You may think that television production is a relatively simple task, however, television production involves much more than just operating a camera.

Even a simple production such as a news cast involves a great number of intricate operations by production personnel and the use of many sophistic…

When learning about television production, always try to see each piece of equipment and its operation within the larger context of the television system, that is, in relation to all the other pieces of equipment that are used and the people who use them—the production personnel. It is, after all, t…

A system is a collection of elements that work together to achieve a specifi c purpose. Each of the elements is dependent on the proper workings of all the others, and none of the individual elements can do the job alone.

The television system consists of equipment and people who operate that equ…

You have probably heard many times that digital television (DTV) revolutionized television. In one way such claims are true; in another way, DTV influences certain production techniques only minimally. For example, whereas the electronic characteristics of a digital camcorder differ considerably fro…

Like the human eye, the camera cannot see well without a certain amount of light. Because it is not objects we actually see but the light refl ected off of them, manipulating the light falling on objects influences the way we perceive them on-screen. Such manipulation is called lighting.

Lighting…

Although the term television does not include audio, the sound portion of a television show is nevertheless one of its most important elements. Television audio not only communicates precise information but also contributes greatly to the mood and the atmosphere of a scene. If you were to turn off t…

Most television shows are recorded on videotape or computer disk before they are aired. Even live football broadcasts include plenty of prerecorded material. The “instant replays” are nothing but digital replays of key moments after the fact. Videotape or a computer hard disk is used for the playbac…

For some people post production editing is heaven: they feel totally in command of putting together the bits and pieces of recorded material into a story that tells the event in a clarified and intensified way. For others it is a tedious, albeit necessary, evil. Irrespective of how you feel about po…