Glossary -K-
Key (or luminance key) — Special effect where the dark parts of one camera’s picture are replaced with parts from another camera’s picture.
Key light — Brightest and main source of lighting for a subject, creating the primary shadows.
Key sensitivity — Control on a switcher/SEG that determines how dark something has to be before it disappears and is replaced by another camera’s picture. In chroma keys, it determines how much color something needs before it is replaced by another camera’s picture.
Keystone — A distorted view of an object (usually a graphic) caused by aiming a camera at it from an angle; the nearer part of the graphic appears larger than the farther part. A square could take on a trapezoidal “keystone” shape.
Keystoning — Projection phenomenon where a projector is aimed at an angle to a screen forming a trapezoidal image.
Kilohertz — One thousand cycles (vibrations) per second, represented by 1 KHz, which is near the sound frequencies of speech.
Kinemation — 3-D animation feature allowing you to move one part of a flexible, jointed object, and have the other parts follow naturally.
Kiss black — Fade to black followed immediately by a fade up on a new picture.
Ku-band — A range of microwave frequencies between 12.5 and 18GHz.
Kukaloris or cookie — A metal pattern which, when inserted in a pattern spotlight, projects a design.
