MSB Vocabulary Fun-Time

 
VOCAB SET #1 (TV Production Basics):
* Demographics: Audience research factors concerned with such items as age, gender, marital status, and income.
* Target Audience: The audience selected or desired to receive a specific message.
* Desired Process Message: The desired message the viewer should receive in the process of watching a television program, video, or segment. Also called program objective. (For example, a program objective might be “to warn teenage drivers not to drink and drive.”)
* Actual Process Message: The actual message the viewer receives from watching a program, video, or segment. (The closer the defined and actual process messages match, the more successful the production is.)
* Treatment: Brief narrative description of a television program or video.
* Script: Written document that tells what the program is about, who is in it, what is supposed to happen, and how the audience shall see and hear the event.
* Storyboard: A series of sketches of the key visualization points of an event.
* Floor Plan: A drawing of the studio floor, showing the walls, the main doors, the scenery, etc.
* Location Sketch: Essentially a “floor plan” of a field location showing the major elements of the production environment.
* Walk-Through: Orientation session with the production crew (technical walk-through) and talent (talent walk-through) wherein the director walks through the set and explains the key actions.
* Production Meeting: A meeting held at various times throughout the production, sometimes with just technical staff, sometimes including talent, to make sure all team members are clear on their respective job duties and issues of note relating to the given project/production.
 
 
VOCAB SET #2 (Behind the Scenes):
* Executive Producer: In charge of one or several program series. Manages budget and coordinates with client, station management, advertising agencies, financial supporters, and talent and writers’ agents.
* Producer: In charge of an individual production. Is responsible for all personnel working on the production and for coordinating technical and nontechnical production elements.
* Director: In charge of directing talent and technical operations. Is ultimately responsible for transforming a script into an effective video presentation. The television director tells camera operators what to focus on (and what shots to prepare/adjust), and quickly calls out commands to let the technical director and other control room personnel know what needs to happen at any given moment (as well as what shots/graphics/etc. need to be prepared for an upcoming moment). The television director is also expected to maintain order among the staff in the control room, on the set, and elsewhere.
* Technical Director (TD): Works in the production control room of a tv studio and operates the video switcher and associated devices. The TD will switch video sources, perform live digital effects and transitions, and insert pre-recorded material, graphics, and titles as instructed by the director.
* Production Assistant (PA): Assists producer and director during actual production.
* Floor Manager: In charge of all activities on the studio floor. Directs talent, relays director’s cues to talent, and supervises floor personnel. Also responsible for setting up scenery and dressing the set.
* Camera Operator (CO): Operates cameras; often does lighting for simple shows.
* Audio Technician: In charge of all audio operations.
* Lighting Director: In charge of lighting the set and coordinating any lighting changes as needed (like changing between the proper lighting setup for our news desk and green screen areas, for instance).
* Editor: Operates postproduction editing equipment. Often makes or assists in creative editing decisions.
 
 
VOCAB SET #3 (Action On the Studio Floor):
* Talent: Collective name for all performers and actors who appear regularly on television (on camera). Talent in the tv production world is not necessarily a synonym for ability like it would be in almost any other setting.
* Blocking: Carefully worked-out movement and actions by the talent and for all mobile television equipment.
* Cue Card: A large, hand-lettered card that contains copy, usually held next to the camera lens.
* Teleprompter: A device that projects moving (usually computer-generated) text over a camera lens so that the talent can read it without losing eye contact with the viewer.
* Character Generator (CG): A device or software that produces static or animated text (such as news crawls, lower-third titles, credit rolls, etc.) for keying into a video stream. Character generators are computer-based and many can generate graphics as well as text.
* Floor Manager Cues: A set of standard hand signals to relay the director’s commands to the on-the-air talent.
* Stretch: A cue from the floor manager that essentially tells the talent, “Slow down. Too much time left. Fill until emergency over.”
* Speed Up: A cue from the floor manager that essentially tells the talent, “Accelerate what you are doing. You are going too slowly.”
* Wind Up: A cue from the floor manager that essentially tells the talent, “Finish up what you are doing. Come to an end.”
* Speak Up: A cue from the floor manager that essentially tells the talent, “Performer is talking too softly for present conditions.”
* Tone Down: A cue from the floor manager that essentially tells the talent, “Performer is too loud or too enthusiastic for the occasion.”
 
