Introduction to Production Technologies...Introduction to Production Technologies 3 INTRODUCTION The book introduces the students to fundamentals of production technologies. Today

Introductionto

Production Technologies

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: Introduction to Production Technologies

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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN MEDIA WORLD

Mass communication and Journalism is institutionalized and source specific.It functions through well-organized professionals and has an ever increasinginterlace. Mass media has a global availability and it has converted the wholeworld in to a global village. A qualified journalism professional can take up ajob of educating, entertaining, informing, persuading, interpreting, andguiding. Working in print media offers the opportunities to be a newsreporter, news presenter, an editor, a feature writer, a photojournalist, etc.Electronic media offers great opportunities of being a news reporter, newseditor, newsreader, programme host, interviewer, cameraman, producer,director, etc.

Other titles of Mass Communication and Journalism professionals are scriptwriter, production assistant, technical director, floor manager, lightingdirector, scenic director, coordinator, creative director, advertiser, mediaplanner, media consultant, public relation officer, counselor, front officeexecutive, event manager and others.




Introduction to Production Technologies

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INTRODUCTION

The book introduces the students to fundamentals of production technologies.Today media productions are a part of our everyday life. It is all around us. ThePost & Pre Production Stages of production technology are discussed in the book.Students of mass communication will also learn about the different stages ofprogramme production from scripting to production in this book.





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INDEX302 Introduction to Production Technologies

1.1 T.V & Radio Production, 6-23

1.2 Post & Pre Production Stages, 23-27

1.3 Story Treatment, 27

1.4 Scripts 28

1.5 Script Layout 31

1.6 Budget, 41

1.7 Floor Plan 46

1.8 Sets, 49

1.9 Make Up, 54

1.10 Costume, 61

1.11 Jewellery 63

1.12 Television Sound 63

1.13 Shooting Schedule 65

1.14 Storyboards 67

1.15 Post Production 70

1.16 Post - Production Editing 72

1.17. Crew for Production, 77

1.18 Summary 81

1.19. Questions for Practice 86

1.20. Suggested Reading 87





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SYLLABUS


T.V & Radio Production,Post & Pre Production Stages,Story Treatment,Scripts,Storyboards,Budget,Floor Plan, Sets,Make up,Costume,Jewellery,Lights,Audio,Shots,Shooting Schedule,Crew for Production,Post Production & Editing.





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INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCTIONTECHNOLOGIESOBJECTIVES

To learn about production technologies To know different stages of productions To know pre and post production stages

1.1. T.V & RADIO PRODUCTION

The Radio

Guglielmo Marconi of Italy invented a way to transmit sound without usingwires. By 1901, Marconi succeeded in creating a wireless communication linkbetween Europe and North America. In 1906, Lee Forest with John Flemingperfected the ‘audion’ or the vacuum tube, which made clear transmission of voiceand music possible. These developments paved the way for the first ever broadcastthat took place on Christmas Eve, in 1906 in USA. Later it took ten years of hardwork to perfect the radio.

Radio established its place very fast in the minds of listeners. Heavy doses ofinfotainment including music, drama, talk shows, etc supplemented with newsmade radio popular overnight. Soon radio industry developed wide spreadingnetworks and by the 1930’s radio became prime mass medium. Radio broadcastingwas introduced in India by amateur radio clubs in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras andLahore, though even before the clubs launched their ventures, several experimentalbroadcasts were conducted in Bombay.

Radio programmes may be classified into two broad groups:




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1. Spoken word programmes, which include news bulletins, talks,discussions, interviews, educational programmes for schools and colleges,specific audience programmes directed at women, children, rural and urbanlisteners, drama, radio features and documentaries.

2. Music programmes, which include disc jockey programmes, musicalperformances of all types and variety programmes.

Strength of the Radio

1. Radio reaches messages to illiterates, neo-literates and highly educatedreceivers simultaneously.

2. It is a fairly affordable to be owed by everyone.3. The want of visual effect is compensated by sound effects, both natural and

mechanical and so live effect is moderately high. The quality of voice andsound makes the communication fairly enjoyable.

4. Musical sound effect enlivens the communication and often breaksmonotony.

5. It has the capacity to deliver instantaneous messages.6. Radio does not require captivity. Listeners can receive messages even when

they are working. Farmer may listen to farm programmes while working infields, a busy executive may listen to news bulletin even while driving or ahousewife may listen to her favorite programme even while working in thekitchen.

7. Radio does not require power line for operation and so people in remotevillages devoid of power lines can also receive messages from this medium.

8. Once a transistor radio is purchased, messages flow constantly and no cost isinvolved for reception of messages.

Weakness of the Radio

1. Communication through radio lacks visual component and so does notdemonstrate but suggests.

2. Spoken messages are subject to interpretation of listeners according to theirimagination, experience and predisposition; hence possibility ofmisinterpretation is very high.

3. Listeners need lot of imagination and therefore understanding of messagedepends largely on the characteristics of the receivers.

4. Communication is time limited and presents tiny fragments of topics in ahaphazard mosaic. The medium has also limitations because of its audionature.





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5. Receivers cannot put off listening parts of message for subsequent listeningat their convenience.

Future of Radio

Radio’s future is a mystery. It is not easy to predict the future of radio. The futureof radio would depend on changing regulatory scenarios, technologicaldevelopments and change of listener’s appeal. Radio’s current localization andspecialized programming will continue. Technologically, radio transmission willimprove greatly. FM will continue to grow faster and bigger.

Radio listeners have indeed grown manifold, and the network is expanding a greatdeal an now it offers a daily service for many hours transmitting news, comments,songs, music, comedies, thrillers, sports, besides special programmes for children,youth and farmers. One of the best advantages that radio has over other media isthat it can serve and entertain an audience, which is otherwise occupied. Forexample, people can listen to it while working at home, in the fields and factoriesand even while traveling.

Radio Broadcasting

Radio Broadcasting is an audio sound broadcasting service, traditionallybroadcast through the air as radio waves a form of electromagnetic radiation froma transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Stations can be linkedin radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication orsimulcast or both. Audio broadcasting also can be done via cable FM, local wirenetworks, satellite and the Internet.

The best known are the AM and FM stations; these include both commercial,public and nonprofit varieties as well as student-run campus radio stations andhospital radio stations can be found throughout the developed world.





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How the Radio technology works during theradio transmission:

1. The radio station sends out the analogand digital radio signals, along with athird signal for text data.

2. The digital signal is compressed beforebeing transmitted.

3. The three-layered signal is transmittedfrom the radio station's upgradeddigital transmitter.

4. Multipath interference, caused by thesignal reflecting off of buildings, isignored by the digital radio, which isable to discern the true signal andignore interference.

5. Your radio receives the signal and,depending on your equipment, you hear either the digital or analog feed.

Although now being eclipsed by internet-distributed radio, there are many stationsthat broadcast on shortwave bands using AM technology that can be received overthousands of miles especially at night. For example, the BBC has a full scheduletransmitted via shortwave. These broadcasts are very sensitive to atmosphericconditions and sunspots.

AM stations were the earliest broadcasting stations to be developed. AM refers toamplitude modulation, a mode of broadcasting radio waves by varying theamplitude of the carrier signal in response to the amplitude of the signal to betransmitted.

One of the advantages of AM is that its unsophisticated signal can be detectedturned into sound with simple equipment. If a signal is strong enough, not even apower source is needed; building an unpowered crystal radio receiver was acommon childhood project in the early years of radio.

AM broadcasts occur on North American airwaves in the medium wave frequencyrange of 530 to 1700 kHz known as the "standard broadcast band". Many





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countries outside of the U.S. use a similar frequency band for AM transmissions.Europe also uses the long wave band. In response to the growing popularity of FMradio stereo radio stations in the late 1980s and early 1990s, some North Americanstations began broadcasting in AM stereo, though this never gained popularity, andvery few receivers were ever sold.

AM Radio has some serious shortcomings

The signal is subject to interference from electrical storms lightning andother EMI.

AM transmissions cannot be ionospherically propagated during the day dueto strong absorption in the D-layer of the ionosphere. During the night, thisabsorption largely disappears and permits signals to travel to much moredistant locations via ionospheric reflections.

Fading of the signal can be severe at night. AM signals exhibit diurnal variation, traveling much longer distances at

night. In a crowded channel environment this means that the power ofregional channels which share a frequency must be reduced at night ordirectionally beamed in order to avoid interference, which reduces thepotential nighttime audience. AM stereo broadcasts declined with the adventof HD Radio.

FM refers to frequency modulation, and occurs on VHF airwaves in thefrequency range of 88 to 108 MHz everywhere except Japan and Russia. Japanuses the 76 to 90 MHz band. FM stations are much more popular ineconomically developed regions, such as Europe and the United States, especiallysince higher sound fidelity and stereo broadcasting became common in this format.

FM radio was invented by Edwin H. Armstrong in the 1930s for the specificpurpose of overcoming the interference static) problem of AM radio, to which it isrelatively immune. At the same time, greater fidelity was made possible by spacingstations further apart. Instead of 10 kHz apart, they are 200 kHz apart.

The AM radio problem of interference at night was addressed in a different way.At the time FM was set up, the available frequencies were far higher in thespectrum than those used for AM radio - by a factor of approximately 100. Usingthese frequencies meant that even at far higher power, the range of a given FMsignal was much lower, thus its market was more local than for AM radio. Thereception range at night is the same as at daytime.





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The original FM radio service in the U.S. was the Yankee Network, located in NewEngland. Broadcasting began in the early 1940s but did not pose a significantthreat to the AM broadcasting industry. It required purchase of a special receiver.The frequencies used were not those used today: 42 to 50 megahertz. The changeto the current frequencies, 88 to 108 megahertz, began after the end of World WarII, and it was to some extent imposed by AM radio owners so as to attempt cripplewhat was by now realized to be a potentially serious threat.

FM radio on the new band had to beginfrom the ground floor. As acommercial venture it remained alittle-used audio enthusiast's mediumuntil the 1960s. The more prosperousAM stations, or their owners, acquiredFM licenses and often broadcast thesame programming on the FM stationas on the AM station.

Digital Radio broadcasting hasemerged, first in Europe the UK in1995 and Germany in 1999, and laterin the United States. The Europeansystem is named DAB, for DigitalAudio Broadcasting, and uses thepublic domain EUREKA 147 system.

It is expected that for the next 10 to 20 years, all these systems will co-exist, whileby 2015 to 2020 digital radio may predominate, at least in the developed countries.

Satellite radiobroadcasters are slowly emerging, but the enormous entry costs ofspace-based satellite transmitters, and restrictions on available radio spectrumlicenses has restricted growth of this market.

Radio program formats differ by country, regulation and markets. In addition,formats change in popularity as time passes and technology improves. Early radioequipment only allowed program material to be broadcast in real time, known aslive broadcasting. As technology for sound recording improved, an increasingproportion of broadcast programming used pre-recorded material. A current trendis the automation of radio stations. Some stations now operate without direct





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human intervention by using entirely pre-recorded material sequenced by computercontrol.

A radio documentary or feature is a radio documentary programme devoted tocovering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentaryand sound pictures. Some radio features, especially those including speciallycomposed music or other pieces of audio art, resemble radio drama in many ways,though non-fictional in subject matter, while others consist principally of morestraightforward, journalistic-type reporting – but at much greater length than foundin an ordinary news report.

Radio Studio

A Radio Studio

Many Radio stations do not have their actual transmitter and broadcast tower onthe same property as the studios. The tower above is a microwave relay tower.





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The signal is sent by microwave to a similar microwave receptor on the groundswhere the transmitter and tower are. It is then converted into a signal that isbroadcast to the general public. It is not uncommon for a Radio station's studios tobe located 10, 15 even 30 miles away from the actual transmitter and tower.You'll notice there are several microwave dishes on this tower. That's because it isrelaying signals for several different Radio stations.

Many Radio stations, especially those which air syndicated radio shows, receivethese programs via satellite. The signal is fed into the Radio station's control roomwhere it travels through a console, also known as a "board", and is then sent to thetransmitter.

Today's typical broadcast studio at a Radio station consists of a console,microphones, computers, CD players.

Although more and more stations have switched over to completely digitaloperations, many still use CDs. It's unlikely too many actually use turntables orvinyl records anymore.

Console is a device that is used to control theaudio mix and output from either a live studiobroadcast or recorded sources. The two screenson console, directly ahead control the Radiostation. Everything in this system is digital andstored on a hard drive including songs,commercials, promos, etc.

The computer on the right is hooked up to theInternet and also includes software for editing

phone calls. The long rectangular object directly below this computer's keyboard isa phone interface for answering incoming lines. Below the console, you can see aflexible keyboard, two mouses and the red box is a remote control for the phonecall editing software. Once a phone call is ready for playback, the DJ can just pressthe play button on the red remote instead of using the mouse to click a softwarecontrol.

This is where all the sound sources are mixed before being sent to the transmitter.Each slider, sometimes known as a "pot" on older boards, controls the volume ofone sound source: microphone, CD player, digital recorder, network feed, etc.





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Each slider channel has an on/off switch at the bottom and various switches at thetop, which can divert to more than one destination.

A VU meter, such as the square box-like area toward the top of the console withthe two green horizontal lines center top, shows the operator the level of soundoutput. The top horizontal line is the left channel and the bottom line is the rightchannel.

Most Radio stations have an assortment of microphones. Some microphones areespecially designed for voice and on-air work. Often, these microphones will alsohave windscreens over them. The windscreen keeps extraneous noise to aminimum such as the sound of breath blowing into the microphone or thesound of a "popping" "P". Popping Ps occurs when a person pronounces a wordwith a hard "P" in it and in the process, expels a pocket of air that hits themicrophone creating undesired noise.

Besides the on-air studio, every radio station has a Production studio overseen bythe Production Director where commercials are assembled, music is recorded,promotional announcements are created, etc. The production studio is more of aworkhorse studio and generally aesthetics are less an issue than functionality.Notice the special soundproofing on the walls upper right

The monitor usually in the center is for the recording computer. The blackrectangular object on the right is actually this studio's "console" or mixer. The inseton the bottom left is CD player and other misc. controls and the inset in the upperleft is a studio speaker.

