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TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
LESSON 22
TECHNICAL CODES, TERMINOLOGY, AND PRODUCTION GRAMMAR
TV production
TV production is the process of making a programme, from an initial story idea or commission through
scriptwriting, shooting, editing and finally distribution to an audience. Typically it involves a large
number of people and can take anywhere between a few months and several years to complete.
Production takes place all over the world in a huge range of economic, social and political contexts,
using a variety of technologies and techniques.
Stages in TV production
Pre-production
Preparation for the shoot, in which cast and crew are hired, locations are selected, and sets are built.
Production
The raw elements for the finished film are recorded.
Post-production
The film is edited, sound effects, music and any computer effects are added, and the film is completed.
Creativity
Creativity (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or
new associations between existing ideas or concepts.
From a scientific point of view, the products of creative thought (sometimes referred to as divergent
thought) are usually considered to have both originality and appropriateness. An alternative, more
everyday conception of creativity is that it is simply the act of making something new.
Idea
It is the plan of action, a general notion, conception, comprehension, construct, thing, formed in the
mind, directly conceived or intuited object of thought or something formed by mentally combining all
its characteristics or particulars.
An idea is an image, also concept or abstraction formed and existing in the mind. Human capability to
contemplate ideas is associated with the ability of reasoning, self-reflection, and the ability to acquire
and apply intellect.
Concept
Concepts are expected to be useful in dealing with reality. Generally speaking, concepts are taken to be
(a) acquired dispositions to recognize perceived objects as being of this kind or of that ontological kind,
and at the same time (b) to understand what this kind or that kind of object is like, and consequently (c)
to perceive a number of perceived particulars as being the same in kind and to discriminate between
them and other sensible particulars that are different in kind.
Casting
The process of talent hunt for any programme is casting. The casting director finds actors for the parts in
the script. This normally requires an audition by the actor. Lead actors are carefully chosen and are
often based on the actor's reputation or "star power.
Script
A screenplay or script is an outline, written by a screenwriter, for a film or television program.
Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works such as novels. A screenplay
differs from a script in that it is more specifically targeted at the visual, narrative arts, such as film and
television, whereas a script can involve an outline of "what happens" in a comic, an advertisement, a
theatrical play and other creations.
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TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
Research
Research is constant navigation to know the truth.
Research is continuous effort to dig out facts.
Research is an endeavour to find something new.
Research is making new interpretation of existing knowledge.
Research is an addition to already present knowledge.
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is an outline, written by a screenwriter, for a film or television program.
Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works such as novels. A screenplay
differs from a script in that it is more specifically targeted at the visual, narrative arts, such as film and
television, whereas a script can involve a sketch of "what happens" in a comic, an advertisement, a
theatrical play and other creations.
Rehearsal
The actors rehearse their script and blocking with the director. The picture and sound crews then
rehearse with the actors. Finally, the action is shot with as many takes as the director wishes.
Cameraman
One or more camera operators who operate the television cameras, though in some instances these can
also be operated from Production Control Room using remote heads.
Frame
Frame is one of the many single photographic images in a motion picture
Shot
Shot (film) is part of a film between two cuts.
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which television or video productions take place, either for live
television, for recording live to tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for postproduction. The design
of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the special
requirements of television production. A professional television studio generally has several rooms,
which are kept separate for noise and practicality reasons. These rooms are connected via intercom, and
personnel will be divided among these workplaces.
Studio floor
The studio floor is the actual stage on which the actions that will be recorded take place. A studio floor
has the following characteristics and installations:
·
Decoration and/or sets
·
Cameras on pedestals
·
Microphones
·
Lighting rigs and the associated controlling equipment.
·
Several video monitors for visual feedback from the production control room
·
A small public address system for communication
·
A glass window between PCR and studio floor for direct visual contact is usually desired, but
not always possible
While a production is in progress, the following people work in the studio floor.
·
The on-screen "talent" themselves, and any guests - the subjects of the show.
·
A floor director, who has overall charge of the studio area, and who relays timing and other
information from the director.
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TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
·
One or more camera operators who operate the television cameras, though in some instances
these can also be operated from PCR using remote heads.
Possibly a teleprompter operator, especially if this is a news broadcast.
Set Design
The production designer creates the look and feel of the production sets and props working with the art
director to create these elements.
Light
The lighting is rigged; the camera and sound recording equipment are set up. At the same time the
actors are wardrobed in their costumes and attend the hair and make-up departments.
Set design
Set or Scenic design (also known as stage design, set design or production design) is the creation of
theatrical scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but
nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A. degrees in theatre arts.
Survey for location
The location manager finds and manages the film locations. Most pictures are shot in the predictable
environment of a studio sound stage but occasionally outdoor sequences will call for filming on
location.
Microphone
A microphone sometimes referred to as a mike or mic is an acoustic to electric transducer or sensor that
converts sound into an electrical signal.
