Millerson - The technique of television production

Millerson, Gerald

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The

Technique

of

Television

Production

THE TECHNIQUE OF DOCUMENTARY FILM PRODUCTION

THE TECHNIQUE OF EDITING 16 mm FILMSJohn Burder

THE TECHNIQUE OF THE FILM CUTTING ROOM

THE TECHNIQUE OF FILM EDITING

THE TECHNIQUE OF FILM MUSICJohn Huntley and Roger Manvellrevised by: Richard Arnell and Peter Day

THE TECHNIQUE OF PROFESSIONAL MAKE-UP FOR FILM,TELEVISION AND STAGEVincent J-R Kehoe

THE TECHNIQUE OF THE MOTION PICTURE CAMERA

THE TECHNIQUE OF SPECIAL EFFECTS CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE TECHNIQUE OF LIGHTING FOR TELEVISIONAND MOTION PICTURESGerald Millerson

THE TECHNIQUE OF SPECIAL EFFECTS IN TELEVISION

THE TECHNIQUE OF TELEVISION NEWS

THE TECHNIQUE OF TELEVISION PRODUCTION

THE TECHNIQUE OF RADIO PRODUCTION

THE TECHNIQUE OF THE SOUND STUDIO

Contents

Preface 13

1 Studio tour 15

The television studio 15

The television studio in action 16

The production control room 19

Master control 22

2 How television works 24

The video signal 24

Color television 24

Picture detail 29

Tonal contrast 29

Tonal gradation 30

3 What your camera can do 31

The lens 31

The lens system 31

Focal length and lens angle 32

Perspective distortion 35

Long-focus lens (narrow-angle lens) 36

Short-focus lens (wide-angle lens) 39

Supplementary lenses 40

The zoom lens 40

Focus controls 43

Lens aperture/-stop 45

Neutral density filters 47

Camera-tube sensitivity 47

Mountings for lightweight cameras 48

Static mountings 49

The rolling tripod 49

The studio pedestal 49

The small crane 51

Larger cranes 51

Motorized dolly 52

Low dollies (creepers) 54

Hydraulic platforms (cherry-pickers; Simon crane) 54

Remotely controlled cameras 54

Pre-rehearsal camera checkout list 54

Basic camera operation 55

4 The persuasive camera 58

Defining the shot 59

Selecting the length of shot 59

The very long shot (vista shot) 60

The long shot 60

Medium shots 61

The closeup 61

Deep-focus techniques 62

Shallow-focus techniques 62

Moving the camera head 65

Panning the camera 65

Tilting the camera head 67

Camera height 68

Moving the camera 70

Subjective treatment 72

Using a zoom lens ' 76

5 Composing the picture 79

Composition by design 79

Composition by arrangement 79

Composition by selection 80

The director and composition 80

Composition principles 80

The effect of the picture frame 80

Proportions 81

Framing 83

Pictorial balance 84

Emotional influence of tone 87

Scale 88

Subject prominence 88

Subject attitude 90

Picture shape 90

Unifying interest 90

Speed of composition lines 91

Continuity of centers of interest 91

Composition continuity in multicamera production 91

Color and the picture 94

Dynamic composition 99

Potentials of the still picture 99

Potentials of the moving picture 100

A theory of dynamic composition 101

Accepted maxims 102

Mirror images 105

6 Editing 107

The nature of editing 107

Editing and the TV director 108

Television editing techniques 108

Types of editing 109

Continuity cutting 110

Relational cutting no

Dynamic cutting 111

The cut ill

The fade 113

The mix (dissolve, lap dissolve) 115

The wipe 117

Superimpositions (half-lap dissolves, supers) 119

Order of shots 120

Duration of shots 121

Cutting rate 123

Cutting rhythm 123

The production switcher 124

Basic production switcher functions 126

7 Lighting 129

Influence of lighting 129

Why is lighting necessary? 129

Light qualitydispersion 130

Direction of the light 131

Light intensity 132

Pictorial quality 132

Color quality of light 132

Lighting flat surfaces 133

Lighting an object 133

Lighting people 136

Lighting areas 139

Pictorial treatment 142

Light sources (luminants) 144

Types of lamp housingluminaires 147

Lamp supports 149

Light control 150

Lighting control equipment 150

TV lighting problems 152

Electronic problems 153

Sound boom shadows 153

How settings affect lighting treatment 154

Other factors affecting lighting 154

Lighting for color 155

Atmospheric lighting 156

Lighting effects 160

8 Scenery 161

Basic organization 161

Basic scenic forms 164

The flat 164

Set pieces (built pieces/solid pieces/rigid units) 166

Profile pieces (cut-outs) 167

Cyclorama 168

Backgrounds 168

Surface detail and contouring 170

Floor treatment 171

Ceilings 173

Size and shape of sets 173

Shooting off (overshoot) 173

Height and depth in floors 174

Space economies 175

Multiplane techniques 175

The illusion of four walls 177

Partial settings 178

Realism of settings 179

Scrim (scenic gauze) 180

Mobile scenic units 180

Set dressing 181

Electronic and lighting considerations 182

Staging for color 185