Timecode

Written as 01:23:45:12, timecode gives every frame a unique label, so two people discussing the same moment mean the same frame. Editors use it to sync multiple cameras and separate audio recorders, and to pass notes between departments without ambiguity. The wrinkle is drop frame. Video at 29.97 frames per second runs fractionally slower than the clock, so drop-frame timecode skips certain frame numbers to keep the display honest across long durations. No actual frames go missing, only labels, and you spot it by the semicolons. Mixing drop frame and non-drop frame material in one project produces offsets that are miserable to trace.