Analog v/s. Digital: Today's modern Radio station has moved away from analogA signal with characteristics that are continuous in nature rather than pulsed ordiscrete nature) recording in favor of digital A description of data which is storedor transmitted as a sequence of discrete symbols from a finite set, most commonlythis means binary data represented using electronic or electromagnetic signalsrecording. On top is an old-style analog tape deck, which recorded magneticimpulses on recording tape that was fed from left-to-right from reels. The audio isrecorded on a hard drive where it is edited, stored and played back.

Television

Unlike other forms of mass media, television has become one of the most powerfulmedia of Mass communication. With a modest beginning in the 1930s, it has





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grown into a massive network of mass information and mass entertainment intoday’s world. The attraction of the ‘visual ness’ of the medium makes peopleremain glued to the TV set for hours. Television captures our imagination and isthe most complete and dramatic of all mass media. In addition to providing newsand events, television also packages fiction, drama, culture, economy and manyother things. Thus, this idiot box because it provides everything on a pl atter andwe need not do any thinking has been increasing its hold on us.

History of Television

The inventions and discoveries in the late 1990s and early twentieth century, whichgave us radio, films and the telephone, also lead to the invention of the television.Vladimir Zworykin, an American scientist, who developed an all-electronictelevision system in 1923 and perfected it by 1928, took the first big step in thedevelopment of TV. However, only experimental TV broadcasts were conducted inthe early days. In 1938, TV sets became widely available and since then there is nolooking back. In India, television arrived with small scale experimental telecastingfrom Delhi in 1959. Slowly the half hour programme experiment grew. WhileDoordarshan was the only channel available through 1980, the TV in India hascompletely changed with the arrival of private TV channels.





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The television has become such an integral part of homes in the modern world thatit is hard to imagine life without television. The television provides entertainmentto people of all ages. Not just for entertainment value, but TV is also a valuableresource for advertising and different kinds of programming. The television as wesee it and know it today was not always this way.

Different experiments by various people, in the field of electricity and radio, led tothe development of basic technologies and ideas that laid the foundation for theinvention of television. In the late 1800s, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, a student inGermany, developed the first ever mechanical module of television. He succeededin sending images through wires with the help of a rotating metal disk. Thistechnology was called the ‘electric telescope’ that had 18 lines of resolution.

Around 1907, two separate inventors, A.A. Campbell-Swinton from England andRussian scientist Boris Rosing, used the cathode ray tube in addition to themechanical scanner system, to create a new television system. From the

Born at Mouron in Russia, Zworykin studied electrical engineering at Petrograd now St.Petersburg, graduating in 1912. During World War I he served as a radio officer in the Russianarmy. He moved to America in 1919 and joined the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1920.He did graduate research at Pittsburgh University, receiving a PhD in 1926. In 1929 he joinedthe Radio Corporation of America. Zworykin made a number of contributions to electron opticsand was the inventor of the first electronic-scanning television camera – the iconoscope.The first such device was constructed at Westinghouse in 1923. The principle was to focus animage on a screen made up of many small photoelectric cells, each insulated, which developed acharge that depended on the intensity of the light at that point. An electron beam directed ontothe screen was scanned in parallel lines over the screen, discharging the photoelectric cells andproducing an electrical signal.Zworykin also used the cathode-ray tube invented in 1897 by Karl Ferdinand Braun to producethe image in a receiver. The tube which he called a ‘kinescope’ had an electron beam focusedby magnetic and electric fields to form a spot on a fluorescent screen. The beam was deflected bythe fields in parallel lines across the screen, and the intensity of the beam varied according to theintensity of the signal. In this way it was possible to reconstruct the electrical signals into animage. In 1923 an early version of the system was made and Zworykin managed to transmit asimple picture a cross. By 1929 he was able to demonstrate a better version suitable forpractical use.Zworykin also developed other electron devices, including an electron-image tube and electronmultipliers. In 1940 he invited James Hillier to join his research group at RCA, and it was herethat Hillier constructed his electron microscope.





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experiments of Nipkow and Rosing, two types of television systems came intoexistence: mechanical television and electronic television.

In 1923, an American inventor called Charles Jenkins used the disk idea ofNipkow to invent the first ever practical mechanical television system. By 1931,his Radio visor Model 100 was being sold in a complete kit as a mechanicaltelevision.

In 1926, just a little after Jenkins, a British inventor known as John Logie Baird,was the first person to have succeeded in transmitting moving pictures through themechanical disk system started by Nipkow. He also started the first ever TV studio.

From 1926 till 1931, the mechanical television system saw many innovations.Although the discoveries of these men in the department of mechanical televisionwere very innovative, by 1934, all television systems had converted into theelectronic system, which is what is being used even today.

The experiments of Swinton in 1907, with the cathode ray tube for electronictelevision held great potential but were not converted into reality. Finally, in 1927,Philo Taylor Farnsworth was able to invent a working model of electronictelevision that was based on Swinton’s ideas.

His experiments had started when he was just a little boy of 14 years. By the timehe became 21, Philo had created the first electronic television system, which didaway with the rotating disks and other mechanical aspects of mechanical





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television. Thus was born the television system which is the basis of all modernTVs.

Strength and Weakness of Television

It has all the strength of radio except that it needs captive audience, has notattained portability and miniaturization and needs power line for inexpensiveworking. TV viewing is essentially a family affair and so helps family unity. It isfar from slow and availability is constant. Repetition of message does not incurexpense except nominal fees for cable connections. Television like radio, is in allsense a ‘now’ medium.

Television gives cursory overview of the events and is never capable of providingin-depth analysis and reporting. It is severely time limited and presents tinyfragments of topics. Television programmes skip and jumps demands constantchange of mental gears from programmes to commercial, from documentary tocartoon and news. Also contents are high in entertainment and low in information.Power line is needed for its inexpensive operation and battery operated televisionsets are most expensive.

Television Broadcasting

A television station is a type of broadcast station that broadcasts both audio andvideo to television receivers in a particular area. Traditionally, TV stations madetheir broadcasts by sending specially-encoded radio signals over the air, calledterrestrial television. Individual television stations are usually granted licenses by agovernment agency to use a particular section of the radio spectrum a channelthrough which they send their signals. Some stations use LPTV broadcasttranslators to retransmit or rebroadcast to further areas. Television stations are aform of television channel, but not all television channels are necessarily stations.

Many television stations are now in the process of converting from analogue todigital. In some countries, this is being forced on consumers and stations, while inothers it is entirely voluntary. In countries such as the United States, televisionstations usually just have one transmitter or, more recently, two transmitters if thestation broadcasts a digital signal in addition to its standard analog signal; most ofthese stations should be independent or affiliated to a television network such asABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC.





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Outside the US, television stations are generally associated with a nationwidetelevision network, through which they get all of, or at least significant amounts of,their programming. In those countries, the signals broadcast in different areas haveno well-known callsigns or other individual traits known to the general publicalthough a network might have regional variations, possibly broadcast fromseveral different transmitters and therefore in practice, there is no distinctionbetween a network and a station.

In the United States, each nationwide terrestrial broadcast network can have a fewstations that it owns and operates, usually in the larger broadcast markets, like NewYork or Chicago. They can only own a limited number of stations because of FCCregulations.

Large television stations usually have some sort of television studio, which onmajor-network stations is often used for newscasts or other local programming.There is usually a news department, where journalists gather information. There isalso a section where electronic news gathering operations are based, receivingremote broadcasts via remote pickup unit or satellite TV. Vans, trucks, or SUVswith this equipment are sent out with reporters, who may also bring back newsstories on videotape rather than sending them back live.

Weather is also a significant part of the station. Stations with newscasts also havetheir own meteorologists and Doppler radar, and produce their own forecasts,which often vary from station to station. In the U.S., most NBC stations now carryWeather Plus on a second digital channel, which mixes national and localsegments.

Stations not affiliated with major networks generally do not produce news orweather, or much other programming. Some stations known as repeaters ortranslators only simulcast another, usually the programmes seen on its owner'sflagship station, and have no production facilities of their own. This is common inmost countries outside of the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia. Low-powerstations typically also fall into this category worldwide.

TV stations may also advertise on or provide weather or news services to localradio stations, particularly co-owned sister stations. This may be a barter in somecases.





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As with other stations, the radio antenna is often located on a summit, the top of ahigh skyscraper, or on a tall radio tower. A studio/transmitter link STL, via eitherradio, is used to get the signal there. A transmitter/studio link TSL may also se ndtelemetry back to the station, but this may be embedded in subcarriers of the mainbroadcast. Stations which retransmit or simulcast another may simply pick-up thatstation over-the-air, or via STL or satellite. The license usually specifies whichother station it is allowed to carry.

TV Studio

A Television Studio is an installation in which television or video productions takeplace, either for live television, for recording live to tape, or for the acquisition ofraw footage for postproduction. The design of a studio is similar to, and derivedfrom, movie studios, with a few amendments for the special requirements oftelevision production. A professional television studio generally has several rooms,which are kept separate for noise and practicality reasons. These rooms areconnected via intercom, and personnel will be divided among these workplaces.Generally, a television studio consists of the following rooms:





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The studio floor is the actual stage on which the actions that will be recorded takeplace. 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 studiofloor.

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.

The production control room also known as the 'gallery' is the place in atelevision studio in which the composition of the outgoing program takes place.





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Facilities in a PCR include: a video monitor wall, with monitors for program, preview, videotape

machines, cameras, graphics and other video sources switcher a device where all video sources are controlled and taken to air.

Also known as a special effects generator 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 digital video effects and/or still frame devices if not integrated i n the vision

mixer) technical director's station, with waveform monitors, vector scopes and the

camera control units or remote control panels for the camera control unitsCCUs

VTRs may also be located in the PCR, but are also often found in the centralmachine room

The master control room houses equipment that is too noisy or runs too hot for theproduction control room. It also makes sure that wire lengths and installationrequirements keep within manageable lengths, since most high-quality wiring runsonly between devices in this room.

This can include:

The actual circuitry and connection boxes of the vision mixer, DVE andcharacter generator devices

camera control units VTRs patch panels for reconfiguration of the wiring between the various pieces of

equipment.

In a broadcast station in the US, master control room or "MCR" is the place wherethe on-air signal is controlled. It may include controls to play back programs andcommercials, switch local or network feeds, record satellite feeds and monitor thetransmitter(s. The description of an MCR given above usually refers to anequipment rack room, which is usually separate from the MCR itself. The term"studio" usually refers to a place where a particular local program is originated. If





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the program is broadcast live, the signal goes from the production control room toMCR and then out to the transmitter.

A television studio usually has other rooms with no technical requirementsbeyond program and audio monitors. Among them are:

one or more make-up and changing rooms a reception area for crew, talent, and visitors, commonly called the green

room.

A green room is a space in a theater, a studio, or a similar venue, for theaccommodation of performers or speakers not yet required on stage. It functions asa waiting room or as a touch-up lounge so that a performer need not return towardrobe or to the dressing room, while remaining immediately available for a callto the stage. The origin of the term is often attributed to such an area historicallybeing painted green, yet a modern "green room" often has no green.

1.2. POST & PRE PRODUCTION STAGES

Writing the Proposal

The proposal is a document consisting essentially of the following items:

A treatment A proposed budget A video format or video script Proposed production schedule

The more thorough the proposal, the better the chances of the documentary beingapproved. Yet before undertaking the proposal another step is required i.e.research.

Researching a Topic

Research usually mean good library. Currently with high tech computer searchesfor topics, research is easier and faster than ever, but good research is time-consuming. One of the best ways to do quality research is to organize. If aproducer organizes the topic carefully from the beginning, the whole organizationof further research, the format or outline of the documentary, the pre-productionscript, and the order of videotaping the production will be created at the same time.





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Quality research can also reveal potential locations for videotaping, availableprerecorded videotape and film, the acquisition of still photographs, contactpersons, and potential interviewees, besides the content nature of the topic itself.

Scouting the Location Site

Scouting out a location for production of a programme or at least searching out theplace to interview the spokespeople should at least follow adequate research intothe subject of the film or the documentary. A producer may have to pay for thescouting trip beforehand and recoup the expense later in the proposed budget.

Writing the Treatment

The treatment portion of the proposal is a verbal description of the suggestedtopic or subject of the documentary. The content of the treatment should coverthe topic and why it should be the focus of the documentary. It should also containa proposed title, the proposed length, and the goals and objectives of thedocumentary. It is helpful to include the target audience and the reasons fortargeting them and suggested production values to reach the audience. Once theproducer has set goals and objectives for the documentary, a production statementcan be written to accurately define in an emotional or rational few words therationale for the documentary.

Constructing a Budget

Most budgets are a matter of organizing essential expenses both from producingpersonnel and from the projected costs of the production and postproduction. Thebasis for much equipment and facility costs can be obtained from a rate card,which most production facilities and equipment suppliers make available to thepotential clients.

A story can be told in different ways depending upon the budget. Each variationwill yield the same story, but it will be designed differently. To use an analogy, ahouse can be built with $100,000 or $1,000,000. Both variations will be a house,but the designs will be different based on budget constraints. The builder with$100,000 can afford a modest house, while the builder with $1, 000,00 can afford amansion with all the extras. Similarly, a documentary's budget defines how thestory is told in terms of variables such as locations, characters, special effects, etc.

Every Penny Must Go On Screen - Traveling to locations, unloading equipmenttrucks, rigging lights, laying dolly track, organizing crowd scenes, etc. is time





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consuming and expensive. Most importantly, this work does not appear on screenper se. In order to make a successful low budget documentary, you must putevery penny on the screen.

If a story can be told with 10 locations, why use 20? If it can be told with a cast of6, why use 12? Are elaborate lighting setups and camera moves adding to the storyor are they just burning up the budget and pulling down overall quality? You mustask these hard questions.

