Of course, it's desirable to have audio and video equipment to work with -- either personal equipment or equipment provided in a school or lab setting.

Some equipment may not be available to you. That's okay; it's important to understand the equipment and techniques that are part of larger production facilities.

For one thing, you may suddenly be confronted with an internship or job opportunity where this knowledge is essential. Or, you could easily get asked about some of these things in a job interview.

Camerapersons, writers, directors, producers, and even on-camera talent find that having a solid understanding of the tools and techniques of the entire process makes a major difference in the success of productions -- not to mention their careers.

In television production, as in most of today's high-tech areas, knowledge is power.

Enough of the sales pitch. Let's get down to business.

A Bird's Eye View of the

Production Process

Let's take a whirlwind tour of the production process. But unlike a whirlwind tour of Europe (if it's Tuesday, this must be Barcelona), we'll come back to these people and places later. For now, let's take a quick look at the production process from the standpoint of the key people.

We'll start by thinking big -- big productions, that is -- because many of these things can be scaled down, combined, or eliminated in smaller productions.  

Who Does What and Why

This list is long, but have you noticed the lengthy credit lists for major films and TV programs?

The person in charge of launching entire production is generally the ▲ producer.

He or she comes up with the program concept, lays out the budget for the production, and makes the major decisions. This person is the team leader, the one who works with the writers, hires the director, decides on the key talent, and guides the general direction of the production.

In smaller productions, the producer may also take charge of the more mundane activities. And in small productions, the director may handle the producer's responsibilities. In this case, the combined job title becomes (want to guess?), ▲producer-director.

Some productions may also have an associate producer who sets up schedules for the talent and crew and who generally assists the producer.

On a major production, one of the producer's first jobs is to hire a writer to write the script (the document that tells everyone what to do and say). The script is like a written plan or blueprint for the production.

The producer will next consider the key talent for the production. In general, the talent includes actors, reporters, hosts, guests, and off-camera narrators -- anyone whose voice is heard or who appears on camera.

Sometimes talent is broken down into three sub-categories: actors (who portray other people in dramatic productions), performers (who appear on camera in nondramatic roles), and announcers (who generally don't appear on camera).

In a large production, the producer will hire the director.

The director is in charge of working out preproduction (before the production) details, coordinating the activities of the production staff and on-camera talent, working out camera and talent positions on the set, selecting the camera shots during production, and supervising postproduction (after production) work.

In other words, once the producer sets things in motion, the director is in charge of taking the script from the beginning to the very end of the production process.

Assisting a director in the control room is typically a technical director who operates the video switcher. (A rather elaborate version is shown on the right.)

The technical director, or TD, is also responsible for coordinating the technical aspects of the production.

One or more production assistants (PAs) may be hired to help the producer and director. Among other things, PAs keep notes on ongoing production needs and changes.

The lighting director (LD) designs the lighting plan, arranges for the lighting equipment, and sets up and checks the lighting.

As we'll see, lighting is a key element in the overall look of a production.

Some productions have a set designer who, along with the producer and director, designs the set and supervises its construction, painting, and installation.

The makeup person, with the help of cosmetics, hair spray, etc., sees that the talent look their best -- or their worst, if that's what the script calls for.

Makeup is just one of the areas where a link will take you to advanced information. (We'll discuss the meaning of the colored squares below).

It should be emphasized that specific responsibilities of production personnel will vary widely, depending on the production facility. In Europe, and in particular at the BBC (British Broadcasting System) in London,  these distinctions are made.

Before you move on to Part Two of this module, let me call your attention to some things:

First, you'll notice the Site Search / Key Terms link at the end of each module. This link is useful in finding terms and phrases anywhere on the site.

Links will also take you to about 100 associated files intended to add to the basic information presented in these modules. (The makeup link above is an example.)

For further readings on any topic click on the link at the bottom of each module for a bibliography of additional readings (the hardcopy type).

For important background information on the television medium, check out the series of modules starting here.

After you visit any of these links, you can either close the window that pops up or click on the back arrow at the top of your browser or the "close window" button to get back to the module you were reading.

These modules are available on independent Internet servers in the United States and Brazil. In case you get lost in cyberspace at some point, you might want to make a note of the following independent sites in the U.S. where these materials can be found:

• http://www.CyberCollege.com/tvp_ind.htm
• http://www.InternetCampus.com/tvp_ind.htm
• http://www.InternetCampus.org/tvp_ind.htm

If you find that one site bogs down -- we've all known the Internet to do that on occasion -- try another site. All these sites carry the same TV Production and ▲Mass Media modules.

The "Quick Quiz" button at the end of each chapter takes you to a very short interactive matching game that acts as a review of some of the major concepts in the chapter (and checks to see if you really were awake while you were reading it!).

Green, Yellow, Blue, and Red Readings

And now to explain those little colored squares before most links.

A green square ( ) in front of a link indicates information that's important to what's being discussed. We cover this information in the interactive tests and puzzles. Linked information within these readings is not covered in the tests.

A yellow square ( ) indicates helpful background reading. This material is not included on the interactive tests, but instructors may include the readings on their own tests.

A blue square ( ) indicates technical information designed for advanced classes and professionals; again, this material may or may not be required by an instructor (assuming you are in a classroom setting).

A red square ( ) indicates external links with related information not included on the interactive tests -- but your instructor, of course, has the option of asking that you read this information. Please note that the links to these external sources should in no way be considered endorsements, and no compensation is received by CyberCollege or the InternetCampus for including these links. Unlike the links which go to information on this site, we have no control over the content of these external links.

( ▲ ) A black triangle indicates pop-up information directly related to the discussion. Just mouse-over the blue link that follows the symbol.

NOTE: If you find that some of the interactive features on this site don't work, you are probably using an old browser or you have JavaScript disabled.

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* Sites like YouTube have become a major force in today's entertainment, news, information, and politics. During the run-up to the 2008 presidential election YouTube videos related to the candidates (including the "Obama Girl" on the right) were accessed 2.3 billion times.  Very much in contrast to the frivolity of the Obama girl is the dramatic example of how the power of video -- even a 40-second cell phone video -- can affect people around the world.  This is detailed in this tragic account of a young woman named Neda. Neda's fiancée took this photo shortly before her death on a street in Iran in June 2009. The link above will take you to a more detailed account of Neda and some of today's political realities. Her story is an example of the power of video and how the major broadcast and cable news networks regularly run viewer supplied footage from YouTube, FaceBook and similar Internet sites. It also proves that one person can make a difference in the world -- if that person has a video camera and knows how to use it.