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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

LESSON 41

PROGRAMMES DEPARTMENT

A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of

programming in television broadcasting. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a

periodically returning television series. A television series that is intended to be broadcast a finite

number of episodes is usually called a mini-series or serial (although the latter term also has other

meanings).

Americans call a short run lasting less than a year a season; People of the United Kingdom generally

call this a series. This season or series usually consists of 626 instalments. U.S. industry practice tends

to favour longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A single instance of a program is called an episode, although this is sometimes also called a "show" or

"programme." A one-off broadcast may be called a "special". A television movie ("made-for-TV"

movie) is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than being released in theatres or direct-to-

video, although many successful television movies are later released on video.

Today, advertisements play a role in most television programming, such that each hour of programming

can contain up to 15 minutes of advertisements in some countries. By contrast, being publicly funded,

the BBC in the United Kingdom does not run advertisements, except to trail (promote) its own output.

Its promotions appear between and near the end of shows but not in the middle of them, much like the

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

(ABC) in Australia. With rise of internet video clips, there is serious debate about where the future of

television programs is going.

Program content

The content of television programs may be factual, as in documentaries, news, and reality shows, or

fictional as in comedy and drama. It may be topical as in the case of news and some made-for-

television movies or historical as in the case of such documentaries or fictional series.

It may be primarily instructional as in the case of educational programming, or entertaining as is the

case in situation comedy, reality TV, or game shows, or for income as advertisements. A drama

program usually features a set of actors in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives

and their adventures.

Many shows, maintain a status quo where the main characters and the premise changed little. If some

change happens to the characters lives during the episode, it is usually undone by the end. (Because of

this, the episodes can usually be watched in any order.) There are many series that feature progressive

change to the plot, the characters, or both.

Common TV program periods include regular broadcasts (like TV news), TV series (usually seasonal

and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or TV miniseries which is an

extended film, usually with a small pre-determined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline.

Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length, though critics often complain when

programs hit the short end of that range and are still marketed as "minis." In the UK, the term

"miniseries" is only usually used in references to imported programmes, and such short-run series are

usually called "serials".

Older American television shows began with a Pilot title sequence, showed opening credits at the

bottom of the screen during the beginning of the show, and included closing credits at the end of the

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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

show. However, beginning in the 1990s some shows began with a "cold open," followed by a title

sequence and a commercial break.

Many serialistic shows begin with a "Previously on..." introduction before the teaser. And, to save time,

some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the

opening credits. The title sequence has not been completely eliminated; however, as many major

television series still use them.

While television series appearing on TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks

themselves, their producers earn greater revenue when the program is sold into syndication. With the

rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run of a program

have become a significant revenue source as well.

Many of the prime-time comedy shows and cartoons are digitally re-mastered for television, as there is

more original and re-issued DVD sets of television programs containing either entire seasons or

complete series runs to come in the future.

Television series by genre

Scripted entertainment

Dramatic television series (including drama series, serial drama, science-fiction, or soap operas)

Or Television comedy (typically situation comedy or sketch comedy)

Animated television series

Miniseries and TV Movies

Award show

Unscripted entertainment

Talk shows

Reality television

Game shows

Informational

News programs

Documentary

Television news magazine, dealing with current affairs

TV infomercials, which are advertising paid spots

Development

What follows is the standard procedure for shows on network television.

A person decides to create a new television series. The show's creator develops the show's elements,

consisting of the concept, the characters, the crew, and various actors (in some cases, "big-name"

actors). They will then offer ("pitch") it to the various television networks in an attempt to find one that

is interested in the series and order a prototype first episode of the series, known as a pilot.

To create the pilot, the structure and team of the whole series needs to be put together. If the network

likes the pilot, they will "pick up" the show for their next season or series. Sometimes they'll save it for

"midseason" or request re-writes and further review. And other times they'll pass entirely, leaving the

show's creator forced to "shop it around"' to other networks. Many shows never make it past the pilot

stage.

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If the show is picked up, a "run" of episodes is ordered. Usually only 13 episodes are ordered at first,

although a series will typically last for at least 26 episodes. The show hires a group or panel of writers,

who usually work in parallel: the first writer works on the first episode, the second on the second

episode, and so forth.

When all of the writers have been used, the assignment of episodes continues starting with the first

writer again. On other shows, however, the writers work as a team. Sometimes they will develop story

ideas individually, and pitch them to the show's creator, who then folds them together into a script and

rewrites them.

In contrast to the US model, the UK procedure is operated on a sometimes similar, but much smaller

scale.

The method of "team writing" is employed on some longer dramatic series (usually running up to a

maximum of around thirteen episodes). The idea for such a show may be generated "in-house" by one of

the networks; it could originate from an independent production company; it will sometimes be a

product of both.

However, there are still a significant number of programs (usually sitcoms) that are built around just one

or two writers and a small, close-knit production team. These are "pitched" in the traditional way, but

since the creator(s) will handle all the writing requirements, there will be a run of six or seven

instalments per series once approval has been given.

