The TV Studio Production Handbook

Lucy Brown, Lyndsay Duthie

• Verlag: I.B. Tauris
• Jahr: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781786720412
• Auflage: 1
• Thema: Sozialwissenschaften
• Thema: Medienwissenschaften

Here is the one-stop handbook to make your studio production shine.The TV Studio Production Handbook explains the production process from beginning to end and covers everything media students need to know to create a successful studio television programme. It is an illuminating read for those starting out in the industry and an invaluable resource for students of media, film and TV.The book is packed with interviews from top TV executives from the UK, USA, Australia and China and includes live case studies from hit international formats covering every genre, from reality, to drama to news, with scripts from Britain's Got Talent, Big Brother, Coronation Street, The Chase, Teletubbies, Channel 4 News and more. The authors, both award-winning TV programme-makers and academic programme leaders, break things down genre by genre and explore pre-production, casting, scripting, as well as all the required paperwork from call sheets to running orders. They also examine the future of studio and the multiplatform opportunities available for programme makers internationally.

PART ONE

Standby!

1

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the definitive guide to making studio productions. This book is packed full of live case studies, tips, jargon, real-world scripts and exclusive interviews with directors, producers and top TV executives, working in the industry in the UK, USA, Australia and China, to ensure you get off to a flying start.

Having worked in the industry for twenty years, we have honed our craft as programme-makers working for broadcasters such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and Nickelodeon and now, as media educators, we share our knowledge and passion for TV with the next generation of programme-makers. While a lot of our students arrive with some knowledge of how to make a film, the studio environment still holds an element of mystery. This book is a practical guide, providing you with invaluable insider knowledge.

Do you really know the protocol of a working gallery? Do you know the countdown procedure? What ‘falling off air’ means? Well you soon will!

We have tried to make this book as conversational as possible with many references to television shows you will know to bring our words to life. Watch the shows, follow the book and make your own versions. The more shows you make, the better you get!

Part one of the book gives you everything to get started, beginning with the big idea. Why are some ideas more successful than others? How do you come up with an idea? How does a programme get commissioned? What do you need to create a pilot to sell your idea? All of these are key questions with answers from top programme-makers from around the world.

Then we move on to pre-production planning – all the elements of production management and the various paperwork that is essential to complete for a smooth-running production. We have included templates for budgeting, scheduling and call sheets. We have also looked at how to develop your idea for television. Each chapter includes exercises and top tips to summarise our points for each stage of production.

Part two of the book looks more in-depth at the different genres that you find in the studio. From drama, news, children’s and food, to game shows and prime-time talent and reality shows, we have it all covered. In each chapter we look at a very brief history of each genre – this is not definitive (this is a practical book) but more to give you a flavour of some of the key turning points that relate to that genre. From our unique access to the television industry we have packed these chapters with exclusive interviews from the world’s leading industry experts, such as executive producers of Weakest Link, The Voice and China’s Next Top Model, directors of Neighbours and Top Gear, a commissioning editor of Channel 4 News and a producer of The Middle. We have used live case studies of the biggest global brands, including script extracts from Coronation Street, Britain’s Got Talent, Big Brother, Teletubbies, Saturday Kitchen and The Chase for you to block through in your workshops – before devising your own versions.

To pull this all together as an aide-mémoire we have devised our own S.T.U.D.I.O. checklist, which is relevant for every single studio production. If you follow this you will be on the road to success.

S.T.U.D.I.O. Toolkit

S – Set up

There is a lot of prep done before the crew and production team even arrive at the studio. The director and producer spend hours breaking the script down and working out how to bring the script to life in the studio. The producer needs to make sure all the logistics are handled and the director needs to work out how many cameras to use and if the show has a presenter, which camera they will talk to and when.

The studio set has to be created: it is just an empty shell until the producer and director communicate their vision to the art team who can then start to work their magic – constructing, building, painting and creating the set.

Do not underestimate how long it takes to set up in the studio. Studio productions often involve large crews, with lots of equipment to get ready. Schedule this time carefully so you are not up against it from the word go. Allowing enough rehearsal time is paramount to the success of a good studio TV production, and this is even more crucial for live productions. Preparation, preparation, preparation. Studio filming days are typically long (10 to 12 hours a day). They may start at seven o’clock in the morning with a production meeting and tech check (technical inspection of the equipment) and not wrap (the industry term for the end of filming) until seven o’clock in the evening. Further details of how a typical studio day is broken down and an example of a schedule can be found in Chapter 5.

Rehearsal time should be built-in to the set-up time. There are three key stages of the rehearsal process in a studio production, and these stages are often referred to as the block-through, the stagger-through and the run-through. The block-through stage provides invaluable time to work out camera angles and moves with the crew, and mark locations for presenters, actors or contributors. The director is typically on the studio floor during the block-through – discussing shots with the camera operators. Studio productions can be single-camera set-ups, more common in drama, or multiple-camera set-ups, with cameras going into double figures for some big-budget prime-time studio shows. You should never underestimate the value of doing an extensive block-through as Simon Reay, Emmy-nominated director of photography (DOP) of drama, factual and commercials says:

As soon as that camera gets put up it all becomes about the camera and the later that happens, in my mind, the better! It’s all about the performers in their space and that’s what’s important – certainly everything I’ve ever done, you don’t need the camera on so early, leave it and leave it and leave it. Let the artists do what they want to do and that should then inform where your camera goes.

Stage two is the stagger-through – in which, as the name suggests, there is a lot of stopping and starting while presenters/actors go over the script and camera operators adjust their positions. Positions are often marked on the studio floor with gaffer tape to help this process. The director is typically in the gallery at this point and communicates instructions to the ...