Video editing glossary

A-roll is the main footage of a video, the shots that carry the story. In a talking video, the A-roll is usually the person speaking to the camera, and B-roll is cut in over it.

Source: Wikipedia: B-roll, StudioBinder: What is B-Roll: The Difference Between A-Roll vs B-Roll Footage

An alpha channel is extra data in an image or video that sets how see-through each pixel is. White areas show fully, gray areas are partly transparent, and the rest lets the background show. A logo with an alpha channel sits over footage with no box around it.

Source: Apple Support: Use alpha channels in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Wikipedia: Alpha compositing

Aspect ratio is the shape of the frame, written as width to height. Widescreen video and TV use 16:9, square social posts use 1:1, and vertical phone videos for apps such as Instagram and YouTube use 9:16.

Source: Wikipedia: Aspect ratio (image), Apple Support: Create square or vertical versions of a project in Final Cut Pro for Mac

B-roll is extra footage that an editor cuts in with the main shot. For example, while a chef talks about a recipe, the video cuts to close shots of the food being made, then back to the chef.

Source: Wikipedia: B-roll, StudioBinder: What is B-Roll: The Difference Between A-Roll vs B-Roll Footage

Beat sync means timing cuts and effects to the beats of the music, so the picture changes on the rhythm. Some editing apps detect the beats in a song and show them on the timeline, so clip edges snap to each beat.

Source: Apple Support: Edit to the beat in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Bitrate is the amount of data a video uses for each second of playback, usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps). A higher bitrate keeps more detail but makes a bigger file. YouTube recommends 8 Mbps for a standard 1080p upload at 24 to 30 fps.

Source: Wikipedia: Bit rate, YouTube Help: YouTube recommended upload encoding settings

Burned-in captions, also called open captions, are text that is part of the video picture itself. Viewers cannot turn them off because they are part of every frame. Closed captions are a separate track that viewers can switch on or off.

Source: Apple Support: burn in (glossary), Apple Support: Intro to captions in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Wikipedia: Closed captioning

Subtitles show the spoken words on screen, often as a translation into another language. Captions also describe other sounds, such as music or a door slam, so they help people who are deaf or hard of hearing and people who watch with the sound off.

Source: Wikipedia: Subtitles, Apple Support: Intro to captions in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Chroma key removes one color from a shot, usually a green or blue background, so another image can show through. For example, a presenter filmed in front of a green screen can appear to stand in a newsroom or on a beach.

Source: Wikipedia: Chroma key, Apple Support: Intro to keying in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A close-up is a shot that frames a person or object tightly, for example a face from the neck up. It shows the most detail and emotion but leaves out the wider scene around the subject.

Source: Wikipedia: Close-up

A codec is software or hardware that compresses video to make files smaller and decompresses it again for playback. The name comes from encoder and decoder. H.264 is a common codec that streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix use.

Source: Wikipedia: Video codec

Color correction fixes the color and exposure of each shot so it looks natural and the shots in a scene match. Editors use it to remove color casts, fix white balance and make skin tones look right.

Source: Apple Support: Intro to color correction in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Color grading changes the look of footage after it is shot by adjusting contrast, color, saturation and black levels. It sets the mood of a video, for example a warm golden look for a travel film or a cold blue look for a thriller.

Source: Wikipedia: Color grading, Apple Support: Apply LUTs in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Cross-cutting switches back and forth between two or more actions to show that they happen at the same time. For example, a video cuts between a runner getting ready at home and a crowd waiting at the finish line.

Source: Wikipedia: Cross-cutting

A crossfade, or dissolve, is a transition where one shot slowly fades out while the next shot fades in, so both overlap for a moment. Editors often use it to show that time has passed between two scenes.

Source: Wikipedia: Dissolve (filmmaking)

A cutaway is a short shot of something else that interrupts the main action, followed by a cut back to the first shot. For example, during an interview the video cuts to the crowd for a second, then returns to the speaker.

Source: Wikipedia: Cutaway (filmmaking)

An end card is the closing screen of a video that tells viewers what to do next. On YouTube, end screens can appear in the last 5 to 20 seconds and can link to another video, a playlist, a channel or a subscribe button.

Source: YouTube Help: Add end screens to videos

An establishing shot shows where a scene takes place before the action starts. It is usually a wide shot at the start of a scene, such as the outside of a cafe before the video cuts to two people talking at a table inside.

Source: Wikipedia: Establishing shot

A fade in is a transition from a blank screen, usually black, to a shot. A fade out goes from a shot to a blank screen. Editors often use them at the start and end of a video or between major sections.

Source: Wikipedia: Dissolve (filmmaking)

Frame interpolation creates new in-between frames from the frames a video already has. Editors use it to make slow motion look smooth when the footage was not shot at a high frame rate. Optical flow is one common method.

