1. An introduction to TV production
Basic concepts of audiovisual production
Audiovisual production involves looking at and showing the world in a certain
way; it's all about expressing ideas.
Producing or directing means setting up a series of
items in a pre-established script. To do this, you need
to control all the factors involved in the process, both
technically and more artistically.
There are many kinds of angle: the bird's eye view, a
high angle (looking down on the action) or a low angle
(looking up at the action). You change the angle by
modifying the vertical axis of the tripod head.
The level is usually eye level to give a familiar point
of view. However, you can change the angle to achieve a
special effect or use camera movement (with a steadicam
to achieve smooth movement).
The height of the camera is usually at the eye level of
the actors. This can be modified for dramatic and
stylistic effects. For example, how would you shoot a
child sitting on the floor?
Dynamic shots: frame and camera movement
Panoramas, used for descriptions or to suggest
association between items, involve camera movement on A steadicam
its own horizontal or vertical axis.
• Horizontal: to describe the environment, to follow the action, to connect
items, to show cause and effect, etc. Typically left to right.
• Vertical: to describe the environment, for physical descriptions, to show
cause and effect, to accentuate height and depth, etc.
• Up suggests increasing interest and excitement, anticipation and
hope.
• Down suggests decreasing interest and excitement.
• A clean sweep is a fast pan to change focus, create contrast, suggest a
break in space or time, etc.
You can also use a zoom, zooming in (with a telescopic lens - narrow shot) or
out (wide-angle lens - open shot).
• Changing the focal length changes the size of the object without changing
the location of the camera.
• There may be depth of field problems.
Travelling involves physical movement of the camera forward, backwards or side
to side. Unlike with zooms, camera movement changes the relative positions of
subjects within a shot, changing the perspective, e.g. revealing a person
behind a tree. Travelling is more expressive with short focal length lenses.
Travelling is used to create subjective effects, to explore areas, to call
attention to objects not present in the initial shot, etc.

2. There are different systems: shoulder cameras,
dollies, guides and hydraulic systems. With a
crane or steadicam camera movement is added.
Steadicam stability is based on hydraulic
systems, facilitating ease of operation, with a
wireless connection, different kinds of movement,
etc.
Types of shot
• General shot: to show relationships between
items in a space.
A camera dolly track system
• Long shot: to show relationships between
characters.
• American or ¾ shot: from a little
above the knees, a shot that was
commonly used in Westerns.
• Medium shot: from the waist up, one
of the most widely used shots.
• Medium short shot: from the chest
up.
• Close-up: from the collar up.
• Extreme close-up: down to the chin,
to emphasise a dramatic character,
to show reactions and emotions.
• Description shot: to emphasise a
single detail. A close-up shot
Choice of shot
Your choice of a shot should be based on information and expression. You should
always be able to justify your choice.
In certain situations, as in the case of shot against shot or in the planning
of a debate, you might need to balance the size of the different people in the
action. This consideration could lead you to make an unconventional shot choice
but that's OK as long as there is a justification for your choice in terms of
information or expression.
Avoid cutting off people's extremities unintentionally.
Avoid making sudden jumps. For the viewer, it can be disconcerting to go from a
general shot to a detail.
Problems with long shots
When the scene involves characters, you can't effectively show their facial
expressions.
In a multi-system camera production or in a set of small spaces, long shots may
provide redundant information in relation to previous shots and create optical
breaks.
Problems with short shots
You may lose interesting information from the rest of the scene.
Excessive use can decontextualise people from their surroundings, making it
difficult to associate them with the physical items around them.
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3. If a character moves, they may move out of shot.
Typically, this kind of shot has a limited depth of field.
It's difficult to do tracking for smooth and stable shots.
Composition
Composition is a strategy for items in the
image so the viewer feels drawn towards what
is shown. A particular composition may lead,
for example, to a sense of anticipation,
anxiety and excitement.
Composition methods
• design: the director has the freedom
to design the set and the movement of
the characters.
• disposition: the director may vary the
items that make up the scene and may An asymmetric composition
limit the movements of the characters.
• selection: the director can only determine the composition through the
placement, framing and movement of the cameras (including or excluding
items, the duration of the shot, etc.).
