Basic Elements of TV

Production:
The Visual Grammar of
Motion Picture
Chapter 2
The Three Production Stages

(1) Preproduction • (2) Production

Generating Basic Ideas
• Production setup
(Brainstorming).
• Production Rehearsal &
• Organizing Ideas &
Walk through
research.
• Shooting
• Define your “target
audience” & objective • (3) Postproduction
• Writing Script • Videotape log
• Video Editing
 A. Camera Lenses
I. Lenses
• TV production depend on several kinds of lenses
since” A good Lens can save production time”
1. Prime lens
• Has only one focal length
• Doesn’t permit a zoom factor
• Requires a pause in the shooting sequence for
readjustment or change.
• Film cameras used it, but now zooms are frequently
used.
 Lenses (Cont’d)
2. Zoom Lens
• All TV cameras (Studio / Field ) use it.
• They differ in the required light levels
needed.
3. Narrow or Telephoto lenses
• They tend to compress space & place BKG
out of focus.
4. Wide Angel Lenses
• They open up space in the frame &
keep things in focus.
II. Shots
Close Up Shot (CU)
Extreme Close Up (ECU)
 Two Shot, Three Shot, and Mass Shot
• Two shot (2S)
 Over- the- shoulder shot
• Camera looks at one over the shoulder of the
camera near person.
 Cross-Shot
• The camera at one (or the other person), with
camera near person completely out of the
shot.
 Field of View/Shot Sizes-continued
• Always remember:
TV is a close ups medium (screen size).
• Shot sequence (better than zooming).
• Other shot types: Bust Shot, knee Shot, Two
Shot, Three Shot, Over-the-Shoulder Shot
(O/S), Cross shot (X/S), establishing shot.
 Motion

III. Camera Movement

• Dolly-in and Dolly-out
The camera is mounted on a dolly (a movable platform ) to permit
smooth forward or backward movement.

• Zoom-in and Zoom out

Narrow the angle of view and compress depth, making people &
objects appear closer. Same purpose as dolly but easier.

• Tilt up and Tilt down.

• Changing the view from the same position to a higher or lower part
of the subject.

• Pan Right and Pan Left

• The camera moves right or left on its axis to follow a character or a
particular action or direct audience’s attention
• Follow Right & Left or Truck Shot or Travel
Shot

The camera itself moves right or left on a dolly or on a wheeled

pedestal, a lateral movement version of dolly in & out. Sometimes also
called crab shot ( left & right )

Boom/Crane shot
A crane usually attached to a moving dolly enables the camera
to boom up or down from its basic position at various angles
usually high up ton the subject
 B. Control Room Techniques For
Transitions

• Fade-in / Fade-out
• Dissolve
• Cut
• Superimposition
• Wipe
• Split Screen
• Fade: The fade-in brings the picture in from a black (or blank)
screen. The fade-out takes the picture out until a black level is
reached.
• Dissolve: The gradual replacement of one image by another
through temporary double exposure. Also, called lap dissolve.

• Cut: It is the technique most commonly used and consists

simply of switching instantaneously from one picture to another.
• Superimposition: is the placing of one image over another.
It is sometimes used in stream-of-consciousness sequences when
the memory being recalled is pictured on the screen along with
the person doing the recalling.
• Wipe: One picture wiping another picture off
the screen in the manner of a window shade
being pulled over a window is known as a wipe.
Wipes can also blossom out from the center of a
picture or envelope it from all sides. Wipes often
designate a change of place or time .

• Split screen (Wipe Shape)The picture on the

air is divided, with shots from two or more
cameras or other sources occupying adjoining
places on the screen and news correspondents
report.
C. Video Editing

The invisible Art!

 What Is Editing?

• We all edit realities with our eyes and with

our minds.

