Technology / Television (TV) Glossary

Extreme Long Shot (XLS): A framing that presents a distant view of an object or person--e.g., an aerial shot of a car on a street.

Eyeline Match: An editing principle of the continuity system which begins with a shot of a character looking in a specific direction, then cuts to a second shot which shows the area toward which the charac . . . View Full Definition

Fade Out-Fade In: A special effect often used for scene-to-scene transition. In a fade out the image darkens until the screen is black. In a fade in, the image starts out black and then gradually becomes visible.

False Consciousness: In Marxist terms, a counterfeit image of the world determined by one's social class.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC): An independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and inte . . . View Full Definition

Feed Horn: A device which collects the signals at the focus of the satellite dish and channels them to the LNB.

Feminism: A critical approach which concentrates on gender discourse, the manner in which the male-female relationship is portrayed.

Field (Of Video): Each frame of video in the PAL or NTSC signal consists of two fields. Television creates a picture through vertical lines, each field has 262.5 (in NTSC) or 312.5 (in PAL) lines of video. Th . . . View Full Definition

Fill Light: In the three-point lighting system, a source of illumination used to fill the shadows created by the key light. It is directed obliquely toward the actor from the opposite side of the key li . . . View Full Definition

Film Stock: The specific type of film used to record images.

Filter: In lighting, a colored gel placed in front of a light source. In cinematography or videography, an optical device (colored, polarized, etc.) Attached to the lens.

Fine Grain: A type of film stock in which the grain is smaller, resulting in a higher image definition.

Fire Wire: A low-cost digital interface originated by Apple. It can transport data at very high speeds. It is widely viewed as one key solution to connect digital-related TV components with each other. . . . View Full Definition

Five Lnb: A dish with five lnbs and four outputs. This dish looks at satellites in five different orbital positions. It is required for HD local channels in some markets because these channels are not . . . View Full Definition

Fixed Dish System: A satellite TV system in which the dish does not have to be moved. Directv and Dish Network are fixed dish systems.

Flashback: A disruption of the chronological presentation of events, in which an event from the past is presented in a program's present. See flashforward.

Flashforward: A disruption of the chronological presentation of events, in which an event from the future is presented in a program's present. See flashback.

Flight: A scheduling tactic that alternates periods of advertising with periods of no activity.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37