Television

Com 240, Dr. McMullen

Class Notes and Study Guide

Part Five

Video Production

updated: 11/19/01

How do you begin?

When you begin to consider planning a television production, you have to think about some very basic things before you begin.

What is it you are trying to say?
What pictures to you need to communicate that effectively?
What words, sound effects and music do you need?
How do you bring all of these things together to achieve your goal?
What props do you need?
What segments of audio and video are necessary?
How do make smooth transitions from one to another?
Remember, every good production must have a clear Beginning, Middle and End. (What are those in your production?)

9. Remember that every good production follows those compositional characteristics: unity, variety, balance, coherence, contrast and emphasis.

There are various ways you can approach this:

Story board
Run-down sheet
Chart

Videomaker magazine frequently has excellent articles on all facets of production. A couple of good articles are found in the May, 1996 and May, 1995 issues. Check the Videomaker web site for these an other articles about planning a production.

For the purposes our class, I will plan the basic format of your first two productions for you. But as you prepare for them, think in terms of the concepts mentioned above.

You will receive a handout which provides the details of each assignment, as well as a handout with the required Television Script Form.

We're going to build on what you have already learned about audio. Now comes the visual element, which begins with light and camera.

CAMERA SHOTS:

What the audience sees is dependent upon what the camera shows. Robert Hilliard, in Writing for Radio and Television, wrote that the camera is a moving and adjustable proscenium through which the attention of the audience is directed just as the writer and director wish.

What does that mean?

It means that the camera operator (at the direction of the director) controls

what the audience sees: the subject of the shot
the distance the audience is from the subject
the angle at which the subject is seen
the degree of clarity the subject is seen

The camera controls the entire perspective of the audience. We see things much more closely than we might in normal life. We see things we might not ordinarily see at all. We might even see things at a speed (either faster or more slowly) than we might ordinarily see them. Whether we are aware of it or not, the camera exerts a great deal of power on us, the audience. That power and influence in as result of what we see and how we see it, but also what we do NOT see.........

Preplanning is very important.

The shots you take must have continuity and make sense!
Shots must follow a logical progression
Establish locale or setting
Move in to focus of attention (person)

Be on the person talking or on object about which they are talking
Shots must be balanced (That means that an interviewer and interviewee should be framed in similar ways in consecutive shots.)
Consider head-room, lead-room, weight
Parallel shots should "match" (i.e. same amount of headroom on interviewer and interviewee when cutting from MS of one to MS of the other.

So let's look a some of the basic camera shots:

There are ample diagrams in your text book and you can also check the Videomaker web site.

ECU or XCU EXTREME CLOSE-UP (detail shot) Used to isolate detail
VCU VERY CLOSE-UP (TIGHT CU, from mid-forehead to above the chin)
BCU BIG CLOSE-UP -- full head height nearly fills screen.
CU CLOSE-UP -- Just above head to upper chest (below tie knot)
MCU MEDIUM CLOSE-UP -- bust shot (cuts body at arm-pit)
MS MEDIUM SHOT -- Sometimes called waist shot, mid-shot or close medium shot --Cuts body just below the waist
KNEE KNEE SHOT -- or three-quarter shot. Cuts just below the knees
MLS or FS MEDUM LONG SHOT or FULL SHOT -- head to toe
LS LONG SHOT -- person occupis 3/4 to 1/3 screen height . Distance is implied.
ELS or XLS -- EXTRA LONG SHOT. Subject is tiny with expanse of background information; extreme distance is implied.

CAMERA MOVEMENTS:

PAN: Turning the camera from right to left or left to right on the pedestal
TILT: Moving the camera up and down on the camera cradle (each of these dependent upon camera cradle)
DOLLY: Moving the camera and pedestal closer to or farther away from the subject
TRUCK: Moving the camera and tripod/pedestal to the left or right.
CRANE or BOOM shot:: The camera is elevate on a mechanical apparatus above the subject; it may even move in an elevated position.
PEDESTAL UP/DOWN: Raise or lower the camera by cranking the pedestal up or down.
CUT: The switcher makes an instantaneous change from one camera to the other.
DISSOLVE: The switcher slowly crossfades between one camera's video to the other's.

Three types of perspective

REPORTORIAL: head on/talent looks at camera (anchor during newscast)

OBJECTIVE: camera is observer (as in Cosby or most entertainment programs)

SUBJECTIVE: camera takes perspective of the subject (Shot of driver's perspective during a chase scene.)

Camera Angles are also very important and they have symbolic meanings:

Up Angle (power, authority, masculinity)

Down Angle (subservience, weakness, vulnerability, or disdain)

Level: ( peer relationship; balance between audience and subject or between characters in a POV shot)

Visual Symbolism

Lines and Shapes

a. straight: strong, stable, masculine.

b. curved: flexible, weak, unstable, female

c. vertical: strong, masculine

d. Horizontal: weak, stable, female

d. points or triangles: danger, violence,

Colors:

red: passion, violence, blood, sacrifice, sin
white: purity, sterile, unemotional
yellow: warmth, cheer,
green: spring, envy, new growth, money
blue: loyalty, spiritual and metaphysical things, eternity, cold
brown: the earth, the hearth, (can be positive or negative depending on whether the brown is warm or grayish)
black:: evil, death, infinity, the unknown

Combinations of various colors combine their symbolic meaning as well. Consider what the following colors might mean...

Pink:
Beige
Purple:

Picture Composition:

Headroom: top of head to top of frame
Leadroom: talk-space

UTILIZE THE RULE OF THIRDS: 3/4 aspect ratio

Divide the screen into 9ths...(like a tic tac toe board...) The subect's eyes, should be in the MIDDLE square.

