Chapter 2 Working in the Television Production Industry
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production switching:
The process of cutting
between cameras.
Production Switching
When shooting in a studio, there may be three cameras shooting a
scene from three different angles. Each of the cameras captures a different
picture:
• Camera 1 is on one news anchor in a close-up.
• Camera 2 has a two shot of both anchors.
• Camera 3 is on the other news anchor in a close-up.
All three of these cameras connect to a production switcher, Figure 2-19.
A cable coming from the switcher connects to a video recorder. By press-
ing buttons marked “1,” “2,” and “3,” the picture from different cam-
eras can be sent to the recorder. The process of cutting between cameras
(from camera 1, to camera 3, to camera 2, and back to camera 1) is called
production switching.
Figure 2-18. A shot
of a person “missing”
important parts of the
body is considered a poor
production value.
Figure 2-19. The
production switcher allows
the operator to send pictures
from different cameras to
the video recorder, simply by
pushing a button or pulling
a lever.