Source: Wikipedia: Motion interpolation, Apple Support: Change clip speed in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Frame rate is the number of still images, or frames, a video shows each second, measured in frames per second (fps). Film traditionally runs at 24 fps, and common video rates are 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps.

Source: Wikipedia: Frame rate, YouTube Help: YouTube recommended upload encoding settings

A freeze frame holds one frame on screen so the action seems to stop, like a still photo. For example, a video can freeze on a skier in mid-air, then play on.

Source: Wikipedia: Freeze-frame shot, Apple Support: Create freeze frames in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A hook is the opening of a short video, made to stop viewers from scrolling past. It uses suspense, surprise or emotion in the first seconds. TikTok advises advertisers to place the hook in the first 6 seconds.

Source: TikTok Ads Manager Help: Creative best practices for performance ads

A hyperlapse is a time-lapse where the camera moves a short distance between each shot. The result is a fast journey through a place, such as gliding down a city street in a few seconds.

Source: Wikipedia: Hyperlapse

An insert shot is a close view of a detail from a scene that the wide shot already covers, such as a clock, a phone screen or a hand on a door handle. It directs the viewer to a detail they might otherwise miss.

Source: Wikipedia: Insert (filmmaking)

A J-cut is an edit where the sound of the next shot starts before its picture appears. For example, you hear waves crashing while the picture still shows a car on the road, and then the video cuts to the beach.

Source: Wikipedia: J cut

A jump cut removes a piece from the middle of one continuous shot, so the subject seems to jump forward in time. For example, cutting the pauses out of a long talking clip makes the speaker jump slightly between sentences.

Source: Wikipedia: Jump cut, Apple Support: Intro to retiming clips in Final Cut Pro for Mac

The Ken Burns effect adds slow panning and zooming to still photos so they feel like moving footage. It is named after the documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who used it often in his documentaries.

Source: Wikipedia: Ken Burns effect

A keyframe marks a value at a point in time, such as the size or position of a clip. The editing app fills in every frame between two keyframes, so the change animates. For example, two keyframes can make a photo slowly zoom in.

Source: Apple Support: Intro to video keyframing in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Wikipedia: Key frame

Kinetic typography is animated text that moves, changes size or appears in time with a voice or music to express an idea or feeling. For example, the words of a song can pop onto the screen one at a time as they are sung.

Source: Wikipedia: Kinetic typography

An L-cut is an edit where the sound of one shot keeps playing after the picture cuts to the next shot. For example, a person keeps talking while the video already shows what they are talking about.

Source: Wikipedia: L cut

Letterboxing adds black bars above and below a picture so that wide footage fits a narrower screen without cropping. For example, a wide film shown on a 16:9 TV often has bars at the top and bottom.

Source: Wikipedia: Letterboxing (filming)

A lower third is a graphic in the lower part of the screen, often text with a box or shading behind it. News shows and interviews use it to show the name and role of the person speaking.

Source: Wikipedia: Lower third

A LUT, or lookup table, is a file that changes the colors of footage in a fixed way. Editors use LUTs to turn flat, gray log footage into normal color, or to give clips a ready-made look.

Source: Apple Support: Apply LUTs in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Wikipedia: 3D lookup table

A mask is a shape that sets which part of a frame shows and which part becomes transparent. Editors use masks to cut out a subject, hide part of a shot or apply an effect to only one area, such as blurring a face.

Source: Apple Support: Intro to masking in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A match cut joins two shots that share a similar shape, action or composition, so the move from one to the next feels connected. For example, a spinning ball cuts to a spinning planet of the same size in the frame.

Source: Wikipedia: Match cut

A montage is a series of short shots edited together to show a lot of information or a long stretch of time quickly. A classic example is a training montage that shows weeks of practice in under a minute.

Source: Wikipedia: Montage (filmmaking)

Motion tracking records how an object moves in a shot so text, graphics or effects can follow it. For example, a name can stay next to a swimmer during a race, or a blur can follow a face to hide it.

Source: Apple Support: Intro to object tracking in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Wikipedia: Match moving

An overlay is a video, image, text or graphic placed on top of the main video. Editors use overlays for logos, watermarks, picture-in-picture, split screens and short clips that play without cutting away from the main footage.

Source: Movavi Video Editor Help: Creating overlays

A phonk edit is a short, high-energy video cut to phonk music, a hip hop style with heavy bass and cowbell sounds. Phonk edits are common on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, often with footage of drifting cars, sports or weightlifting.

Source: Wikipedia: Phonk

Picture lock is the stage of an edit when all changes to the picture are done and approved. After picture lock, the edit moves on to final steps such as sound mixing, and any late change can mean redoing that later work.

Source: Wikipedia: Picture lock

Picture-in-picture puts a small video or image in a window on top of the main video. For example, a gaming video shows the gameplay full screen with the player's face in a corner, or a podcast shows a guest's reaction in a small box.

