Glossary

aspect ratio

Describes the ratio of width to height in the frame dimensions of an image. Some motion-picture frames have an aspect ratio or 16:9, but the NTSC and PAL standard is 4:3.

directory view

The window you see when you open a folder (directory) icon. It displays the files, folders, and applications that the directory contains.

file browser

Most applications display a file browser when you choose the “Save” or “Save As...” command. The file browser makes it easy for you to save a file in a particular directory, by entering a pathname or by simply adding a new filename on the end of the path in the pathname field. For example, the pathname in the file browser might be /usr/people/joe; to save your file in /usr/people/joe, add the filename after “joe,” so that it looks like this: /usr/people/joe/filename.

flicker filter

You can apply a flicker filter to your movie by using Media Convert . Flicker filter improves the image quality of your movie if it is comprised of interlaced frames (such as those captured from an analog device) that include graphics (such as those created by applying a 3D filter). It reduces flicker of single pixel-wide lines in interlaced movies.

frame

In video, conceptually the same as one frame of film, except that a video frame is digital. In NTSC, 30 frames comprise a second of video. In PAL, 25 frames comprise a second. In both standards, two fields comprise a frame. Note that in film, 24 frames comprise a second.

frame rate

The number of images captured or displayed per second. A lower frame rate produces a less fluid motion and saves disk space. A higher setting results in a fluid image and a larger movie file.

keyframe

In the animation world, keyframe is a term used to describe the points in time that you set to define a specific motion. For example, the way you program movement between two points is by defining values of the two keyframes that represent those points. Any object movement requires at least two keyframes on that object's timeline. What happens in between those two keyframes is called interpolation. Essentially, interpolation means that the computer creates the movement for you, as long as you have provided the points between which the movement is to take place. Think of a series of keyframes as the motion path of an object that appears in your transition or filter. See also “What Are Keyframes?.”

menu button

A button that reveals a popup menu. Place the cursor over the button; then press the left mouse button.

NTSC

A color television standard or timing format encoding all of the color, brightness, and synchronizing information in one signal. Used in North America, most of South America, and most of the Far East, this standard is named after the National Television Systems Committee, the standardizing body that created this system. NTSC uses a total of 525 horizontal lines per frame, with two fields per frame at 262.5 lines each. Each field refreshes at 60 Hz (actually 59.94 Hz).

PAL

A color television standard or timing format developed in West Germany and used by most other countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom but excluding France, as well as Australia and parts of the Far East. PAL uses a total of 625 horizontal lines per frame. Each field refreshes at 50 Hz. PAL encodes color differently from NTSC. PAL stands for Phase Alternation Line or Phase Alternated by Line, by which this system attempts to correct some of the color inaccuracies in NTSC. See also NTSC.

pathname

The list of directories that leads you to a specific file or directory in the file system. For example: /usr/people/jane/test.results is a pathname. Note that directories contain other directories and files. The root (/) directory is the original directory, which all other directories reside in.

time indicator

The time indicator is a vertical line that represents the current time within a transition or filter your are editing. As the transition or filter is played in FX Builder, this line moves. The time display also reflects the current time, which is the point at which the time indicator is positioned at any given moment.