ZeePedia

CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION FOR TELEVISION:Video Procedures

PRE-REQUISITES OF A CREATIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:SET-UP RESPONSIBILITIES >>
img
TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
LESSON 01
CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION FOR TELEVISION
Importance of Television among other media
In this age of Globalization and information mass media are indispensable tools of communication and
in this era of science and technology the space and time have been squeezed.
History witnessed the traditional warfare, followed by Cold warfare, Psychological warfare and then the
modern warfare but in today's media warfare the words are weapons and the satellites are the artillery
and due to information imperialism it's the matter of information haves and information have-nots.
Other tools of Communication
Leaflets, pamphlets, flyers, brochures, booklets, books, magazines, digests, posters, mountings,
buntings, flags, banners, billboards, hoardings, radio, film, theatre.
Purposes of television
·
Information
·
Education
·
Edification
·
Acculturation
·
Persuasion
·
Propaganda
·
Entertainment
·
Amusement
·
Info-tainment
Picture is the base of Television Production
Earlier the term of "Motion picture" came based on the same fact that on the screen there were "pictures
in motion". Later the term was replaced by the "Film" and "Movie".
Phases in preparation of a TV programme
·
Pre-production phase
·
Production phase
·
Post-production phase
The first stage involves the "library work" i.e. research and script writing.
The second stage involves the "leg work" i.e. field and studio work.
The third stage involves the "laboratory work" i.e. editing and mixing.
The prime job of a Producer is to:
Generate an idea of a programme
Presentation of the idea
Refine that idea for production
Develop a concept
Decide the contents
Engaging a researcher
Getting the script written
Hunting the talent i.e. actors, anchors, newscasters
Preparing the Programme Budget Estimate
Making the arrangements
Coordinating with different sections
Discussion with the set designer for indoor programmes
Reconnaissance or survey of location for outdoor programmes
Discussion with the cameraman
Planning for the programme
1
img
TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
Casting of artists and performer
Scheduling the recording
Rehearsals of the participants
Recording the programme with production crew
Editing the programme with Editor
Audio mixing
Adding graphics
Making title and promos
A good director and producer need to carry on all these steps to the best of his capabilities and to the
optimum level of his efficiency. Better the programme planning and the time management, greater the
quality and value of the production. The creativity will not be well on screen if the whole process is not
executed properly and timely.
Video Procedures
TV Production Crew Positions
Following is a list of crew positions you could encounter in a multi-camera television production. Not
all positions will be filled all of the time--smaller productions will not have some of the more
specialized job duties or one person will fill several positions. Larger productions will have more
specialized positions and assistants or associates to provide, well, assistance. For a detailed description
of the job performed by each, see your text.
·
Producer: Executive, Associate, Line, etc.
·
Director: Associate, Assistant, Floor, Technical
·
Writer
·
Set Designer
·
Makeup/Wardrobe
·
Talent
·
Audio Engineer
·
Video Engineer
·
Videotape Engineer/Operator
·
Camera Operator
·
Production Assistant
It is important that each person understand and perform his/her job responsibilities with maximum
efficiency. Multi-camera television production is team-work, and for the team to operate effectively, it
must coordinate and communicate. While the television production process may at times appear to be a
confusing ballet (lyrics in Italian), there is a method to the madness. Please read and put into practice the
following procedures for studio set-up and strike.
Future Trends
High Definition Television
Production
Production and transmission need not share the same technical system. In fact, as long as a production
standard is readily convertible to the transmission standard, it makes a great deal of sense to use two
different systems, according to many HDTV experts. For years, broadcast television has used 35mm
film as its acquisition format and as a source for transfer to NTSC video for post-production and
distribution. Despite the availability of HDTV production technology since the mid 1980s, 35mm film
remains the premier worldwide acquisition standard for high-quality television. In fact, all the talk of
HDTV may have resulted in the promotion of film as a production format. Due to all the uncertainty as
to which HDTV transmission system will finally prevail, many producers feel that the safest route is
still to shoot on film; they reason that they will eventually be able to transfer the film images to
2
img
TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
whatever HDTV system wins out. Currently, the closest thing that the video community can promote as
a worldwide production standard is D-1, which records both 525- and 625-line systems. The NHK
1125/60 system was being promoted as a worldwide standard with the assumption that once the material
has been recorded and edited, it can be down-converted to either NTSC or PAL, or even transferred to
film. And once the HDTV distribution systems have been standardized, the 1125/60 video could be
converted to whatever HDTV transmission system is required. The unknown variable here is the quality
and cost of the conversion.