 
VOCAB SET #4 (Editing, Etc.):
* Insert Editing: Inserting shots in an already existing recording, without affecting the shots on either side.
* Cutaway/L-Cut: A shot of an object or event that is peripherally connected with the overall event.
* B-Roll: Footage filmed specifically to be used for cutaways/L-cuts.
* Nonlinear Editing: Using a computer for instant random access to and easy rearrangements of shots. The video and audio information is stored in digital form on high-capacity computer hard drives.
* Key: An electronic effect. Keying means the cutting in of an image (often lettering) into a background image.
* Chroma Keying: Special key effect that uses color (usually blue or green…like our green screen) for the background, which is replaced by the background image during the key.
* Cut: An instantaneous change from one image (shot) to another.
* Dissolve: A gradual transition from shot to shot.
* Fade: A transition in which the picture either goes gradually to black (fade-out) or appears gradually on the screen from black (fade-in).
* Continuity: Establishing and maintaining consistency in subject identification, subject placement, movement, color, and sound, which should help maintain the viewer’s mental map of where things should be or where they should move.
 
 
VOCAB SET #5 (Framing):
* Bust Shot: Framing of a person from the upper torso to the top of the head.
* Close-up (CU): Object or any part of it seen at close range and framed tightly. The close-up can be extreme (extreme close-up) or rather loose (medium close-up).
* Extreme Close-up (ECU): Shows the object with very tight framing.
* Extreme Long Shot (ELS): Shows the object from a great distance. Also called establishing shot.
* Long Shot (LS): Object seen from far away or framed very loosely.
* Medium Shot (MS): Object seen from a medium distance. Covers any framing between a long shot and a close-up.
* Knee Shot: Framing of a person from approximately the knees up.
* Over-the-Shoulder Shot (O/S): Camera looks over the camera-near person’s shoulder (shoulder and back of head included in shot) at another person.
* Cross-Shot (X/S): Similar to the over-the-shoulder shot, except that the camera-near person is completely out of the shot.
* Two-Shot: Framing of two people.
* Three-Shot: Framing of three people.
* Headroom: The space left between the top of the head and the upper screen edge.
* Leadroom: The space left in front of a person moving toward the edge of the screen.
* Focus: A picture is in focus when it appears sharp and clear on-screen.
* Auto-focus: Automated feature wherein the camera focuses on what it senses to be your target object.
* Field of View: The portion of a scene visible through a particular lens.
 
 
VOCAB SET #6 (Camera Support & Movement):
* Cinematography: The art or technique of motion-picture photography. It is the technique of film (or video) photography, including both the shooting and development of the film (or video footage).
* Fluid Head: Most popular mounting head for lightweight cameras. Balance is provided by springs. Because its moving parts operate in a heavy fluid, it allows very smooth pans and tilts.
* Pan: Horizontal turning of the camera.
* Tilt: To point the camera up or down.
* Tripod: A three-legged camera mount.
* Spreader: A triangular base mount that provides stability and locks the tripod in place and prevents the legs from spreading too far.
* Zoom: To change the lens gradually to a narrow-angle position (zoom-in) or to a wide-angle position (zoom-out) while the camera remains stationary.
* Dolly: Camera support (on wheels) that enables the camera to move in all directions.
* Jib: A boom device with a camera on one end and a counterweight on the other. It operates like a see-saw, but with the balance point located close to the counterweight, so that the camera end of the arm can move through an extended arc. A jib permits the camera to be moved vertically, horizontally, or a combination of the two. A jib is usually mounted on a tripod for support.
 