Source: Riverside: Picture in Picture (PIP): What It Is, Movavi Video Editor Help: Creating overlays

Pillarboxing adds black bars to the left and right of a picture so a narrower video fits a wider screen. For example, an old 4:3 clip shown in a 16:9 video gets bars on both sides.

Source: Wikipedia: Pillarbox, Wikipedia: Aspect ratio (image)

A proxy is a smaller, lighter copy of a video file that you edit with instead of the original. Proxies make editing faster and use much less storage. The editing app keeps the original files, which are used for the final export.

Source: Apple Support: Create optimized and proxy files in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Reframing changes the crop of each shot to fit a new aspect ratio while keeping the subject in view. For example, a widescreen video becomes a vertical 9:16 version for social media, with each shot moved so faces stay in the frame.

Source: Apple Support: Adjust framing with Smart Conform in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Apple Support: Create square or vertical versions of a project in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Rendering is when the editing app processes effects, titles and transitions into finished frames so the video plays smoothly. Exporting saves the finished video as a file in a set format, for example a file sized for a phone or for a social platform.

Source: Apple Support: Background rendering in Final Cut Pro for Mac, Apple Support: Intro to sharing projects in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A rough cut is an early version of an edit, with the chosen shots in roughly the right order. It shows the shape of the story but may still lack music, sound effects, visual effects or finished titles.

Source: Wikipedia: Rough cut

The safe zone is the part of the frame where text and key content stay visible. On TikTok and other vertical video apps, the app interface sits on top of the video, so anything outside the safe zone can be covered or cropped.

Source: Wikipedia: Safe area (television), TikTok Ads Manager Help: TopView ad specifications, TikTok Ads Manager Help: Creative best practices for performance ads

Shot reverse shot is a pattern that cuts between two people facing each other, first one, then the other looking back. Because each looks toward the other, viewers read the two shots as a conversation.

Source: Wikipedia: Shot/reverse shot

Slow motion makes action play slower than real time. It is usually made by filming at a high frame rate and playing the footage back at a normal rate, or by slowing a clip in the editing software.

Source: Wikipedia: Slow motion, Apple Support: Change clip speed in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A smash cut is a sudden cut from one scene to a very different one, at a moment where the viewer does not expect a cut. For example, a loud party cuts straight to a silent bedroom the next morning, often for comic or dramatic effect.

Source: Wikipedia: Smash cut

A speed ramp is a smooth change in playback speed within one clip, such as normal speed easing into slow motion and then speeding up again. Editors use it to stretch out a key moment, such as a jump or a goal.

Source: StudioBinder: How to Speed Ramp in Premiere, Apple Support: Intro to retiming clips in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Split screen divides the frame into two or more parts that each show a different shot at the same time. It is often used to show both people in a phone call, or a before and after comparison side by side.

Source: Wikipedia: Split screen effect

A supercut is a montage of many short clips that share one theme, such as the same word, action or line repeated across movies or videos. It is often made for comic effect or to sum up a long story quickly.

Source: Wikipedia: Supercut

A time-lapse shows a long event in a short time by capturing frames far less often than they are played back. For example, a scene captured at 1 frame per second and played at 30 fps runs 30 times faster, so clouds race across the sky.

Source: Wikipedia: Time-lapse photography

The timeline is the part of an editing app where you arrange clips in order over time. The main video and voice sit on the main track, and B-roll, titles, music and sound effects are placed above or below it.

Source: Apple Support: Intro to the Magnetic Timeline in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A title card is a screen of text edited into a video, for example to show the title, a chapter name or a line of story. Title cards can carry dialogue or story text, and many videos use them at the start or end.

Source: Wikipedia: Intertitle

A transition is the way one shot changes to the next. Most changes are simple cuts, but editors also use dissolves, fades, wipes and other effects to set a mood, show that time has passed or separate parts of a story.

Source: Wikipedia: Film transition

A velocity edit is a short video that speeds up and slows down footage at chosen moments, often timed to the beats of a song. It is a common style for short videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Source: Kapwing: How to Make a Velocity Edit Online, CapCut: Your Guide on How to Do Velocity on CapCut and Level up Your Videos

A voiceover is a voice heard over the picture from someone who is not speaking on screen. It is usually read from a script, for example a narrator explaining what is happening in a documentary or a product video.

Source: Wikipedia: Voice-over

A whip pan is a camera move that turns so fast the picture blurs into streaks. Editors often use it as a transition between two shots, and it can suggest time passing or a fast pace.

Source: Wikipedia: Whip pan

White balance adjusts the colors of a shot so that white and gray objects look neutral, without a blue or orange tint. For example, it fixes footage that looks too orange under indoor lights or too blue in shade.

Source: Wikipedia: Color balance, Apple Support: Intro to color correction in Final Cut Pro for Mac

A wipe is a transition where the next shot pushes across the frame and replaces the current one, moving from one side to the other or in a shape such as a circle. A barn door wipe opens from the center or closes toward it.

Source: Wikipedia: Wipe (transition)