CONTINUITY CUTTING— In television, a com-
monly used videotape editing technique for news or
feature releases when the storytelling is dependent
on matching consecutive scenes. Continuity cutting
includes the cutaway and cut-in.
CONTRAST— In still photography and television, a
general term referring to differences among
extremes of tone values in negatives, prints and
subject or lighting. When the difference is great, the
contrast is called high, hard or contrasty; when the
difference is slight, the contrast is soft, flat or low.
COPY— A term used to describe all news manuscripts
and text or artwork to be printed in a publication.
COPY EDITING— The process of locating and
correcting inaccuracies in a news manuscript before
they can be printed and distributed.
COPY EDITING SYMBOLS— A special set of
symbols used by a copy editor to make corrections,
additions or deletions in copy.
COPYRIGHT— The exclusive right of possession
given an individual by law to protect his literary
works; musical works (including any accom-
panying words); dramatic works (including any
accompanying music); pantomimes and chore-
ographic works; pictorial, graphic and sculptural
works; motion pictures and other audiovisual
works; and sound recordings.
COUNTDOWN LEADER— In television, the
numbers that appear on videotape before the actual
program begins. Countdown leader is used to
facilitate precise cuing.
CREATED NEWS— News that is generally concerned
with something the Navy, or some person or
organization has done or plans to do and wants the
public to know about.
CREDIT LINE— The final portion of a cutline used to
acknowledge the originator of a photograph.
CROP— The act of blocking out unwanted portions of
a photograph, either by cutting the print or by
enlarging or contact printing.
CROSSCUTTING— In television, the use of shots
from two different actions or events that will finally
be related.
CUE— (1) In radio and television, the act of presetting
programming materials so that they are available for
immediate airing. (2) The signal given to the talent
by the floor manager, meaning “begin action” or
“start talking.”
CUE DOTS— In television, the small, white squares
that appear in the upper right-hand comer of the
television screen when certain Armed Forces Radio
and Television Service (AFRTS) videocassettes are
played. Programs on multiple videocassettes are
cue-dotted at 10, seven and two seconds from the
end of each tape, except the last tape of the program.
CUTAWAY— In television, a secondary action shot
used to change positions, movements or characters
or to denote a lapse of time.
CUT-IN— In television, a primary action shot from the
main scene that is relevant to the mood or action.
CUTLINE— The explanatory matter that accompanies
a photograph. A cutline supplements a photograph
by explaining action, naming people and giving
background information.
CUTOFF LINE SYSTEM— In television, natural
dividing lines that assist the director in producing
aesthetically pleasing shots.
CUTOFF RULE— A rule or line placed horizontally
across one or more columns to separate units, such
as boxes and multicolumn heads, from the rest of
the page.
CYLINDER— See PLATEN.
DAISY WHEEL— In typewriters and printers, the
mechanism used to print keyboard characters. The
individual characters of a daisy wheel are mounted
in a circular pattern and connected to a hub with
spokes; the whole unit resembles a daisy. When a
character on the keyboard is depressed, the daisy
wheel rotates until the correct character is in place.
DATELINE— The lead-in line of a cutline or story that
gives the point of origin.
dB (DECIBEL) GAIN SWITCH— In television, a
switch used to increase the video output of a camera.
The dB gain switch normally has two positions —
6dB and 12dB.
DC— Direct Current. The type of electrical current
available from batteries.
DEPTH— In still photography, an illusion of three-
dimensional space that is sometimes created by a
combination of favorable lighting and coloring of
the set and favorable viewing conditions for the
reproduction.
DEPTH OF FIELD— The distance between the points
nearest and farthest from the camera that are
acceptably sharp at a given lens setting.
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