One reason filmmakers refuse to be economical in terms of equipment and storyvariables is that they fear a rough, low quality look. The truth is, economy does notmean low quality. It means telling a story within one's means. This results inhigher production values because every penny is put on the screen.

When you try to a make bigger movie than the budget can support, you spreadresources too thin. As money runs out, you may take short cuts and foolishchances. This results in lower quality.

Writing the Pre -Production Script

With research completed and format for the production finished, a pre productionscript is not difficult to write at this stage. It is to be kept in mind that a script atthis stage is only a pre production step and not a final production script. Yet withthe advantage of research and information leads from research, a script isadvantageous at this point. Major elements to be included in the pre productionscript are topic lead, proposed interviewees, bridges between segments,proposed video, proposed cut-away, internal summaries and final summary.

Story is King -Without name actors, a low budget movie must rely exclusively onthe quality of its story to attract audiences. The story must be intriguing and mustcontain unwavering conflict. The conflict, whether physical or dramatic, must beintense, elevated, and memorable. When done right, this is what creates the wordof mouth buzz that surrounds a movie.

Designing the Production Schedule

With the pre production work completed, the producer can now design aproduction schedule on the basis of available locations and available intervieweesand travel arrangements. Production schedule information should include thefollowing:





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Dates of each individual videotape shoot Place for travel Transportation plans Crew accommodations Location sites Interviewee names and titles

Structuring a Programme

Once the shoot has been done for the programme and the producer has the shoottapes ready, the producer has to perform following duties to give a structure to theprogramme:

1. Reviewing tapes and recording editing work sheets- Even though locationlog sheets were kept during production, it is necessary for a producer topreview all tapes as a prelude to editing. This step allows the producer tostudy video and audio responses from location talent. This is the first step inthe editing process deciding what might be used in the programme and whatwill not be used. It is also the beginning of the final script of the programme.The editing work sheets are a listing of all video on the coded source tapeswith notations of in-cues and out-cue; length of segments, some videotaperecorder counter numbers or stopwatch time and some judgmental notationson the relative value of takes on the source tapes.

2. Writing the final script for the documentary- although the pre productionscript has served an important service, it gives way to the final script. It canstill serve as a frame of reference and a basic framework for the final script,but with the dynamics of location shoot and interviewing, many elementsfirst considered important give way to new elements of ten more importantor creative.

3. Coordinating editing cue sheets with the final production script- aftereach tape has been reviewed, work sheets completed, and the finalproduction script written, the producer can spend quality time apart from thetapes and video monitors and, with the final script.

4. Editing or supervising the editing session- with the majority of editingdecisions already made on the editing cue sheets and with the editing worksheets to aid in swift recovery of videotape segments from the source tapes,editing can begin.

5. Adding music and effects and mixing the audio channels- after the mastertape has been edited, and assuming the most synchronous audio bites arealso edited with the video, the second audio track is ready for voice-over





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tracks, location ambience tracks, music or sound effects. This means thataudio channel 1dialogue track and audio channel 2 music and effects willhave to be mixed down to one channel track.

6. Adding titling and credits-after the master tape is complete, then titles andcredits can be matted on the video. Some producers may matte the charactergenerator copy in editing suite over the proper video images, as they arebeing edited master through a studio control room switcher. This can also bedone while the two audio tracks are being mixed down.

7. Final script transcription for the programme-many documentariessponsoring organizations may wish to have a transcribed copy of the finaldocumentary for legal purposes in addition to a videotaped dub of themaster. If the organization or some interviewee were granted editing rightsin lieu of their participation in the documentary, then they would require acopy of the final audio text of the documentary from which to makecorrections or revisions to the text of the documentary.

1.3 STORY TREATMENT

Writing a treatment is skill that can help any screenwriter succeed, at any point inthe creative process. There are at least three parts of getting a screenplay sold orfinanced. Learning to write a treatment can jumpstart a writer's career because itallows a screenwriter to communicate his or her screenplay idea in a brief butcompelling way. It also can be a powerful diagnostic and creative tool.

If you have a great idea, the only way to own it is to write it. Writing a treatment isa fast way to test out an idea before the screenwriter commits to writing a script. Ifit isn't terrific, move on. Part of succeeding as a screenwriter is to write at least onegreat screenplay. There is no substitute for craft. Screenplays are hard work andtake time to perfect. If a writer has completed a screenplay, writing a treatment canhelp the writer determine whether or not their screenplay is viable, because thetreatment creates distance. This allows the screenwriter to get an overview of theirwork and look at it objectively.

If the basic story is not something an audience will want to see, no amount ofrewriting can fix it. Screenwriters often forget that they are writing for an audience.Writing a treatment before you write your next screenplay can help you work outproblems and determine whether your story idea is a diamond in the rough, or justa lump of coal. The goal is to combine stories told from the heart with a deepunderstanding of what other people want to see.





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Craft and good ideas don't necessarily go together. The successful screenwritermust be able to master both aspects. Ideally, every serious screenwriter shouldhave two really well written, well-structured screenplays as writing samples. Thenit makes sense to devote time to learning how to write treatments because theyforce the writer to focus on structure and character development.

There is controversy about the length a treatment can be. Some say up to 60 pages,but the point of the treatment is to communicate your story as quickly as possible,so brevity without sacrificing juice is the key here. There seem to be three opinionsabout what a treatment is. One opinion is that it is a one page written pitch. Thesecond is that it is a two to five page document that tells the whole story focusingon the highlights. The third opinion is that a treatment is a lengthy document that isa scene by scene breakdown of a script.

This two to five page document should read like a short story and be written in thepresent tense. It should present the entire story including the ending, and use somekey scenes and dialogue from the screenplay it is based on.

Whether the screenwriter is creating a new story or writing a treatment based on anexisting script, the first step is to make sure that the screenplay has a good title.The first contact a prospective producer has with a script is the title. Pick a title thatgives a clear idea of what genre the screenplay is written in. A good title canpredispose a producer or reader to like a screenplay because it suggests the kind ofexperience that is in store and arouses curiosity.

The second step is to write a logline. Preparing a log line for your screenplay is abasic marketing tool for developing treatments. The third step is to a synopsis.Begin by expanding the logline into a three-act story Start with the end. Once thesynopsis is written, the preparation is complete and the screenwriter can take thesynopsis and expand it into a treatment by correcting structure and adding detail.

1.4. SCRIPTS

Storyboard and Script Designing

Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or imagesdisplayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic orinteractive media sequence.





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The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at theWalt Disney studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processesbeing in use at Disney and other animation studios. Storyboarding became popularin live-action film production during the early 1940s.

Description

A storyboard is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the filmproduced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and televisioncommercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problemsbefore they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicatemovement.

Usage

In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboardprovides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. Inthe storyboarding process, most technical details involved in crafting a film can beefficiently described either in picture, or in additional text.

Some live-action directors, use storyboard extensively before taking the pitch totheir funders, stating that it helps them get the figure they are looking for sincethey can show exactly where the money will be used. Other directors storyboardonly certain scenes, or not at all. Animation directors are usually required tostoryboard extensively, sometimes in place of doing a script.

Storyboards were adapted from the film industry to business, purportedly byHoward Hughes of Hughes Aircraft. Today they are used by industry for planningad campaigns, commercials, a proposal or other projects intended to convince orcompel to action.

A "quality storyboard" is a tool to help facilitate the introduction of a qualityimprovement process into an organisation. More recently the term "storyboard" hasbeen used in the fields of web development, software development andinstructional design to present and describe interactive events as well as motion onuser interfaces, electronic pages and presentation screens.

Benefits

One advantage of using storyboards is that it allows in film and business the userto experiment with changes in the storyline to evoke stronger reaction or interest.





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Flashbacks, for instance, are often the result of sorting storyboards out ofchronological order to help build suspense and interest.

The process of visual thinking and planning allows a group of people to brainstormtogether, placing their ideas on storyboards and then arranging the storyboards onthe wall. This fosters more ideas and generates consensus inside the group.

Script Designing

It usually depends on the type of the programme. The normal format for aprogramme shooting script is essentially a two-column affair, which breaksdown each sequence into its component shots. The left-hand side shows the typeof the shot long shots, clo se-up etc), a description of the subject matter plus anyinstructions regarding movement of the camcorder. The right-hand of the scriptcovers sound, i.e. narrative, dialogue and special sound effects.

Pre-planning and scripting will undoubtedly assist in making a gooddocumentary but don’t be too hidebound. If, during the shoot, you think ofsomething better, or an unexpected relevant event occurs, then use your commonsense and accommodate changes.

Pre-location planning- one element of video work, which is sometimesoverlooked with embarrassing results, is logistical planning. Dependent upon the





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type and scale of the documentary the logistics can cover a multitude of thingslike:

Location- any required permissions should have been sought prior to or atthe research stage but where applicable, confirm with the appropriatepersons that a specific time is O.K. A reconnaissance exploring will alsohelp to establish the best camera positions and whether there are likely to beany lighting, sound or power problems, which will need to be overcome.Where necessary and possible, take some trial shots.

Personnel- make sure that all concerned, be they crew or cast, are fullyconversant with where the shoot is to take place, their personal time ofarrival and how long it is likely to last. With a dramatized documentary, tryto avoid having the cast standing around for too long waiting for their scenesto be shot. It is a sure way to soon kill enthusiasm.

Sustenance- thought must also be given to refreshments and food, thecheapest option being to suggest that all personnel bring their food.Sometimes with a large-scale project catering responsibilities are alsoallocated.

Equipment-prepare a checklist of all the equipment likely to be needed,including, safe main power leads, and batteries for camcorders and otherequipments, microphones, tripod, lights, reflector and enclosed headphonesetc. don’t forget props.

1.5. Script Layout

Screenplay has to be formatted:

So it's easy to read. It may be OK to have a scruffy looking script if you are theonly one who will use it, but to allow your cast and crew to make sense of itapplying a few rules of formatting makes it easier to read.

There are two main types of fictional screenplay - the spec script and theshooting script. The spec script is what gets sent out to producers and actors, butwe can probably forget about that as we are going to pick up a camera ourselves,so we can write a shooting script.

Layout

Scripts are best typed on only one side of the paper in 12-point courier. Double spacing between lines allows you to read the script easier.





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Leave good borders around the script.

Keep to the above tips and you will have a well laid out script. This can help youtime your script, as now one page of screenplay will equal one minute of screentime.

Slug Lines- the scene heading/slug line. Consists of either INT. Interior - eg. in aroom or EXT. Exterior eg. on the street, the location eg. CITY STREET. NEWYORK followed by either DAY or NIGHT Forget aboutmorning/afternoon/sunset etc. as it makes no difference when it is being filmed -no one is going to shoot you for filming in the afternoon and pretending it is themorning. Here are a few examples to give you a rough idea.

INT. MORTUARY – NIGHTEXT. RACE TRACK - DAY

Scenes inside cars are Interiors despite the fact that the car is outside. You mayoccasionally see EXT/INT or INT/EXT on a script. This occurs when the camera isin one location and the action is happening in another. For example:

INT/EXT. HOTEL LOBBY/CITY STREET - DAY

The camera or a character is watching the action occurring outside)

EXT/INT. CAR/APARTMENT - NIGHT

The camera or character is sitting in a car watching something happening throughan apartment's window. Hey, maybe they’re on a stakeout or something!)

The Business: The scene direction/business. This tells the reader what is going on.Clear, concise. Always showing rather than telling. Don't say that:

DAVID is suffering inner torment because of his wife's kidnapping.

...show us!

DAVID runs his hands through his hair. Picks up a shot of bourbon, tastes it andwinces. He throws the glass across the room, hitting the mirror, whichSHATTERS. Write in the present tense. It gives events and action much moreimmediacy, like they are really happening, which is what you want.





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Dialogue

Dialogue appears in a column down the center of the page indented from thebusiness. It’s in the form:

NAMEDirectionHey, this is what your character says.

The name is straightforward right? It goes in Upper Case.

The direction isn't always given, in fact in a spec script you would provide hardlyany - telling an actor how to act is as bad as telling a director how to direct! Theonly occasion you might put some in would be if dialogue was directed specificallyat another character e.g. To Alberto or if it has to be said in a particular styleWhispering.

And finally the dialogue itself. Try to keep it to a minimum, no long speecheshere. That way there is less for your actors to remember and less for them to muckup. Good actors will always make the best of what you have written for them andcan provide so much more with their intonation and body language, which yousimply cannot write. I'm sure I read somewhere that only 20% of communication isspeech.

Avoid exposition that's when you character explains something in detail - try andshow rather than tell. Keep it simple and heed Lew Hunter's words 'Good dialogueis dialogue that illuminates what the characters are not saying'.

Character Names

When a character first appears their name in the scene direction should be inCAPITALS. After that their name is in lower case.

Try to avoid giving minor characters names like THUG 4 as its pretty demeaningto have to play such a lowly character - 'Hey, I'm not even playing THUG 2'. Youneedn't go to extremes and give them a full name unless the character is named byanother character), just spice it up, so that when you offer the part to your friend,rather then being the fourth thug they could be a MEAN THUG or a TATTOEDTHUG.





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Sound

You can put important sounds in CAPITALS, so that monsters SHRIEK and carsEXPLODE, but this is up to you. Some people like to, others don't. If you do putsounds in upper case try not to overdo it. You see the word OVER used in scripts.This means that there is an important sound OVER the normal soundtrack e.g.music.

Camera Directions

As this is a shooting script we can add camera and actor directions to the script - ina spec script you wouldn't do this - just like you wouldn't turn round to Coppolaand say 'Do a Close Up here'. But as this is our show we get to play director. Thereare several abbreviations to speed the writing and reading along.

C/U - Close-upMS - Medium ShotLS - Long ShotTwo-Shot - Shot of two characters in the same pictureV.O. - voiceoverO.S. - off screenP.O.V. - Point of view e.g. one of those wobbly cameras they use when someoneis breaking into an apartment in a horror movie.





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M.O.S. - without sound. Apparently comes from "Mit out sound" which someGerman director used to shout or something. Great for when your characters arestaking out some joint, watching the bad guys pull off some drug deal and theycan't hear what they are saying.