• Editing is the selection, arrangement,

timing, and presentation of shots in a
logical and effective sequence.
 Editing Functions
• No matter what the editing equipment is….the
basic editing functions are:
• To combine
• To shorten/condense
• To correct
• To build
 Basic Editing Systems
• Linear Editing
versus
• Nonlinear Editing (NLE)

• Analogy: Typewriter
versus
Word Processing
 Digital Non Linear Editing (NLE)
(Computer Based System)
• NLE means that any shot can be added almost
instantly to the timeline- the sequence of shots
that an editor constructs- at any point.
• Shots can be tried in a different order, and a
series of shots can be easily moved around as a
group (copy, paste, delete).
• Allows and encourages experimentation; be
able to try things and to play “what if”
scenarios.
 Non-Linear Editing Features &
Techniques
• Despite the different softwares, the common
features and techniques in all NLE systems are:
Capture: transferring video and audio information
from tape to the computer.
Storage (tells you what actually stored: logging,
Time Code, in& out points, etc).
Rearranging video and audio files.
D. Sound & Music
 The Microphone
• There are five basic microphone positions. The writer
should identify every position in the script except on
mic position which is taken for granted:
• On mic
• Off mic
• Fading on
• Fading off
• Behind Obstruction/Barrier (e.g., filter mic gives
impression that sound is coming over a phone, echo
devices).
 Basic Microphone Positions:

• On Mic: The performer speaks from a position right at the

microphone. The listener is oriented to the imaginary setting in
the same physical spot as the performer.

• Off Mic: The performer is some distance away from the

microphone. This conveys to the audience the impression that
the sound or voice is at a proportionate distance away from
the physical orientation point of the listener, which is usually at
the center of the scene.
 Basic Microphone Positions:
(Continued)

• Fading on: The performer slowly moves towards the

microphone. To the listener, the performer is approaching the
physical center of the action.

• Fading Off: The performer moves away from the microphone

while speaking, thus moving away from the central orientation
point.
 Basic Microphone Positions:
(Continued)

• Behind Obstructions: The performer sounds as if there

were a barrier between him or her and the focal point of the
audience’s orientation. The filter mic creates the impression
that a voice or sound is coming over a telephone. The voice at
the focal point of the audience’s orientation, even through
speaking over a telephone would be on mic. The echo
chamber, creates various degrees of an echo sound, ranging
from an impression that a person is locked in a closet to that of
being lost in a boundless cavern.
 Music:

• Content: Recorded music on ( tape, cartridge, CD, CD- ROM)

played by disc jockeys, dominates radio programming.

• Bed: the generic term used to describe music under or as backup

of an announcer’s sound tracks.

• Theme: From the earliest days of radio, star performers used

theme music for personal identification.
 Music: (Continued)

• Bridge: The most commonly used device used to create transitions.

• Sound Effect: Some effects cannot be presented effectively except

through music.

• Background or Mood: Music serve as a subtle aid to heighten the

content & the mood of a sequence.
2.Various types of TV Production

a. Studio Production
b. Field Production: When we go to location
to videotape the event.
• Field production is either ENG or EFP
i. ENG (Electronic News Gathering)
ii.EFP (Electronic Field Production)
 a.TV Studio

1.Television Studio:
• A place designed for the proper
coordination of all major production
elements- camera, lighting, sound, scenery,
and the action of performers.
• IT varies in size & equipment.
• The writer should know size & facilities of
the studio.
 TV Studio -continued
• The writer should know the size and
facilities f the studio:
• Will it accommodate large sets, camera
movements, Lighting?
• Can we use crane and other mechanical
devices.
• Does the size f the studio require a live-
type or tapes approach?
• Should the script be a combination of
studio shooting plus field production?
 TV Studio -continued
2. Studio Control Room
• The control room is a room adjacent to the studio
where all production activities are coordinated.
• In this room, the director, Technical Director (TD)
and variety of production staff make the decisions
to produce effective pictures and sounds, which
are to be videotaped or broadcast live.

TV Studio Production
i. Electronic News Gathering: ENG
- A production that often accomplished with a
relatively simple production system.
- All what we need is someone who operates the
camcorder and a field reporter who describes the
action/news event.
- Sometimes the footage are edited and sometimes
they are transmitted live to the studio (with a
portable transmitter to transport the signal from the
field to the studio).
 Electronic News Gathering: ENG
- Characteristics of ENG:
Readiness/ Mobility/ Flexibility
NO PREPRODUCTION
No control over the event (observing it)
 ii. Electronic Field Production (EFP)
If the field production is not for news and is
more elaborate (e.g., commercials,
documentary), this called EFP.
• Characteristics of EFP
- Preproduction and quality control
- Mobility & Flexibility
 Big Remote
• A production outside the studio to televise
live and/or record live-on-tape a large
scheduled event.
• Big remotes are field productions whose
production system is similar to the studio’s,
except that cameras are placed on location
and the control room is housed in a large
truck.
• Examples of big remotes include sporting
events, political gatherings.