Production Personnel

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Production Personnel

• Chapter 16
• 1/23/2005

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Production People

• Production process is a team process.
• Particularly true in the studio
• Despite all the technology in the world, people
  make all the difference.
• Communication is a human process that supercedes
  technology

3
Production (Nontechnical) Personnel

• Generally involved in translating a script into
  television images
• Also called above-the-line personnel.
• Budget category
• Different than technical, below-the-line
  personnel.
• Includes

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Above-the-Line Personnel

• Some grey area
• For example
• Sometimes the technical director (TD) or
  production assistant, (PA) are below-the-line
• May be above-the-line other times
• One small productions, one person may perform
  above- and below-the-line roles
• Both above-the-line and below-the-line are
  important team members
• Permanency of the roles depends on budget,
  regularity of production and union regulations.

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Above-the-Line Personnel

• Executive Producer
• Producer
• Associates and Production Assistants (PAs)
• Production Manager
• Associate Director
• Art Director
• Sound Designer
• Writer

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Below-the-line personnel

• Studio Supervisor
• Technical Director
• Camera Operator
• Lighting Director
• Floor Manager
• Floor Person
• Video Operator
• Audio Technician

• CG Operator
• Videotape Operator
• Videotape Editor
• Makeup Artist
• Wardrobe People
• Scenery and Property Personnel
• Maintenance Engineer

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Technical Personnel and Crew

• People who primarily operate equipment.
• Part of the crew
• Not electronic expertise, but rather operation of
  equipment.

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News Production Personnel
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News Production Personnel

• News departments have their own news production
  personnel.
• Dedicated exclusively to the production of news
  and special events.
• Others at the station assist (example sales,
  promotion)
• News personnel must respond quickly, produce
  program regularly

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News Production Personnel

• News Director
• In charge of all news operations
• Bears ultimate responsibility for all newscasts.
• Producer
• Directly responsible for the selection and
  placement of the stories in a newscast.
• Wants the newscast to form a unified, balanced
  whole.

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News Production Personnel

• Assignment Editor
• Assigns reporters and videographers to specific
  events to be covered.
• Reporter
• Gathers the stories
• Often reports on-camera from the field
• Videographer
• Camera operator
• In absence of a reporter, decides on what part of
  the event to cover.
• Also called a news photographer or shooter.

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News Production Personnel

• Writer
• Writes on-air copy
• Copy is based on reporters notes and available
  videotape
• Videotape editor
• Edits videotape according to reporters notes,
  writers script or producers instructions.
• Anchor
• Principal presenter of newscast.
• Normally from a studio set

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News Production Personnel

• Weathercasters
• On-camera talent, talking about the weather
• Often more entertainers than meteorologists
• Traffic Reporter
• On-camera talent
• Informs of local traffic conditions
• Sportscaster
• On-camera talent.
• Giving sports news and commentary

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Technical Personnel and Crew

• Engineers
• Chief Engineer
• In charge of technical personnel, budgets, and
  equipment.
• Designs systems, including transmission
  facilities
• Oversees installations and day-to-day operations
• Assistant Chief Personnel
• Assists chief engineer in all technical matters
• Also called engineering supervisor
• Studio or Remote Engineer-in-Charge
• Oversees technical operations
• Maintenance Engineer
• Maintains technical equipment and troubleshoots
  during productions

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Non-engineering Personnel

• Technical Director (TD)
• Handles switching
• Technical Crew Chief
• Camera Operator
• Operate cameras
• Often simple lighting for shows
• When in the field or EFP, called shooter or
  videographer

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Non-engineering Personnel

• Video Operator
• Adjusts camera controls for optimal camera
  pictures.
• Sometimes additional technical duties, especially
  in field productions or in the filed.
• Also called a shader
• Audio Technician
• In charge of all audio operations.
• Works audio console during the show.
• Also called an audio engineer

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Non-engineering Personnel

• Videotape Operator
• Runs the videotape machine
• Character Generator (CG) Operator
• Types and recalls from the computer the names and
  other graphic material to be integrated with the
  video image.
• Videotape Editor
• Operates post-production editing equipment.
• Often makes or assists in creative editing
  decisions.