Camera Movements

CRAB - camera moves completely to the left/rightPAN - camera pivots left or rightTILT - camera pivots up or downBOOM - camera moves up or down.DOLLY - camera moves in/out from subjectZOOM - camera zooms in/out from subject not strictly a camera movementbecause it’s the lens that's moving not the camera)





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Transitions

These are how you change from one scene to another. They always sit over to theright of your script and on the whole you will find yourself using:-

CUT TO: which is a straight change of picture from one scene to the next.

There are some other transitions available but be careful, they have differentconnotations to the viewer.

DISSOLVE TO: The final shot of the previous scenes fades into the first shot ofthe next scene. This can be used to suggest the passing of time. And you will needa three-machine edit suite or a non-linear computer editing system to achieve this.

FADE IN: Usually used at the start of films, with FADE OUT used to end themovie. You can also use CUT TO BLACK and CUT FROM BLACK/CUT IN.You can use these transitions together to alter the mood and pace. For example:

NICK grins at ALBERTO.NICK: ‘You're even uglier than I remember’.

Alberto scratches his head, thinking, before pulling his fists back and hitting Nickfull on in the face.





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CUT TO BLACK:

FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM - DAY.

Story Treatment

Even though you may have a clear idea in your head of what you want to getacross in a production, unless you can clearly communicate that idea to the peoplewho can help you launch your production, that's just where your idea will stay - inyour head. The people involved in story treatment, include the producer,director, production crew, sponsor, and, most importantly, your audience.

Writing the Program Proposal or Treatment

The first step in a complex production is to write a clear and succinct summary ofyour ideas. We refer to this summary as a treatment in dramatic productions and aprogramme. A sample program proposal for a local TV station is often, just theprocess of putting things down on paper allows you to better organize and clarifyyour ideas. This step often reveals weaknesses and gaps you should address beforeit's too late. Or before you're asked about some embarrassing details you hadn'tthought of.

Get Agreement on Your Proposal

Getting the go-ahead on a proposal affords everyone a bit of insurance. Onceeveryone agrees on the treatment or program proposal, it's difficult for someone tosay later, "This isn't what we agreed on."

This is especially important in large production facilities and television networks,where a variety of people will be involved in program development. A simpleprogram proposal may be just a couple of pages or, in the case of a feature-lengthdramatic production; a treatment can run 60 pages or more.

This is as good a place as any to mention the importance of writing.

There may even be some people out there who decided to go into TV rather thanprint journalism, for example) because they thought they might be able to escapehaving to learn how to write.





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Although it's a visual medium, TV is still based on the written word. Whenyou get down to it, your ability to write and effectively communicate your ideasends up being the most important criterion for success. Unless you want to stickwith the very basic jobs in TV, you have to face this reality -- and the sooner thebetter.

Interestingly, most producers the people in charge, remember?) arrived at theirjobs by first being writers. Wouldn't you rather end up being someone who makesthe major decisions and is paid accordingly?

Although we write them as an aid in presenting and getting agreement on the focusand direction of the production, we can also use them to interest key people insupporting the production especially financial backers.

See That Your Proposal Engages the Audience's Interest and Imagination

A program proposal or treatment should cover the essence of the production; or, inthe case of a dramatic production, the basic story line.

Dramatic treatments also include the locations and talent required, as well as thekey scenes. In non-dramatic program proposals, the basic production needsand approximate times of the segments are included.

Anyone reading a program proposal or treatment should be able to get a clear ideaof the entire production. If disagreement exists on the program concept, it is mucheasier to change things at this stage than after the complete script is written.

Brief instructions on writing a treatment can be done.

Finally, the treatment or program proposal must engage the interest of readers andgo a long way toward convincing them of the probable success of the production.

It would be difficult to think of any business that's more competitive than TVbroadcasting. The average viewer in the United States has dozens of TV channelsfrom which to choose. Each year, the TV industry spends millions of dollars tryingto make successful new TV shows. And each year most of these attempts don'teven make it to air broadcast.

First, Get Their Attention!





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The success of a TV show and, therefore, your own professional success willdepend in large measure on your ability to effectively capture and hold anaudience.

And, once you do, you'd better have something interesting to communicate orthey'll quickly go elsewhere either tuning to another channel or just mentallytuning you out.

TV productions cost a lot of money, especially today. To cite just one example, in1966 the budget for each full episode of Star Trek was $100,000. In 2003, eachepisode of Enterprise, which is similar in form, cost about $100,000 per minute toproduce. Today, the cost would be even higher. Before people put up that kind ofmoney, they have to believe there will be some kind of return on their investment.

Depending on the type of production, that return may be to communicate acorporate message effectively, to get viewers to understand a series of concepts or,in the case of commercial television, to generate profits by selling products.

Hit the Target Audience)

As we've noted, we use the term target audience to indicate the specific segment ofa potential audience we're "aiming at." Regardless of the type of production, youmust start with a clear understanding of the needs and interests of your specifictarget audience.

Advertisers spend millions of dollars determining these things. Depending on theproducts they want to sell, advertisers will have certain demographic preferences.

For designer jeans, for example, the target audience would be fairly affluentteenagers. The same advertisers wouldn't be interested in sponsoring reruns ofMurder, She Wrote, which appeals primarily to an older audience.

By the way, the principles of determining the needs and interests of your targetaudience also apply to something as simple as producing a video for your class. Ifonly an instructor will be evaluating your video, you'll probably take a differentapproach than if it's intended for a graduation party. In either case, meeting theneeds of your target audience is the key to success.





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Using Audience-Engaging Techniques

We've noted that audiences react emotionally to program content. This is a keyconcept. Although people may want to believe they're being completely logical inevaluating a program, their underlying emotional reaction most influences theirevaluation. Even a logical, educational presentation evokes -- for better or worse --an emotional response.

What types of production content is most apt to emotionally engage us? First, wehave an interest in other people, especially in "experiencing the experiences" ofother people.

We're interested in people who lead interesting romantic, dangerous, wretched, orengrossingly spiritual lives. Part of this involves gaining new insights and beingexposed to new points of view. This includes learning new things.

Here's something else to keep in mind.

Viewers like content that reinforces their existing attitudes and, right or wrong,they tend to react against ideas that run contrary to their beliefs. Production people,therefore, must be careful in presenting ideas that blatantly challenge widely heldbeliefs.

The trick is to know how far you can go without alienating an audience.

To cite a rather extreme example, a number of years ago an East Coast TV stationdid an exposé on a local police chief. An undercover reporter put a camera in alunch box and filmed the police chief clearly taking a bribe.

When the segment was broadcast, there was negative reaction — against the TVstation.

It seems the police chief was popular with many influential people in thecommunity and having the truth presented in this way challenged theircommitment to this individual. This reaction on the part of many viewers wasjustified by cries of entrapment, a liberal media bias against a law-and-orderofficial, etc.

This wasn't the first time a messenger was blamed for the message.





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The same negative anti-media reaction took place when former U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon was forced to resign from office for engaging in illegal activitieswhile in the White House. To see how this came about, rent the Academy Awardwinning feature-length film, All the President's Men. The film represents animportant piece of U.S. history presented in a dramatic and even exciting way. Italso illustrates how two tenacious reporters faced down major high-levelopposition to expose wrongdoing. Eventually, a U.S. president had to resign. Thereporters involved kept the identity of "Deep Throat," the inside informer involved,secret for several decades.

If a democracy is to be successful, the news media have a social responsibility tobring truth to light -- even though that truth may be unpopular.

Audiences also like to hear about things that are new and that generateexcitement. This is why mystery, sex, fear, violence, and horror do so well atthe box office.

It also explains why we see so many car chases, explosions, and general instancesof mayhem in our films and TV programs. Such things stir our adrenaline andinvolve us emotionally. In short, they hold our attention.

This, of course, brings up the possibility of exploitation; presenting things thatappeal to elements of human nature that how shall we say this aren't the mostpositive.

Sometimes a rather blurry line exists between honestly presenting ideas and storiesand unduly emphasizing elements such as sex and violence just for the sake ofgrabbing and holding an audience. Beyond a certain point, audiences will sensethey're being exploited and manipulated, and resent it.

And, keep in mind, the content of a production, good or bad, tends to rub off on thereputations of those who produce it and even on the sponsors who support it. Withthis general background on programming elements that appeal to audiences, we'llnext turn to the production sequence.

1.6. BUDGET

A budget is a quantitative expression of plans. Business firms, governmentalagencies, non-profit institutions, and even households commonly use it. Whilethere is considerable variation in the scope, degree of formality, and level ofsophistication applied to budgeting, most of the well-managed business firms use a





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budget, which is a comprehensive and coordinated plan for the operations andresources of the firm.

Most budgets are a matter of organizing essential expenses both from producingpersonnel and from the projected costs of the production and postproduction. Thebasis for much equipment and facility costs can be obtained from a rate card,which most production facilities and equipment suppliers make available to thepotential clients.

Unfortunately, the best things in life are not always free. This applies especially tomajor television shows, which can cost several million dollars an hour to produce.

Although you may have come up with a truly great idea for a script -- one you'recertain will make you famous! Unless you can raise the money to get it producedit'll remain simply that: a great idea.

So the first question is ‘what will it cost to produce’? We call this process costingout a production.

Traditionally, we think of expenses as falling into two broad areas: above the lineand below the line.

Although the "line" blurs at times, above-the-line expense performing andproducing elements: talent, script, music, and others.

Below-the-line elements refer to two broad areas:

The physical elements: sets, props, make-up, wardrobe, graphics,transportation, production equipment, studio facilities, and editing

The technical personnel: stage manager, engineering personnel, videorecording operators, audio operators, and general labor

To cost out a major production accurately, go beyond the above-the-line andbelow-the-line designations and divide production into at least 15 categories:

1. Pre-production costs2. Location scouting and related travel expenses3. Studio rental4. Sets and set construction5. On-location expenses6. Equipment rental





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7. Video recording and duplication8. Production crew costs9. Producer, director, writer, creative fees10. On-camera talent costs11. Insurance, shooting permits, contingencies, etc.12. On-line and off-line editing13. Advertising, promotion, and publicity14. Research and follow-up15. Materials, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses

Smaller productions, of course, will not involve all of these categories.

Note that one of the categories covers equipment rental. Except for studioequipment that's used every day, it's often more economical to rent equipmentrather than buy it.

First, production equipment especially cameras and recorders becomes outdatedquickly. At more than $70,000 for a top-notch video camera, you might assumeyou'll recoup the cost through several years' use. If you pay cash for a $70,000camera and use it five years, the cost breaks down to $14,000 a year, plus repairand maintenance expenses.

Even though the camera might still be reliable after five years or more, comparedto the newer models it will be outdated. It may even be difficult to find repair parts.

Several different production facilities can use equipment available for rent,however. This means the rental company can write off the initial investment ontheir taxes more quickly, making it possible to replace the equipment with newermodels.

Even for consumer grade equipment, the rental cost which may be only $50 a daymight make sense if you'll use it for just a few days.

Second, the rental company, rather than the production facility, is responsible forrepair, maintenance, and updating. If equipment breaks down during a shootproduction, most rental companies replace it within a few hours.

Third, renting provides an income tax advantage. When equipment is purchased, itmust be depreciated written off on income tax over a number of years. Butsometimes this time span exceeds the practical usefulness of the equipment. Thismay mean that the production facility will need to sell the used equipment in order





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to recoup some of their initial investment. Companies often donate theirequipment to schools for a tax write-off.

If you rent non-studio equipment, however, you can write it off immediately as aproduction expense.

Although rules governing income taxes change regularly, deducting the cost ofrental equipment can represent a quicker, simpler and in many cases greater taxdeduction.

Finally, when you rent equipment, you increase the opportunities to obtainequipment that will meet the specific needs of your production. Purchasingequipment can generate pressure to use it even though, at times, other makes andmodels might be better suited to your needs.

Again, in each of these examples, we're talking about equipment that you wouldn'tuse every day.

Approaches to Attributing Costs

Once you figure the cost of a production, you may need to justify it, either in termsof cost-effectiveness or expected results. There are three bases on which tomeasure cost effectiveness:

Cost per minute Cost per viewer Cost vs. measured benefits

Cost per MinuteCost per minute is relatively easy to determine; simply divide the final productioncost by the duration of the finished product. For example, if a 30-minuteproduction costs $120,000, the cost per minute is $4,000.





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Cost per ViewerCost per viewer is also relatively simple to figure out; divide the total productioncost by the actual or anticipated audience. In the field of advertising, CPM or cost-per-thousand is a common measure. If 100,000 people see a show that costs$5,000 to produce, the CPM is $50. On a cost-per-viewer basis, this comes out tobe only five cents a person.

Cost per Measured ResultsCost per measured results is the most difficult to determine. Here, we mustmeasure production costs against intended results. Suppose that after airing one60-second commercial we'll sell 300,000 packages of razor blades at a resultingprofit of $100,000. If we spent a million dollars producing and airing thecommercial, we would have to question whether it was good investment.

But, advertisers air most ads more than once.

If the cost of TV time is $10,000 and we sell 300,000 packages of razor bladesafter each airing, we will soon show a profit. All of these "measured results" areeasily determined by a calculator.

Return on Investment

Things may not be this simple, however. What if we also run ads in newspapersand on radio and we have huge, colorful displays in stores? Then it becomesdifficult to determine the cost-effectiveness of each medium, and the questionbecomes, which approaches are paying off and which aren't?

And there can be another issue. We can count razor blades, but it may be moredifficult to determine the returns on other "products." For example, it's verydifficult to determine the effectiveness of programming on altering humanbehavior and attitudes.

How do you quantify the return on investment of public service announcementsdesigned to get viewers to stop smoking, "buckle up for safety," or preserve cleanair and water?

Even if we conduct before-and-after surveys to measure changes in publicawareness, it can be almost impossible to factor out the influence of the host ofother voices the public may encounter on that issue.





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Apart from in-depth interviews with viewers, we may have to rely largely on "therecord."

