Glossary on Film Terms (N-S)

N
NON-DROP FRAME. A type of SMPTE time code that continuously counts a full 30 frames per second. As a result, non-drop-fame time code does not exactly match real time. (See also Drop Frame.)
NTSC: National Television Standards Committee: Committee that established the color transmission system used in the U.S. and some other countries. Also used to indicate the system itself, consisting of 525 lines of information, scanned at approximately 30 frames per second.

O
OFF-LINE. Preliminary editing done on relatively low-cost editing systems, usually to provide an EDL for final on-line editing and assembly of the finished show.
ON-LINE. Final editing or assembly using master tapes to produce a finished program ready for distribution. Often preceded by off-line editing, but in some cases programs go directly to the on-line editing suite. Usually associated with high-quality computer editing and digital effects.
OPTICAL EFFECTS. Trick shots prepared by the use of an optical printer in the laboratory, especially fades and dissolves.
OPTICAL SOUND. A sound track in which the record takes the form of variations of a photographic image.
OUT-TAKE. A take of a scene which is not used for printing or final assembly in editing.
OVERCOAT. A thin layer of clear or dyed gelatin sometimes applied on top of the emulsion surface of a film to act as a filter layer or to protect the emulsion from abrasion during exposure and processing.

P
PAINTBOX. Trade name of a computer graphics system manufactured by Quantel. Used to create two-dimensional graphics, transpose and transform objects and change colors. The computer graphics generator for Quantel's Harry system.
PAL (Phase Alternation by Line). Color television system developed in Germany, and used by many European and other countries. PAL consists of 625 lines scanned at a rate of 25 frames per second.
PERFORATIONS. Regularly spaced and accurately shaped holes which are punched throughout the length of a motion picture film. These holes engage the teeth of various sprockets and pins by which the film is advanced and positioned as it travels through cameras, processing machines, and projectors.
PITCH. (1) That property of sound which is determined by the frequency of the sound waves. (2) Distance from the center of one perforation on a film to the next; or from one thread of a screw to the next; or from one curve of a spiral to the next.
PROTECTIVE MASTER. A master positive from which a dupe negative can be made if the original is damaged.
PULL-DOWN. The telecine transfer relationship of film frames to video fields. Film shot at 24 fps is transferred to 30 fps NTSC video with an alternating two-field/three-field relationship.

Q

R
RACK. A frame carrying film in a processing machine.
RASTER. The scanned area comprising the active portion of a video signal displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT).
REDUCTION PRINTING. Making a copy of smaller size than the original by optical printing.
REGISTRATION. The accurate positioning of film or the images formed on it.
RELEASE PRINT. In a motion picture processing laboratory, any of numerous duplicate prints of a subject made for general theater distribution.
RETICULATION. The formation of a coarse, crackled surface on the emulsion coating of a film during improper processing. If some process solution is too hot or too alkaline, it may cause excessive swelling of the emulsion and this swollen gelatin may fail to dry down as a smooth homogeneous layer.
REVERSAL PROCESS. Any photographic process in which an image is produced by secondary development of the silver halide grains that remain after the latent image has been changed to silver by primary development and destroyed by a chemical bleach. In the case of film exposed in a camera, the first developer changes the latent image to a negative silver image. This is destroyed by a bleach and the remaining silver halide is converted to a positive image by a second developer. The bleached silver and any traces of halide may now be removed with hypo.
RGB. Red, green & blue, the primary color components of the additive color system used in color television.
RIPPLE. Automatic updating of an EDL after a length-altering edit. "Ripple the list."

S
SAFETY FILM. A photographic film whose base is fire-resistant or slow burning. At the present time, the terms "safety film" and "acetate film" are synonymous.
SECAM (Systeme Electronique Pour Colour Avec Memorie). The color television system developed in France, and used there and in most of the former communist-block countries and a few other areas including parts of Africa.
SENSITOMETER. An instrument with which a photographic emulsion is given a graduated series of exposures to light of controlled spectral quality, intensity, and duration. Depending upon whether the exposures vary in brightness or duration, the instrument may be called an intensity scale or a time scale sensitometer.
SKIP FRAME. An optical printing effect eliminating selected frames of the original scene to speed up the action.
SOFT. The opposite of "hard". (1) As applied to a photographic emulsion or developer, having a low contrast. (2) As applied to the lighting of a set, diffuse, giving a flat scene in which the brightness difference between highlights and shadows is small.
SPLICE. Any type of cement or mechanical fastening by which two separate lengths of film are united end-to-end so they function as a single piece of film when passing through a camera, film processing machine, or projector.
SPROCKET. A toothed driving wheel used to move film through various machines by engaging with the perforation holes.
STEADY GATE. A pin-registered device manufactured by Steady Film for precise teleclne transfers. Provides more stable images than EPR, but does not operate in real time.
STEP PRINTER. A printer in which each frame of the negative and raw stock is stationary at the time of exposure.
STILL STORE. Device which stores individual video frames, either in analog or digital form, allowing extremely fast access time.
STRIP. Part of a wide roll of manufactured film slit to its final width for motion picture use.
STRIPE. A narrow band of magnetic coating or developing solution applied to a length of motion picture film.
SWEETENING. Audio postproduction, at which time minor audio problems are corrected. Music, narration and sound effects are mixed with original sound elements.
SWITCHER. Device with a series of input selectors that permits one or more selected inputs to be combined, manipulated and sent out on the program line.
SYNC, SYNCHRONIZATION. Two picture records or a picture record and a sound record are said to be "in sync" when they are placed relative to each other on a release print so they can be projected in correct temporal or spacial relationship. When this condition is not met, the two records are said to be "out of sync."