Videotape
Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. In
virtually all cases, a helical scan video head rotates against the moving tape to record the data in two
dimensions, because video signals have a very high bandwidth, and static heads would require
extremely high tape speeds. Video tape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs or, more common,
video cassette recorders (VCRs) and video cameras. Tape is a linear method of storing information, and
since nearly all video recordings made nowadays are digital, it is expected to gradually lose importance
as non-linear/random access methods of storing digital video data are becoming more common.
Camera Control Unit
It is technical director's station, with waveform monitors, vector scopes and the camera control units or
remote control panels for the camera control units (CCUs).
Switcher/vision mixer
A vision mixer (also called video switcher, video mixer or production switcher) is a device used to
select between several different video sources and in some cases composite (mix) video sources together
and add special effects. This is similar to what a mixing console does for audio.
Panel
Control panel is a flat area containing controls and indicators and may be associated with the operation
of any machinery.
Audio Mixing Console
Audio mixing console and other audio equipment such as effects devices, character generator creates the
majority of the names and full screen graphics that are inserted into the program and digital video
effects and/or still frame devices.
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TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
Studio floor
The studio floor is the actual stage on which the actions that will be recorded take place. A studio floor
has the following characteristics and installations:
·
decoration and/or sets
·
cameras on pedestals
·
microphones
·
Lighting rigs and the associated controlling equipment.
·
several video monitors for visual feedback from the production control room
·
a small public address system for communication
·
A glass window between PCR and studio floor for direct visual contact is usually desired, but
not always possible
While a production is in progress, the following people work in the studio floor:
·
The on-screen "talent" themselves, and any guests - the subjects of the show.
· A floor director, who has overall charge of the studio area, and who relays timing and other
information from the director.
·
One or more camera operators who operate the television cameras, though in some instances
these can also be operated from PCR using remote heads.
·
Possibly a teleprompter operator, especially if this is a news broadcast.
Production control room
The production control room (also known as the 'gallery') is the place in a television studio in which the
composition of the outgoing program takes place
Video monitor wall
A video monitor wall, with monitors for program, preview, videotape machines, cameras, graphics and
other video sources.
Camera Control Unit
It is technical director's station, with waveform monitors, vector scopes and the camera control units or
remote control panels for the camera control units (CCUs)
Video editing
Non-Linear Editing System, using computers with video editing software
Linear Video Editing, using videotape
Video editing is the process of re-arranging or modifying segments of video to form another piece of
video. The goals of video editing are the same as in film editing -- the removal of unwanted footage,
the isolation of desired footage, and the arrangement of footage in time to synthesize a new piece of
footage.
Non-linear editing
Non-linear editing for film and television postproduction is a modern editing method which involves
being able to access any frame in a video clip with the same ease as any other. This method is similar in
concept to the "cut and glue" technique used in film editing from the beginning. However, when
working with film, it is a destructive process, as the actual film negative must be cut. Non-linear, non-
destructive methods began to appear with the introduction of digital video technology.
Video and audio data are first digitized to hard disks or other digital storage devices. The data is either
recorded directly to the storage device or is imported from another source. Once imported they can be
edited on a computer using any of a wide range of software. For a comprehensive list of available
software, see List of video editing software, whereas Comparison of video editing software gives more
detail of features and functionality.
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TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
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Video camera
A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the
television industry but now common in other applications as well. Video cameras are used primarily in
two modes. The first, characteristic of much early television, is what might be called a live broadcast,
where the camera feeds real time images directly to a screen for immediate observation; in addition to
live television production, such usage is characteristic of security, military/tactical, and industrial
operations where surreptitious or remote viewing is required. The second is to have the images recorded
to a storage device for archiving or further processing; videotape is traditional for this purpose, but
optical disc media, hard disk, and flash memory are all used as well. Recorded video is used not only in
television and film production, but also surveillance and monitoring tasks where unattended recording
of a situation is required for later analysis.
Electronic field production (EFP)
Electronic field production (EFP) is a television industry term referring to television production which
takes place outside of a formal studio, in a practical location or special venue. Some typical applications
of electronic field production include awards shows, concerts, major newsmaker interviews, political
conventions and sporting events.
Electronic field production (EFP) places the emphasis on high-quality, multi-camera photography,
advanced graphics and sound.
Electronic News Gathering
ENG is a broadcasting (usually television) industry acronym which stands for electronic news gathering.
It can mean anything from a lone reporter taking a single camcorder out to get a story to an entire
television crew taking a satellite truck on location to do a live report for a newscast. In its early days, the
term ENG was used by newsroom staff to differentiate between the NG (newsgathering) crews that
collected TV news with traditional film cameras and the new ENG crews who collected tv news with
new electronic analogue tapes.
Teleprompter
A teleprompter (also known as an autocue) is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an
electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue
cards. The screen is in front of the lens of the camera, and the words on the screen are reflected to the
eyes of the speaker using a one-way mirror.
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