Single-Camera Video Production FIFTH EDITION

Single-Camera Video Production FIFTH EDITION

Robert B. Musburger

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal press is an imprint of Elsevier

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK # 2010 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions. This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of product liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Musburger, Robert B. Single-camera video production / Robert B. Musburger. – 5th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-240-81264-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Video tape recorders. 2. Video recordings–Production and direction. 3. Camcorders. I. Title. TK6655.V5M88 2010 778.59–dc22 2009040290 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-240-81264-9 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com 09 10 11 12 13 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION To my mother, Mary Tomazina Wemple Musburger Houska, for teaching me the value of integrating art and technology.

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Additional Comments on the Fifth Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Chapter One Production Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Production Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Importance of Goals-Audience Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Importance of Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Difference between Studio and Field Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Importance of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Chapter Two The Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Connecting the Real World to the Digital World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Limitations of Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Audio Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Amplitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Measuring Audio Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Video Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Changing Light into Electrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Scan Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Measuring Video Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Video Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Chapter Three The Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Equipment Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Camera Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Handheld Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 HDV Professional Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Contents

Broadcast Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Digital Cinema Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Specialized Digital Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Image Sources and Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Chips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Focal Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Aperture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Depth of Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Viewfinder and Camera Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Viewfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Camera Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Bars/Gain Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Color Temperature Control/Filter Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 White Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Camera Supports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Tripods and Body Mounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Cranes, Dollies, and Pedestals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Handholding the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Digital Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Recorder Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Connecting Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Cable Coiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Power Connectors and Plugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Audio Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Video Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Digital Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Microphone Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Electronic Impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Element Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Pickup Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Mounting Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

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Nonmicrophone Audio Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Which Audio Track to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Floodlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Focusing Spotlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Fixed-Focus Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Controlling Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Power Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Color Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Measuring Light Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Lighting Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Contrast Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Chapter Four The Production Process: Preproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Preliminary Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 The Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Legal Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Script Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Scene Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Shooting Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Script Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Single-Column Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Dual-Column Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Organizing Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Storyboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Location Scouting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Site Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Organizing Equipment and Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Chapter Five The Production Process: Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Production Stages and Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Setting Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Field Equipment Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Camera Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

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Audio Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Prompting Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Sets and Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Lighting Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Controlling Color Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Controlling Light Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Contrast Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Basic Three-Point Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Backlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Key Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Fill Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Kicker and Set Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Multiple or Moving Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Creative Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Mood Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Lighting for Time, Date, and Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Directing and Rehearsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Directing Talent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Rehearsal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Shooting and Framing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Standard Shot Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Framing Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Critical Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Lead Room or Edge Attraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 The Rule of Thirds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Creating Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Subject Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Camera Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Movement through Zooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Z-Axis Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Graphic Force Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 The Third Movement: Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Shoot to Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Continuity of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Continuity of Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

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Continuity of Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Cover Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 In-Camera Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Iris Fades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Roll or Rack Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Swish Pans and Zooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Reversing Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Digital In-Camera Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Logging and Striking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 Striking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Chapter Six The Production Process: Postproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 The Soul of Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Editing Depends on Aesthetic and Equipment Knowledge and Skills . . . . . . . . 196 Editing Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Basic Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Process Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Nonlinear Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Linear Electronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Nonlinear Electronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Editing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Physical Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Choices and Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Technical Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Editing Operating Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Basic Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Adding Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 The Aesthetic Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Output-Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Preparing to Output/Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

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Output Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 Destination Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Chapter Seven Your Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Internship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 The Application Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Re´sume´ Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Composing a Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 The Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 The Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

