The Technical Side of Editing Questions

Question 1: What do the numbers 16:9 refer to?

16:9 refers to the aspect ratio of the video, the numbers come from the width and height of the video. 16:9 is more commonly referred to as widescreen and is used primarily in cinema and on widescreen monitors/TV's

Question 2: What is the frame size of a 1080p file

A 1080p file is in the resolution 1920x1080 pixels. 1080p is the blu ray standard and is the most common from of HD video

Question 3: If you have a video file which is 720:50p what is the frame rate and what does the 'p' stand for?

The first number is the resolution in this case it is 1280x720 and the second number is the frame rate which is 50 fps. The p refers to how the frames are shown, p means progressive scan which means the frames are shown one after the other.

Question 4: What is the difference between p and i (e.g. 1080p)

As previously mentioned the p means progressive scan which means the frames are shown one by one, the i means interlaced which means the frames are shown in halves and are 'laced' together when it is played.

Question 5: What frame rate is real film shot at?

Real film is shot at 24 fps (frames per second) as this is the frame rate which we distinguish as video as opposed to a series of images.

Question 6: What might be the advantage of shooting at a higher frame rate?

A higher frame rate allows for a smoother viewing as there are more frames being displayed allowing for less motion blur to cover up the stuttering and blurring effects in lower frame rates. A higher frame rate also allows for better slow motion.

Question 7: What defines a lossy file?

A lossy file is a file that can lose data for example a jpeg if saved many many times will start to lose data and become distorted.

Question 8: Name three file types commonly used in video editing

MOV H.264  MPEG

Question 9: What is the difference between a video file type and a codec?

A video file type is the type of file the video clip is saved as i.e. MPEG, MOV etc. the codec is the method or program which saves the file in that format i.e a file converter or program such as Premier pro.

Question 10: What is bitrate?

The bitrate is the rate at which the file displays information, the higher the bitrate the higher the quality of the video.