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A complete glossary of
essential video terms

An easy reference for you to learn and remember
most-commonly used terms by video creators

Aa

4K HD

4K HD is a screen resolution that is 4 times the full HD screen resolution. It means that in 4K HD, more pixels are fitted into a space as compared to full HD to get a clearer image. Typically, full HD fills 2 million pixels in a 40-inch TV screen, whereas 4K HD can fit 8 million pixels in the same space.

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Aspect ratio

Aspect ratio is an image attribute that shows the relationship between width and height of an image. If the aspect ratio is 16:9, it means the width (16) is almost two times larger than the height (2).

Audio Script

An audio script is written before recording voice over for a video. An audio script consists of lines or at least bullet points that help to record voice with minimal interruptions & maximum clarity.

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Audio narration

Audio narration is voice commentary of what is happening in the video. It’s a common technique used in learning to help the visually impaired understand the content.

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Autoplay

Autoplay is a feature that lets a website play a video automatically without a user's input. This is used by many websites to engage the visitors right from when they visit the page

Bb

Background

Background is what appears behind the subject while making a video. A background is an important element of a video because with an improper background can ruin the viewing experience of your audience

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Background noise

Background noise are unwanted sounds that appear while recording a video or an audio. Minimal background noises help in maintaining an overall high quality of the video

Blur Video

Blur video feature helps to mask certain areas of a video. With a blur feature, content creators can save some of their private information from getting exposed to their audience

Brightness

Bit rate helps to determine the amount of data transferred by a video in a given period. A high bit rate is necessary for transferring the data faster & having a high quality video.

Cc

Captions

Captions are text-based versions of a multimedia content. They’re used along with videos that contain dialogues & soundtrack used in the video.

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Collaboration

Video collaboration is a way of connecting with different people via video. Using video collaboration, people can discuss ideas and get work done even when they’re not in the same place.

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Communication

Video communication is using videos to communicate with others. As compared to the other modes, this type of communication is more personal & interactive.

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Computer audio

Computer audio or system audio is the sound emitted from computers. Computers have an in-built audio card that reads the audio file, and then, transfers it to the speakers of the computer.

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Compression

Video compression is an effective way of reducing the size of the video so that it can be transferred quickly. It reduces the number of bits in a video without compromising the quality of the video.

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Copyright

Copyright simply means right to copy. The original creator or the owner of the copyright can protect their work from being copied by others. Only those who are authorized by the owner have the right to copy the work

Cut Videos

Cut videos is an editing feature. It helps to cut the unwanted parts in a video and make the flow more crisp and relevant for the audience

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Creative design

Creative design is a visual representation of graphic and physical image. They are mostly made by visual artists and are used by companies for a variety of purposes like marketing and advertising.

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Crop

Crop is a video editing technique that allows you to remove the unwanted parts of the video. This way, you can keep the content centered and of high quality.

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Dd

Dimensions

Dimensions are the width and height of a video. They are measured in pixels. The dimensions of a video change according to the quality.

Draft

Draft is a crude version of the final content. A draft version helps to collate all the ideas, discuss, and improve the content. A draft is very helpful for avoiding mistakes while recording the final content.

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Dubbing

Dubbing is a process done after the production of a video is complete. It’s basically a voice recording in a different language than the original one used in the video. The dubbed version is then used in the original video.

Ee

Edit

Edit is an option used by many content creators to change their content the way they like. With edit, creators can make their content more enriching and give a better experience to their followers.

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Editor

Editor is a tool that helps you to make changes to your content to make it look sharper. With a professional editor, you can cut, trim, crop, add subtitles and transitions to your video.

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Embed

Embed is the process of adding videos to your website using HTML code. The advantage of embedding is that viewers can see videos on your website that are hosted on some other platform without slowing down your website.

Encode

Encoding in videos means changing the digital format of the videos to meet the requirements of the application. Encoding transforms and compresses the video and audio data as per the encoding standard.

Export

Export is a term used to describe that your video is ready for download. By exporting, you can get the video on your system or cloud storage.

External audio

External audio is the sound that is played externally. It’s played on a different device, and then included in the original video that you’re recording.

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Ff

Facecam

Facecam is also called Webcam. It's a camera that allows you to record your face using the camera installed on your laptop or by attaching an external camera.

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Flip

A flip feature is useful for mirroring an image or a video. With a flip feature in an editor, you can mirror your content in a horizontal or a vertical format.

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Format

Format is a file type that is used by computers to store video data. Depending on the quality of the video you need, the video is saved in that format.

FPS

FPS is Frames Per Second. Frames refer to images that appear back to back in a second to give an impression that the pictures are in motion.

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Frame

A Frame is one still image from a list of moving pictures. A video is made of multiple frames that are played at high speed to get the feeling that they’re moving.

Gg

Green Screen

Green screen is a green backdrop mostly used in video production. A green screen helps video editors to change the background of the video in the post-production phase

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Hh

HD/High definition

HD quality videos are of high quality and high resolution. Usually, the file size of these videos is very high and takes more time to download.

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Ii

Import

Import is the term used to refer to the process of adding or uploading a file to a tool. Video importing is common after the production is complete to edit the parts of the video.

Internal audio

Internal audio is the sound that comes within the recording device. Internal audio can be useful when you want to record a sound from a file that is already saved on your computer.

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Ll

Live streaming

Live streaming is the process of transferring video data over the internet in real-time. The viewers view the video as it’s happening. In other words, the video is not pre-recorded.

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Mm

Manual Play

Manual play is about allowing and letting the audience decide what and when they want to play a video. The video doesn't load automatically; it plays only when the visitor clicks on the play button.

