Television production handbook - 9th ed

Television

Production

Handbook

NINT H EDITIO N

Zettl

The essential book for students and working professionals

Considered the reference text in the industry, Herbert Zettl's Television

Production Handbook covers all aspects of television production—

from camera and audio to digital editing and special effects. With an

accessible style and a hands-on approach, Zettl helps you achieve

mastery of the production technologies and techniques that will enable

you to move from idea to image with confidence, consistency, and

effectiveness. Filled with clear illustrations, vivid photographs, and

cutting-edge content, Zettl's Television Production Handbook has

long been a trusted resource in the classroom—and one that working

professionals refer to throughout their careers.

Get more from your course with these resources:

Television Production Workbook

by Herbert Zettl, San Francisco State University

T he essential Television Production Workboo k will help you practice

a nd reinforce your television production skills. Giving you a hands-o n

learning environment, the Workboo k helps you apply the concepts

you'll learn in your course to various studio and field productions.

As you progress through the Workbook's quizzes, skill-enhancing

exercises, and problem-solving applications, you'll review important

topics and check your understanding of concepts and terminology

vital to success in this fast-paced field. ISBN: 0-534-64728-6

Book Companion Website

http://communication.wadsworth.com/zettl_tvph9

Free access! Link to the Book Companion Website, where you'll find

interactive resources that help you study and learn. This outstanding

site features chapter-by-chapter tutorial quizzes, web links, flashcards,

and other chapter review materials, plus a practice final exam and

much more.

THOMSON

— +

WADSWORT H

Visit Wadsworth online at www.wadsworth.com

For your learning solutions: www.thomson.com/learning

Television

Production

Handbook

NINT H EDITIO N

Herbert Zettl

San Francisco State University

THOMSON

WADSWORT H

AUSTRALIA • BRAZIL • CANADA • MEXICO • SINGAPORE • SPAIN

UNITED KINGDOM • UNITED STATES

THOIVISOI M

Publisher: Holly J. Allen

Senior Development Editor: Renee Deljon

Assistant Editor: Darlene Amidon-Brent

Editorial Assistant: Sarah Allen

Senior Technology Project Manager: Jeanette Wiseman

Marketing Manager: Mark Orr

Marketing Assistant: Alexandra Iran

Marketing Communications Manager: Shemika Britt

Project Manager, Editorial Production: Jennifer Klos

Creative Director: Rob Hugel

Executive Art Director: Maria Epes

Print Buyer: Karen Hunt

Permissions Editor: Joohee Lee

Production Service: Ideas to Images

Cover and Text Designer: Gary Palmatier, Ideas to Images

Art Editor: Gary Palmatier, Ideas to Images

Photo Researcher: Roberta Broyer

Copy Editor: Elizabeth von Radics

Illustrator: Ideas to Images

Compositor: Robaire Ream, Ideas to Images

Cover Printer: Phoenix Color Corp

Printer: R.R. Donnelley/Willard

© 2006 Thomson Wadsworth, a part of The Thomson

Corporation. Thomson, the Star logo, and Wadsworth are

trademarks used herein under license.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered

by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any

form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution,

information storage and retrieval systems, or in any other

manner—without the written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 09 08 07 06 05

ExamView® and ExamView Pro® are registered trademarks

of FSCreations, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of the

Microsoft Corporation used herein under license. Macintosh

and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple

Computer, Inc. Used herein under license.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005927283

Thomson Higher Education

10 Davis Drive

Belmont, CA 94002-3098

USA

For more information about our products, contact us at:

Thomson Learning Academic Resource Center

1-800-423-0563

For permission to use material from this text or product,

submit a request online at http://www.thomsonrights.com.

Any additional questions about permissions can be

submitted by e-mail to [email protected].

