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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
When referring to multiple camera dollys, the correct spelling
of the term is “dollys.” This rule applies only when making
reference to this particular piece of equipment.
Talk the Talk
Each studio camera comes with a camera control unit (CCU), some-
times referred to as a remote control unit (RCU), Figure 3-3. The CCU is a
piece of equipment that controls the video signal sent from the camera and
is usually placed in the control room or the master control room (See
Chapter 16, Studio and Remote Shooting). The CCU controls many signals
from the camera, including the color, tint, contrast, and brightness. The
video engineer manipulates the CCU controls to match the signals from all
cameras involved in the shoot, Figure 3-4.
camera control unit (CCU):
A piece of equipment that
controls various attributes of
the video signal sent from
the camera to the video
recorder, and is usually
placed in the control room or
the master control room. Also
commonly called a remote
control unit (RCU).
Gain settings
Automatic/manual
iris switch
Remote iris
control
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 3-3. The video
engineer uses camera
control units (CCU) to
adjust the attributes of
studio cameras from the
control room. This provides
a central location for one
person to control all the
cameras, rather than
adjusting the settings on
each individual camera on
the studio floor.
Camera 1
Camera 2
Camera 1
CCU
Camera 2
CCU
Jack Klasey
Figure 3-4. A CCU matches the video signals when shooting with multiple video cameras.