An interactive video editing dictionary

The same subject appears on both sides of a cut with time removed in between.

A cut between similar framings that visibly skips forward in time or makes the subject jump.

Example

Pauses are removed from a talking-head answer while the camera angle stays fixed.

Common mistake

Leaving tiny accidental jumps that look like playback glitches rather than intentional pacing.

The next shot’s audio block starts to the left of its video block, forming a J shape.

The audio from the next shot begins before its picture appears.

Example

We hear the interviewee answer while the previous establishing shot is still visible.

Common mistake

Starting incoming dialogue so early that viewers cannot tell who is speaking.

The first shot’s audio block extends to the right beneath the next video block.

The audio from the current shot continues after the picture changes.

Example

A speaker’s sentence continues while the edit shows the product they are describing.

Common mistake

Letting outgoing audio overlap a new speaker or unrelated action without a clear purpose.

A circular shape stays aligned across both sides of the cut.

A cut that links two shots through matching shape, movement, composition, or meaning.

Example

A spinning bicycle wheel cuts to a similarly framed spinning product dial.

Common mistake

Matching only the subject while direction, scale, or timing changes enough to break the illusion.

A detail shot temporarily replaces the main shot before the edit returns.

A shot inserted to show a related detail, action, or listener away from the main shot.

Example

A close-up of hands using the app covers an edit in the presenter’s explanation.

Common mistake

Using generic footage that does not support what the audience is hearing at that moment.

Landscape, square, and portrait rectangles show different frame proportions.

The proportional relationship between a frame’s width and height, such as 16:9 or 9:16.

Example

A horizontal 16:9 tutorial is reframed into a vertical 9:16 short.

Common mistake

Stretching footage to fill a new ratio instead of cropping, padding, or reframing it.

A three-by-three grid marks four common points of visual emphasis.

A composition guide that divides the frame into thirds and places important elements near the intersections.

Example

An interview subject’s eyes sit near the upper-left intersection with look room to the right.

Common mistake

Treating the grid as a rigid law even when centered or intentionally unbalanced framing works better.

A face sits below a measured top margin that represents headroom.

The visible space between the top of a subject’s head and the top edge of the frame.

Example

A close interview frame leaves a small, deliberate gap above the speaker’s hair.

Common mistake

Leaving so much empty space that the subject appears low and disconnected from the frame.

An inset dashed rectangle marks a conservative region for important content.

An inset planning region used to keep essential text and subjects away from edges or interface overlays.

Example

A vertical caption is raised so app controls are less likely to cover it.

Common mistake

Assuming one guide is an official or permanent specification for every platform and placement.

A cool blue frame and warm orange frame converge on a neutral center.

The adjustment that makes neutral objects look neutral under different light colors.

Example

Indoor footage with an orange cast is cooled until a white wall appears white again.

Common mistake

Correcting skin tone by eye on an uncalibrated display without checking neutral references.

Three frames compare underexposed, balanced, and overexposed brightness.

The overall amount of light recorded in an image and the resulting brightness range.

Example

Highlights are lowered to restore detail in a bright window behind a presenter.

Common mistake

Lifting an underexposed shot until noise and washed-out blacks become distracting.

A neutral image is transformed into a coordinated cool-shadow, warm-highlight palette.

Creative color adjustments used to shape mood and create consistency after correction.

Example

A product film adds slightly cool shadows and warm highlights across every shot.

Common mistake

Applying a strong look before matching exposure and white balance between cameras.

A one-second strip compares fewer widely spaced frames with more closely spaced frames.

The number of video frames shown or captured each second, expressed as fps.

Example

A 60 fps recording is slowed to 30 fps for smooth half-speed movement.

Common mistake

Interpreting 24 fps footage as 30 fps and creating repeated or uneven frames.

Small and large streams of data blocks represent lower and higher bitrates.

The amount of video or audio data used per second, usually measured in kbps or Mbps.

Example

A higher bitrate preserves more texture in a fast-moving confetti scene at the cost of file size.

Common mistake

Treating bitrate as the only quality measure without considering codec, resolution, and content.

Raw frames pass through an encoder into a compact file and back through a decoder.

A method used to encode and decode video or audio data, such as H.264 or AV1.

Example

A project exports H.264 video in an MP4 container for broad playback compatibility.

Common mistake

Using the words codec and container interchangeably; MP4 can contain different codecs.

A low, continuous waveform bridges the space between two dialogue regions.

The low-level ambient sound of a location when nobody is speaking.

Example

A few seconds of the room’s natural sound fills gaps after dialogue edits.

Common mistake

Replacing a pause with digital silence, creating an obvious drop in the background sound.

A dashed threshold sits above a band of low-level waveform noise.

The baseline level of hiss, hum, room sound, and electronic noise in a recording.

Example

A microphone preamp’s steady hiss is audible when the speaker pauses.

Common mistake

Removing so much background noise that voices sound metallic or watery.

A music level line dips beneath a dialogue region and rises smoothly afterward.

Automatically or manually lowering one sound while another important sound is present.

Example

Background music drops while narration plays, then rises during a pause.

Common mistake

Reducing music so abruptly that every spoken phrase causes a distracting volume pump.

A player’s CC control toggles a separate caption layer above the video.

Timed text that viewers can typically turn on or off in a compatible player.

Example

A platform receives an SRT or VTT file alongside the video and renders selectable text.

Common mistake

Delivering dialogue only while omitting meaningful sound cues required for accessibility.

Caption text is visibly fused into the picture rather than shown as a separate track.

Caption text permanently rendered into the video pixels, so it cannot be turned off.

Example

A short-form clip exports with styled word-by-word captions visible in every player.

Common mistake

Placing text too low, where a platform interface may cover it, or exporting without proofreading.