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4. The script
Television production and broadcasting in general is based on developing a
coherent script. In this course we will focus on a short television magazine
but in the following notes we refer to the more general case of developing the
script for a story or any large-scale audiovisual production.
A script is the written form of an audiovisual performance. Its preparation
approached in differednt ways but here we have divided it into seven different
stages.
The idea
• This is the foundation of an audiovisual production.
• The script and the performance develop the idea.
• You should try your best to convey your main idea clearly and concisely.
• Express the idea in a nutshell, in one or two lines.
In advertising, brainstorming (sharing spontaneous thoughts about a topic) is
often used to get things started.
The synopsis
• This is a bridge between the idea and the plot, clarifying aspects of the
idea.
• It includes an outline of the action and the characters in a short
document (less than a page).
• The idea is developed and given dramatic structure.
• Considered as a story, there are four basic parts: the introduction, the
body, the climax and the outcome.
• The synopsis not only develops the main idea, but also suggests narrative
aspects (how the idea is expressed) and visual aspects (the visual
aesthetics).
The plot
This is a summary of the story in a few pages. It is written in the present
tense and contains the following information:
• Duration: the time span, when the action takes place, etc.
• Location: where the action takes place (affected by budget constraints?)
• Character profiles: physical, social, psychological traits, etc.
• The four narrative stages (regardless of their order)
Here the project's feasibility can be analysed with regard to:
• Production costs
• Possible markets
• Creative staff (technicians and actors)
• Authorship. Will the author write more?
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5. The step outline
This consists of ordered sequences for the future script (or a breakdown of the
plot into short sequences with a brief description).
You have to bear in mind both macrostructure and microstructure.
You should check the overall structure of the script: Introduction, Body,
Climax and Outcome.
Here you define the total length and, if it's a series, the division into
episodes.
You decide the structure of each episode and each sequence. There various kinds
of narrative structure.
Linear story
A straight chronological development of the story. For example, a boy and a
girl meet, they fall in love, they overcome some problems and live together
happily.
Flashback
The story begins with its conclusion. For example, a boy cries inconsolably at
the funeral of a girl. Through flashbacks, we see different moments of their
past together: their first kiss, falling in love, getting married, having
children, etc.
Parallel stories
Two or more stories are told at once. For example, there is a boy from
Barcelona and a girl from Madrid. We alternate moments in both lives until they
meet on a plane and fall in love.
Frieze
A story is built up by several overlapping plot lines. This is the typical
structure of a soap opera. For example, a story about a boy and a girl is told
in more or less linear fashion, but at the same time episodes iclude details of
the lives of their families, friends, ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend, etc.
The final draft
This is the final stage of the creative process of a scriptwriter.
• The characters are all specified and well-defined.
• The dialogues are complete.
• The action is described in detail.
• Details of location are included, such as: indoors / outdoors, site,
daytime / evening / night.
This material is delivered to the director as a support for performance. No
technical observations are included.
Typically, there are two possible styles of presentation for this document.
Single column(American style): like a theatre script.
In two columns (European style): the left column has information on the action
(image) and the right column indicates the dialogue and sound (audio).
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6. The final script
This is a combination of the final draft from the scriptwriter, together with
all the technical considerations for filming and recording.
The director is responsible for technical aspects of the final script:
• Types of shot
• Number of cameras
• Point of view of cameras
• Lighting
• Sound effects
• etc.
The precise format of the final script depends
on the director, but it should be clearly and
correctly expressed so the whole team can
understand it.
The basic functions that a director will
indicate in a final script are:
• the division of the script into shots,
sequences and recording blocks
• chronological numbering of shots
• numbering and definition of sequences
• image of each shot
• allocation of different shots to each
camera
• transitions between shots
• indication of sound (music, effects,
etc.)
• indication of special visual effects
• etc.
The storyboard
Here the script is viewed like a comic. Each
picture corresponds to a shot. The shot number
and type of shot is indicated under each
picture.
Of course, there are many variations on these
seven stages of development of a script. In
advertising all seven stages are generally
followed so as to achieve a vision of what
exactly should be conveyed, without confusing
the endviewer.