Two glitches in the HDTV production process are still being resolved. One is constructing an imaging
device that has both the resolution and the sensitivity necessary to produce an image suitable for HDTV
pictures. Tubes, which were quickly replaced by CCDs in almost every other production environment,
have disappeared more slowly from HDTV camera. Tubes still have an edge in resolution, and
resolution is, of course, central to the whole idea of HDTV. The tubes used in some HDTV cameras
were high-gain, avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor (HARP) tubes. Unfortunately, resolution
is achieved at the expense of sensitivity. The smaller the focus of the electron beam, the higher the
resolution and the lower the sensitivity, thus requiring more light on the set. Especially when compared
to the newer and faster 35mm film stocks, HDTV production using tube cameras required extra lighting,
which in production means more fixtures and increased setup time. Another complication has involved
achieving the necessary optical resolution for the lenses used with HDTV cameras. While lenses for
high-quality 35mm film production have evolved to become high quality imaging tools, the history of
video production has not, until HDTV, required similar performance.
Also known as advanced television (ATV), extended-definition television (EDTV), and improved-
definition television (IDTV), HDTV is an improved television system with at least double the horizontal
and vertical resolution, wider aspect ratio, and superior audio when compared to the current television
broadcast standards, e.g., NTSC and PAL.
With approximately twice as many scan lines as current television systems, a larger screen with a wider
aspect ratio, and six-channel, compact-disc-quality, surround sound, the HDTV experience will
approach projected 35mm film. According to CCIR Report 801, HDTV is described as able to replicate
reality when the viewer is seated three screen heights away from the display. Higher resolution, better
color reproduction, separate color and luminance signals, a wider and perhaps larger screen, and life-
like audio will all be combined to make the HDTV experience larger than life, especially when
compared to the current NTSC system. HDTV also has professional and business applications beyond
television entertainment. Some suggested applications for this new technology include; telemedicine,
computer design, and teleconferencing. Yet another suggestion is that HDTV will finally make possible
a concept sometimes referred to as electronic cinema. The concept is to create a network of video
theaters with distribution by direct-broadcast satellite. This approach would provide an alternative to
traditional film print distribution.
Major players in the race to bring HDTV to market have been the global economic superpowers: Japan,
the United States, and to a lesser degree, the European community. The Japanese, who began working
on HDTV in 1969, have been delivering a domestic HDTV service via their multiple sub-Nyquist
sampling encoding (MUSE) system since 1991. And while the US has focused on terrestrial broadcast
of HDTV signals (due to concern for local broadcasters' interests), Japan has moved ahead with DBS
delivery systems. But even after several years of trial delivery, only 25,000 Hi-Vision sets were sold due
to high cost.
Despite Japan's worldwide dominance in consumer electronics hardware and the US's role as the world's
chief supplier of programming, the European community has been determined to be a participant in the
development of HDTV standards which will impact on their electronics and broadcasting industries.
The European market had been at odds with the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) system for
some time due to its incompatible frame rate (1125 scan lines; 60 fields per second). Europe is on a 50
hertz, 25 frame systems with its PAL and SECAM systems. Converting from or to a 30 frame system is
3
img
TV News Reporting and Production ­ MCM 516
VU
both costly and a technical compromise, according to European sources. In fact, Europe's tentative
development in 1987 of its own HDTV system, Eureka 95/HD-MAC, along with the International
Telecommunication Union's (ITU) decision in 1986 to delay a vote on an HDTV standard, thwarted
Japan's hopes for a world-wide standard.
