Betamax (VT) one of the popular videotape cassettes formats, made by the Japanese firm Sony. Along with VHS, this is a format for home use or for very small audiences. The cassettes are marginally smaller than VHS.
Bullyboy dolly (VT, film) a dolly which can cope with the hardest of assignments. It’s a particularly tough type of dolly with pneumatic wheels, so that its movement doesn’t interfere with sound recording.
Binstick (film) a stick or pole made of wood or metal that hangs over the bin during the film editing. On this you can hang clips or short sequences of film so they’re immediately to hand.
Bin (film, sound, BT)
(1) During film editing the ‘bin’ contains complete sequences ready to be edited in. it’s just a suitably sized and shaped container.
(2) Nickname for very powerful speakers, used to generate atmosphere at business-theatre venues. The most powerful of these can transmit sound that convinces the audience they’re standing right by Concorde at take-off.
Bird (VT) a nickname for a satellite which you use to transmit international TV programming. Used as a verb, the act of so doing. In the non-entertainment side of the business, the only likely place you’ll come across satellite work is in a DBS teleconference.
Black crush (VT) a way of bringing down the black level on screen so as to create a more favorably cheerful background for captions.
Black-edge generator (VT) sometimes captions on screen don’t seem to stand out too well. A black-edge generator will provide a black edging round the characters, making them more prominent.
Blackout (BT)
(1) When the screen is totally black, without images on it.
(2) When all the lighting in a venue is killed and you’re in total darkness. Usually happens immediately prop to a dramatic visual effect.
Blacks (BT) the black bits of flat or cloth used t hide all the paraphernalia backstage – or to camouflage anything the audience shouldn’t see.
Blimp (film) see barney
Blind wipe (VT) a wipe effect that resembles the action of a Venetian blind. Through the appearance and disappearance of a series of lines running parallel to one side of the screen, you wipe from one picture to the next. Pretty, provided it isn’t used too often within a programme.
Blonde (VT, film) a quartz-iodine light with 2 kilowatts of power.
Bloop (sound) a method of covering up a join in a sound tape. You can either use ‘blooping ink’ (a thick fluid) or ‘blooping tape’.
Boat truck (VT, film, BT) a trolley, with wheels, on which bits of equipment, flats, parts of a set and so on are transported.
Bon-bon (BT) A spotlight with 2 kilowatts of power. It’s used to throw light on to one specific area, often the face of a performer.
Boom (sound, film, VT) a long arm, usually attached to the camera or sound unit, which holds a microphone at the business end. When you’re shooting a sequence on location or in the studio and you’re not using neck mikes or lapel mikes, the mike boom will hover overhead out off the camera’s view, but near enough to the performers to pick up the sound.
Boomy (sound) if you think of someone with a booming voice, you’ll probably remember that his or her lowest sounds – although not as shrill as the high notes – remind you of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier, or an explosion. With sound recording or reproduction, low loud sounds within a track can get distorted, which creates a similar effect and makes them ‘boom’ through the speakers. Hence ‘boomy’ sound.