Video Editing Glossary
Aspect ratio is the proportion between the width and the height of the frame. For instance, old box-style televisions use 4:3, while modern wide-screen TVs and monitors use 16:9. Videos for phones and social networks are often vertical (9:16) or nearly square (4:5, 1:1). In Bolide Movie Creator, you choose the size and aspect ratio of the finished video with the "Output video resolution" button on the timeline toolbar: there are ready-made sizes for 16:9, 4:3, 9:16, 4:5 and 1:1, and "Custom ..." for any other size. See Project Video Resolution and Frame Rate.
Bitrate is the amount of data used to store one second of video (or audio). The higher the bitrate, the better the picture quality and the bigger the file. See also compression.
Block (clip) is a piece of video, a photo, an audio file, a text and so on, placed on the timeline. You can move, trim, split, copy and delete blocks, and apply effects to them (see Video Effects).
Chroma key ("green screen") is an effect that makes one color of the picture transparent, so that the image from the track below shows through. In Bolide Movie Creator, it is the "Chroma Key" effect.
Codec is the method used to compress the video inside a file. The same format can use different codecs: for example, an MP4 file can contain H.264 video or more compact H.265 (HEVC) video.
Compression describes how densely the picture is packed in a video file. The stronger the compression (the lower the bitrate), the smaller the file, but the lower its quality. Weaker compression gives better quality and a bigger file. In Bolide Movie Creator, you set this balance with the "Small file" - "Large file" slider in the "Save to Video" window.
Fades are types of transition that involve making the scene fade in or out of view. Fades make use of many creative methods to make video images disappear. Fades also play an important role in audio editing. Imagine that you're listening to your favorite song. It's nearing the end of the song and the sound levels gradually drop away until all is silent. That's a fade!
Formats: digital video files can be saved in a variety of formats. Although every video format accomplishes the same thing (letting you save/store video data), each one is slightly different: they support different codecs, resolutions, compression and so on. Bolide Movie Creator can save your movie as MP4 (H.264 or H.265), MKV, AVI, WMV or an animated GIF. MP4 is the best choice if you are not sure: it plays almost everywhere.
FPS is an abbreviation that stands for "frames per second" (frame rate). For example, when a video is 30 fps, 30 images are shown for every second of video. A higher fps value makes movement smoother. FPS, along with resolution and compression, has a big impact on how your video looks. By default, Bolide Movie Creator creates videos at 30 fps; you can change the frame rate with "Output video resolution" - "Custom ..." (see Project Video Resolution and Frame Rate).
Freeze frame is an effect that stops the picture on one frame for a few seconds, while the video before and after it plays normally. In Bolide Movie Creator, right-click a video block and choose "Freeze frame". See Freeze Frame.
Hardware (GPU) acceleration means that the video card, not only the processor, encodes the finished video. It makes rendering much faster. In Bolide Movie Creator, it is the "GPU acceleration" option in the "Save to Video" window.
Key point is a point on the volume line of a block. By adding key points and moving them up or down, you can make the sound louder or quieter in certain places. See how to adjust audio levels.
Knockouts refer to a portion of an image that has been removed to reveal another image underneath it (or to create an empty space within the picture).
Opacity is the measure of how solid an image is. At 100% "opacity" a video image or stream is considered fully opaque; at 0% an image becomes completely invisible. Opacity is often associated with fades, transitions and other visual effects that involve superimposing or gradual in/out (begin/end) points.
Pan and zoom is a smooth "camera" movement over a photo: the frame slides across the image and/or zooms in and out. It brings photos to life in a slideshow. See Pan and Zoom effect for photos.
Pixels: digital images are made up of thousands of tiny colored dots called pixels. The more pixels that an image has, the higher the quality that image will be, and the easier it becomes to change and control visual elements like color and brightness.
Preview Window is located in the upper-right part of the video editor. Here you can see changes that are made to your movie in real-time. Just added a new effect or transition? Not sure if it's the right one? Position the cursor near the new timeline element and push the play button under the preview window to see how it looks! Note: if the image in the preview window looks less sharp than you expect during playback, don't worry. The preview is optimized for smooth playback while you build your movie; the finished video is created in full quality.
Post-production refers to everything that happens after you've finished filming and started the editing. Piecing different clips together, adding background music, creating title cards... all of these activities (and more) are considered part of the post-production process. You'll discover that a great deal of time can be spent in post-production working to get your video just right. As with any activity, video editing can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.
Rendering is what we call the process of taking a video project – all the bits & pieces, clips and songs, text, and transitions – everything on the timeline – and merging it into a single video file. Rendering is probably the most resource-intensive activity connected with video editing. The faster your computer's processor and video card, the faster you'll be able to render your finished projects; turn on GPU acceleration to speed it up.
Resolution: video resolution measures the density, or a number of pixels in the image. The higher the resolution, the more pixels there will be packed into an image. High-resolutions like 1920x1080 will provide audiences with a much clearer picture than say... 320x240. Resolution is tied directly to the quality of the camera used to gather the video image. For ex: if you captured the image at 320x240 you could not make it 1280x720 later. You can, however, modify resolution in a backward compatible way. A video shot at 1920x1080 can be reduced to 1280x720 no problem. The more pixels your video has to begin with, the more it can afford to lose later. The resolution of your movie is set in the project settings, see Project Video Resolution and Frame Rate.
Reverse means playing a video backwards. In Bolide Movie Creator, it is the "Reverse video" command: the program creates a reversed copy of the clip. See Reversing a Video.
Stabilization (deshaking) removes the shaking of a hand-held camera from a video. See how to stabilize a video.
Superimposing occurs when you overlap more than one visual element in a way that allows you to see both at the same time. Usually, this requires adjusting the opacity on one of the images so that it becomes partially "see-through". That way, your audience can see a strong 100% image underneath with a faded 50% (etc.) image over top of it. Try adjusting the opacity to create the best look for your video project.
Timeline: video editors build their movies by placing bits & pieces of media on the timeline. It's called the "timeline" because just as life moves forward minute by minute, so too does a video. As you build your movie, occasionally push play and watch your video in the preview window. The more practiced you become in video storytelling, the more clips your project timelines will contain!
Tracks are the layers that you see stacked on your timeline. The more moving parts your video has, the more complex it becomes. Stacking multiple tracks is an easy way to keep your different types of media separate when building your movies. For instance, you might consider having all the video on one track, the audio on another, and your text on a third. In Bolide Movie Creator, upper tracks are displayed over the lower ones.
Transitions include a variety of effects designed to move from one scene to the next smoothly; one clip to another. Both audio and video clips benefit from the inclusion of well-placed transitions; giving the audience a chance to "catch their breath" as you introduce them to the next scene. Classic transitions are often not much more than transparency or fade.
Transparency lets you see through an image to what is underneath it. In Bolide Movie Creator, right-click a video or photo block and choose "Transparency": the values from 0.1 to 0.9 show how much of the image remains visible (0.1 is almost invisible), and "Full Opaque" returns the normal image. Transparency is closely linked with transitions, fades and the concept of opacity. See also how to make a video transparent.
Virtual screen is a way to show several videos or photos in one frame at the same time, for example side by side or picture-in-picture, using a template. See how to create a Virtual Screen effect template.
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