Media Studies Exam 2

1948 percentage of households with TV

1%

1953 percentage of households with TV

Over 50%

Cathode Ray Tube function

Transmitted image and sound

Early 1960s percentage of households with TV

Over 90%

Encoding (television)

Broadcast station converts programming into signals

Decoding (television)

TV set converts signals into audio/visual output

Vladimir Zworykin contribution

Invented the iconoscope (first TV camera tube)

Philo Farnsworth contribution

Broadcast the first electronic TV signal

Analog TV characteristics

Lower resolution, no color until 1953

Digital TV characteristics

Clearer signal, full color

1930s NTSC role

Established analog TV standards in the U.S.

1966 television milesone

Color TV becomes standard

2009 U.S. digital transition

Full switch from analog to digital signals

Early television sponsorship model

Single sponsor funded entire program

Reason TV episodes expanded from 15 to 30 minutes

Reduce sponsors’ control; increase network power

1952 TV milestone

NBC launches 3-hour Today Show

1954 TV milestone

90-minute Tonight Show

Single Sponsorship

One advertiser funds entire show; name appears in title

Spot ads

Short ads purchased individually by various companies

First TV commercial date

July 1, 1941

1955 game show associated with scandal

$64,000 Question

Primary sponsor of quiz shows like Twenty One

Revlon

Why quiz shows were cheap to produce

Used non-actors and simple sets

Central problem with quiz shows

They were rigged

Central problem with quiz shows

They were rigged

Charles Van Doren scandal

Was fed answers; became symbol of rigged TV

Effect of scandal on sponsors

Reduced sponsor control over conent

Cultural effect of scandal

Undermined TV’s democratic potential

High vs. low culture impact

Magnified Divide and public interest

Network Era years

Late 1950s-1970s

Networks dominating prime-time TV

CBS, NBC, ABC

Network control (1950s-1970s)

Controlled 95% of prime time

CATV purpose (1940s)

Provide service to areas blocked by mountains

CATV advantages

Less interference; more channels

First U.S. communication satellite

Westar (1974)

Ted Turner’s major cable contribution

WTBS in 1976

Basic cable definition

Local stations + access channels + PBS + specialty channels

Examples of basic cable channels

MTV, ESPN, CNN, Bravo, Nickelodeon

Superstations

Local stations retransmitted nationwide

Cable subscription cost range

$70-$90 a month

Cable penetration in 1977

14% of U.S. homes

Cable penetration in 1985

46%

When does cable surpass broadcast TV

1997

Narrowcasting

Targeted programming aimed at specific audiences

First network to use satellites

HBO (1975)

Premium cable features

No ads, unique content, higher-quality production

Direct broadcast satellite

TV access in regions without cable

When was VCR introduced?

1976

When did VCR shift to DVDs?

Mid-1990s

When was internet streaming and Blu-ray introduced

21st century

VCR effects

Recording, storage, video rentals, rise of on-demand culture

First screen

Movie screen

Second sceen

Television

Third screen

Computer/internet

Fourth screen

Mobile devices

Network news stations

ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX

Cable news stations

CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CNBC, HLN

Anthology shows

Self-contained stories each episode (Ex. The Twilight Zone)

Must-carry rules

Require cable systems to include local broadcast stations for free

Telecommunications Act of 1996

Increased competition, ended many monopolies, encouraged new technologies

Syndification

Selling shows to multiple stations for reruns

Off-network syndication

Rerunning shows after original network run

Age of the blockbuster

Mid-1970s shift to big-budget, high-concept films aimed at huge audiences

Examples of early blockbusters

Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977)

Features of blockbusters

Massive marketing, merchandise, sequels, franchises

Magic Lantern

1600s image projector using light and painted slides

Thaumatrope

Spinning disk toy blending two images (1820s)

Zoetrope

Rotating cylinder producing illusion of motion (1830s-1660s)

Kinetograph

One of the first motion picture cameras

Kinetoscope

Peephole viewer for early films

Black Maria Studio

First U.S. film studio, built by Thomas Edison

Vitascope

Early projector Edison marketed nationwide

Edison Trust (MPPC)

Industry monopoly controlling film patents

Sequential photography

Early motion-picture style image sequences

Zoopraxiscope

Device projecting motion via rotating glass disks

Cinematographe

Camera/projector/developer, lightweight and portable

Frist public film screening

1895

Types of Lumiere films

Actualities, early documentaries, travel films

Invention of roll fim

George Eastman 1888-1889, replaced glass plates

Theatrical release

Distributed to cinemas

Home entertainment

DVD, digital purchase, rental

Television distribution

Cable channels, Pay-TV

Streaming distribution

Films released online, sometimes bypassing theaters

Global distribution

Internation markets and licensing

Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)

Earliest surviving motion picture filmed by Louis Le Prince

Flexible celluloid film invention

Hannibal Goodwin 1997-1889, transparent and flexible film, used by Edison and early filmmakers

Narrative film

Structured story, with beginning middle and end

Hollywood style

Characters, continuity editing, cause-effect storytelling

Vertical integration

Studios controlled production, distribution, exhibition

Effects of vertical integration

Studios dominated filmmaking

Movie palaces

Lavish 1910s-1930s theaters for upper classes

Mid-city theaters

Small neighborhood theaters in urban centers

Big Five studios

Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, RKO, 20th Century Fox

Significance of Snow White (1937)

First full-length animated Disney feature

Production of Snow White

$1.4M budget, 2M paintings, 750 artists

Block booking

Forcing theaters to buy film packages, not individual films

Golden Age

1920s-1960s

Key features of the Golden Age

Studio system, genre formulas, star system

Jaws

First summer blockbuster, successful marketing

Joseph Breen

Head of Production Code Administration (1934)