If we know a series of 60-second TV spots increases razor blade sales by 300,000,we might assume a 60-second Advertisement would also have some influence onsmoking, buckling seat belts, and preserving clean air and water. The question ishow many people modified their behavior as a direct result of your advertising?

This is important for nonprofits and other organizations to know in order todetermine the best use of their informational and educational dollars. With some ofthe major pre-production concerns covered, our next step is to become familiarwith the tools of production.

Even if you have no interest in producing, the better your grasp of this issue, thebetter your chance of success. Why waste your time coming up with great ideasthat may have little chance of making it to the screen?

And keep in mind that no production company will commit to a production withouta reasonable idea of how much it'll cost.

FLOOR PLAN, SETS, MAKE-UP COSTUME, JEWELRY, LIGHTS,AUDIO

1.7. Floor Plan

Typical floor plan activities include:

Checking that equipment, e.g. microphones and earpieces, are workingbefore the show;

Seating the audience if in attendance); Relaying instructions from the control room to the studio floor; Keeping the director and producer informed of action off-camera; Assisting in the planning and preparation of productions; Overseeing the work of other departments, such as lighting and props; Rehearsing live shows; Giving cues and time counts to presenters, actors or guests; Organizing runners to make the best use of studio time; Looking ahead in the programme schedule to anticipate any changes to the

set or to see what props are required later in the show; Briefing and looking after those involved in the programme;





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Managing the audience, explaining safety requirements, show timings andexplaining what will happen during filming and when the programme will beaired;

Referring to floor plans; Dealing with any technical problems or crises; Controlling the studio and halting production if necessary; Liaising with public relations staff to agree who will be interviewed, for

example at sports matches; Passing information and progress reports from live events to studio

presenters; Adhering to health and safety regulations, e.g. keeping 'safe areas' and fire

exits clear of equipment.

In video production, an understanding of cameras, lenses, etc., is fundamental. Butthose who never get beyond this basic understanding, as essential as that might be,never distinguish themselves. At best, they will be considered good technicians.

Floor Manager

If you're well organized and can deal with the unexpected without losing your cool,you could enjoy being a floor manager at a television station. Prior to filming, thefloor manager ensures that the sets, props and technical equipment are safe to useand in the right place. If there's an audience, floor managers are responsible formaking sure people are seated in good time. When on-air, the director relaysinstructions through an earpiece and the floor manager gives cues to the presentersand guests to ensure timings are met. In a studio setting, the floor manager is theessential link between the director up in the gallery and the floor below.

Typical activities include:

Relaying instructions from the control room to the studio floor; Assisting in the planning and preparation of productions; Rehearsing live shows; Giving cues and time counts; Keeping time; Looking after the people involved, including the audience; Referring to floor plans; Tackling any crisis/conflict with calm authoritative control; and Being diplomatic.





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Floor managers and assistant directors provide an essential link between thedirector and the other people involved in a production. They deal with importantpracticalities and make sure that everyone knows what to do and when.

Floor managers work across a range of television programmes. They are in chargeof the production 'floor', which may be the main production area in a televisionstudio or a temporary area for outside broadcasts. Their duties may include:

assisting with planning and logistics briefing presenters, performers and guests ensuring that equipment is in place and technical checks carried out. providing cues, timing and other information to presenters and performers.

Assistant Directors ADs perform a similar role in film, television drama, andcommercials production. Their tasks might include:

creating the filming schedule controlling discipline on set ensuring the health and safety of everyone on set and location.

Working hours are often long and irregular and are likely to involve early starts,late finishes, night and weekend work, and shift working. The work often involvesstanding for long periods. Working outdoors in all conditions may be necessary.

A floor manager/assistant director should:

have excellent communication skills have excellent organizational skills be interested in the media and the way TV and film productions are made.

Floor managers work for terrestrial, satellite, digital and cable broadcasters as wellas independent television production companies. Assistant directors work for film,television and commercials production companies. Most are freelance. TV floormanagers may move into other areas of broadcasting, such as producing ordirecting. Assistant directors may progress to other production roles, such as lineproducer or producer.





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1.8. Sets & Locations

The sets & the location sites must fit the dramatic requirements of the scenario.However, there are other requirements, which can complicate the selection. Theweather record of the proposed location for the past years is reviewed. Normally,shooting is done only in brilliant sunlight, and a few weeks of solid overcast or raincan play havoc with the budget. Before a location is selected, both the cameramanand the soundman should survey it. The writer, producer, and the director mayhave grand ideas, but it is the technicians who actually put the picture and soundon the film. They, too, have their problems.

In set design, as in composition, formal balance and regularity should be avoided.Certainly the traditional interior, set is elementary to design and easy to construct.But if all the sets in the programme are of that nature, the scenes may bemonotonously alike and lack the compositional movement that comes withforeground pieces, winding stairs, interesting fireplaces, and large, bay windows.However, extremes in that direction are to be avoided.

The story and its mood, the editorial pattern and movement, the effects the directordesires to secure-all must be considered in the design of the sets. In addition, thedirector must consider the conditions under which he will be working, the available





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space, and the budget. After the director and the art director agree on all aspects ofa set, the designers go to work on the plans. As the sets begin to assume theirproportions on the stage, the director may be called in from time to time to answerquestions about items not too clear in the plans and of which the art director isuncertain. Perhaps the carpenters and painters will also want to know how closethe camera will come to a particular door.

A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series isproduced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage. On location is a term used to describe the filming on such a realsite. The term is often mistakenly believed to mean that the production is beingfilmed on the actual location in which its story is set, but this is not necessarily thecase.

Location filming has several advantages over filming on a studio set: It can be cheaper than constructing large sets The illusion of reality can be stronger - it is hard to replicate real-world

wear-and-tear, and architectural details

Its disadvantages include: A lack of control over the environment - passing aircraft, traffic, pedestrians,

bad weather, city regulations, etc. Finding a real-world location which exactly matches the requirements of the

script Members of the audience may be familiar with a real-world location used to

double as a fictional location Taking a whole film crew to film on location can be extremely expensive

Location filming can provide significant economic development benefit to an areabecause local cast and crew use facilities such as catering and accommodation.





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Set Designer

Set designers are responsible for the visual aspects of a theatre, film or TVproduction. In film and TV they are often known as production designers.

The main tasks are likely to include: studying scripts and discussing ideas with the director researching details for the production communicating ideas to costume, make-up, props and lighting designers producing sketches, scale models and technical drawings and elevations of

the proposed set or designs using computer-aided design CAD supervising costs and set building.

Set designers may work on a resident permanent or freelance per productionbasis. Working hours vary. Some periods of long, unsocial hours are likely toensure production deadlines are met. During quieter periods, freelancers may workin an additional, related area, such as model making or teaching.

Set designers should have: imagination, creativity and the ability to communicate ideas to others excellent visual awareness, drawing and design skills an understanding of technical processes such as camera and lighting an interest in cultures, lifestyles and historical periods.





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Set designers are involved in all aspects of “creating the scene,” from stageconstruction to costume creation to the use of props. They research, design, andsupervise construction of the visual aids required in stage, film, and televisionproductions. Set designers have above-average artistic ability. They are drawers,painters, sculptors, sewers, and carpenters of the set. Set designers usually startwith freehand sketches of what the scene should be. They then move to scalemodels, working in tandem with the director of the production, the productionmanager, and writers. Once their plans are finalized, the set designer supervisesconstruction workers who build the sets. They also work with people in charge oflighting and sound. They have to have a strong understanding of theatrical riggingand safety.

Lately, as the trend of movies using computer generated worlds, specially trainedset designers are called upon to create fantastic worlds using a mouse and akeyboard. The set designer has to take into consideration a production’s budgetwhen building sets. The smaller the budget, the more creative the set designer mayhave to be to build a world that entrances the audience without costing a fortune.Set designers mostly work in large production theaters and movie studios, and theywork long hours, particularly up to the night of the first performance.

Scenic designer or set designer is the creation of theatrical, as wellas film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from avariety of artistic backgrounds. The 'stage picture' is the 'look' or physicalappearance of the stage for a play, whether in rehearsal or performance. It reflectsthe way that the stage is composed artistically in regard to props, actors, shapesand colours. The stage picture should express good principles of design and use ofspace. It should be visually appealing for the audience or should express the show'sconcept.

The scenic designer is responsible for collaborating with the theatre director andother members of the production design team to create an environment for theproduction and then communicating the details of this environment to the technicaldirector, production manager, charge scenic artist and prop master. Scenicdesigners are responsible for creating scale models of the scenery, renderings, paintelevations and scale construction drawings as part of their communication withother production staff.





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A cyclorama is a panoramic painting on the inside of a cylindrical platform,designed to provide a viewer standing in the middle of the cylinder with a 360°view of the painting. The intended effect is to make a viewer, surrounded bythe panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of a historic eventor famous place."Cyclorama" can also refer to the building designed to show thepanoramic painting pictured. A cyclorama is a large curtain or wall, oftenconcave, positioned at the back of the stage area. It was popularized in the Germantheater of the 19th century and continues in common usage today in theatersthroughout the world.




ntroduction to Production Technologies

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1.9. MAKE UP

Makeup for Television and Film

The use of makeup is divided into threecategories:

Basic - designed to compensate forundesirable changes in appearanceintroduced by the television process.

Corrective - designed to enhancepositive attributes and downplay flaws.

Character - which introduces majorchanges in appearance

Although people might think that makeup isreserved for people "who just want to lookbetter" on TV or in film, in actual fact,makeup may be required to just retain a

subject's normal appearance.

This is because the television and film processes to some degree can introduce ormake obvious undesirable attributes to skin tones and features. In particular, theycan appreciably smooth out wrinkles and conceal minor blemishes.

Video engineers may not always want to apply these techniques, however, sincethey to some degree degrade optimum video sharpness, color, and quality. Withthe advent of high-definition television, the need for people skilled in theapplication of effective but subtle makeup has increased. As in most areas oftelevision, makeup is an element that is best when it goes unnoticed.

Basic Makeup

In both film and video work, makeup on the face and possibly even the body isneeded—especially for people who will be on camera any length of time.

For starters, normal skin contains a certain amount of oil that generally goesunnoticed until viewed in a close-up. The heat of studio lights and personal tensioncan exaggerate this shine. At the very least, subjects should use a face powder thatmatches their skin tone.





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After this, we move to so-called basic makeup.

For this, the skin should first be cleaned with mild soap or cleansing cream prior tothe application of a makeup base or foundation. Both are available in either oil orwater base, but the latter has the advantage of not requiring face powder and beingeasier to remove.

Before these are applied, it's best to use an astringent to tighten facial pores andprepare the skin.

A shade of base or foundation should be selected that matches the normal skintones, unless the goal is to slightly lighten or darken all skin tones. In this case, it'sbest not to go beyond two shades lighter or darker than the normal tone.

There are some 20 shades available, and if for some reason the proper shade isn'tavailable, shades can be mixed to provide an in-between shade.

A foam rubber sponge, which can be moistened slightly, is used to apply the baseor foundation to the face, ears, and neck.

With deeply tanned skin tones it may be necessary to even out skin tones aroundthe eyes or bridge of the nose by mixing the base or foundation with a touch ofrouge. Other evidences of uneven tan, such as the halter strap marks over theshoulders of a woman, should be filled in so they blend with adjacent skin. Evenright after shaving, dark-haired men will evidence "a five o'clock shadow" that canbe reduced or eliminated by blending in the foundation or makeup base.

Lighting Considerations

Makeup should always be checked, and if possible even applied, under the lightingthat will be used in photographing the subject.

Even when video cameras are properly color balanced, sunlight, incandescent, andfluorescent lighting will all affect subject matter in different ways. For this reason,many makeup mirrors have adjustments for each of these types of light.

This consideration is particularly important with fluorescent light—if you can'tavoid that type of lighting—because these lights tend to be low in red light andhigh in green.





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Because normal skin tones contain a significant amount of green to start with, youmay note obvious green skin tones under fluorescent light. The problem may becompounded if the makeup, itself, has green elements.

This is just another reason that you should use a high-quality, properly color-balanced video monitor to check the results.

The Eyes

Eyebrows should be brushed witha clean eyebrow brush and pluckedof any stray or unruly hairs.Though bushy eyebrows may beacceptable for men, women shouldcarefully shape their brows into agentle arch that tapers off at theends.

Making fine delicate strokes use aneyebrow pencil of an appropriateshade to fill in or reshape theeyebrows.

For women, a touch of eye shadowis almost always desirable. The dry powder or cake type of eye shadow is preferredover the cream type, since it both lends itself to easier and more subtle blendingand holds up better under hot studio lights.

Whether a woman's eye shadow should match her eyes, clothes, or neither, are afashion opinion, which can vary from season to season. Whatever the color choice,it should be subtle.

A darker shade of the same color used on the eyelids or a soft brown shade) canbe lightly brushed into the lid crease to add depth and size to the eye. Women withheavy-lidded eyes should avoid this last technique because it will probablyemphasize the problem. A dot of ivory or pale yellow eye shadow smoothed underthe brow bone will lighten and "open" the eyes.

Eyeliner can be applied close to the top lashes either by using a soft, fine brush or asharp eyebrow pencil. An eyelash curler and a light application of mascara willaccent eyelashes. Excess clumps of mascara should be removed with a few upward





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strokes of a clean brush. False eyelashes can be used, but they should be carefullytrimmed to fit the individual's eyes.

The Lips

Another aspect ofparticular importance towomen is the properselection of lipstick.Some types of lipstickand rouge not designedfor television have alatent blue hue, which cantake on a decided purpleappearance whenphotographed. A pure redlipstick that will

harmonize with the skin coloration and wardrobe is best. At the same time you willnot want to choose a bright red lipstick that will dominate the face and create agarish appearance.

Before applying lipstick, lips should be outlined by using either a lipstick brush ora lip pencil. If the lips are well proportioned, this accentuates them. But lipoutlining can also be used as a corrective technique.

People with either overly thin or full lips can improve their lip line by firstcovering their lips with their base makeup and then drawing or outlining a moredesired shape. A lip brush should also be used to give color to the entire lip.

