78
Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
78
Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
• Understand how white balancing a camera affects the picture.
• Summarize how depth of field contributes to composing a good picture.
• Identify the composition of each type of camera shot.
• Illustrate a variety of camera movements.
• Explain how a videographer can psychologically and physically affect the audience.
Introduction
While learning to operate a camera is not complex, becoming a profes-
sional camera operator requires practice, dedication, and skill. Great cam-
era operators:
• Know the basic rules of composition.
• Know the capabilities of their equipment.
• Know the basic process of production methodology.
Composing Good Pictures
Composing good pictures begins with learning some basic principles.
These basic principles are the foundation on which experience is built, and
only experience can perfect camera composition skills.
One of the principles of composition is maintaining constant control
over the camera. The camera operator should never let go of the pan han-
dles and should always have the pan and tilt unlocked during a shoot,
but with suffi cient drag engaged to handle any movement necessary.
Another major principle of composition is that anything not shown
in the frame of the camera does not exist for the viewer. The frame of the
picture defi nes what the viewer experiences. On a news program, for
example, the audience sees a well-dressed news anchor sitting at a desk
in the studio delivering important news to viewers. The anchor is dressed
in a suit jacket, shirt, and tie, which helps establish his credibility with the
audience. Outside the frame of the picture, the audience cannot see that the
anchor is wearing Bermuda shorts instead of suit pants. This principle also
applies to the set of a program. Can a wide sandy beach in Florida be used
to shoot a scene that is set in the Sahara Desert? Yes! To make the shot real-
istic, the camera operator must be careful to avoid the ocean and condos on
the shoreline in the frame of the picture. If it is not seen in the frame of the
camera, then it does not exist for the viewer!
Lines of Interest
The rule of thirds for television production divides the screen into thirds
horizontally and vertically; like a tic-tac-toe grid placed over the picture on
a television set, Figure 4-1. Almost all of the important information included
in every shot is located at one of the four line intersections. Studies have
shown that the human eye is drawn fi rst to those four intersection points
on any picture and not to the center of the screen, as is commonly assumed.
rule of thirds: A composition
rule that divides the screen
into thirds horizontally and
vertically, like a tic-tac-toe
grid placed over the picture
on a television set. Almost all
of the important information
included in every shot is
located at one of the four
intersections of the horizontal
and vertical lines.