Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Glossary - Big Words to Know, Impress
Others With, and Love
Alpha
An additional picture channel (usually composed of black and white
and shades of gray) embedded in an image's data that identifies what parts of
the image appear solid or its levels of transparency when that image is
composited on top of another image.
Anamorphic
A process used to take a widescreen image and squish it in one
dimension (usually horizontally) to fit it inside a standard frame space. '16 by 9
Anamorphic' takes a 1.77:1 image and squeezes its width into the space of a
1.33:1 standard frame, giving the final image a tall and skinny look.
CinemaScope or Panavision are 2:1 Anamorphic processes that create hugely
widescreen images out of standard film.
Anti-aliasing
The process of removing the rough staggered or stair-step look
of an image's lines and edges. Since a screen has a limit to how many pixels it
can show, angled lines or a shape's edges must be smoothed to account for the
limits it's called to fill.
Aspect Ratio
The dimensions of the screen in terms of its height versus its
width, i.e. 1.33:1 (1.33 to 1) refers to a rectangular screen with its width 1.33
times the dimension of its height. Likewise, the '16 by 9' designation commonly
referred to as widescreen has an aspect ratio of 1.77:1.
Boolean
A mathematical calculation where one object applied to another
object affects a combined resultant of the two objects.
Bump
A short transitional video sequence used in TV broadcasts where a
show makes a dramatic change of subject or in-and-out of commercial breaks.
Codec
Short for
Co
mpressor/
dec
ompressor - the method by which a digital
file is converted into a smaller and/or faster, more easily distributed file. All
audio and video files have a codec assigned as they are saved and require the
same codec available to the user to play the file.
Color Space
The range of colors that can be described mathematically
for display and output. Variations of modes to describe Color Space include
LAB, RGB, HSV, and CMYK. They can be sampled from 1 bit to 16 bit
accuracy.