After the application of lipstick, you should blot the lips with a tissue to avoid anunnatural shine. Lip-gloss is generally undesirable for television. Although lipstickis not generally used on men, it is sometimes appropriate to add a touch of anatural-colored lipstick to smooth out a possible line between the lips and thebeginning of the base makeup. A brown shade of lipstick applied with a brush isrecommended.

Hands, Ears, and Teeth

If hands are to appear on camera, as when products are demonstrated throughclose-ups, special care must be taken.





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Use an appropriate shade of makeup base to ensure that hands match other parts ofthe body and to minimize wrinkles and color variations.

Nails should be well manicured. Clear or colored fingernail polish can be used.The appearance of the hands should be carefully checked on a TV monitor prior toa production. Extreme close-ups will often reveal makeup flaws that are notnormally visible.

Because they are often slightly lighter and redder than adjacent skin tones, ears canbe a special problem. Added to this is the fact that backlights will often shinethrough ears to some degree, further raising their tonal value.

To control this and bring ears back to their proper tonal perspective, they should becovered with a base makeup that is two or three shades darker than the face. Themakeup base should then be covered with a translucent face powder.

Bad teeth can be minimized with an appropriate shade of tooth enamel or dentinefluid. Special coverings are available for this purpose.

The Body

Since more and more skin seems to be showing up in films and on TV, we need tomention parts of the body other than the face and hands.

Elbows, knees, and ankles can look unnaturally dark unless you use makeup tolighten these areas. Using a Q-tip, or the edge of a sponge, stretch marks on thestomach can be "painted in" to some degree with a liquid makeup two to fourshades lighter than the base.

With dark-haired individuals, areas of the body that have been shaved will need thesame treatment. Scars and removed tattoos will take extra amounts of base orfoundation. Often, you can use liberal amounts the same shade as adjacent skin.

Dark-Skinned People

The makeup needs of dark-skinned people are not greatly different from those thathave been outlined. Appropriate shades of makeup are available for most of thedarker skin tones; however, to arrive at the needed tone, it may be necessary to domore in the way of blending different makeup shades.





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Generally, makeup for dark-skinned people should be applied sparingly. Blackmales and other males with dark skin may not need makeup at all. They oftenphotograph well without it.

Problems can arise, however, with very dark-skinned black males who do notexhibit natural skin sheen, since the tonal reflectance level can drop so low that aloss of form and dimension results. It is desirable to preserve these highlights, andoccasionally even accent them with baby oil or glycerin.

Concealing and Emphasizing Facial

Features with Corrective Makeup

Through corrective makeup procedures it may be necessary to play downundesirable facial features and emphasize positive attributes through contouringand highlighting.

In corrective makeup we are starting with the base or foundation and then blendingin shades or makeup that are either darker or lighter.

In contouring, a darker shade of makeup than the foundation or base is used todownplay features, such as a high forehead or an overly prominent nose.Contouring can also be used to bring out the classic jaw line that's seen as desirablefor women.

In this case, a darker shade of makeup is carefully blended into the foundation orbase. To achieve this "classic look," the darker makeup will go from the chin lineup to the earlobes and into the hollows of the cheeks.

In highlighting, the object is to reverse this effect—to emphasize or pull the eyetoward certain facial features or areas. In this case, use a shade of makeup that islighter than the foundation or base.

This approach should also be used in shadowy areas under the eyes and under thelower lip to keep them from looking unusually dark on camera. Either use makeuptwo to three shades lighter than the base, or a translucent white highlighter.

In the case of both men and women, color can be added to the cheeks by mixing avery light trace of rouge with the existing base makeup and then blending it in witha sponge.





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After all this is done, it's often necessary to use some transparent powder to dulldown some but not all of the facial sheen. This is normally applied with a powderpuff or soft bristled brush.

Sometimes there will be light spots on the skin, due to aging or whatever, that canbe covered with a tanning spray—such as Wall greens Deep Dark Tan SunlessTanning Spray—carefully painted on with a Q-tip. The spray rather than the lotionis best for this.

Since it takes a number of hours—even up to a day—before the effect becomesnoticed, this is a technique that definitely requires planning ahead. And, sinceresults aren't immediately apparent and last several days, you need to experimentwith this technique well in advance of going on camera.

However, once mastered, this represents a relatively inexpensive and convenientway of keeping this type of skin discoloration hidden. Prescription skin dye is alsoavailable, for this purpose, but it's quite expensive.

Makeup Removal

Women may prefer to leave makeup on after leaving the TV studio. Unlike stagemakeup, it should be so natural looking that there should be no need to remove it,especially early in the day. Men, being a bit more sensitive to these things, willprobably want to remove makeup with a cleansing cream or lotion. After removingmakeup, women may want to use an astringent to condition their skin. Men can useaftershave lotion for the same purpose.

Character makeup covers great range, from adding or subjecting years, to today'sgrisly science fiction and horror-film transformations. It would take a good-sizedbook to cover character makeup; and, in fact, numerous books have been writtenon the subject.

Rehearsals

In the past few years, some directors have taken advantage of what is called thepre-production rehearsals. Usually, during production, considerable time isconsumed while the actors rehearse. It is impracticable to do much lighting orcamera rehearsing until the action is pretty well jelled, and this is time wasted frothe crew. Thus, pre-production rehearsals for the cast accomplished a twofoldpurpose: they eliminate wasted time for the crew, and they enable the actors to givea more finished performance.





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1.10 TV COSTUMES

TV productions usually require a costume team comprising of a CostumeDesigner, Costume Assistant or Wardrobe Supervisor and two dressers.

A programme may take weeks or months to film, and such a team is required inorder to collate and maintain costumes, paying particular attention to the portrayalof characters and costume continuity. In general a filming day for wardrobe wouldbegin at 6.30 or 7am and end at 7.30 or 8pm. It would be filmed on location and orin studio.

Light Entertainment and Comedy shows normally have a different schedule andmay involve either a team of people or one wardrobe person alone. If it is anindividual who is employed they would still be required to fulfil the activities ofthe whole department!

In the Wardrobe Department you find the following positions

Costume Designer Costume Assistant or Wardrobe Supervisor Dressers or Wardrobe Mistress or Master

The Role of the Costume Designer

Coordination and sourcing of costumes for a TV Programme, modern or period.There is input from the director and actors. A team of assistants helps to ensure thesmooth running of a production. Once initial script reading has taken place, theprocess starts with bringing together costumes for each character.

As the designer is required to work to a budget, items are purchased hired or madeaccording to the funds available. In addition to the garments required, jewelleryand accessories have to be sourced; they can make a major contribution to theambience of the production.

Wardrobe is required for Period and Modern Drama, Comedy, Light Entertainmentand the Arts in Film, Television and Theatre. If the production is a period piece orinvolves specific sectors of the community, for example military, clerical orindustrial the costumes must be researched thoroughly in order to achieve theaccuracy necessary to make the production look entirely authentic. In accordancewith the script, garments may need to be broken down, distressed with imitation





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blood, mud, oil or require some other particular attention. Costumes for an Actormust enable him or her to feel appropriate to the character being portrayed.

Wardrobe assistants help to make or source the costumes for theatre, TV andfilm productions.

The job might include: helping to make or assemble costumes buying and hiring suitable costumes and accessories mending, altering, cleaning, washing, ironing, packing and storing costumes fitting performers with costumes and accessories organizing and keeping records of outfits making sure all items are ready to wear when needed.

Wardrobe assistants work variable, often unsocial hours. Some work part time.Work in film/TV may involve being away from home for long periods.

A TV/film/theatre wardrobe assistant should: have good sewing, altering and ironing skills have a good memory and an eye for detail be calm and sensitive when helping performers to dress and change be prepared to work under pressure, and for long, often unsocial hours have a strong interest and knowledge of costumes from different periods.

Wardrobe assistants work in theatres and concert halls, and for film and TVproduction companies, touring artists and companies. There are no set entryrequirements for becoming a wardrobe assistant. The key to getting work isgaining practical experience, and a real interest in costume and good sewing skillsare equally important. Some people enter the profession full time after working aspart-time or casual wardrobe staff with a local theatre or production company.

Competition is fierce, though, so many assistants will have gained one of a rangeof costume related diplomas or degrees. Many of the skills required for theatre andTV/film costume work are learnt on the job.

An experienced wardrobe assistant may gain promotion to wardrobe supervisor.Those working in theatre may need to attend short courses or training to progressinto film and TV work. Some go on to work in costume design, to specialize in anarea such as historical costume or to act as consultants in a particular field.





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A Costume Assistant works closely with the costume designer during the initialprep time and throughout the making of the programme. Assisting the designer infittings, the purchase or hiring of garment, liaising with actors, production and therest of the wardrobe team. The role of the assistant comes to the fore on set whenfilming actually takes place. He or she will be responsible for continuity. As scenesare often filmed out of sequence, over various story days, costume continuity is ofthe utmost importance. On larger budget dramas the assistant will have a team ofdressers as aides.

1.11 Jewellery for TV

Jewellery can represent two problems. First, if it's highly reflective, the results canrange from a simple distraction to the creation of annoying streaks in the video.The simplest solution is to either substitute non-reflective jewelry or possiblyremove it all together. The second problem with jewelry such as necklaces andbeads is noise -- especially if it comes in contact with a personal mic.

1.12. Television Sound

Until rather recently, far more attention was paid to video in television than toaudio. "Good sound" was when you could make out what was being said; "badsound" was when you couldn't. This has changed. With the advent of stereo andsurround-sound, audiences have much greater expectations.

Before we can discuss some of the basic audio production concepts, sound itselfmust be understood. Sound has two basic characteristics that must be controlled:loudness and frequency.

Loudness

Although sound loudness is commonly measured in decibels dBs, that termactually refers to two different things.

First is dBSPL for sound pressure loudness, which is a measure of acousticpower. These are sounds we can directly hear with our ears.

These decibels go to and beyond 135, which is considered the threshold of painand, by the way, the point at which permanent ear damage can occur. If your ears"ring" after being around a loud sound, this should be a warning sign that youhave crossed the threshold of potential hearing damage. The damage, which is





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irreversible, often goes unnoticed, which probably explains why the average 50-year-old in some countries has better hearing than many U.S. teenagers.

Frequency

Frequency relates to the basic pitch of a sound -- how high or low it is. Afrequency of 20 Hz would sound like an extremely low-pitched note on a pipeorgan -- almost a rumble. At the other end of the scale, 20,000 Hz would be thehighest pitched sound that most people can perceive, even higher than the highestnote on a violin or piccolo.

Frequency is measured in Hertz Hz or cycles per second CPS). A person withexceptionally good hearing will be able to hear sounds from 20-20,000 Hz.Generally, women can hear higher frequencies than men.

Since both ends of the 20-20,000Hz range represent rather extreme limits, the morecommon range used for television production is from 50 to 15,000 Hz. Although itdoesn't quite cover the full range that can be perceived by people with goodhearing, this range does cover almost all naturally occurring sounds.

The Frequency-Loudness Relationship

Even though sounds of different frequencies may technically be equal in loudnessregister the same on a VU meter) , human hearing does not perceive them as beingof equal strength.

The red line on the graph roughly shows the frequency response of the human earto different frequencies. Because of the reduced sensitivity of the ear to both highand low frequencies, these sounds must be louder to be perceived as being equal toother frequencies.

Listening Conditions

Equipment and listening conditions also greatly affect how different frequencieswill be perceived. To compensate for some of these problems, we can adjust bassand treble controls of playback equipment.

More sophisticated equipment will include a graphic equalizer, which goes a stepfurther and allows specific bands of frequencies to be individually adjusted forloudness.





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A graphic equalizer may be necessary to match audio segments recorded underdifferent conditions, or simply to customize audio playback to the acoustics of aspecific listening area. Note that the graphic equalizer shown here can control ninespecific frequency areas.

Any piece of audio equipment -- microphone, amplifier, recorder, or audio speaker-- can adversely affect the fidelity of sound. However, it's the microphone theinitial device that transducers sound waves into electrical energy and the audiospeaker the device that changes electrical energy back into sound waves thatrepresent the weakest links in audio quality.

To some degree it's possible to use graphic equalizers and other audio equipment to"clean up" the frequency response of a poor microphone. However, even the mostsophisticated audio techniques can't work miracles. Thus, the better the originalaudio signal, the better the final product will be.

Sound, both as it's recorded and played back, is more affected by the acoustics of aroom or studio than most people realize. In an effort to create totally soundproofstudios, early radio stations used to use thick carpets on the floors and heavysoundproofing on the walls.

Although possibly successful as soundproofing, the result was a lifeless and deadeffect that we're not used to hearing in a normal environment, such as our livingrooms.

Two types of soundproofing material are:

Parallel walls that reflect sound, the result is reverberation a slight echothat interferes with the intelligibility of speech.

The ideal room for recording or listening to sound has just enoughreverberation to sound realistic, similar to your living room possibly, but notenough to reduce the intelligibility of speech.

1.13 SHOOTING SCHEDULE

A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production.It is normally created and managed by the assistant director, who reports to theproduction manager managing the production schedule. Both schedules represent atimeline stating where and when production resources are used.





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Script—> Shot List—> Shooting Schedule

When you go on a shoot, you’ll want to have a few different kinds of paper recordsof your ideas to guide you through the often technical and time-consuming processof getting images on tape.

Because scenes are often filmed out of sequence and out of a continuous line ofprogression, daily schedules must be planned. The shooting schedule contains thelocations, times, equipment and personnel required for a day's shoot. The scheduleitself may be compiled for a single day but is usually planned ahead for a numberof days if not a week.





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1.14. Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations orimages displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion graphicor interactive media sequence.

The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at theWalt Disney studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processesbeing in use at Disney and other animation studios. Storyboarding became popularin live-action film production during the early 1940s.

A storyboard is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the filmproduced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and televisioncommercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problemsbefore they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicatemovement.





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In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboardprovides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. Inthe storyboarding process, most technical details involved in crafting a film can beefficiently described either in picture, or in additional text.

