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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

LESSON 07

PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE

The pre-production phase is an important and the foremost stage for any production as it's the

foundation of the programme being produced, whether its news or entertainment programme.

The director infuses in to the script, certain liveliness and life like quality through the means of scenes.

He or she is the final judge in the matter of conflict. Characterization, motivation and technique are the

elements, which polish a production.

(There are two kinds of productions technically and both require different prerequisites in pre-

production phase.

Indoor production

Outdoor production

Director as producer

The Director is called Producer in TV production as s/he handles the financial matters along with all

other issues regarding programme. For any indoor or outdoor production the first thing is to prepare a

budget.)

There are certain things a Producer has to plan before any production, which include:

Talent

Talent means any person participating in the production directly or indirectly other than the technical

staff of the organization. It can be researcher, scriptwriter, comparer, anchorperson, newsreader,

newscaster or the actors and artists in case of drama production. Talent fee for all is to be mentioned in

Programme Budget Estimate.

Electronic News Gathering (ENG)

It's the term used for the technical production facilities required for outdoor productions. It's the camera

crew including a cameraman, an audio engineer and a light man.

Characters or performers

These may include the entire artists who have to appear on screen in any capacity as compair,

anchorperson, newsreader, newscaster or the actors.

Storyboard

It is the outline of the production and in it the director decides the plan of action, how the shooting is to

be done and design on what grounds the recording will be carried on.

Outdoor Production

For each Outdoor Production, reconnaissance is necessary as you are going to a remote location from

the studios. It includes:

Reconnaissance

It's the survey for the location in case of outdoor productions. The director along with the camera man

goes to the particular location foe spot inspection and plans the placement of camera, shooting angles

and other matters regarding recording.

Traveling expanses

In case of outdoor productions the director has to mention the traveling expanses to be incurred on the

programme on the transportation, accommodation of the technical staff and the artists.

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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

Unforeseen expenditures

The producer should also have the surplus budget for any unexpected expenditure, if it comes across

during the course of production.

Programme Budget Proposal (PBP)

The Programme Budget proposal for each episode is always sent before any recording, as it includes the

payments of the different talents in the programme so that the Accounts department prepares the

cheques respectively, well in time.

Programme Budget Estimate (PBE)

Preparation of the Programme Budget Estimate is also the duty of a producer as other than the

directorial function the producer has to manage the finances of the production on behalf of the

organization or the channel, he or she is working for. In this whole cost of direct or indirect expenditures

are mentioned for the approval from the finance department. PBE is made for a complete quarter that is

of thirteen weeks and all expected expanses are catered in it.

Essentials of PBE

Talent fee

Script fee

Research fee

Transportation

Logistics

Accommodation

Unforeseen expanses

Indoor Production

The requirements for indoor productions are different than that of outdoor productions, it include:

Set designing

The director has to sit together with the designer to discuss the set to be erected in the studio for the

recording of any programme.

Properties

The items to be used on a set are called properties or "props" ion short form, these include, furniture,

decoration pieces, room accessories and other domestic items of daily utility.

The staff that matters in production

Set designer

Lighting director

Cameraman

Editor

Director

The director should aim at audience;

To develop dislike for what is unfair and untrue

To develop disgust for which is cheap and substandard

To develop indifference for which is trivial and meaningless

To develop enthusiasm for what is fine true and important

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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

The director for oneself should develop the habit of;

Self-control

Self-respect

Self-reliance

A good director should coach his cast and train himself. The purpose of a director in the final production

is to create for the audience, the same emotional feeling, he or she had while reading the script. Every

programme has a mood and an emotional experience to present. The audience should be attracted by all

those things, which build up mind, body and soul.

Spoken words are the inflammatory things. Human voice is the most potent conveyer of emotions.

Language is an instrument that appeals to imagination of human being.

Knowledge of music is another asset for a director as music is identification of a play or a character. It

bridges from locale to locale, time to time and mood to mood.