Production

The Executive Producer, often the show's creator, is in charge of running the show. They pick crew

and cast (subject to approval by the network), approve and often write series plots, and sometimes write

and direct major episodes. A whole host of other producers of various names work under him or her, to

make sure the show is always running smoothly.

As with films or other media production, production of an individual episode can be divided into three

parts: pre-production, principal photography, and post-production. Pre-production begins when a script

is approved for production. A Director is chosen to plan what the episode will actually look like in the

end.

Pre-production tasks include storyboarding, construction of sets, props, and costumes, casting guest

stars, budgeting, acquiring resources like lighting, special effects, stunts, etc. Complex scenes are

translated from storyboard to animatics to further clarify the action. Scripts are adjusted to meet altering

requirements.

Once the show is planned, it must then be scheduled; scenes are often filmed out of sequence, guest

actors or even regulars may only be available at certain times, sometimes the principal photography of

different episodes must be done at the same time, complicating the schedule (i.e. a guest star might

shoot scenes from two episodes on the same afternoon).

Some shows have a small stable of directors, but also usually rely on outside directors. Given the time

constraints of broadcasting, a single show might have two or three episodes in pre-production, one or

two episodes in principal photography, and a few more in various stages of post-production. The task of

directing is complex enough that a single director can usually not work on more than one show at a

time, hence the need for multiple directors.

Principal photography is the actual filming of the episode. Director, actors and crew will gather at

soundstages or on location to film a scene. A scene is further divided into shots, which should be

planned during preproduction; depending on scheduling, a scene may be shot not in the chronological

order of the story.

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Conversations may be filmed twice from different angles, often using stand-ins, so one actor might

perform all their lines in one set of shots, and then the other side of the conversation will be filmed from

the opposite perspective. In order to complete a production on time, a second unit may be filming a

different scene on another set or location at the same time, using a different set of actors, an assistant

director, and a second unit crew.

A Director of Photography takes care of making the show look good, doing things with lighting and so

on. Once principal photography is complete, producers coordinate post-production tasks. Visual and

digital effects are added to the film; this is often outsourced to companies specializing in these areas.

Often music is performed with the conductor using the film as a time reference (other musical elements

may be previously recorded). An Editor cuts the various pieces of film together, adds the musical score

and effects, determines scene transitions, and assembles the completed show.

Distribution

The show is then turned over to the network, which sends it out to its affiliates, which broadcast it in the

specified timeslot. If the Nielsen Ratings are good, the show is kept alive as long as possible. If not, the

show is usually cancelled. If the show is popular or lucrative, and a number of episodes (usually 100

episodes or more) are made, it goes into syndication where broadcast rights are then resold.

The show's creators are then left to shop around remaining episodes, and the possibility of future

episodes, to other networks. On especially successful series, the producers sometimes call a halt to a

series on their own and end it with a concluding episode which sometimes is a big production called a

series finale.

Seasons/Series

The terminology used to define a set of episodes produced by a television series varies from country to

country. In North America and Australia, the term used to describe a regular run of episodes is a

television season or simply, season. For example, a season of a television series might consist of 22-24

episodes broadcast regularly between September and April with a hiatus or break during the holidays.

Alternatively, it may comprise 22-24 consecutive episodes between September and December or

January and May. The latter is often referred to as a "non-stop season", which is usually used for serial

television series. Another example might be a series that airs only a 6-13 episode season during the

summer.

In the United Kingdom, on the ABC in Australia and in other countries, these sets of episodes are now

referred to as series (the term is used separately from "television series" which refers to a complete

production), although in the UK historically "season" was used on certain series, and remains in use in

reference to them.

In the United States, most regular television series have 22 episodes per season. In general, dramas

usually last 44 minutes (an hour with advertisements), while comedies last 22 (30 with advertisements).

However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been

changing.

Cable networks usually feature seasons lasting around thirteen episodes. Many British series have

significantly shorter yearly runs, which feature 6 episodes per series. Recently, American non-cable

networks have also begun to experiment with shorter seasons for some programs, particularly reality

shows.

This is a reduction from the 1950s, in which many American shows (e.g., The Twilight Zone) had 29 to

39 episodes per season. Actual storytelling time within a commercial television hour has also gradually

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reduced over the years, from 50 minutes out of every 60 minutes in the early days down to the current

44 minutes (and, on some networks, less).

The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas into kūru (kūru?), from the

French term "cours" for "course", which is a 3-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each kūru

generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold.

Lists by genre or characteristic

Animated series

Awards shows

Celebrity Shows

Children's television shows

Comedies

Comedies without laugh tracks

Cooking shows

Comedy-drama television series

Fantasy programs

Game shows

News programs

Reality programs

Satirical news programs

Science fiction sitcoms

Sketch comedy shows

Soap operas

Talk shows

Musical shows

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