We continue to decipher the Terms you hear constantly from the video makers.
Today let’s talk about time and how it is called in the production of videos. Let’s start with the most common term. It is the first thing asked by production studios to calculate the cost of the video. It’s Runtime.
What is runtime?
Video runtime is its duration. This term is often used by television, production studio and film industry employees.
Often, when creating a video, the customer makes a request: “The video must be accurately 30 seconds”. This means that the runtime of the video is 30 seconds.
Next time, read an annotation before watching any movie. It will always indicate its duration. For example: “duration: 90 minutes”, “runtime: 90 minutes”.
Warning! Do not be confused with the term timecode, which we will discuss later. These are completely different things.
What is a timecode and how will it help you to communicate with the production studio?
A timecode is the professional slang name of a time code on video. It was originally used for synchronization footage, taken by multiple cameras. But now, this word is used as a reference to a specific moment in the video.
For example: “at 01:21 titles error”, “you need to cut an episode from 0:22 to 0:27”.
Thus, timecode helps you to find a specific episode of the video. Make sure to use it for preparing comments on the video. This will greatly save your time while editing.
We know it according to our experience, that the term “time code” is often confused with timing. Remember, these are completely different things. Like a knot (time code) on a lace, the length (timing) of which is 20 cm.
Why is Timing here for?
Timing – is a common word today, that is strongly entrenched in the slang of office workers and others. A timing is called – a detailed schedule with dates and time, allotted for business. Most often, this term is used to reinforce corporate discipline, when employee’s breaks are carefully scheduled and monitored.
Therefore, this term, of course, does not have any relation to time code or timing.
“We have a 2 minutes timing” – means that the creation of the video takes 2 minutes. It is correct to say: “We have runtime – 2 minutes”.