 
VOCAB SET #7 (Lighting):
* Barn Doors: Metal flaps in front of a lighting instrument that control the spread of the light beam.
* Baselight: Even, nondirectional (diffused) light necessary for the camera to operate optimally. Also called base.
* Diffused Light: Light that illuminates a relatively large area with an indistinct light beam. Diffused light, created by floodlights, produces soft shadows.
* Directional Light: Light that illuminates a relatively small area with a distinct light beam. Directional light, produced by spotlights, creates harsh, clearly defined shadows.
* Spotlight: A lighting instrument that produces directional, relatively undiffused light with a relatively well-defined beam edge.
* Floodlight: Lighting instrument that produces diffused light with a relatively undefined beam edge.
* Gel: Generic name for the color filters put in front of spotlights or floodlights to give the light beam a specific hue.
* White Balance: The adjustments of the color circuits in the camera to produce a white color in the given lighting conditions.
* Key Light: Principal source of illumination.
* Fill Light: Additional light on the opposite side of the camera from the key light to illuminate shadow areas and thereby reduce falloff. Usually done with floodlights.
* Lens Diaphragm: Adjustable lens-opening mechanism that controls the amount of light passing through a lens. Also called iris and diaphragm.
 
 
VOCAB SET #8 (Audio/Sound):
* Audio: The sound portion of television and its production. Technically, the electronic reproduction of audible sound.
* Microphone: A small, portable assembly for the pickup and conversion of sound into electric energy. Also called mic.
* Pickup Pattern: The territory around the microphone within which the microphone can “hear well,” that is, has optimal sound pickup.
* Omnidirectional: Pickup pattern in which the microphone can pick up sounds well from all directions.
* Unidirectional: Pickup pattern in which the microphone can pick up sounds better from the front than from the sides or back.
* Lavaliere Microphone: A small microphone that can be clipped onto clothing. Also called a lav.
* Shotgun Microphone: A highly directional microphone for picking up sounds over a great distance.
* Boom Microphone: A directional microphone attached to a pole. Primarily used in film and television productions. Can be used for small conversations or even group conversations, as the mic can be positioned (and adjusted) so that everyone’s voice can be heard.
* Wireless Microphone: A system that transmits audio signals over the air, rather than through microphone cables. The mic is attached to a small transmitter, and the signals are received by a small receiver connected to the audio console or recording device.
* XLR: Standard audio connector for professional equipment. (We use these three-pronged audio cables to set up the mics for our daily productions.)
 
 
VOCAB SET #9 (Technical Terms):
* Aspect Ratio: Width-to-height proportions of the television screen and therefore of television pictures. Standard definition tv screens (relatively square shaped) are 4 units wide by 3 units high (or 4x3). High definition tv screens (more of a rectangle shape) are 16 units wide by 9 units high (or 16x9).
* Hue: One of the three basic color attributes; hue is the color itself—red, green, yellow, and so on.
* Saturation: The attribute that describes a color’s richness or strength.
* Brightness: The attribute that determines how dark or light a color appears on a monochrome television screen or how much light the color reflects. Also called lightness or luminance.
* Resolution: The characteristic of a camera that determines the sharpness of the picture received. The lower a camera’s resolution, the less fine picture detail it can show.
* Charge-Coupled Device (CCD): The imaging device in a television camera. Also called the chip. The CCD consists of a great number of imaging sensing elements, called pixels, that translate the optical (light) image into an electronic video signal.
* Pixel: A single imaging element (like the single dot in a newspaper picture) that can be identified by a computer. The more pixels, the higher the picture quality. Ideally, the naked eye should never see the parts (or pixels) that make up the picture, but only the final result (the picture itself). So if we say that something looks “pixelated,” it’s a term that has a negative connotation, meaning that our eyes are able to see the image elements (resulting in an unclear picture).
* Tally Light: Red light on the camera and/or inside the viewfinder, indicating when the camera is on the air.

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