Copy of `H.K. DVD Heaven - Multimedia glossary`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

H.K. DVD Heaven - Multimedia glossary Category: Sport and Leisure > Hong Kong Cinema and DVDs Date & country: 13/11/2007, UK Words: 27

Anime
Animated cartoon version of Manga. As is the case with many Manga comics, Anime frequently contains explicit sex and violence.

Artifacts - Pixellation
Pixelation/Artifacting usually manifests itself as a 'roughening' of the picture, and can be an extremely distracting occurrence in its worst cases. This is not an inherent problem with DVD's, and, with careful mastering, can be avoided.

Aspect Ratio
Refers to the width-to-height ratio that a film was originally shot in i.e. 2.35:1, 1.85:1, 1.78:1, etc. To put it very simply, watching a film with a 2.35:1 ratio will produce a greater amount of black bar than a 1.85:1 ratio print, but will contain more picture widthways.

Battling Babes
Term used to decribe actresses who often appear in films as skilled martial artists or weapons specialists. Also can be used to indicate a genre of films which feature female-on-male, or female-on-female action sequences.

Category I
Hong Kong film classification referring to films suitable for children and adults alike.

Category Ii
H.K. film classification - refers to movies containing violence, bad language and adult story-lines, which are not suitable for children. Cat.II A is the same as Cat.II - Not suitable for children. Cat.II B refers to films which are unsuitable for young people and children.

Category Iii
HK Film classification referring to movies containing explicit violence, sex and language, not suitable for minors.

Dual Layer
Refers to a disc which has the first, slightly transparent, layer placed over the second, so the disc is able to contain more information. Single Layer can holds 4.7Gb, Dual Layer 8.5Gb.

Dub-Titling-Dubtitles
Type of subtitles which are transcribed from the dubbed, English soundtrack of a film, rather than the original language soundtrack.

Gwai-Lo
Slightly derogatory. Cantonese term for 'Westerners' or 'Foreigners'.

Heroic Bloodshed
First coined by Rick Baker (a Hong Kong film fanatic), Heroic-Bloodshed refers to any film containing large amounts of gunplay. More specifically, it indicates a film whose 'hero' is usually maimed or killed by the final reel.

Hongkie
Slang term for someone from Hong Kong.

Layer-Change
The point on a disc where the DVD's laser refocuses to read the second layer of a Dual-Layer disc.

Manga
Japanese comic book. Manga comics are a far cry from their Western counterparts, often containing explicit sex and violence, although specific titles for children are also available. Virtually everyone in Japan, no matter their age, regularly reads Manga comics.

Manga-In-Motion
Term used to describe live-action adaptations of Japanese Manga comics or Anime.

Old School Kung-Fu
Term used to refer to Traditional Kung-Fu films.

Regional Code
Code which is digitally stamped onto a disc in order to stop it being played in a machine with a differing Regional Code. There are 6 Regional Codes which relate to different parts of the World.

Sifu
Cantonese term for 'Teacher'. Commonly used by Kung-Fu students to address their instructor.

Swordplay
Film, usually set pre-1900's, where hand-to-hand combat has been replaced with weapons combat. Swordplay films usually contain large amounts of Wire-Work. This is used to indicate the characters high level of internal power, and also to allow for more extravagant choreography.

Synch-Sound
Movie filmed with 'live' sound. i.e. the sound is recorded at the same time as the visuals.

Traditional Kung-Fu
Refers to films containing traditional Kung-Fu techniques in their fight scenes, made in the 70's and early 80's, rather than the Wire-Work and Kickboxing used in films of the late 80's.

Traditional Swordplay
Term used to describe Swordplay movies which contain little or no Wire-Work to enhance their choreography.

Trails-Trailing
Refers to a poorly mastered disc in which moving objects on screen are followed by a 'trail' of subsequent images.

Triads
Gangsters, not unlike the Mafia, whose main areas of income include prostitution, gambling and drugs.

Under-Cranking
Technique used in virtually all Hong Kong fights scenes to increase the pace of the action. Sequences are speeded up, after filming, to improve the impact of the choreography.

Wire-Fu
Term signifying a film where the Kung-fu has been entirely enhanced by Wire-Work. Instead of depicting realistic action, it opts for mid-air combat, death-defying jumps and improbable flying.

Wire-Work
Use of wires, connected to actors, allowing gravity-defying movements such as multiple flying kicks, mid-air spins and huge leaps.