DEPTH: See your book for discussions of :

Foreground vs. background
Forced perspective
Blocking

LIGHTING: Your book has an excellent discussion of lighting. Be sure you read the chapter carefully, and know the following terms:

Types of light

INCIDENTAL: comes directly from the source, sun, light bulb, etc.

REFLECTED LIGHT:

altered by surfaces
texture affects reflectability
smooth surfaces -- reflect
textured surfaces --absorb
When lighting, must consider where light is coming from and to where it is reflected

BASE LIGHT: what is basically needed for the camera to work; Sum of specialized and general lighting

2 considerations:

CONTRAST RATIO: (intensity)

controlled by automatic gain control
extreme contrasts result in muddy, dark picture, blurry, etc.
Human Eye -- Contrast ratio = 100: 1
Camera --Contrast ratio = 30 : 1

Avoid contrast ratio of more than 20 to 30
Frequently in a DARK picture. there's already TOO MUCH light and the camera is compensating

LIGHT METER: tool used to measure footcandles (ftc) as unit of measurement

Will measure both incidental and reflected light, depending on where you point it...
point it TOWARD the light source

COLOR TEMPERATURE:

We've already talked about this, but remember
REDS are cooler
BLUES are hotter
TV = 3200 Degrees Kelvin (for studio)

READ your chapter and know:

objectives of lighting
High-key lighting
Low-Key lighting
limbo
cameo
silhouette

TWO TYPES OF LIGHTING INSTRUMENTS:

Spotlight --

Fresnel
can PIN the light or make it highly directional or focused

Floodlight s

coop or broad
soften light and controls shadows
Ours are pans or broads
Use barn doors to control direction

FUNDAMENTAL LIGHTING: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! KNOW THIS!!!!!

1. KEY

spot
the MOST important light
focus on talent
strikes talent at 30-35 degree angle horizontally
35 to 45 degree angle vertically

NOTE: THE ANGLE OF INCIDENCE EQUALS THE ANGLE OF REFLECTION. Remember this when you're dealing with hot spots, picture frames, glasses, etc.

2. FILL

comes in at an angle opposite the KEY
flood light
reduces shadows
provides wash of light over the set

3. BACK LIGHT

spot
from behind
lights hair, shoulders, surface of set
separate talent from background

These three are called 3-point lighting.

ADDITIONAL LIGHTS:

Side light::Key which hits the side of the face
Kicker: back light--working at a 45 degree angle from center
Setlight: flood which lights background
Trimming: making final lighting adjustments
Light Pole: tool to adjust light
C-Clamp:

FOUR LEVELS OF LIGHTING CONTROL:

1. Level of intensity:(we do it by distance)

2. Degree of focus or diffusion:

spot vs. flood
scrims, barn doors, etc.

3. Shape of a projected beam

4. Color quality

INVERSE SQUARE LAW: (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!! hint, hint) As with sound, the strength of the light source is reduced to one-quarter original strength as the source to subject distance is doubled.

THEREFORE: The closer the light source to the talent, the more critical the distance. (If the light is close and you move it just a few inches, you will see a difference, but if it's far away, a few inches won't matter.)

SAFETY:

Everyone's job is safety!

Are lights securely fastened?
2nd person holds latter at all times.
Wrenches should be tied to your wrist.
Keep safety cables connected.
Make sure NO ONE is below when adjusting lights.
DO NOT look directly into lights--Permanent eye damage!

h. LIGHTS ARE HOT!!!

-burns!
-skin oils damage glass
-don't move a hot light--let them cool for 10 min. if possible
may break if hot

Return to Television Part 1

Return to Television Part 2

Return to Television Part 3

Return to Television Part 4

Videomaker : http://www.videomaker.com

THINGS TO DO TO BE READY FOR OUR PRODUCTIONS:

You should have completely read your text book by the time we begin our initial productions after Thanksgiving. VERY important that you complete the reading.
Also be sure you have signed up for studio lab time and have been checked out on the switcher.
Learn the command cues listed on the P-4 and P-5 handouts. Memorize them!!! You will be graded off for not following them precisely.

RESOURCES

Aiello, Art. "Getting Started: Keep On Trucking." I So let's look a some of the basic camera shots:
Videomaker. 10/98 p. 14.
Burrows, Tomas D., Lynne Gross and Donald Wood. Video Production : Disciplines and Techniques, 7^th ed.
Cassidy, Kyle. "The Finish Line: An Uncompleted Video is No Video at All." Videomaker. 5/96 p. 118.
Millerson, Gerald. Television Production 12^th ed. Focal: Boston, 1990.
Millerson, Gerald. Video Production Handbook. Focal: Boston, 1995.
Peters, Chuck. "Getting Started: Audience Appreciation: Be Kind to Your Viewers." Videomaker, 3/98 p. 17.
Ponder, Stray. "Scripting Secrets: Putting Words to Work in Your Videos" Videomaker. 10/95 p. 105.
Ronat, William.. "The Sands of Time: Scheduling Your Video for Success." Videonaker. 5/95 p. 119
Stinson, Jim. "Getting Started: The Seven Deadly Camera Sins." Videomaker. 4/97 p. 15.
Stinson., Jim.. "Shot Language." Videomaker, 3/95 p. 16
Utz, Peter. "A Nicely Turned Angle." AV Video 2/96 p. 69
Zettle, Herbert, Video Basics. Wadsworth: New York, 1995.
Zettle, Herbert. Television Production Handbook, 6^th ed. Wadsworth: New York, 1997.

Dr. Janet McMullen

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