback.
Audio mixing system to allow sound effects, music, etc., to be mixed, amplified and sent to the studio for performers to hear, as well as being recorded, mixed with the sounds of their microphones.
Follow focus.
Continually adjusting a lens's focus to maintain a sharp picture of the subject moving closer to or away from the camera.
Font.
Style and shape of lettering.
Footcandle.
A measure of illumination, the level of brightness found 1 foot from a candle; about 10 lux.
Foot-Lambert.
Measurement of luminance (brightness) equal to one lumen per square foot.
Format.
The description of the stored data (as with image data).
(Videotape). A variety of formats are used to record video. They vary by tape width: (8mm, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, 1 inch), signal form: (composite, Y/C, component), data storage type (analog or digital) and signal standard (PAL, NTSC, SECAM).
Four-Way Speaker.
Speaker system with four or more individual drivers covering four frequency sections or bands.
Foreign Key. (database)
An attribute or set of attributes within one relation that matches the candidate key of some (possibly the same) relation.
Forward kinemation.
3-D animation feature that calculates how connected objects will move at the end of a nearby part that is moved
Fractional T1.
T1 telephone service rented in 64kbps increments.
Frame accurate.
Edit or editing device that identifies a specific frame of video tape. "Perfect" accuracy when editing.
Frame.
  1. One complete screen in a video image.
  2. A complete video image consisting of 2 fields. Also used to describe the total visible area of a video image.
Frame store.
Electronic device able to store a video picture (a frame) electronically and perhaps manipulate it.
Frame synchronizer.
A digital electronic device which synchronizes two or more video signals. The frame synchronizer uses one of its inputs as a reference and genlocks the other video signals to the reference's sync and colour burst signals. By delaying the other signals so that each line and field starts at the same time, two or more video images can be blended, wiped and otherwise processed together. (A TBC takes this a step further by synchronizing both signals to a stable reference, eliminating time base errors from both sources.)
Framestack.
One can separate an animation file, like Quicktime, into its individual frames so that each image file may be modified one by one. The framestack is the separated series of addressable frames. Frequency modulated or FM A video or audio signal combined with a high frequency signal that changes its frequency to track every vibration of the original signal, essentially coding two signals into one.
Freeze (Frame).
Special effect in which the picture is held as a still image. It is possible to freeze either one field or a whole frame. Freezing one field provides a more stable image if the subject is moving, however, the resolution of the video image is half that of a full frame freeze. Digital freeze frame is one special effect that could be created with a special effects generator or a TBC.
Frequency.
The number of repeating occurrences of a particular distinct and complete element (the positive and negative crest and trough of a single sound wave in audio) in a given time (one second). The rate per second at which an oscillating body vibrates. Usually measured in Hertz (Hz), humans can hear sounds whose frequencies are in the range 20 Hz to 20kHz.
Frequency = 1 / Period.

Frequency can be described using five units
Hertz: 1 Hz = 1 oscillation per second
Kilohertz: 1 kHz = 1,000 Hz
Megahertz: 1 MHz = 1,000 kHz
Gigahertz: 1 GHz = 1,000 MHz
Terahertz: 1 THz = 1,000 GHz

The frequency range of sound is divided into four parts:

Infra-sound : 0 Hz to 20 Hz
Audible range : 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Ultrasound : 20 kHz to 1 GHz
Hypersound : 1 GHz to 10 THz

Frequency Response.
A measure of the quality of reproduction of various frequencies (audio and video) by a circuit or device. If the frequency response of a video processor is adequate, there is no deterioration in image quality at the bandwidth extremes. For video, the NTSC broadcast bandwidth is 4.2 MHz and the PAL broadcast bandwidth is 5.5 MHz. For audio, full bandwidth implies a frequency response extending from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz or higher.
Frequency Spectrum
Is a graph of amplitude against frequency.
Fresnel.
Lighting instrument with a circularly ribbed glass lens to focus the light. Friction head Inexpensive tripod head with locks to impede unwanted camera movement.
Front Projection Video Display.
A video display using a large reflective screen and a separate projector mounted in front of the screen to project images onto the screen (as in a movie theater).
FTTC.
Fiber To The Curb, a cable TV or phone connection that brings wide bandwidth fiber optics to your home or business.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
A means of tranferring files from one computer to another across the internet, and one of the principal tools that is available on the internet (the three other key functions are email, newsgroups and the web).
Full Power Bandwidth.
The range of frequencies across which an amplifier can supply its full power rating to a speaker.
Full-Range Surround Sound Channels.
A feature of 5.1 digital surround sound formats allowing discrete surround sound channels which are capable of playing across the frequency band audible to human hearing (20 Hz to 20,000 Hz).
Fundamental.
The base frequency, the lowest sine wave frequency in a range of frequencies.
Fundamental Frequency.
The predominant frequency in a complex waveform. Typically provides the sound with its strongest pitch reference.
Function
Only 4 functions a computer can perform:
  1. Data Processing
  2. Data Storage
  3. Data Movement
  4. Control
FX .
Effects, a special effect such as text keyed over a picture.

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