In other kinds of production different scripts
are employed, such as timed scripts for
subsections of a TV news programme, or more
general outlines are used to mark blocks in TV
interviews, magazine shows, quiz shows, etc. A storyboard for an advert
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7. Structure, genre and programme scheduling
"La realidad es la realidad y la televisión es una forma como otra de
acercase a ella con un filtro. Habrá cosas que pasarán por el agujero,
otras se quedarán y también las habrá que saldrán torcidas. Querer
comprender la realidad a través de la televisión sin entender el mecanismo
del filtro equivale a no comprender nada. Identificar el filtro,
comprender su funcionamiento y aprender a convivir humanamente con él nos
hará más personas y por tanto más libres."
Xavier Obach in "Educación para la Comunicación. Televisión y Multimedia."
Television production exploits a variety of technical resources, such as:
• Cameras for capturing images
• Microphones for capturing sound
• Recording systems for image and sound
• Mixers for the various sources of images and sounds
• Postproduction platforms, where graphics and special effects are
introduced (both sound and image)
TV production also relies on a team of highly specialised professionals and
sophisticated workspaces.
The human team
Audiovisual production for television is a result of meticulous teamwork. The
recording of a programme can be compared to the musical performance of an
orchestra, where all the musicians master their instrument and have a score
that they have rehearsed, but they also need the conductor to control their
ensemble performance.
• The TV producer directs the programme and controls the team.
• The director chooses the arrangement of the cameras and types of shot,
and communicates with other studio technicians through an earpiece.
• The floor manager is a specific role in TV studios, rather like an
assistant director. The floor manager serves as a link between the studio
and the control room. The director can communicate directly with
technicians but usually gives instructions through the floor manager, who
gives them with hand signals, e.g. when to go live, when to cut for
advertising, etc.
• Camera operators control the cameras and follow the orders of the
director or floor manager through an earpiece: if they have to track a
character, open up, change camera angle, etc.
• Sound technicians control the volume and quality of the sound recording
of each microphone used on set.
• Video editors put the progrqamme together by mixing different sources of
audio and video.
• Presenters lead the programme on screen.
• An Electronic News Gathering (ENG) unit is a self-contained audiovisual
location team for news programmes, normally composed of a camera
operator, a reporter and a sound technician.
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8. • Other staff: production staff, secretarial staff, make-up artists, hair
stylists, lighting technicians, etc.
Workspaces
Television production can take place both
indoors and outdoors.
Indoors the production area is divided into
two zones: the TV studio or set and the
control room. These zones are physically
separated but connected with each other via
internal microphones.
TV studios or sets are spaces where action
is filmed for TV broadcasts.
The control room is for the production team.
Here the director gives orders to the team.
The continuity team make sure that the The Al Jazeera English newsroom
broadcast is transmitted according to schedule. They control the transition
between each part of the programme and check for incidents. When these occur,
they cut the broadcast and restore the transmission as soon as possible.
TV scripts
The script is the documentary support for an audiovisual production. In the
final draft indications are given of all the items and their timings (e.g.
playing a video, presentation on set, an interview, idents (corporate images),
commercial breaks, etc.) and the texts read out on set by the presenters. This
type of script can occupy several pages. A step outline, on the other hand, is
a more functional type of script, showing all the main steps but without all
the words spoken. A step outline for a TV show could be just a single page and
serve as a general guide for the whole team.
Scripts for works of fiction
Fictional programmes require a master document with all the narrative elements
of the series in order to give coherence to the plot (synopsis, plot,
description of each character, division into plots and sub-plots). This
document typically includes the storyline but not the dialogues, which are
developed later for each episode. Fiction screenwriters often work in teams,
sharing out and exchanging different parts of the work under the supervision of
coordinators.
Television genres
John Reith, the first Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation
once said, in a celebrated phrase, that its role was to "educate, inform and
entertain".
This remains true for public service broadcasting around the world, but
nowadays there is a greater emphasis on entertainment and information, with
educational programmes being rather more marginal. There is a trend towards
hybrid formats. The magazine show can act as a container that accommodates all
types of content: interviews, discussions, news, features, humour, etc.
