Final Exam Study

media

The plural form of a word - “medium”, an
intervening agency, means or instrument

means of communication

a communication tool or outlet used to store and
deliver information or data. A delivery vehicle
for your message.

Production Process

1. Pre-production

2. Production

3. Post-production

Concept and Research

• ideation, intention, narrative, and audience form the foundation

• Analyze genre, style and location. context and time of production

Development

1. The big idea

2. type of video/audio

3. audience and outreach

4. budget and end goal

type of content determines

the format in which the content is going to be produced

logline

• Concentrated summary of the concept

• One or two sentences long

What does the logline contain?

The protagonist, their goal, blockage or antagonist, and what is at stake

Synopsis/ Outline

• One page

• accompanies the log line as part of pitching a concept to studio executives

• Allows writer to construct a general list of sequential scenes and moments in the order that they will be written within a screenplay

Synopsis includes:

1. Key characteristics and their goals

2. conflict/ stake

3. setting

4. turning points

5. midpoint

6. climax

7. resolution

Treatment

• Highly visual, but concise, narrative presentation of characters and events

• written as a short story in present tense

• should present the entire story including the ending

• 5 pages or more, depending on length of script

treatment includes

• title

• character descriptions and setups

• all plot points

• each major scene and turning points

• major climax

• resolution

• snippets of dialogues (key lines)

script

• written version of a film or television program

• dialogue, action, setup

Screenplays written in ___ tense

present

Format

• font= Courier, Courier New, Courier Final Draft

• Font size- 12 point font

• fixed pitch font

Rule of thumb

One script page translates, on an average, into one minute of finished film

Fixed-pitch font

every letter occupies the same amount of horizontal space on the line (case independent)

Fonts used for typing scripts is ____ pitch

10

Production Scheme

A document that determines if the production is going as planned. Tine management essential for every crew member

10 pitch

10 characters per horizontal inch and 12 point which allows six lines of type per vertical inch

Script

Production Schedule

Document that determines if the production is going as planned. Time management is essential for every crew member

Production Schedule includes:

• location

• Equipment

• people needed

• contact info

• date and time

• scene/shot

Audience analysis

• An accurate estimate of the size, demographic makeup, and needs of a prospective audience is essential for the development of workable funded projects and marketable media ideas

• Choice of medium

• Size of audience

• budjet justification

• audience expectations

• choice of medium format

(T/F) Audiences differ in size and demographics

T

Audience Demographics

• age

• gender

• income

• educaton

• culture

• religion

• language

• B/c of ____ and ____, most concepts of media production distribution and exhibition had to be reconsidered and reconstructed for producers to remain competitive, gain funding for productions, and reach target audiences

low cost; accessibility

Detailed audience info can facilitate later stages of the production process by:

giving the audience input into production decisions (gives scientific, statistical validity to production decisions)

Ratings (rankings)

• the percentage of all television households – that is, of all households with a television set regardless of whether that set is on or off at a particular time- that are turned to a specific program.

• Example: 80 million tv households w/ 20 million turned to specific program= rating of 25 (25% of total tv pop.)

Shares

• the percentage of television households with the set turned on at a specific time that are actually watching a specific program

• EX: If 20 million households are watching something on TV at a particular time and 10 million of those 20 mil households are watching the same program, that program has an audience share of 50 (50% of viewing audience)

TAMI

• a new measuring system in development to include an audience’s participation in all media simultaneously– broadcasting, cable, satellite, Internet, and mobile use– as a total research value

Examples given to a test audience

• Title of the project

• A list of the key talent

• The nature of the subject matter,or a synopsis of the story line

The best predictor of feature film success

advertising penetration

advertising penetration

• the number of people who’ve heard about a project– usually through advertising in a variety of media.

(T/F) Some television programs and commercials will be dropped and others aired solely on the basis of audience pretesting. 

t

(T/F) Story lines, character portrayals, and editing are sometimes  changed after audience testing.

T

Media production requires both ____ and ____ technologies

analog; digital

Every electronic signal begins as an ___ signal and ends as an ___ signal, since the human eye and ear cannot directly translate a ___ signal

analog; analog; digital

Analog signals

• The signals that create light and sound

• The types of equipment that make up optics in lenses and cameras, physical graphics, sets, and the human form all exist as alalog forms

____ will slowly disappear as the primary means of recording, distribution, and storage of media systems before discs and film disappear as a useful and permanent medium

Tape

Four areas of consideration that must be contemplated to make key decisions between the birth of the original production concept and the first rollout of equipment

• Which distribution method will be used?