Student Edition: ISBN 0-534-64727-8

International Student Edition: ISBN 0-495-00908-3

*

-

WADSW O RT H

Television Production Handbook, Ninth Edition

Herbert Zettl

Brief Contents

1 The Television Production Process 2

1.1 What Television Production Is All About 4

1 . 2 Studios, Master Control, and Support Areas 18

2 Analog and Digital Television 26

2 .1 Analog and Digital Television 28

2 . 2 Scanning Systems 36

3 The Television Camera 4 0

3 . 1 How Television Cameras Work 42

3 . 2 From Light to Video Image 63

4 Lenses 6 8

4 . 1 What Lenses Are 70

4 . 2 What Lenses See 82

5 Camera Mounting Equipment 88

5.1 Standard Camera Mounts and Movements 90

5 . 2 Special Camera Mounts 98

6 Camera Operation and Picture Composition 10 4

6 .1 Working the Camera 106

6 . 2 Framing Effective Shots 115

7 Lighting 12 6

7 .1 Lighting Instruments and Lighting Controls 128

7 . 2 Light Intensity, Lamps, and Color Media 150

8 Techniques of Television Lighting 156

8.1 Lighting in the Studio 158

8 . 2 Lighting in the Field 178

9 Audio: Sound Pickup 188

9 .1 How Microphones Hear 190

9 . 2 How Microphones Work 209

10 Audio: Sound Control 21 8

10.1 Sound Controls and Recording for Studio

and Field Operations 220

10. 2 Postproduction and Sound Aesthetics 235

11 Switching, or Instantaneous Editing 24 2

11.1 How Switchers Work 244

11.2 What Switchers Do 254

12 Video-recording and Storage Systems 260

12.1 How Video Recording Works 262

12. 2 How Video Recording Is Done 276

13 Postproduction Editing 284

13.1 How Postproduction Editing Works 286

13. 2 Making Editing Decisions 308

14 Visual Effects 32 0

14.1 Electronic Effects and How to Use Them 322

14. 2 Nonelectronic Effects and How to Use Them 337

15 Design 34 2

15.1 Designing and Using Television Graphics 344

15. 2 Scenery and Props 355

16 Production People 366

16.1 What Production People Do 368

16. 2 How to Do Makeup and What to Wear 386

17 Producing 39 0

17.1 What Producing Is All About 392

17. 2 Dealing with Schedules, Legal Matters, and Ratings 407

18 The Director in Preproduction 41 2

18.1 How a Director Prepares 414

18. 2 Moving from Script to Screen 431

19 The Director in Production and Postproduction 44 4

19.1 Multicamera Control Room Directing 446

19. 2 Single-camera Directing, Postproduction,

and Timing 464

20 Field Production and Big Remotes 47 0

20.1 ENG, EFP, and Big Remotes 472

20. 2 Covering Major Events 487

v i

Contents

Photo Credits xxiii

About the Author xxv

Preface xxvi

CHAPTE R 1 The Television Production Process 2

SECTIO N 1.1 What Television Production Is All About 4

BASIC TELEVISION SYSTEM 4

EXPANDED STUDIO AND ELECTRONIC FIELD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS 4