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Introduction This text has been written to provide three groups of video enthusiasts with enough information to produce acceptable single-camera video productions: the media production student, the professional who needs a refresher on the basics, and the first-time video camera owner. It is a basic, introductory book designed to point the beginner in the right direction. This is not an advanced book in preproduction research and writing, nor is it a book on advanced techniques in electronic editing. Each of those subjects deserves its own title. I wrote this book from three points of view: first, from that of an instructor introducing the techniques that lead to quality video productions utilizing a single video camera; second, from that of a practitioner who has spent 50 years working in professional media and learning the contents of this book the hard way—by making mistakes until I finally got it right; and third, from that of an academic fielding 20 phone calls a week from people new to electronic production who desperately want information about single-camera video production. This book outlines the process of working with a single video camera from beginning to end, with an emphasis on the actual production process. First, though, you must lay some groundwork before you pick up your camera. The video camera and the recording medium used remain two complex pieces of equipment, despite efforts to simplify them. The process by which a video image is created is also complex, and you must understand it in order to properly utilize the benefits and master the restrictions of the medium. The first chapter of the book outlines the production process, emphasizes the importance of goals and audience analysis, explains the production workflow process, and discusses the importance of technology. The second chapter contains a simplified explanation of how and why video and audio signals are created. It also describes the technical restrictions of a digital system. The third chapter describes the equipment: cameras; recorders; and audio, lighting, and mounting equipment. With the first three chapters providing a firm base, the fourth chapter carries you through the production process from preproduction planning (much more important than most beginners realize) to setting up, rehearsing, shooting, and striking. The fifth chapter details the digital process by exploring lighting and audio techniques. The sixth chapter concentrates on the digital nonlinear editing process, techniques, aesthetics,

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and the importance of shooting for the editing process. The final chapter outlines methods to move your career beyond the classroom: finding and earning an internship, preparing for the interviewing and job search process, and approaching your first and next job. As the media production world rapidly moves toward an all-digital environment, I have included those changes that are critical for single-camera production. From experience, I am aware that the rapid changes require new information on virtually a weekly basis. I have attempted to anticipate some of those changes, but at the same time, I have avoided making any wild guesses as to the next level of production developments. There are too many new concepts and proposals in the works—some of them will be working years from now, others will be gone within 6 months. All we can do is watch, take advantage of what the field has to offer, and remember that it isn’t the paintbrush that makes the difference, it’s the mind and the hands of the artist.

Additional Comments on the Fifth Edition The layout of this text includes major changes from the old format, in which editorial copy was placed on one page with illustrations on the facing page. In the new format presented here, figures and photographs are interspersed with the editorial copy as needed to illustrate or clarify a point. More than 100 new figures and photographs replace drawn figures. The emphasis will expand on the concentration of digital equipment and production techniques applicable to field video production and nonlinear postproduction. New sections on production workflow, audience analysis, modern formats, distribution methods, and career planning extend the value of this book. A key factor in the move of media to an “all-digital” production format is the realization that all media must start in an analog format, and for humans to comprehend the messages, the messages must be returned to an analog format. Media converted to a digital format may be easily manipulated without loss of quality but cannot be viewed or listened to until converted into a form a person’s eye and ear can interpret. For that reason, some analog theory and technology remain as critical parts of this book and will remain so until humans can directly interpret a digital signal.

Acknowledgments One cannot work in the video business without relying on many other people. This is not a solitary business, and throughout the years many people have made major contributions to my knowledge and career. Here are a few of many: Parks Whitmer and Sam Scott, who started me in media production and kept me going; Art Mosby, who paid my first television paycheck; Bob Wormington, who let me develop my directing skills; the thousands of students at Avila College, University of Missouri at Kansas City, Kansas University, Florida State University, the University of Houston, and Central Washington University who constantly reminded me that I don’t know everything there is to know about media production; and my wife, Pat, who lets me think that I do. Credit for the illustrations for this book I share with more than 30 manufacturers of equipment who provided photographs, ideas, and illustrations for this text. Thanks also to all of the helpful people at Focal Press who have guided and prodded me through my publishing efforts for the past 19 years: Karen, Philip, Mary, Trish, Marie, Maura, Tammy, Tricia, Lilly, Jennifer, Amy, Elinor, Cara, and, for this edition, Michele Cronin and Laura Aberle.