T356 Fall 2008 - Week 12

Announcements / Reality Check

• Dramatic scenes (part 2) this week. Don't forget that you need to write a critique. These are due a week after your production.
• Final Project groups and times were created and posted on the web last week. We'll review these in lab this week. Each group should create a nice production packet containing all of their pre-production work. See the web for more info.
• The remote assignment is due by the end of next week (Friday 4/18 at the latest).
• We'll have a comprehensive review for the final next week during lecture.
• The Fall 2008 Final Exam is scheduled by the registrar for Friday, May 2 from 2:45 - 4:45 PM in Studio 5.

Readings:

• Zettl Chapter 20.1 & 20.2
• Cybercollege Module 9 (part 1 and 2)
• Cybercollege DTV standards

Content

Field Production & Big Remotes / Covering major events

Sports Remotes - Crews can be very large - more than 100 people are needed for a major sports event.

Check out the floor plans for the various events in the Zettl book. Always remember a solid establishing shot and adhering to the 180 degree rule. Mics that have to pick up sound from a long distance are typically shotgun and/or parabolic.

Be prepared to make/complete a location sketch for a major event. You will have to decide where to place the cameras and microphones and explain your reasoning.

Communication systems.

Remote operations depend heavily on reliable communication devices. Producers often distribute cell phones to production team leaders.

• ENG: cell phones, scanners, pagers
• EFP: small productions (single camera) you can just talk to the cameraman’s ear. Walkie talkies, phones
• Big Remotes: PL private line, IFB, intercom system

IFB - Interruptible feedback or foldback (British term used to describe headphone feeds). Usually an earpiece worn by the talent so that they can receive instructions/information by the director.

Signal transport

While sometimes shows are live to tape, most often remote signals need to be transmitted somewhere. This is done by:

Microwave transmission - Power & size varies. Very small, focused signal. Don’t stand in front of one! Can go from camera to truck, truck to relay station or station.

Communication satellites - Satellites used for broadcast are either C or KU band. KU band dishes can be smaller (2 feet). Direct broadcast satellites or DBS (such as DISH or DirectTV) operate on the KU band.

• Uplinks (send to satellite)
• Downlink (receive)

Transponder - a combination receiver/transmitter found in the communication satellites.

Trivia: All geosynchronous satellites orbit the earth above the equator. In other words all of the downlink antennas you see (C or KU band) are pointed towards the south (somewhere over the equator).

Cable systems - Coaxial & fiber-optic.

Head-end - origination point
Trunk-line- primary distribution (fiber-optic or coaxial)
Feeder lines- secondary distribution (through blocks/neighborhoods, etc)
Drop lines- cables to homes or businesses

World TV Standards & Digital TV

World analog TV platforms:

• NTSC - 525 lines at 30 frames (60 fields) 4x3 aspect ratio
• PAL - 625 lines at 25 frames (50 fields) 4x3 aspect ratio
• SECAM - same as PAL, just incompatible

NTSC (National Television Systems Committee) definition of standard definition TV, (used in North America, some of South America, Japan, etc) uses a frame rate close to 30, roughly 29.97 frames per second. There are 525 scan lines; approximately 480 of these are visible. The HD (high definition) standard for broadcast has been created by the ATSC, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, which was formed at the urging of the FCC to establish standards for the new high definition formats.

PAL (Phase Alternate Line) is used in most of Europe, Australia, & Asia and runs at 25 frames per second using 625 lines.

SECAM (Sequential Color and Memory)

If possible it’s best to edit in the media’s native format. If you have high-quality PAL footage, it’s best to try to keep it in PAL. If you have 24 fps footage, it’s best to keep it in 24 fps. That way you won’t get conversion artifacts from changing frame rates and generation losses. But while ideal, we can’t always practice this. Often we’ll get a tape from another country, or that contains another type of media that must be integrated into our existing content.

DTV

The US was supposed to be broadcasting digitally by 2006. The analog cutoff date is now Feb 19, 2009. DTV does not necessarily mean HDTV. Can broadcast standard resolution SDTV over DTV equipment.

• 1080 i and p (24, 30 & 60 fps. 16 x 9) 1920 x 1080
• 720 i and p (24, 30 & 60 fps. 16 x 9) 1280 x 720
• 480 i and p (24, 30 & 60 fps. Both 16 x 9 and 4 x 3)

(i = interlaced, p = progressive)

 

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