System Elements of Studio Production 4

Studio System in Action 5

System Elements of Field Production 7

PRODUCTION ELEMENTS 8

Camera 8

Lighting 9

Audio 10

Switching 12

Videotape Recording 13

Tapeless Systems 14

Postproduction Editing 14

Special Effects 16

SECTIO N 1.2 Studios, Master Control, and Support Areas 18

TELEVISION STUDIO 18

Physical Layout 18

Major Installations 19

STUDIO CONTROL ROOM 20

Program Control 21

Switching 22

Audio Control 22

Lighting Control 22

Video Control 23

viii Contents

3

MASTER CONTROL 23

Program Input 23

Program Storage 23

Program Retrieval 24

STUDIO SUPPORT AREAS 24

Scenery and Properties 24

Makeup and Dressing Rooms 25

CHAPTE R 2 Analog and Digital Television 26

SECTIO N 2.1 Analog and Digital Television 28

BASIC IMAGE CREATION 28

BASIC COLORS OF THE VIDEO DISPLAY 28

WHAT DIGITAL IS ALL ABOUT 28

Why Digital? 30

Difference Between Analog and Digital 30

Digitization Process 30

BENEFITS OF DIGITAL TELEVISION 32

Quality 32

Computer Compatibility and Flexibility 33

Signal Transport 33

Compression 34

Aspect Ratio 34

SECTIO N 2.2 Scanning Systems 36

INTERLACED AND PROGRESSIVE SCANNING 36

Interlaced Scanning System 36

Progressive Scanning System 36

DTV SYSTEMS 37

480p System 37

720p System 37

1080i System 38

FLAT-PANEL DISPLAYS 38

Plasma Display Panel 38

Liquid Crystal Display 38

CHAPTE R J The Television Camera 40

SECTIO N 3.1 How Television Cameras Work 42

PARTS OF THE CAMERA 42

FROM LIGHT TO VIDEO SIGNAL 42

Beam Splitter 42

Imaging Device 43

Contents ix

CAMERA CHAIN 45

Camera Control Unit 45

Sync Generator and Power Supply 46

TYPES OF CAMERAS 46

Analog Versus Digital Cameras 46

Studio Cameras 47

ENG/EFP Cameras and Camcorders 48

Consumer Camcorders 48

Prosumer Camcorders 50

ELECTRONIC CHARACTERISTICS 50

Aspect Ratio 51

White Balance 51

Resolution 52

Operating Light Level 55

Gain 55

Video Noise and Signal-to-noise Ratio 56

Image Blur and Electronic Shutter 56

Smear and Moire 56

Contrast 57

Shading 57

OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 57

Operational Items and Controls: Studio Cameras 57

Operational Items: ENG/EFP Cameras and Camcorders 59

External Operational Controls: ENG/EFP Cameras and Camcorders 62

SECTIO N 3.2 From Light to Video Image 63

CCD PROCESS 63

NATURE OF COLOR 64

Color Attributes 64

Color Mixing 64

CHROMINANCE AND LUMINANCE CHANNELS 65

Chrominance Channel 65

Luminance Channel 65

Encoder 66

ELECTRONIC CINEMA 66

CHAPTE R A Lenses 68

SECTIO N 4.1 What Lenses Are 70

TYPES OF ZOOM LENSES 70

Studio and Field Lenses 70

Zoom Range 70

Lens Format 72

X Contents

OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LENSES 72

Focal Length 73

Focus 74

Light Transmission: Iris, Aperture, and /-stop 75

Depth of Field 76

OPERATIONAL CONTROLS 78

Zoom Control 78

Digital Zoom Lens 80

Focus Control 80

SECTIO N 4.2 What Lenses See 82

HOW LENSES SEE THE WORLD 82

Wide-angle Lens 82

Normal Lens 84

Narrow-angle, or Telephoto, Lens 85

CHAPTE R 5 Camera Mounting Equipment 88

SECTIO N 5.1 Standard Camera Mounts and Movements 90

BASIC CAMERA MOUNTS 90

Handheld and Shoulder-mounted Camera 90

Monopod and Tripod 90

Studio Pedestal 92

CAMERA MOUNTING (PAN-AND-TILT) HEADS 94

Fluid Heads 94

Cam Heads 95

Plate and Wedge Mount 95

CAMERA MOVEMENTS 95

SECTIO N 5.2 Special Camera Mounts 98

SPECIAL MOUNTING DEVICES 98

High Hat 98

Beanbag and Other Car Mounts 98

Steadicam 98

Short and Long Jibs 100

Studio Crane 100

ROBOTIC CAMERA MOUNTS 100

Robotic Pedestal 101

Stationary Robotic Camera Mount 102

Rail System 102

Contents X I

CHAPTE R U Camera Operation and Picture Composition 104

SECTIO N 6.1 Working the Camera J0 6

WORKING THE CAMCORDER AND THE EFP CAMERA 106

Some Basic Camera "Don'ts" 106

Before the Shoot 107

During the Shoot 108

After the Shoot 111

WORKING THE STUDIO CAMERA 112

Before the Show 112

During the Show 113

After the Show 114

SECTIO N 6.2 Framing Effective Shots 11 5

SCREEN SIZE AND FIELD OF VIEW 115

Screen Size 115

Field of View 115

FRAMING A SHOT: STANDARD TV AND HDTV ASPECT RATIOS 116

Dealing with Height and Width 116

Framing Close-ups 117

Headroom 118

Noseroom and Leadroom 119

Closure 120

DEPTH 123

SCREEN MOTION 123

CHAPTE R / Lighting 126

SECTIO N 7.1 Lighting Instruments and Lighting Controls 128

STUDIO LIGHTING INSTRUMENTS 128

Spotlights 128

Floodlights 130

FIELD LIGHTING INSTRUMENTS 133

Portable Spotlights 133

Portable Floodlights 136

Diffusing Portable Spotlights 138

Camera Lights 139

LIGHTING CONTROL EQUIPMENT 140

Mounting Devices 140

Directional Controls 144

Intensity Controls: Instrument Size, Distance, and Beam 146

Intensity Controls: Electronic Dimmers 147

Contents

SECTIO N 7.2 Light Intensity, Lamps, and Color Media JLiQ.