• Which production format will be used?

• Which electronic media will be used?

• Which genre will tell the story best?

AM-FM Terrestrial Radio (Big 10 of dist.)

• Terrestrial radio programming consists of music, news, public affairs, documentaries, and dramas, programming aimed at the largest possible audience. 

• Little niche/ specialized programming on standard radio channela

• Includes High def. (hd) digital

HD- Radio (IBOC) (Big 10)

• In-band on-channel (IBOC) and HD radio are trademark brands of digital radio broadcasting that allows for multichannels to be broadcast on the same primary channel

  • Primary audience= car driver

Mobile (Big 10)

• Rapidly expanding range of mini digital-based equipment designed to provide the same services fixed equipment provides in sending and receiving telephone messages, internet info, photos, video, audio, and streaming programs

• Use wireless public systems to deliver a wide variety of mass communication programming

Satellite (Big 10)

• Used to feed signals from central headends to a wide area of recieving antennas aimed at the satellite

• Competes directly with cable, offering the same program channels, but may provide local stations to specific areas

Terrestrial Television (Big 10)

Digital channels allow broadcast television to carry more than one line of programming simultaneously on the assigned channel, opening the possibility of new and more varied programming opportunities

Cable/Telcos (Big 10)

• Cable and telephone companies provide direct, wired video, telephone, and Internet connections to their subscribers

• Cable stations expanded to creating many of their own channels; telephone companies originally served only to provide person-to-person telephone connections but expanded into digital world by also offering Internet services and television channels

• Both telephone and cable companies now compete head-to-head in all three of their areas of service– telephone, television, and Internet services – and they complete w/ satellite for programming services

Magnetic media are ___; Optical media are ____(Disk/Disc Big 10)

“disks”; “discs”

Many of the purposes and uses of disc/disks have been replaced by ___

flash drives

Internet (Big 10)

The Internet now and in the future will hold a major position in distribution of all forms of media content, whether professionally created or from the cameras, mics, computers, and minds of amateurs

Because of their pervasive distribution, the amount of money spent to create them, the number of people employed in the industry, and the amount earned by the ___ companies, ___ must be considered a legitimate distribution system (Big 10)

Games

Motion Pictures (Big 10)

• Distribution system w/ the longest history 

• The medium is “film” and the industry that distributes the final product is called the “motion picture” industry

• Video and digital visual productions often are labeled by the print media as “film” when such systems should be labeled “motion pictures”, not “film”

____ acts as a middleman/ intermediary between the people producing and those who consume it

Distributer

Preproduction

• preparation of project proposals, premises, synopsis, treatments, scripts,script breakdowns, production schedules, budgets, and storyboards

Proposal

Market summary used to promote/ sell a project

Premise

concise statement/ assertation that sums up the story subject matter

Storyboard

Graphic visualization of important shots that the amera will eventually record

Production begins with

setup and rehearsal

Performer blocking

charting the movement of talent on the set

camera blocking

charting the movements of the cameras

Switcher

Makes instantaneous changes from one camera to another

In an audio production/ recording session, the ____ maintains the same authority as a video or film director

producer

USB Flash drives (thumb/jump drive)

flash memory data storage devices integrated with a universal seial bus (USB) connector

clip

the smallest unit of digital video (or audio) info that can be stored and manipulatted during editing

• can range in duration from just one frame to an entire movie

(T/F) The terms "television”and "video” are sometimes used interchangeably

T

Difference between video and television

Television is a means of distributing and exhibiting video signals, usually over the air. Video is a production term used to refer to the visual portion of the television signal, as distinguished from the audio or sounds

The first law of production is Murphys law:

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong

Multi-camera production

used to record continuous action quickly and efficiently without interruption

Single camera production

each separate shot is set up and recorded individually (few compromises made in lighting or microphone placement)

Producer

• responsible for turning creative ideas into practical or marketable concepts

• serves as financial backing for a television film production and manages the entire production process

director

• creatively translates the written word/ script into specific sounds and images

• establishes point of view that helps to determine the selection of shots, camera placements and movements, and the staging of action

