Readings

Question 1

TV Production: in television production, as in most of today’s high-tech areas, what is power?

Answer 1

Knowledge is power

Question 2

TV Production: who launches the entire production? -team leader, works with the writers, hires the director, decides on key talent, guides general direction of the production

Answer 2

The producer (but in small productions the director may handle the producer’s responsibilities)

Question 3

TV Production: who sets up schedules for the talent and crew and generally assists the producer?

Answer 3

Associate producer

Question 4

TV Production: on a major production, what is one of the producer’s first jobs? What is the second.

Answer 4

First hire or assign a writer to the script, second consider key talent for the production

Question 5

TV Production: what are the three categories talent can be broken down into?

Answer 5

Actors (who portray other people in dramatic productions), performers (who appear on camera in nondramatic roles), and announcers (who generally don’t appear on camera)

Question 6

TV Production: what does the director do?

Answer 6

Director is in charge of working out preproduction details, coordinating activities of production staff and on-camera talent, working out camera and talent positions on the set, selecting camera shots during production, and supervising postproduction work (once producer sets things in motion, director in charge of taking script from beginning to end of the production process)

Question 7

TV Production: what does the technical director do?

Answer 7

Assists director in the control room, operates video switcher

Question 8

TV Production: what does a technical director do?

Answer 8

Responsible for coordinating the technical aspects of the production

Question 9

TV Production: what does the production assistant do?

Answer 9

Help the producer and director, keeps notes on ongoing production needs and changes

Question 10

TV Production: what does the lighting director do?

Answer 10

designs lighting plan, arranges for the lighting equipment, sets up and checks lighting

Question 11

TV Production: what does the set designer do?

Answer 11

designs the set and supervises its construction, painting, and installation

Question 12

TV Production: what does the makeup person do?

Answer 12

Sees that the talent look their best

Question 13

TV Production: what does the wardrobe person do?

Answer 13

Sees he actors have clothes appropriate to the story and script

Question 14

TV Production: what does the audio director/technician do?

Answer 14

Arranges for the audio recording equipment, sets up and checks mics, monitors audio quality during the production, and then strikes the audio recording equipment

Question 15

TV Production: what does the microphone boom/grip operator do?

Answer 15

Watches rehearsals and decides on the proper mics and their placement for each scene

Question 16

TV Production: what does the video recorder operator do?

Answer 16

Arranges video recording equipment and accessories, sets up video recordings, performs recording checks, and monitors video quality

Question 17

TV Production: what does the continuity secretary do?

Answer 17

Carefully makes notes on scene and continuity details as each scene is shot to ensure these details remain consistent among takes and scenes. Once production concerns taken care of, responsible for releasing the actors after each scene or segment is shot

Question 18

TV Production: what does the CG operator do?

Answer 18

(CG=electronic character generator operator) Programs (designs/types in) opening titles, subtitles, and closing credits into a computer-based device that inserts the text over the video

Question 19

TV Production: what do camera operators do?

Answer 19

Set up cameras, ensure technical quality, work with director, lighting director, and audio technician in blocking (setting up) and shooting each shot. On the field may coordinate camera pickup/delivery

Question 20

TV Production: what does the floor/stage manager do?

Answer 20

Responsible for coordinating activities on set

Question 21

TV Production: what do editors do?

Answer 21

Use video and audio recordings to blend segments together

Question 22

TV Production: what are the three production phases and what happens in each?

Answer 22

1. Preproduction- basic ideas and approaches of the production are developed and set in motion. Ket talent and production members selected, scenic design, lighting, and audio coordinated, rehearsals can start with table reading/dry rehearsal then dress rehearsal
2. Production- final performance, either live or recorded
3. Postproduction- striking sets, packing equipment, handling final financial obligations, evaluate effect of program, edit, visual effects

Question 23

TV Production: confusing medium with message

Answer 23

You should consider high-tech effects merely a tool for the effective communication of ideas and information. Effects will become out of date but ideas and feelings endure

Question 24

Ultra HD and 4K TV: what is 4k?

Answer 24

Delivers four times picture resolution of 1080p Full hD (8 million pixels compared to 2 million)

Question 25

Ultra HD and 4K TV: difference between Ultra HD and 4K

Answer 25

Same thing, Ultra HD just sounds better

Question 26

Ultra HD and 4K TV: benefits

Answer 26

More detail, can watch same image on bigger screen

Question 27

Ultra HD and 4K TV: negatives

Answer 27

Not much content available (Netflix has some but not much), 1080p still does a great job negativing the effects of 4k, talks of 8k technology

Question 28

How Digital Cinema Works: what is it?

Answer 28

A new approach to making and showing movies. Basic idea is to use bits and bytes to record, transmit, and replay images rather than sing chemicals on film

Question 29

How Digital Cinema Works: main advantages

Answer 29

It can store, transmit, and retrieve a huge amount of information exactly as it was originally recorded, more flexible than analog information, opens up possibilities for improved surround sound

Question 30

How Digital Cinema Works: what three major areas of movie making does digital cinema affect?

Answer 30

1. Production- film and video differ in image clarity, depth of focus and color range, but the biggest contrast is frame rate. Movie makers use digital camcorders that shoot like film cameras, image quality different, film more expensive than digital video, digital editing systems easier to put movie together
2. Distribution- digital movies are basically big computer files that can easily be shared
3. Projection- two major digital cinema projector technologies, micromirror (form images with array of microscopic mirrors, each beam hits different micromirror device) and LC proctors (projectors reflect high-intensity light off a stationary mirror covered with a liquid crystal display (LCD)

Question 31

How Digital Cinema Works: downsides

Answer 31

Piracy easier, costs about $150,000 to convert film theater auditorium into digital theater, must win over large majority of movie fans

Question 32

How Do 3D Films Work: how do they capture image?

Answer 32

3D films are captured using two lenses placed side by side, just like your eyes

Question 33

How Do 3D Films Work: how do old 3D glasses work?

Answer 33

3D glasses with blue and red filters ensured viewers’ left and right eyes saw the correct image: the red filter would only let red light through to your left eye and the blue filter would only let blue light through to your right eye. Your brain would then combine these two slightly different image to create illusion of 3D. Couldn’t use full color though

Question 34

How Do 3D Films Work: what is polarised light?

Answer 34

Polarised light wave vibrates on only one plane. Light produced by the sun unpolarised, meaning it is made up of light waves vibrating on many different planes. Polarising filter has tiny parallel lines etched into it, letting only light vibrating on a particular plane through. In cinema, two reels of film projected through different polarised filters. Glasses use same polarising filters to separate out two images again, giving each eye sees a slightly different prospective and fooling the brain