4
Table of Contents:
  1. CREATIVITY AND IDEA GENERATION FOR TELEVISION:Video Procedures
  2. PRE-REQUISITES OF A CREATIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:SET-UP RESPONSIBILITIES
  3. REFINING AN IDEA FOR PRODUCTION:Drama, Magazine Shows, Documentary
  4. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT:Variable. Pure and applied research
  5. RESEARCH AND REVIEWS:Research Procedure, Review of available literature
  6. SCRIPT WRITING:Elements of a successful story, Characters, Effects
  7. PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE:Indoor production, Outdoor production, Essentials of PBE
  8. SELECTION OF REQUIRED CONTENT AND TALENT:Camera rehearsal
  9. PROGRAMME PLANNING:Checklist, Electronic Field Production (EFP)
  10. PRODUCTION PHASE:Floor plan, Traditional set, Representational set, Design elements
  11. CAMERA WORK:Movement of lens of camera, Types of shots
  12. LIGHT AND AUDIO:Importance of sound in TV, Use of microphone, Loudness
  13. DAY OF RECORDING/PRODUCTION:Rehearsals,Point to ponder
  14. LINEAR EDITING AND NLE:Episode, Scene, Editing, Production Switcher
  15. MIXING AND USES OF EFFECTS:Live Sound Effects, ARROW STRIKING
  16. SELECTION OF THE NEWS:Elements of news, Timeliness, proximity
  17. WRITING OF THE NEWS:The inverted pyramid, Lead, Credit line
  18. EDITING OF THE NEWS:Characteristics of good news:Process of editing a news
  19. COMPILATION OF NEWS BULLETIN:Hard news, Soft news, Investigative report
  20. PRESENTATION OF NEWS BULLETIN
  21. MAKING SPECIAL BULLETINS:Agriculture, Show biz, Fashion, Drama
  22. TECHNICAL CODES, TERMINOLOGY, AND PRODUCTION GRAMMAR
  23. TYPES OF TV PRODUCTION:Magazine Shows, Specific audience programming
  24. DRAMA AND DOCUMENTARY:Documentary film, Defining documentary
  25. SOURCES OF TV NEWS:Reporters, Correspondents, Monitoring, News Agency
  26. FUNCTIONS OF A REPORTER
  27. BEATS OF REPORTING:City reporter, Social reporters, Show-biz reporter
  28. STRUCTURE OF NEWS DEPARTMENT:Beat Reporters, Online media
  29. ELECTRONIC FIELD PRODUCTION:Sports, Electronic news gathering
  30. LIVE TRANSMISSIONS:Studio floor, Switcher, Master control room, Camera control units
  31. QUALITIES OF A NEWS PRODUCER:Determination, Awareness, Sharp an active
  32. DUTIES OF A NEWS PRODUCER
  33. ASSIGNMENT/NEWS EDITOR:Accuracy, Fairness and Reliability, Conflict
  34. SHOOTING A NEWS FILM:The Influence of telecast News
  35. PREPARATION OF SPECIAL REPORTS:Uncovering Truth, Reportage
  36. INTERVIEWS, VOX POPS AND PUBLIC OPINIONS:INTERVIEW, Information
  37. BACK GROUND VOICE AND VOICE OVER:Natural or Raw Sound, Sound Effects
  38. SPOKEN WORDS AND RELEVANT VISUALS:Digital Audio, Quantizing Error
  39. TALK SHOWS, FORUMS AND DISCUSSION PROGRAMMES
  40. FUNCTIONS OF VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF A TV SET UP
  41. PROGRAMMES DEPARTMENT:Program content, Television series by genre
  42. NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS THE PROGRAMMING & SCHEDULING
  43. COORDINATION AMONG DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OF TELEVISION
  44. COORDINATION AMONG DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OF TELEVISION - 2 SUB-DEPARTMENTS AND SMALL SECTIONS
  45. COORDINATION AMONG DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OF TELEVISION 3