Realist techniques

• creates and sustains an illusion of reality

• rarely call attention to themselves

Modernist techniques

• calls attention to forms and techniques themselves

• fail to create realistic world that is familiar, recognizable, and comprehensible

• emphasizes the individual artists self-expression and the purity o artistic form

postmodern techniques

• anything but pure

• often combine popular culture with classical and elite art, mixing a variety of traditionally distinct genres or modes

The production team is usually organized somewhat ___

hierarchally

Producer

•  the person that initiates, coordinates, supervises anbd manages the creation and production

  • Does the leg work of producing

  • Turning creative ideas into [ractical/ marketable concepts

  • Secure financial backing

  • Thinks about the bottom line, make sure the client is getting what they want

  • Sometimes bursts the director’s bubble

Line producer

• Assistants like lighting technician, on set equipment, anyone nt head of dept

Director

• Works with producer for more of the creative stuff

• In charge of creative vision

• Whenever youre setting up a shot, you dont roll until the director approves

• Job is to tae the script and decide how you bring it to life

• Responsible for pace, flow, images 

• If the story’s not clear, it is the director’s fault

• Stays away from the action

Assitant/AD/ Associate director

• Works under the producer

•  Make director’s job easier

• Keeps people on schedule with their production schedule

  • Stays focused on their time

  • Disliked position by others; considered the “bad guy” on set because they keep track of time

  • Breaks down script to make sure everything on the script is correct

• Producer’s mouthpiece– if they need to talk to someone, they’ll be the one communicating

____ IS A TITLE ANYONE COULD HAVE

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

Director of photography (cinematographer)

• Does what director says

• Talks alot wih gaffer and lighting

• Familiar with aesthetics, exposure, camera controls/ technical aspects

Art director

• • Supervises all of the production designs

    • Wardrobe, hair maker all responds to them

    • Color, shape

    • Worl closely with costume designer, people on set, director

    • One of the major things that makes your setting stand out more

Editor

• Puts together all of the films

• Diff editors do diff things

• Some editors are involved early, sometimes involved on set so they get an idea of whats going on, some just want to edit with fresh eyes

• Have their own style/ flair

• Go through and makes different cuts

• Sound editor adds sound effects- constructs and organia

Audio Engineer (Sound recordist)

• Single camera production

• Sound mixer

• On set; in charge of making sure everything sounds good, no noise in background

• Muting and unmuting mics live

• Video Engineer

• Similar to audio engineer as they are incharge of what coms from the mmulticam situation

• Script supivisor/ continuity expert

• Make sure everyone looks the same in every shot

Cinematography

an art form in which a camera is used to communicate meaning through composition of visual elements

Director of Photography (DP/Cinematographer)

• In charge of the visual aspects of a film (image quality, color, composition, lighting, etc.)

Camera Operator

• Actually has hands on the camera/ Controls camera while filming; Job often done by DP

• Head of camera crew

• Color, comp., lighting, this role makes all the decisions

First Assistant Camera (1st AC)

Responsible for focusing and keeping images sharp using the follow focus. Must have good knowledge of Depth of field

Second Assistant Camera (2nd AC)

• Responsible for maintenance of the camera and slating every shot

  • Slating is the clapboard people use for marks, to sinc the audio ("Shot one, take one" CLAP)

• Making sure camera is set up and put away right

• Also help run and grab things

Camera Intern/ 3rd AC

• Supports camera dept as and when required

Challenge of the cinematographer

• controlling light

• framing (Inclusion, expulsion, and separation of elements w/in frame)

• exposure

Ecxposure

• The total amount of light that you allow into the camera. A picture's exposure depends on how bright or dark an image is when the image is recorded into the camera

___, ___, and ___ ogether control the exposure of an image. When all these three aspects are handled appropriately, the image is exposed as per the requirement

Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO

Underexposed image

• Too little light is collected

Overexposed image

• Too much light is collected

ISO

• Determines how sensitive camera is to light

• Digital setting

• Sensor

• Measures in 100,200,400,800, etc

___I so= crisp/smooth images; ____Iso= grainy

lower; higher

Aperture

• Conterols the amount of liht that enters the camera

• Measured in f/stops

  • Measured in fractions, so the smaller the number, the wider the opening, the shallower the depth