Portable Video: News and Field Production

389 Pages·2012·13.428 MB·English

by  Norman J. Medoff, Edward J. Fink

Portable Video
News and Field Production
Sixth Edition
Norman J. Medoff and Edward J. Fink
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First published 2012 by Focal Press
70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803
Simultaneously published in the UK by Focal Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2012, Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.
The right of Norman J. Medoff and Edward J. Fink to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods,
compounds, or experiments described herein.
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Medoff, Norman J.
Portable video: news and field production/Norman J. Medoff and Edward J. Fink. – 6th ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Portable video/Norman J. Medoff, Edward J. Fink, Tom Tanquary. 2007.
ISBN 978-0-240-81499-5
1. Video recording. 2. Video recordings–Production and direction. 3. Television cameras. 4. Television broadcasting of news. I. Fink, Edward J.
(Edward John) II. Title.
TR895.M44 2012
777–dc23
2011044889
ISBN 13: 978-0-240-81499-5 (pbk)
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART 1 • Shooting Video on Location
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
ENG and EFP: The World of Professional Video
Electronic Field Production: Video Production on Location
Knowing the Basics
Summary
CHAPTER 2 Electronic News Gathering
Visual Journalists
Part One: Recorded Coverage
Spot News
Summary
Part Two: Live Coverage
Getting the Picture Out
Communications
Summary
CHAPTER 3 Electronic Field Production
Corporate and Professional Videos
Entertainment
Commercials and Public Service Announcements
Performance Videos
Sports Videos
Music Videos
Nature and Documentary Videos
Video Art
Multimedia
Internet
Mobile TV
Summary
PART 2 • The Process
CHAPTER 4 Framing and Composition
Identifying the Story Line
Part One: Framing—The Range of Shots
Shots by Perspective
Camera Movement Shots
Special-Use Shots
Part Two: Composition—Aesthetic Considerations
Creating the Third Dimension
Effects of Focal Length
Distance
Balancing the Picture
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Composing Specific Shots
Following the Action
Breaking the Rules
Summary
CHAPTER 5 Scriptwriting
Electronic News Gathering
Electronic Field Production
Summary
CHAPTER 6 Preproduction and Production
Part One: Preproduction
Electronic News Gathering
Electronic Field Production
Production Crew
Scheduling and Coordinating
Location Selection and Survey
Graphics and Props Preparation
Clearance on Copyright Materials
Travel Planning
Part Two: Production—Shooting on Location
ENG Versus EFP
Setting Up
Sound and Light
Location Integrity
Maintaining Control
Backup Plans
Security
Dealing with the Public
Checklists
Recording
Rehearsing
Shooting (and Reshooting)
Wrapping Up
Summary
CHAPTER 7 Postproduction and Distribution
Editing Process
Technical Concepts
Creative Editing Concepts
Summary
PART 3 • The Tools
CHAPTER 8 Video
Light, Lenses, Cameras, and Recorders
Principles of Lens Operation
Video Cameras
Camera Functions
Video Recorders
The Format Wars
Batteries
Tripods and Camera-Mounting Devices
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Summary
CHAPTER 9 Audio
Microphone Structure
Microphones and Audio-Recording Techniques
Sensitivity
Frequency Response
Impedance
Other Factors
Selection and Placement
Style
Special Applications
Accessories
Audio Cables and Connectors
Monitoring, Mic Preamplifiers, Mixing, and Stereo
Summary
CHAPTER 10 Light: Understanding and Controlling It
Part One: The Physical Properties of Light
What is Light
The Color of Light
The Direction and Size of a Light Source
The Quantity of Light
Part Two: Creating Light
Light Emitters
Lighting Equipment
Part Three: Basic Lighting Technique
The Starting Point: Exposure
The Art of Casting Shadows
Basic Theory
Formal Lighting
Natural Lighting
Light as an Editorial Tool
Summary
PART 4 • The Business of Video
CHAPTER 11 Budgeting and Pricing
ENG and EFP
Creating an Accurate Budget
Budget Tracking
Entry into the Video Marketplace
Summary
CHAPTER 12 Laws, Ethics, Copyright, and Insurance
Laws
Ethics
Copyright
Insurance
Summary
APPENDIX 1 Screenplay Format
APPENDIX 2 Two-Column, Audiovisual, Split-Page Format
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APPENDIX 3 Storyboards
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY
INDEX
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Many people contributed to this edition with advice, suggestions, pictures, and other materials. Our sincere
thanks to the following people: Steve Paskay, Hank Bargine, Chris Wooley, Alan Lifton, Mara Alper, Chris
Strobel, Courtney Connell, Brandon Neuman, Taylor Mahoney, Ashley Silvester, Samatha Schutter, Leah
Nobel, Joe Chitwood, Dale Hoskins, Charlie Hicks, and Kurt Lancaster, Sarah Medoff, Natalie Medoff, Lynn
Medoff, and Martin Christien.
Special thanks to Tom Tanquary, whose expertise and creativity is evident throughout the book.
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PART
Shooting Video on Location
1. Introduction
2. Electronic News Gathering
3. Electronic Field Production
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CHAPTER
Introduction
Welcome to the world of portable video! So you have access to a camera, a tripod, some lights, a microphone or
two, and some editing software on a computer. What do you do? Where do you start? What do you need to
know? This book is designed to give you the basics of portable video production. We hope this text will guide
you as you create more professional-looking video stories for news, entertainment, and nonbroadcast uses.
Experiments using electricity to transmit video began back in 1884. In 1926, English experimenter John Logie
Baird developed a system for transmitting live video images using a mechanical system. The mechanical
system was primitive by today’s standards, and other methods were explored to achieve a better picture.
Beginning in the 1920s, other experimenters attempted to use an electronic system for television. Philo T.
Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin both developed systems that eventually were combined to create the
working television system that debuted at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.
ENG AND EFP: THE WORLD OF PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
Portable video systems have been around for a long time. In 1965, Sony released a video system called the
Porta-pak that recorded black-and-white images on a reel-to-reel videotape recorder. The quality was poor and
the video was almost impossible to edit. Some educational, government, medical, and experimental users
(video artists) found the Porta-pak helpful in capturing images quickly where film would be too expensive.
Mostly, however, professional filmmakers and others who needed to capture moving images relied upon film
and thought of portable video as a toy with limited appeal. During the 1960s and early 1970s the idea of
shooting field video with a portable camera was not feasible, even after color cameras were introduced. The
equipment was just too big and cumbersome, and the video was lacking in quality compared to film.
The appearance of the U-Matic videocassette by Sony in 1971, coupled with the introduction of higher-
resolution color cameras, rapidly gave portable video a new appeal. This self-threading cassette system, in a
machine small enough to be carried around and operated by battery, replaced the Porta-pak’s reel-to-reel
system and greatly improved the quality of the recording. The camera was in two pieces—the camera head
and the camera control unit (CCU)—both of which could be powered by a battery. Two people could easily
walk around with the gear and record video. With the equipment mounted on a small cart, one person could
operate the system.
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