Merge

Merge is a commonly used function used by many to join different video pieces together. With merge, you can pick different types of videos and fuse them to create a single video.

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Oo

Overlay

Overlays are normally used in videos and appear over the videos. It can be an image, text, animation or another video. In screen recording, webcam overlay is a common feature. It makes the webcam recording appear on top of the screen recording while it's being recorded

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Pp

Pixel

A Pixel is the smallest unit of a digital image. When many pixels come together, they form an image or anything else that can be displayed on the screen of a digital device.

Qq
Rr

Resolution

Resolution of a video is the number of pixels in a single frame. The video resolution helps to determine how clear your video is going to be and how pronounced the details of the video will be.

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Reverse video

Reverse video effect reverses the video play from the end to the start. This form of video effect can be used for different creative reasons and for improving the user's experience

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Resize

Resize is a functionality of many video editor tools that help with changing the dimensions of the video. By resizing, you can make the video compatible with different platforms and get a better response.

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Rotate

Rotate is an editing option used to rotate an image, text or a video. Video rotation is a common feature seen in video recording apps like screen recording.

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Ss

Screencast

Screencast is a recording of your computer screen that is shared with others for communication, learning or even sharing feedback. You can also record your webcam and voice along with to make it more impactful.

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Screen recording

Screen recording is a video that records the content on your screen. You can use screen recording for multiple purposes. It’s a very useful & convenient way to create videos instantly

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Screen recording videos

Screen recording videos are videos made recording the screen and webcam of the computer. Screen recording videos are useful for making different type of video contents like tutorials, gameplay videos and YouTube videos too.

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Screen Recorder

A screen recorder is a tool that helps you to record the screen of your computer. A screen recorder can also record webcam and sound. Recording all of them at the same time is highly useful for creating different forms of video content like tutorial videos, and product demo videos

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Screen Capture

Screen capture can mean a screenshot image of your computer screen or a screen recording. Screen captures help you to communicate more visually & effectively

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Scheduling Record

Scheduling record is a functionality of advanced video making tools where you can schedule recordings. This means that even if you’re not physically present, the tool will start recording at the scheduled time.

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Script

A script is a written document that contains the lines that you’re planning to record in the video. Writing a script helps with practice and avoids error in the final version.

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Screen Annotation

Screen annotation is used to highlight different areas of a video while you’re recording. With screen annotation, you can draw, underline, or mark at different points to grab the viewer’s attention.

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Screenshot

A screenshot is an image capture of your computer screen. A screenshot is used to visually share information. As compared to text, they’re easy to communicate and remember.

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Split videos

Split videos is a feature used to separate videos in multiple sections. This is usually done to add different form of video effects indifferent sections of the videos. Splitting helps to work on one section dedicatedly without disturbing the other

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Streaming

Streaming is the process where video data is transmitted over the internet. If it is happening in real-time, it’s called live streaming.

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Subtitles

Subtitles are the text version of the dialogues that are being played in the video. They’re displayed at the bottom of the screen and help the viewer to understand what the characters are saying.

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System Audio

System audio is a term used to refer to the audio coming from your computer. When you play an audio file on your computer or when you get an email notification, the sound originating from it is a system audio

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Tt

Trim

Trim is a common feature in video editors. It’s used to cut down the length of videos, so that they remain relevant for the viewers and not distract them.

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Uu

UHD

UHD stands for Ultra High Definition. It’s a type of video quality which falls between HD and 4K video quality. The videos shot in UHD are 4 times sharper than HD videos.

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Upload

Upload is a common terminology used in the video industry. It refers to adding videos in a workspace, editor or even on computer.

Vv

Video capture

Video capture can be an external or internal device. It can take video signal and convert it into video format which can be stored, modified and shown on a computer screen.

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Video communication

Video communication is a mode of communication done via video. As compared to text or phone call, this type of communication is more personal & easier to retain information.

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Video Effects

Video effects refer to different forms of visual effects that can be added in the post-production phase to improve the engagement level of the viewers and make them stay till the end of the video

Video Email

Video email is a style of communication that uses video instead of text in an email. This technique is more potent for building a personal relationship with the prospects.

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Video Marketing

Video marketing is using videos to build and maintain relationships with the target audience. Video marketing is more personal, and therefore, helps in establishing a deeper bond with the audience.

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Video Marketing Strategy

Video marketing strategy is the process of creating videos in a thoughtful manner. The videos are made according to the buying stage of the buyer, so that they find the videos relevant and problem-solving.

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Video Presentation

Video presentations are product related multimedia content that use different formats of video. They are commonly used by the sales and marketing departments to generate leads.

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Video Quality

Video quality is a term used to describe the overall presentation of the video. High video quality means that even the most minute details in the video will be clearly displayed on the screen.

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Video Recorder

A video recorder is a term used to refer to a tool that can record videos. It also refers to a screen recorder which can record screen, webcam and audio at the same time.

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Video Resume

Video resume is a video version of a candidate’s professional and educational qualifications. Video resumes give a better overview of how a candidate can present themselves in front of a camera.

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Virtual Background

Virtual background is a simulated environment. It uses an image or a video as a background to your video recording. Such an environment is not real, but they do a play an important role in adding value to the visual experience of the viewer.

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Voiceover

Voiceover is an off-screen voice narration that runs along with the video. It’s recorded after the production is complete and helps the viewers to understand what is going on the screen.

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Ww

Watermark

Watermark is a logo, text or an image that is superimposed in an image or video to make it difficult to copy someone else's work.

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Webcam

Webcam is a camera that can record videos and transmit them over the internet. They can be externally attached to a computer or even the in-build webcam can be used in the case of laptops.

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