TECHNICAL CODES, TERMINOLOGY, AND PRODUCTION GRAMMAR

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TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

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.

TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

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.

TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

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.

TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

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.

TV News Reporting and Production MCM 516

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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