About Video
Media Concepts
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Starter Question
 How
was the process for making the Star
Wars movie “Star Wars I – The Phantom
Menace” different than you expected?
 How
has technology effected the way we
make and watch films?
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What is Video? – A new concept
 Film/Television
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Film was the medium used for creating most
audiovisual program for film and TV.
Reason Why?
• Portable
• Quality Images
• Picture and Sound was recorded separately so
sophisticated editing is possible.
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What is Video? – A new concept
 Television
was the medium used to
broadcast studio programs live and
previously produced programs.
 Television
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Not Ideal because:
Heavy and complex equipment.
Quality not as good as film.
Editing was difficult and quality suffered.
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Camcorders
 Camcorders
are a combination of audio
and visual recorders.
 Technology
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advancements:
Smaller and easier to use.
Quality has improved to rival film.
Tomorrow – Camcorder demonstration.
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Video vs. Film
 Film
makers think that video is less
desirable than film:
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Resolution and picture clarity is low compared
to film.
Color sometimes lacks richness.
Sound editing was more difficult (until
recently).
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Video vs. Film
 In
other ways, Film is less desirable than
video:
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Flim is more expensive to shoot and process
than video.
Film is less tolerant of lighting situations.
Sound is more difficult because it is almost
always recorded separately.
Film color balance is expensive and time
consuming.
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Video vs. Film
 Continued..
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Titles and effects cannot be added in real
time.
Film editing requires making a negative –
although this process is being digitized.
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Converging Technologies
 Today
the two are growing closer together.
 Both worlds are working together:

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Commercials that are shot on film then
converted to tape.
Videotape work prints are made, edited, and
completed with a film negative is cut to match
the tape.
Special effects are created electronically and
then transferred to film.
Audio software is relevant in both areas.
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Types of Video Productions
 Wide
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range of productions:
Commercials
Mini-Series
Consumer use – family vacations, birthdays,
weddings, etc.
 Professional
uses for video are expanding.
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Video Jobs and Talents

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Story Side of Production – Writing, Directing, or
Editing
Graphic Talents – Art Design, Set Construction,
Costume Design, Make-Up Artist
Operators – Camera, Lighting, Audio
Technical Applications – Audio and/or Video
Engineering, Video Production and Management
Business skills – Production Management
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The Nature of the Video World
 The
TV Screen is a window that looks out
on a completely different universe. In the
world of video:

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An actor can open a door in London and walk
though it to Los Angeles.
A car can turn a corner and jump forward a
week in time.
An actor can fall ten stories onto concrete and
walk away unhurt.
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The Language of Video Expression
 Video
communication uses a visual
language.
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An image is much like a single word.
A shot is much like a complete sentence.
A scene is much like a paragraph.
A sequence is much like a chapter.
 Video
has its own techniques for creating
distinctive styles of expression.
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The Construction of Video
Programs

You must organize and construct a coherent
story.
 Three Steps:
 Preproduction Phase
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Includes Scripting (Storyboarding)
Scouting locations
Gathering Cast and Crew
Planning production equipment and other
requirements.
Often longer and more complicated than the
production phase.
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The Construction of Video
Programs
 Production
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Phase
Shooting phase
“Look” of the program divided by director,
videographer, and production design.
Director guides performers though their roles.
All associated persons record the footage that
will become the basis for the finished product.
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The Construction of Video
Programs
 Postproduction
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Phase
As important as all other phases
Assembling of shots, sounds, special effects,
etc.
Editing Phase
 Only
the tip of the iceberg…
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Vocabulary
Camcorder – an appliance that both captures
moving images and stores them on tape or other
media.
 Digitize – To record images and sounds as
numerical data, either directly in a camcorder or
in the process of importing them to a computer.
 Film – An audiovisual medium that on
transparent plastic strips by means of
photosensitive chemicals

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Vocabulary
– Recorded and usually transmitted
for display continuously and in real time.
 Shoot – To record film or video; also, “a
shoot” is an informal term for the
production phase of a film or video project.
 Television – Studio-based, multicamera
video that is often produced and
transmitted “live.”
 Live
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Vocabulary
Video – An audiovisual medium that records on
magnetic tape of other media by electronic
means; also, single camera taped program
creation in the manner of film production rather
than studio television.
 Visual Literacy – the ability to evaluate the
content of visual media through an
understanding of the way in which it is recorded
and presented.

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