V
AKA: Video, Direct to video
An IMDb notation to indicate that a particular title was originally released on video without a screening or being broadcast.

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Velocity Scan Modulation
See scan velocity modulation .

Vertical Compression
Feature found on 4:3 TVs designed to take advantage of the extra resolution in anamorphic DVDs and other wide-screen content. Pioneered by Sony, this feature squeezes the TV raster so that the electron beam scans in a smaller area. It requires setting the DVD player to 16:9 mode, eliminates anamorphic downconversion artifacts, and ideally provides a 33 percent increase in resolution in the letterboxed image.

Vertical Frequency
In television, the number of vertical fields per second measured in hertz. NTSC has a vertical frequency of 60Hz, whereas PAL has 50Hz.

Vertical Resolution
The number of horizontal lines (or pixels) that can be resolved from the top of an image to the bottom. (Think of hundreds of horizontal lines or dots stacked on top of one another.) The vertical resolution of the analog NTSC TV standard is 525 lines. Some lines are used to carry other data such as closed-captioning text, test signals, and so on, so we end up with about 480 lines in the final image. All of the typical NTSC sources, including VHS VCRs, cable, and over-the-air broadcast TV (analog), non-HD digital satellite TV, DVD players, camcorders, and so forth, have a vertical resolution of 480 lines. DTV signals have vertical resolution that ranges from 480 lines for SDTV , to 720 or 1,080 lines for HDTV .

VG
AKA: Video game
An IMDb notation to indicate that a particular title is a video game.

On the web: More on IMDb title notations


Vertigo effect
A camera technique created by Alfred Hitchcock during his film Vertigo that involves tracking backwards while simultaneously zooming in, making the person or object in the center of the image seem stationary while their surroundings change.

Video Assist
Motion picture camera s often include a video camera that allows instant review of a scene to monitor framing, focus , and performance. Both this system and the person operating it are referred to as video assist.

Video Cassette Recorder
AKA: VCR
A common household appliance for recording and/or playing prerecorded video tapes. See VHS, NTSC and PAL .

Video Home System
AKA: VHS
Video Home System is a popular format for VCR systems worldwide. See also DVD .

Visual Effects
Alterations to a film's images during post-production . Contrast with special effects (except in UK television, where visual effects and special effects are sometimes the same).

Visual Effects Supervisor
AKA: Visual Effects Director
The chief of a production 's visual effects crew .

Voice-Over
AKA: Voice Over, VO
Indicates that dialogue will be heard on a movie's soundtrack , but the speaker will not be shown. The abbreviation is often used as an annotation in a script .

Voice-Over Artist
The unseen person who does the speaking necessary to create a voice-over .

VSB

Vestigial sideband. A type of digital television transmission technology; the U.S. DTV standard uses 8VSB .