Producing for TV and New Media: Glossary - M-O

Motion control camera (also called title camera)

A computer-controlled camera designed to pinpoint details, with zooms, pans, and other camera angles

Motion control camera

Also called title camera

Music clearance

Written legal permission to use pre-existing music in a project

Music director

Works with the pre-existing music (including popular recordings) to craft together a musical score for a production

Music supervisor

The supervisor of the overall creation of a musical score that uses
original music and/or existing or prerecorded music, he or she is often responsible for the legal clearances and licensing of any music needed in the project

Narration

Also called voice-over, narration is provided by an off-camera person who records the script at a recording studio

Needle drop

During audio postproduction, various sound effects and music cues from a sound effects or music library might be added and dropped into the mix

Network

A national broadcasting entity made up of many stations in various locations, usually larger cities

Neutral-density (ND) filters

A grayish filtering material often used in shooting video, placed over windows to filter the natural outdoor light

ND filters

Neutral-density filters

Niche marketing

A specific smaller television market with precise demographics and
interests for which a broadcaster creates programming

NLE (nonlinear editor)

Referring to both the editor and the editing system itself, a digital system that edits footage in a random, nonsequential way, like film-style editing

NLE

Nonlinear editor

Noise

In video, noise on the video signal is created by distortion, and results in the visual effect of “snow” or a hissing sound in the audio

NTSC (National Television Standards Committee)

A national standard for American color television, consisting of 525 interlaced scan lines per frame and running at 30 frames per second

NTSC

National Television Standards Committee

Offline edit

Versions of an edited project, cut at a low resolution, that require much less storage space and usually conformed in an online session

Omnidirectional

A microphone that can pick up audio from all directions

Online edit

The final cut from the offline session is brought into an online session, during which the original high-resolution footage is assembled. The final audio track along with graphics or other elements are also married to the picture

On-set dresser

A person responsible for dressing a set with appropriate furnishings

One-off

A program that is self-contained, usually one or two hours in length. An example might be a documentary or a news-oriented special