Studying the script

While studying a script a director should:

Digest the script to get the real mood and feeling

See that the script is approximately of right length

Suggest small changes if required to better the performance

Hear the whole script, as one reading is not enough

As far as the script is concerned, one reading is never sufficient and a director and producer should hear

the whole script as well from the writer.

First reading is silent to conceive, what he script says. It helps the director to understand the sequences

of the story and to make the storyboard.

Second reading is to make the notes, writing the ideas in to the margins, checking the positions of

actors in relation to camera, placement of microphones, and adjustment of lights on performers.

Third reading is to read with the mind focused on the actors who are to portray the different parts,

deciding on the type of expression, physical traits, gestures and body language.

Moreover, survey for the location in case of outdoor recording and set designing for indoor recordings

are also two major factors to be considered in pre-production phase. Properties on the sets, wardrobe,

dresses and costumes of the artists, their make-up and get-up are also the elements to be considered well

at pre-production stage.

Once the director is finished with all above-mentioned matters then comes the next step that is casting.

A Few Words about Directing

Directing live television can be either a great adrenaline kick or a major frustration--the key is your

organization and communication. We've already addressed organization, so let's spend a moment on

communication.

The first rule of communication for live TV is to be precise and concise. But first you'll have to master

the lingo that directors use. Be warned that the lingo can and will change from market (city) to market,

station to station. But one thing is fairly consistent. Always give a ready cue before giving the cue to

execute the command. This allows your crew to prepare to do what you want them to do, and then when

you call for the command to be executed, the crew can respond immediately.

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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

For example:

Ready Cam 1..... Take Cam 1

Ready to Roll VT..... Roll VT

Ready to Cue Host..... Cue Host

Ready with Name Super..... Name In, Name Out, etc.

In each case since the crew has been prepared with the ready command, they can execute the take

command at the instant the director says, "Take, Roll, Cue, etc." As you may surmise, the ready cue

becomes worthless if the director changes his/her mind, e.g. I've heard directors say, "Ready Cam 2,

Take 3..." and in these cases only a really good TD can save the director's hide.

And finally, learn to watch your monitors. You can see a lot about what's going on in the studio and VT

room simply by looking at your monitors. Often you can see a problem before it gets to air and still have

time to do something to correct it. And look at your camera shots before you put them "on-line". Is the

framing right, can it be improved slightly by asking the camera operator to adjust the framing a bit? You

are the director, and the look of the program is your responsibility.

The Assistant Director

The role of the Assistant Director (AD) is crucial to the smooth operation of the control room. Live

television is a matter of split-second timing and the AD is the crew member responsible for informing

the crew of time used and time remaining. The two most important crew members to be informed of

time cues are the Director and the Floor Director (FD).

The AD begins by counting the crew into the show, i.e. announcing the time remaining to air. This may

begin as early as 30 minutes before airtime, depending on the complexity of the show, and continues

right up until the 10 second countdown. For the sake of in-class projects (beginning with project #2) the

AD will give time remaining cues beginning at 3 minutes to air and as follows:

3 minutes to air

2 minutes to air

1 minute to air

30 seconds to air

15 seconds to air

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5...

Once into the program the AD continues to give time cues over the intercom for the benefit of the

Director and FD. These time cues should announce the number of whole minutes remaining, down to

the last minute, and then every 15 seconds, with the final 10 second counted down to black. Be sure to

give time cues with enough vocal authority to be heard over the normal din of control room chatter.

In addition to time remaining in program, the AD may be requested to time individual segments such as

VT clips and commercial breaks. For this reason it is sometimes necessary to have a stopwatch in

addition to the master count-down clock. That way the stopwatch can be used to time individual

segments while the master count-down clock can remain dedicated to showing the time remaining in the

program.

At some networks and stations the AD rolls VT clips and sets up camera shots. However, not all

directors like the idea of giving up control of these crucial tasks. So be sure to discuss with your director

exactly what he/she expects of you as AD.