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Floor Director Cues

• Pictures from Zettl Television Production Handbook

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Floor Director Cues

• Roll VTR

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Floor Director Cues

• Stand by
• Show about to start

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Floor Director Cues

• Cue

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Floor Director Cues

• Five (four, three, two) minutes remaining
• Hold up appropriate of fingers
• Or hold up a card

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Floor Director Cues

• Speed Up
• Accelerate what you are doing
• Youre going too slow
• Rotate Hand Clockwise
• Urgency reflected by speed of hand movement

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Floor Director Cues

• Stretch Too much time left
• Slow Down Fill

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Floor Director Cues

• On Time

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Floor Director Cues

• Cut
• Stop what you are doing right now

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Floor Director Cues

• 30 seconds

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Floor Director Cues

• 15 seconds

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Floor Director Cues

• Wrap UP

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Talent and Production Environment
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Video Talent

• Performers
• Non-dramatic activities
• Play themselves
• Address the camera lens
• Actors
• Portray someone else
• Assume a role
• Do not acknowledge the presence of the viewer
• Interact with other actors

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Performing Techniques

• Camera is your communicating partner.
• If making eye contact look at the camera lens
• Not the floor director
• Not the camera operator
• Appear to look through the lens
• Approximate natural interpersonal eye contact

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Performing Techniques

• Close Ups
• Very little room to maneuver.
• Do not wiggle
• Keep hands away from your face
• Slow down all movements
• When demonstrating objects, keep them steady
• If they are on a table, do not pick them up.
  Point to them or tilt them.
• Subtly reference studio monitor
• Dont direct the director

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Audio and Lighting

• Treat all microphones gently
• Lavaliere
• Dont forget to put them on.
• Dont forget you have them on.
• Hand mic
• establish how far you can move with it.
• Desk mic or stand mic
• Dont move it.
• Adjust height so mic is a little below chin,
  pointing at your chin.
• Fishpole/Boom
• Be aware of location
• Dont look at mic

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Audio and Lighting

• Taking a level
• Dont blow into mic.
• Say opening remarks or read script
• Use volume you will use on air.
• Levels
• Do not speak more loudly because the camera is
  farther away from you.
• The distance of the camera has no effect on how
  close/far the mic is.

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Audio and Lighting

• Check lighting
• Outdoors Dont stand by a brightly lit back
  drop.
• If you are blocked in a dark area or dont see a
  light shining directly on you, ask the director.

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Prompting Devices

• IFB Interruptible Feedback or foldback
• Earpiece
• Total Program sound
• May have a producer or director attached.
• Make it seem invisible
• Floor Manager Cues

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Environment and Audience

• Video actor generally has no audience
• Less attention from director
• Video more intimate than stage
• Less exaggerated, no projection
• Memorize lines quickly
• No room to ad-lib

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Environment and Audience

• Repeating Action
• Single-camera productions
• Asked to repeat action
• Must remember size, pace and process of all
  action
• Keep the same energy level throughout.

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• Clothing
• Colors
• Dont wear colors similar to the set.
• Avoid chroma key blue or green
• Saturated reds are difficult
• Vibrate and bleed into other areas
• Artifacts, especially in low light
• Avoid great contrast
• Black
• White
• All these are worse when on automatic iris.

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• Make-up
• Enhance appearance Accentuate rather than
  change
• Women generally wear normal makeup
• Men primarily to reduce light reflections, cover
  blemishes
• Warmer tones (peach, red) look more natural than
  cooler tones (blue)
• Match skin tone
• Smooth and natural
• Check on camera and in studio light conditions
• Correct appearance
• Change appearance