50
Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
grip: A person who
moves the equipment,
scenery, and props on a
studio set.
maintenance
engineer: The person
who keeps all the
production equipment
functioning at its
optimum performance
level.
or television show, as well as a news fl ash that crawls across the bottom
of the television screen. The titles may be a single page, scrolling, or have
animated letters. The CG operator must create titles that are accurate and
appropriate for the program, and ensure that they are legible to viewers.
Grip
The grip is a person who moves the equipment, scenery, and props on
a studio set. In theater productions, a grip is called a stagehand. Perhaps
the job title comes from the fact that one must have a good grip in order to
move anything large!
Maintenance Engineer
The maintenance engineer keeps all the production equipment work-
ing according to “factory specifications.” The maintenance engineer is not
a repairperson, but may assist in troubleshooting if problems arise. The pri-
mary responsibility of this position is to ensure that each piece of produc-
tion equipment functions at its optimum performance level, Figure 2-13.
Program Production Workfl ow
The following is a general overview of the steps involved in produc-
ing a program. The timeframe to complete each step depends on the type
of production. Completing most of the steps to produce a public service
announcement, for example, would likely take considerably less time than
to produce a one-hour, prime-time drama. One of the best ways to create a
successful program is to have excellent production values in the program.
Production values are the general aesthetics of a show. Most of this book
aims to show you how to attain these high production values.
Various terms are presented in the sections that follow, as well as in
the proceeding chapters. Many of the terms have commonly known “con-
sumer” defi nitions. Some words used in this business, just as in the English
Figure 2-13. The
maintenance engineer
keeps equipment running
in top performance.
production values:
The general aesthetics
of the show.