LIGHT INTENSITY 150

Foot-candles and Lux 150

Incident Light 150

Reflected Light 151

CALCULATING LIGHT INTENSITY 151

OPERATING LIGHT LEVEL: BASELIGHT 152

Baselight Levels 152

TYPES OF LAMPS 153

Incandescent 153

Fluorescent 153

HMI 153

COLOR MEDIA 153

How to Use Color Media 154

Mixing Color Gels 154

CHAPTE R 0 Techniques of Television Lighting 156

SECTIO N 8.1 Lighting in the Studio 158

QUALITY OF LIGHT 158

Directional Light and Diffused Light 158

COLOR TEMPERATURE 158

How to Control Color Temperature 159

LIGHTING FUNCTIONS 160

Terminology 161

Specific Functions of Main Light Sources 161

SPECIFIC LIGHTING TECHNIQUES 165

Flat Lighting 165

Continuous-action Lighting 166

Large-area Lighting 167

High-contrast Lighting 167

Cameo Lighting 169

Silhouette Lighting 170

Chroma-key Area Lighting 170

Controlling Eye and Boom Shadows 171

CONTRAST 172

Contrast Ratio 173

Measuring Contrast 173

Controlling Contrast 173

BALANCING LIGHT INTENSITIES 174

Key-to-back-light Ratio 174

Key-to-fill-light Ratio 174

LIGHT PLOT 175

Contents xiii

OPERATION OF STUDIO LIGHTS 176

Safety 176

Preserving Lamps and Power 176

Using a Studio Monitor 176

SECTIO N 8.2 Lighting in the Field 17 J

SAFETY 178

Electric Shock 178

Cables 178

Fire Hazard 178

ENG/EFP LIGHTING 178

Shooting in Bright Sunlight 179

Shooting in Overcast Daylight 180

Shooting in Indoor Light 180

Shooting at Night 184

LOCATION SURVEY 184

Power Supply 185

CHAPTE R z Audio: Sound Pickup 188

SECTIO N 9.1 How Microphones Hear 190

ELECTRONIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROPHONES 190

Sound-generating Elements 190

Pickup Patterns 191

Microphone Features 192

OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROPHONES 193

Lavaliere Microphones 193

Hand Microphones 195

Boom Microphones 197

Headset Microphones 201

Wireless Microphones 202

Desk Microphones 203

Stand Microphones 205

Hanging Microphones 206

Hidden Microphones 207

Long-distance Microphones 208

SECTIO N 9.2 How Microphones Work 209

SOUND-GENERATING ELEMENTS 209

Dynamic Microphones 209

Condenser Microphones 209

Ribbon Microphones 209

Sound Quality 210

SPECIFIC MICROPHONE FEATURES 210

Impedance 210

Frequency Response 210

Balanced and Unbalanced Mies and Cables, and Audio Connectors 210

xiv Contents

MIC SETUPS FOR MUSIC PICKUP 214

Microphone Setup for Singer and Acoustic Guitar 214

Microphone Setup for Singer and Piano 214

Microphone Setup for Small Rock Group and Direct Insertion 215

MICROPHONE USE SPECIFIC TO ENG/EFP 215

CHAPTE R IID U Audio: Sound Control 215

SECTIO N 10.1 Sound Controls and Recording for Studio and Field Operations 220

PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT FOR STUDIO AUDIO 220

Audio Console 220

Patchbay 224

Audio-recording Systems 225

Analog Recording Systems 225

Tape-based Digital Recording Systems 227

Tapeless Recording Systems 228

AUDIO CONTROL IN THE STUDIO 229

Audio Control Booth 229

Basic Audio Operation 230

PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT AND BASIC OPERATION FOR FIELD AUDIO 232

Keeping Sounds Separate 233

Audio Mixer 233

AUDIO CONTROL IN THE FIELD 233

Using the AGC in ENG and EFP 233

EFP Mixing 233

SECTIO N 10.2 Postproduction and Sound Aesthetics 235

AUDIO POSTPRODUCTION ACTIVITIES 235

Linear and Nonlinear Sound Editing 235

Correcting Audio Problems 236

Postproduction Mixing 236

Controlling Sound Quality 236

AUDIO POSTPRODUCTION ROOM 237

Digital Audio Workstation 237

Analog Audio Synchronizer 238

Keyboards and Sampler 238

Automatic Dialogue Replacement 238

SOUND AESTHETICS 239

Environment 239

Figure/Ground 239

Perspective 239

Continuity 240

Energy 240

STEREO AND SURROUND SOUND 240

Stereo Sound 240

Surround Sound 241