Some live-action directors, such as Joel and Ethan Coen, storyboard extensivelybefore taking the pitch to their funders, stating that it helps them get the figure theyare looking for since they can show exactly where the money will be used. Otherdirectors storyboard only certain scenes, or not at all. Animation directors areusually required to storyboard extensively, sometimes in place of doing a script.

Storyboards were adapted from the film industry to business, purportedly byHoward Hughes of Hughes Aircraft. Today they are used by industry for planningad campaigns, commercials, a proposal or other projects intended to convince orcompel to action.

A "quality storyboard" is a tool to help facilitate the introduction of a qualityimprovement process into an organization. More recently the term "storyboard"has been used in the fields of web development, software development andinstructional design to present and describe interactive events as well as motion onuser interfaces, electronic pages and presentation screens.

One advantage of using storyboards is that it allows in film and business the userto experiment with changes in the storyline to evoke stronger reaction or interest.Flashbacks, for instance, are often the result of sorting storyboards out ofchronological order to help build suspense and interest.

The process of visual thinking and planning allows a group of people to brainstormtogether, placing their ideas on storyboards and then arranging the storyboards onthe wall. This fosters more ideas and generates consensus inside the group.

A storyboard is an extremely valuable tool, if you have time to make one. If youdon’t make a storyboard, at the very least you need to create a shot list — a versionof the script that breaks down the story into a series of shots, and describes each insimple notation of scale and subject.

The shot list included here uses arrows down the right side to indicatenonconsecutive shots that can and should be filmed in continuous takes — that is,the director plans to cutaway briefly to a reaction and then return to the same





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image, so there’s no reason to stop the camera. The parenthesis indicates thecutaways that are bracketed by the continuous shots.

The function of the shot list during the shoot is that it allows the filmmaker toquickly place the particular shot being recorded into the larger narrative context ofthe production.

Since it is extremely inefficient to shoot a story in the order the shots appear in thefinal production — if a dialogue scene cuts back and forth between two people,you’d have to keep resetting the tripod and lighting over and over, repeating allyour tech labor after each little snippet — films are always shot out of sequence,organized in a way to get as many of the same kind of shot in a single setup aspossible. Do all the shots from one side of scene at once; do all the shots in thesame location at once, no matter if some come at the very beginning of the storyand some at the very end. This requires pre-planning: the goal being to arrange theshoot so that it requires the least amount of repetitive labor — a big make-upchange is more complicated than a camera set-up, so that would take priority, andso on.

The plan for exactly what gets shot in what order is called the shooting schedule.As you go through the shooting schedule, check off each shot as you complete asatisfactory take — then check it off on the shot list too. Just having a shootingschedule is not enough, because you quickly lose the sense of what’s reallysupposed to be happening in the shot when you look at all the notations out ofsequence.

The shot list and shooting schedule examples here contain the minimal amount ofinformation you’d want such documents to contain. On the one hand, you want tokeep them compact, using as few sheets of paper as possible, so you can keep thepaperwork organized amidst any chaos on the set. On the other hand, more detailednotes can help you avoid potential problems more readily.

One thing that is recommended, is adding to the info shown in these examples, anote about continuity — how you get will need to get into or out of a shot inediting. Indicate where you may have a Match-On-Action planned by noting‘MOA’; make notes on where the screen direction of eye lines, exits/entrancesshould be at the beginning and end of shots. All of these things are very easy toforget if they’re not written down.





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Cue Sheet

A cue sheet, or cue file, is a metadata file which describes how the tracks ofa CD or DVD are laid out. Cue sheets are stored as plain text files and commonlyhave a ".cue" filename extension. CDRWIN first introduced cue sheets, which arenow supported by many optical disc authoring applications and media players.

For an audio CD, a cue sheet specifies titles and performers for the disc and itstracks as well as the names of one or more audio files to be used. MP3, WAV,and BIN files are often used, although some programs support other formats. Cuesheets are especially useful when burning or listening to live sets where all tracksare recorded in one file. Cue sheets are also used for many types of CDs inconjunction with an image file. The image file generally has a ".bin" extension.

1.15 POST - PRODUCTION

Post-production occurs in the making of audio recordings, films/movies,photography and digital art, videos and television programs. It is the general termfor all stages of production occurring after the actual recording and ending with thecompleted work.

Post-production is in fact many different processes grouped under one name. Thesetypically include:

Editing the picture / TV program Editing the soundtrack. Writing and recording the soundtrack music. Adding visual special effects - mainly computer generated imagery CGI)

and digital copy from which release prints will be made although this maybe made obsolete soon by digital cinema technologies.

Typically, the post-production phase of creating a film takes longer than the actualshooting of the film, and can take several months to complete.

Other film production stages include very broadly - financing, pre-production,writing the screenplay, rewriting the screenplay repeat, and the actual shooting.

Movie making is a complicated business, but the workload is generally split intothree sections: pre-production, principal shooting and postproduction. Pre-





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production involves matters such as scriptwriting, financial backing, hiring of castand crew, and scouting for locations. Once all of these details have been workedout, principal shooting can begin. This is the actual filming of individual scenes,without any special effects or musical background. Because time is money,principal shooting days are often long and hectic for actors and crew alike.

All of this planning and filming leads up to the most vital aspect of film making --post production work. Post production turns individual scenes, called raw footage,

into a finished motion picture. Editors splice all of the usable footage together intoa coherent storyline according to the script. Composers add background music tocreate dramatic or comical effects. Special effects teams add computer-generatedimages and backgrounds to enhance the set or provide an as-yet-unseen character.All of this work can only be performed during post production.

Post production may also involve fixing mistakes not corrected during principalshooting. Quite often an actor's microphone will not pick up crucial bits ofdialogue or another microphone may pick up extraneous noises.During post production, an actor may have to return to a sound booth in order tore-record lost dialogue or improve the original delivery. This is called looping.Another function of post production is to add incidental sound effects not capturedduring the original scenes. A specialist called a Foley artist will record suchsounds as an actor's footsteps, a creaking door or gunshots.

Many directors and producers rely heavily on the ability of post production teamsto create a marketable film. Since principal shooting can be a hectic time for bothactors and directors, some footage may prove to be unusable duringthe post production editing process. A film's original ending may also be unpopularwith test audiences. This could lead to reshoots with the principal actors before afinal film is produced. Other responsibilities during post production may includepublicity tours, promotional posters, and contracts with distributors and thecreation of auxiliary formats such as DVDs and soundtrack albums.





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1.16 Post - production Editing

The Editor's Cut

There are several editingstages and the editor's cut isthe first. An editor's cutsometimes referred to as the"assembly edit" or "roughcut" is normally the first passof what the final film will bewhen it reaches picture lock.

The film editor usually startsworking while principalphotography shooting starts.In the first stage of editing thefilm editor will usually work

alone save for his or her own team of assistant editors, associate or co -editorsand/or visual effects and music editors. Likely, prior to cutting, the editor anddirector will have seen and/or discussed "dailies" raw footag e shot each day asshooting progresses. Screening dailies gives the editor a ballpark idea of thedirector's intentions.

Because it is the first pass, the editor's cut might be somewhat longer than the finalfilm. The editor continues to refine the cut while shooting continues, and often theentire editing process goes on for many months and sometimes more than a year,depending on the film.

The Director's Cut

When shooting is finished, the director can then turn his or her full attention tocollaborating with the editor and further refining the cut of the film. This is thetime that is set aside where the film editor's first cut is molded to fit the director'svision, and before the studio and/or producers are generally allowed to have input.In the United States, under DGA rules directors receive a minimum of ten weeksafter completion of principal photography to prepare their first cut.





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While collaborating on what is referred to as the "director's cut," the director andthe editor go over the entire movie with a fine tooth comb; scenes and shots are re-ordered, removed, shortened and otherwise tweaked. Often it is discovered thatthere are plot holes, missing shots or even missing segments which might requirethat new scenes be filmed.

Because of this time working closely and collaborating - a period that is normallyfar longer, and far more intimately involved, than the entire production and filming- most directors and editors form a unique artistic bond.

The Producers vs. the Director

Often after the director has had his or her chance to oversee a cut, the subsequentcuts are supervised by one or more producers, who represent the productioncompany and/or movie studio. At times, the final cut of films produced by themajor studios is the one that most closely represents what the studio wants fromthe film and not necessarily what the director wants. Because of this, there havebeen several conflicts in the past between the director and the studio, sometimesleading to the use of credit signifying disownership.

Some directors are also the producers of their films, and, with the approval of thefunding studio, have a much tighter grip on what makes the final cut than otherdirectors. Independent directors who work outside of the "studio system" areusually freer to have a final cut; thus independent films often take more risks andhave more creative rewards than studio films.

Continuity

Often a film editor is blamed for improper continuity. For example, cutting from ashot where the beer glass is empty to one where it is full. Continuity is, in fact,very nearly last on a film editor's list of important things to maintain. Continuity istypically the business of the script supervisor and film director, who are togetherresponsible for preserving continuity and preventing errors from take to take andshot to shot. Generally speaking, the editor utilizes the script supervisor's notesduring post-production to log and keep track of the vast amounts of footage andtakes that a director might shoot. However, to most editors what is more importantthan continuity is the editing of emotional and storytelling aspects of any givenfilm - something that is much more abstract and harder to judge - which is whyfilms often take much longer to edit than to shoot.





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Methods of Montage

In motion picture terminology, a montage from the French for "putting together"or "assembly" is a film editing technique.

There are at least three senses of the term:

1. In French film practice, "montage" has its literal French meaning and simplyidentifies a movie's editor.

2. In Soviet filmmaking of the 1920s, "montage" was a method of juxtaposingshots to derive new meaning that did not exist in either shot alone.

3. In classical Hollywood cinema, a "montage sequence" is a short segment ina film in which narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion.This is the most common meaning among laymen.

Continuity Editing

What became known as the popular 'classical Hollywood' style of editing wasdeveloped by early European and American directors, in particular D.W. Griffithin his films such as The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. The classical styleensures temporal and spatial continuity as a way of advancing narrative, using suchtechniques as the 180 degree rule, establishing shot, and Shot reverse shot.





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Editing Techniques

The original editing machine

Stanley Kubrick noted that the editing process is the one phase of production thatis truly unique to motion pictures. Every other aspect of filmmaking originated in adifferent medium than film photography, art direction, writing, sound recording,but editing is the one process that is unique to film. In his book, On Film Editing,Edward Dmytryk stipulates seven "rules of cutting" that a good editor shouldfollow:

Rule 1: Never make a cut without a positive reason.Rule 2: When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather thanshort".Rule 3: Whenever possible cut 'in movement'.Rule 4: The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'.Rule 5: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action.Rule 6: Cut for proper values rather than proper 'matches'.Rule 7: Substance first—then form.





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When it comes to film editing, there are six main criteria for evaluating a cut ordeciding where to cut. They are i n order of importance, most important first: emotion — Does the cut reflect what the editor believes the audience should

be feeling at that moment? story — Does the cut advance the story? rhythm — Does the cut occur "at a moment that is rhythmically interesting

and 'right'"? eye-trace — Does the cut pay respect to "the location and movement of the

audience's focus of interest within the frame"? two-dimensional place of the screen — Does the cut respect the 180 degree

rule? three-dimensional space of action — Is the cut true to the physical/spatial

relationships within the diegesis?

Film Editing

Film editing is part of the process of filmmaking. It involves the selection andcombining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motionpicture. It is an art of storytelling. Film editing is the only art that is unique tocinema, separating film-making from other art forms that preceded it such





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as photography, theater, dance, writing, and directing, although there are closeparallels to the editing process in other art forms like poetry or novel writing. Filmediting is often referred to as the "invisible art" because when it is well-practiced,the viewer can become so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the editor'swork.

On its most fundamental level, film editing is the art, technique, and practice ofassembling shots into a coherent whole. A film editor is a person who practicesfilm editing by assembling the footage. However, the job of an editor isn’t simplyto mechanically put pieces of a film together, cut off film slates, or edit dialoguescenes. A film editor must creatively work with the layers of images, story,dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actors' performances to effectively "re-imagine" and even rewrite the film to craft a cohesive whole. Editors usually play adynamic role in the making of a film.

With the advent of digital editing, film editors and their assistants have becomeresponsible for many areas of filmmaking that used to be the responsibility ofothers. For instance, in past years, picture editors dealt only with just that—picture.Sound, music, and more recently visual effects editors dealt with the practicalitiesof other aspects of the editing process, usually under the direction of the pictureeditor and director. However, digital systems have increasingly put theseresponsibilities on the picture editor. It is common, especially on lower budgetfilms, for the assistant editors or even the editor to cut in music, mock up visualeffects, and add sound effects or other sound replacements. These temporaryelements are usually replaced with more refined final elements by the sound,music, and visual effects teams hired to complete the picture.

Film editing is an art that can be used in diverse ways. It can create sensuallyprovocative montages; become a laboratory for experimental cinema; bring out theemotional truth in an actor's performance; create a point of view on otherwiseobtuse events; guide the telling and pace of a story; create an illusion of dangerwhere there is none; give emphasis to things that would not have otherwise beennoted; and even create a vital subconscious emotional connection to the viewer,among many other possibilities.

1.17 Crew for Production

Following is a list of crew positions you could encounter in a multi-cameratelevision production. Not all positions will be filled all of the time--smaller





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productions will not have some of the more specialized job duties or one personwill fill several positions. Larger productions will have more specialized positionsand assistants or associates to provide, well, assistance.

Producer: Executive, Associate, Line, etc. Director: Associate, Assistant, Floor, Technical Writer Set Designer Makeup/Wardrobe Talent Audio Engineer A1, A2 Video Engineer Videotape Engineer/Operator Camera Operator Production Assistant

It is important that each person understands and performs his/her jobresponsibilities with maximum efficiency. Multi-camera television production isteamwork, and for the team to operate effectively, it must coordinate andcommunicate. While the television production process may at times appear to be aconfusing ballet lyrics in Italian, there is a method to the madness. Please readand put into practice the following procedures for studio set-up and strike.

