Online Glossary

Captioning

CCD

CGI

Chromakey

Close-up (CU)

Codec

Colour bar

Colour correction

Composite

Compression

Continuity

Cross-fade

‘Codec’ is shorthand for compression/decompression. There are many codecs, each of which compress and decompress video using different techniques. The same codec that compressed the video must be used to view it. If you find some movie files refuse to play, it is probably because you need a specific codec. It is important to pick the right codec to achieve the desired balance of filesize and picture quality.