News broadcasts
The different sections and formats include.
• News flashes and breaking news
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9. • TV news programmes. These occupy prime schedule slots and are expensive
to produce. They are prestige programmes for TV channels.
• News specials for sporting and political events.
• Opinion: talk shows and debates.
• Current affairs programmes, such as "Informe semanal" or "30 minuts" in
Spain.
• Interviews with social, cultural and political figures.
• The weather and sports are key sections within a newscast, so much so
that they are usually slightly independent of the rest of the programme.
TV news items typically last a minute or so and are composed of images with
ambient sound, statements of people concerned, and a voiceover where the
reporter constructs the storyline along with images of the news item.
Special effects such as music are avoided. The aim is to make the report seem
as objective as possible. The reporter is not the protagonist. Rather it is the
news itself that is foregrounded. Reporters' questions are not usually
broadcast, just the statements of those interviewed.
Sometimes the reporter presents the news item to the camera, but even then the
role is as a mere reporter at the scene of the event. Another format is a
series of news shorts without a voiceover on location. The narrative comes from
the presenters in the studio, who read out a text while the images are
broadcast.
Cultural and educational programmes
• Documentaries
• Music
• Education. Programmes may be part of a wider
educational scheme or may be "edutainment": part
educational, part entertainment.
• Other: specialising in books, art, travel, etc.
• Fiction
• Series: with single-episode or multi-episode
stories
• Miniseries: short series such as "Camera
Café" on Telecinco in Spain
• "Spanish telenovela": a longer series with a Teletubbies
single storyline over many episodes
• TV movies: films produced specifically for
television and not released in the cinema
• Movies: these are broadcast on television
after a period of commercial exploitation in
cinemas
Entertainment programmes
• Magazines, of different genres, serving as a Barack Obama is
container format interviewed by David
Letterman on a late-night
• Galas: musical performances, humour, etc.
talk show
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10. • Competitions: gambling, quizzes, talent shows, etc.
• Talk shows
• Reality shows: a popular genre in recent years. Big Brother was the
trendsetter. There are now many variants and they usually include some
kind of contest: with celebrities, living together, etc.
Sports programmes
• Regular shows, such as the weekly "Match of the Day" football show (in
the UK)
• Competitions: football, motorbikes, Formula One, cycling, etc.
• Special events: Olympic Games, World Championships, etc.
Trends in programme scheduling
Television programme scheduling is currently undergoing a transformation.
Traditionally, TV programmes were broadcast according to the concept of
"scheduling" (at 10am such-and-such a programme; after the evening news, a late
night movie, etc.).
RTVE's Facebook app copied from their 24 hour on-demand web page
Current technology, and the number of satellite channels, means that viewers
can set up their own viewing schedules. Decoders allow viewers to recording
their favourite programmes and watch them later on. Viewers no longer need to
organise their day according to a TV channel's schedule.
It is too early to say how great a change this will be but it is a growing
trend. What will the effect be on advertising? So far it has occupied the
breaks between programmes but now there will have to be new formulas (such as
those already in use on the Internet, where advertising plays before
downloads).
Scheduling techniques such as "block programming" or "tentpoling", which try to
influence viewers' habits, will have to be replaced by others not based on
programme schedule continuity, as the trend, like on the Internet, is for
greater on-demand and fragmented viewing, under the control of the viewer.
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11. Preparing and recording a TV magazine
The objective of this module is to produce a 5 to 10-minute TV magazine.
Step outline
DURATION TÍTOL CAMERA VIDEO AUDIO NOTES
0:10 Initial titles Video titles
1:00 Introduction to
the magazine
0:20 News summary
0:30 News item 1
0:30 News item 2
0:30 News item 3
1:00 Introduction to
the interview
1:00 Question 1
1:00 Question 2
1:00 Question 3
1:00 Magazine
closing
0:10 Final titles Video titles
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12. A step outline of an authentic TV programme
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All photos in this document are from Wikicommons except for the RTVE Facebook
app image, which was captured from the RTVE Internet page, and the step outline
above, which was kindly contributed by a local TV station.
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