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A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the special requirements of television production. A professional television studio generally has several rooms, which are kept separate for noise and practicality reasons. These rooms are connected via 'talkback' or an intercom, and personnel will be divided among these workplaces.
The studio floor is the actual stage on which the actions that will be recorded and viewed take place. A typical studio floor has the following characteristics and installations:
While a production is in progress, people composing a television crew work on the studio floor.
The production control room is the place in a television studio in which the composition of the outgoing program takes place. The production control room is occasionally also called a studio control room (SCR) or a "gallery" –the latter name comes from the original placement of the director on an ornately carved bridge spanning the BBC's first studio at Alexandra Palace, which was once referred to as like a minstrels' gallery. [1]
The vast majority of devices in a PCR are interfaces for rack-mounted equipment that is located in the Central Apparatus Room (CAR).
The central apparatus room (CAR) houses equipment that is too noisy or runs too hot to be located in the production control room (PCR). It also makes sure that coax cable, SDI cable, fibre-optic cable or other wire lengths and installation requirements keep within manageable lengths, since most high-quality wiring runs only between devices in this room. This can include the actual circuitry and connections between:
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. Master control is distinct from a PCR in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated. A transmission control room (TCR) is usually smaller in size and is a scaled-down version of centralcasting.
The master control room in a US television station is the place where the on-air signal is controlled. It may include controls to playout pre-recorded television programs and television commercials, switch local or television network feeds, record satellite feeds and monitor the transmitter(s), or these items may be in an adjacent equipment rack room. If the program is broadcast live, the signal goes from the PCR to MCR and then out to the transmitter.
A television studio usually has other rooms with no technical requirements beyond video monitors and studio monitors for audio. Among them are: [2]
A professional video camera is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images. Originally developed for use in television studios or with outside broadcast trucks, they are now also used for music videos, direct-to-video movies, corporate and educational videos, wedding videos, among other uses. Since the 2000s, most professional video cameras are digital professional video cameras.
The camera control unit (CCU) is typically part of a live television broadcast chain. It is responsible for powering the professional video camera, handling signals sent over the camera cable to and from the camera, and can be used to control various camera parameters remotely.
A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical field.
Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne on 10 June 1971, and in addition to the studios contained two canteens, a post office, gardens, a seven-storey office block, and an outside broadcasting (OB) base.
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room (PCR) in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated. A transmission control room (TCR) is usually smaller in size and is a scaled down version of centralcasting.
An intercom, also called an intercommunication device, intercommunicator, or interphone, is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building, small collection of buildings or portably within a small coverage area, which functions independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles, but can also be detachable and portable. Intercoms can incorporate connections to public address loudspeaker systems, walkie talkies, telephones, and other intercom systems. Some intercom systems incorporate control of devices such as signal lights and door latches.
The production control room (PCR) or studio control room (SCR) is the place in a television studio in which the composition of the outgoing program takes place.
Electronic field production (EFP) is a television industry term referring to a video production which takes place in the field, outside of a formal television studio, in a practical location, special venue or fitting environment. Zettl defines EFP as using "both ENG and studio techniques. From ENG it borrows its mobility and flexibility; from the studio it borrows its production care and quality control. EFP takes place on location and has to adapt to the location conditions... Good lighting and audio are always difficult to achieve in EFP, regardless of whether you are outdoors or indoors. Compared to ENG, in which you simply respond to a situation, EFP needs careful planning."
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences.
A patch panel is a device or unit featuring a number of jacks, usually of the same or similar type, for the use of connecting and routing circuits for monitoring, interconnecting, and testing circuits in a convenient, flexible manner. Patch panels are commonly used in computer networking, recording studios, and radio and television.
A wireless microphone, or cordless microphone, is a microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated. Also known as a radio microphone, it has a small, battery-powered radio transmitter in the microphone body, which transmits the audio signal from the microphone by radio waves to a nearby receiver unit, which recovers the audio. The other audio equipment is connected to the receiver unit by cable. In one type the transmitter is contained within the handheld microphone body. In another type the transmitter is contained within a separate unit called a "bodypack", usually clipped to the user's belt or concealed under their clothes. The bodypack is connected by wire to a "lavalier microphone" or "lav", a headset or earset microphone, or another wired microphone. Most bodypack designs also support a wired instrument connection. Wireless microphones are widely used in the entertainment industry, television broadcasting, and public speaking to allow public speakers, interviewers, performers, and entertainers to move about freely while using a microphone without requiring a cable attached to the microphone.
Trojan Vision is a student television station at the University of Southern California through the School of Cinematic Arts. Established in 1997, Trojan Vision broadcasts 24/7 from the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts to the University Park Campus on Channel 8.1 and online through their website. Programming is made available to the greater Los Angeles community on local channel LA36.
In broadcast facilities and television studios, a central apparatus room, central machine room, or central equipment room (CER), or central technical area (CTA), or rack room is where shared equipment common to all technical areas is located. Some broadcast facilities have several of these rooms. It should be air-conditioned, however low-noise specifications such as acoustical treatments are optional. Equipment is connected either directly with an attached foldout monitor, keyboard and mouse or remotely via KVM switch, SSH, VNC, RS-232 or remote desktop.
A server room is a room, usually air-conditioned, devoted to the continuous operation of computer servers. An entire building or station devoted to this purpose is a data center.
A transmission control room (TCR), transmission suite, Tx room, or presentation suite is a room at broadcast facilities and television stations around the world. Compared to a master control room, it is usually smaller in size and is a scaled-down version of centralcasting. A TX room or presentation suite will be staffed 24/7 by presentation coordinators and tape operators and will be fitted out with video play-out systems often using server based broadcast automation.
Marquette Wire is the official outlet of Marquette University's student media, supported by the university's Diederich College of Communication, which allows students to gain real-world experience in producing mainstream media. Students studying journalism, digital media and other related fields can gain experience through writing, editing, producing and publishing content relating to Marquette and the surrounding Milwaukee community.
A television production truck or OB van is a small mobile production control room to allow filming of events and video production at locations outside a regular television studio. They are used for remote broadcasts, outside broadcasting (OB), and electronic field production (EFP). Some require a crew of as many as 30 people, with additional trucks for additional equipment as well as a satellite truck, which transmits video back to the studio by sending it up through a communications satellite using a satellite dish, which then transmits it back down to the studio. Alternatively, some production trucks include a satellite transmitter and satellite dish for this purpose in a single truck body to save space, time and cost.
Homes typically have several kinds of home wiring, including electrical wiring for lighting and power distribution, permanently installed and portable appliances, telephone, heating or ventilation system control, and increasingly for home theatre and computer networks.
Rhodesia Television (RTV) was a live-broadcast, television station operating in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as a private company. It was established on the 14th of November, 1960, first in Salisbury (now Harare), with transmissions in Bulawayo beginning seven months later. It was only the fourth TV service in Africa after Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt, and the first such service in southern Africa, since South Africa did not introduce television until 1976.
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