Set-up Responsibilities

Producer & Director

Learn to delegate responsibility. If you personally move props, cue music, or tweaklights you are wasting valuable time. The more you can put on paper prior to theday of production the less you'll have to try to remember. If the program is fullyscripted, spend time with the script and mark it carefully. Become very familiarwith any pre-produced elements. If the program is not fully scripted, study thesubject matter of the show in order that you might be able to anticipate thedirection and flow of the show. The more organized and prepared that you arethe less chance for disorganization and confusion when those inevitablechanges arise.

Assignments to your crew must be clear, oftentimes in written form, and usuallydistributed in the following order:





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1 Give the floor director his/her floor plan and directions as to the set design anddressing. Usually a floor assistants will be available to help with the set -up.Ideally you will have met with the FD before class, so he/she has a good idea ofwhat you are doing.

2 Provide your audio engineer with his/her specially marked script and explainexactly what you want in the way of microphones, audio carts, CDs, etc. Often thiscan, and should, be written down to save time during production.

3 Provide ori entation for your camera operators as to position, main subject foreach camera, shot lists, etc. Give operators shot sheets if warranted. Remember;remain flexible so that changes during rehearsal can be incorporated in the finaltaping/broadcast. Cameras will not be ready to move into position for rehearsaluntil the basic set and lighting are completed.

4 Meet with your talent to firm up last minute details and to make him/hercomfortable in what may be a strange environment. It is important for the FD tomeet with the talent to explain what is taking place during rehearsal and what willtake place during the actual production. Also, hand signals and cues must bereviewed so that the FD and talent are "communicating".

5 Provide your production assista nt or graphics operator with a detailed list ofgraphics to be inserted and a copy of the script with graphics noted. Ideally thegraphics will already be composed and stored to disk. If so, disk page numbers willbe highlighted on the PA's script. Ask the PA to double-check the graphic pagesfor accuracy.

6 Make sure that your videotape operator has any playback tapes with cue pointsnoted and the record tape(s. Ask the VT operator to review the playbacksegments that will be used in order to gain familiarity with them.

7 Check out your technical director on any special or unusual switcher effects tobe used. Routine switcher transitions should be picked up during the run throughand rehearsal.

8 Review the program with your assistant director maki ng sure that he/sheunderstands the flow of the program and knows what time cues will be needed.Important--Make sure that you, your AD and talent all agree as to whether the timeremaining cues are to end of talent, or end of show.





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Run Through: Begin a run through of your shots as soon as talent and camerascan get into position. Check all your shots in the order that they appear in theprogram. Do this first run through in the studio, as you watch the studio monitor.Any changes can be noted by your assistant director and incorporated into the firstrehearsal in the control room.

First Rehearsal: Move into the control room and do your first full rehearsal fromthere, utilizing camera changes and other notes that your AD took down during therun through. This will be your first opportunity to time your production; so conducta full rehearsal--do not stop for each and every mistake. Your AD can make noteof changes to be made before the next rehearsal.

Second Rehearsal: If you planned properly, your second rehearsal should gosmoothly and should be videotaped just in case this one is a "save". If the tapingturns out well, consider this your final take. If it still needs some fine-tuning, go onto the final taping.

Assistant Director

You are the second eyes and ears for the director. During the run through andrehearsals you will be at the side of the director making any notations re scriptchanges and timing. Once inside the control room you may be expected to performvarious tasks, probably the most important being keeping track of timing andgiving timing cues to the studio and control room crew. In addition to timing, ADsare sometimes asked to assist the director by watching the monitors for framing,setting up the next shot, calling for videotape segments to roll in, calling graphicsupers in and out, etc. It is important that the AD become familiar with theoperation of the countdown clock and stopwatch.

Floor Director

Report to the Producer/Director for instructions regarding the set and set dressing.With the help of floor assistants, set-up and dress the set as instructed. Makecertain that you introduce yourself to the talent and call them by name whenaddressing them. Review the hand signals that you will be using with the talent.Make sure that talent is comfortable and understands what is going on. You'll be onPL intercom this whole time --be sure to listen for the voice of the director andrespond quickly to his/her directions.





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As floor director, you are the most important crew member in the studio and youmust understand the production nearly as well as the director. Be careful todelegate set-up responsibilities to your assistants and make sure that the talent is ascomfortable and relaxed as possible. If there is a break in the taping, all of the crewon headsets will know what is going on, but you must remember to let the talentknow what is going on.

Audio Engineer

Obtain your marked script from the producer/director. Note the audio elementsspecified by the script and gather the necessary microphones and accessories.When laying microphone cables, consider camera movement and placement.Cables should be positioned so that they are out of sight of the cameras.

Ideally you are responsible for miking talent; however this may be delegated to theFD if necessary. Be sure that microphones and cables are hidden. When assisting amember of the opposite sex with a lavaliere microphone, be careful to protecthis/her privacy. The talent may want to step into the green room or backstage torun the cable under her blouse. Make sure that mike batteries are inserted properlyand that switches are set to on.

Next, move to the audio control room and test the microphones to make absolutelysure that they are working properly. Mark the audio console's channels for talent'sname and the approximate level for each microphone. The FD can assist you withthis by having each talent speak in turn. Be sure that they are speaking at a levelrepresentative of their real performance. Next, check out the other audio sourcesthat you will be using. Audio carts must be checked for level and to ensure thatthey are cued. CDs should be previewed for level and to become familiar with thecut to be used.

Camera Operators

Get your shot sheets if they are being used fr om the director and attach them tothe back of the camera. Make sure that you have sufficient cable to reach thefurthermost position you will occupy. Uncap the lens after you have obtainedpermission from the video operator and set your filter wheel to the proper setting.For studio work it should be set to 3200 K to match the studio lights. Adjust theviewfinders VF) brightness and contrast controls for optimum picture on yourmonitor. Unlock the pan and tilt locks and adjust the pan and tilt friction dragadjustments to suit your preference. Next, familiarize yourself with the program





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and your responsibilities. Visualize the shots that will be required of your cameraand rehearse any complicated moves. Practice with the zoom and focus controls toensure that you can operate them smoothly.While operating the camera, the pan and tilt locks are to remain unlocked at alltimes. Locking down a camera shot during a rehearsal or production isunacceptable in most studio operations! On the other hand, never leave yourcamera without first locking the pan and tilts locks and capping the lens.

Videotape Operators

Once you have been given the playback videotape if there is one), cue it up andfamiliarize yourself with the video to be played back into the program. Note videolevels and color accuracy. Adjust the video tracking if necessary for optimumplayback. Also note the audio and whether it is recorded on channels 1 and/or 2,normal or Hi-Fi. Adjust your audio playback levels if necessary and coordinatewith the audio operator so that he/she can set levels at the audio board.

Regarding setting cue in/out points for videotape you have two options. Eithermake note of the TC time code) numbers of the in and out points, or set thereadout to CT control trac k and zero the counter at the in cue point.

Confirm the position of the record tape and cue it up for recording. Again, set thereadout to control track and zero it at the proper record-in point. This should beapproximately 10 seconds past the last audio/video recorded on the tape. Confirmthe proper setting of switches and patches so that you are in fact recording programvideo as output from the Vista switcher and program audio from the Howell audioboard on channel 1 normal and Hi -Fi and director' s PL on audio channel 2normal and Hi -Fi. Monitoring the video and audio monitors connected to therecord VTRs output can confirm this.

When recording the new program, be sure to record at least 10 seconds of blackvideo and silent audio after the program fades to black.

NOTE: If the Director chooses to record a second take of his/her production;rewind the record tape to the previous in-point and record over the previousrecording. Only one recording will be saved for each student project.

Technical Director





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Before the first run through, take time to familiarize yourself with the switcher andthe transitions you will be expected to execute. During the run through you willswitch while taking direction over the PL intercom. During rehearsals you wil lfollow the director's requests while seated next to him/her in the control room. Inaddition to knowing the switcher, it is important that you know the monitor layoutand preview shots and/or effects before taking them on-line. If there is a technicalor aesthetic problem with a shot, video source or effect, bring it to the director'sattention before switching to it on-line.

Production Assistant CG Operator

As the CG character generator) operator it is important that you pay attention todetail and accuracy. If graphic pages are stored to disk, review them for contentand accuracy. If you are composing or correcting pages, make sure that spelling,drop-shadow, and other details are correct. Review all pages and note position inscript. Review credits for accuracy or last minute changes/additions. Coordinatewith TD to review pages while keyed over video to ensure proper key settingsclip on switcher.

1.18. SUMMARY

Radio Broadcasting is an audio sound broadcasting service, traditionallybroadcast through the air as radio waves a form of electromagnetic radiation froma transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Stations can be linkedin radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication orsimulcast or both. Audio broadcasting also can be done via cable FM, local wirenetworks, satellite and the Internet.

A radio documentary or feature is a radio documentary programme devoted tocovering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentaryand sound pictures. Some radio features, especially those including speciallycomposed music or other pieces of audio art, resemble radio drama in many ways,though non-fictional in subject matter, while others consist principally of morestraightforward, journalistic-type reporting – but at much greater length than foundin an ordinary news report.

Console is a device that is used to control the audio mix and output from either alive studio broadcast or recorded sources. The two screens on console, directly





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ahead control the Radio station. Everything in this system is digital and stored on ahard drive including songs, commercials, promos, etc.

Unlike other forms of mass media, television has become one of the most powerfulmedia of Mass communication. With a modest beginning in the 1930s, it hasgrown into a massive network of mass information and mass entertainment intoday’s world. The attraction of the ‘visual ness’ of the medium makes peopleremain glued to the TV set for hours. Television captures our imagination and isthe most complete and dramatic of all mass media. In addition to providing newsand events, television also packages fiction, drama, culture, economy and manyother things. Thus, this idiot box because it provides everything on a platter andwe need not do any thinking has been increasing its hold on us.

A Television Studio is an installation in which television or video productionstake place, either for live television, for recording live to tape, or for the acquisitionof raw footage for postproduction. The design of a studio is similar to, and derivedfrom, movie studios, with a few amendments for the special requirements oftelevision production. A professional television studio generally has several rooms,which are kept separate for noise and practicality reasons. These rooms areconnected via intercom, and personnel will be divided among these workplaces.

The proposal is a document consisting essentially of the following items: A treatment A proposed budget A video format or video script Proposed production schedule

Major elements to be included in the pre production script are topic lead,proposed interviewees, bridges between segments, proposed video, proposed cut-away, internal summaries and final summary.

Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or imagesdisplayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic orinteractive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the form it is knowntoday, was developed at the Walt Disney studio during the early 1930s, afterseveral years of similar processes being in use at Disney and other animationstudios. Storyboarding became popular in live-action film production during theearly 1940s.





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A budget is a quantitative expression of plans. Business firms, governmentalagencies, non-profit institutions, and even households commonly use it. Whilethere is considerable variation in the scope, degree of formality, and level ofsophistication applied to budgeting, most of the well-managed business firms use abudget, which is a comprehensive and coordinated plan for the operations andresources of the firm.

Floor managers and assistant directors provide an essential link between thedirector and the other people involved in a production. They deal with importantpracticalities and make sure that everyone knows what to do and when. Floormanagers work across a range of television programmes. They are in charge of theproduction 'floor', which may be the main production area in a television studio ora temporary area for outside broadcasts.

The sets & the location sites must fit the dramatic requirements of the scenario.However, there are other requirements, which can complicate the selection. Theweather record of the proposed location for the past years is reviewed. Normally,shooting is done only in brilliant sunlight, and a few weeks of solid overcast or raincan play havoc with the budget. Before a location is selected, both the cameramanand the soundman should survey it. The writer, producer, and the director mayhave grand ideas, but it is the technicians who actually put the picture and soundon the film. They, too, have their problems.

Set designers are involved in all aspects of “creating the scene,” from stageconstruction to costume creation to the use of props. They research, design, andsupervise construction of the visual aids required in stage, film, and televisionproductions. Set designers have above-average artistic ability. They are drawers,painters, sculptors, sewers, and carpenters of the set. Set designers usually startwith freehand sketches of what the scene should be. They then move to scalemodels, working in tandem with the director of the production, the productionmanager, and writers. Once their plans are finalized, the set designer supervisesconstruction workers who build the sets. They also work with people in charge oflighting and sound. They have to have a strong understanding of theatrical riggingand safety.

A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production.It is normally created and managed by the assistant director, who reports to theproduction manager managing the production schedule. Both schedules represent atimeline stating where and when production resources are used.





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Post-production occurs in the making of audio recordings, films/movies,photography and digital art, videos and television programs. It is the general termfor all stages of production occurring after the actual recording and ending with thecompleted work. Post-production is in fact many different processes grouped underone name. These typically include:

Editing the picture / TV program Editing the soundtrack. Writing and recording the soundtrack music. Adding visual special effects - mainly computer generated imagery CGI)

and digital copy from which release prints will be made although this maybe made obsolete soon by digital cinema technologies.

Typically, the post-production phase of creating a film takes longer than the actualshooting of the film, and can take several months to complete.

1.19. QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

1. Write short notes on: Storyboard Key light Floor manager Cyclorama Sequence Screenplay Non-linear editing Character make up Cue sheet

2. Briefly describe a radio studio?3. What are the different types of make UP4. Discuss the importance of editing?5. List different type of microphones based on scientific principles?6. How important is a director for any TV production?7. What are the main lights used for a shot?8. Discuss various transitional devices?9. What are the different types of shots based on distance of the subject from

the camera?10.How is a radio feature produced?





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11.What things should be kept in mind while preparing the budget for a TVprogramme?

12.How important are costumes and jeweler for television?

1.20. SUGGESTED READING

1. Television production Handbook by Herbert Zetti2. Conflict: The Producers Guide to Storytelling in Reality TV & Film by

Robert Thirkall Published by Methuen Drama)




Documents

Introduction to Production Technologies...Introduction to Production Technologies 3 INTRODUCTION The book introduces the students to fundamentals of production technologies. Today