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■ Introduction 182
■ Development 183
■ Pre-production 185
■ Production 191
■ Post-production 196
■ Youtube, user-generated content and the amateur-professional creator 198
■ Case study: ‘fixed rig’ observational documentary 201
■ summary of key points 204
■ Bibliography 205
DOI: 10.4324/9781315619675-9
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10.4324/9781315619675-9
Television Production
Television Production
Introduction
The stages in television programme production discussed in this chapter are:
■ Development, where programme ideas are being worked out, researched and planned in an audio-visual form appropriate to a certain television genre, channel or streaming platform, position in the schedule (where relevant) and size of budget. Where key creative talent (writers, directors, star per- formers) are attached and where the treatment, budgets and pitch are devised
■ Pre-production, where after commissioning further scripts are written, research is conducted for locations, cast and crew are selected, storyboards and production schedules are drawn up, and the design, props, costumes and music are selected.
■ Production, when the shooting takes place, following the plan outlined in the budget and schedule, using the director, performers, presenters, contributors and the technical crew that have been selected and organised at the prepro- duction stage.
■ Post-production, when editing takes place, formerly off-line at below broad- cast quality, then online editing is completed, the score is composed and soundtracks assembled, when effects, colour grading and sound mixing are achieved. At the end of this process final accounts are prepared.
The chapter discusses the many professional roles involved in making television, with emphasis on the creative and managerial roles of producer, director, screen- writer, editor and camera operator. It is not possible in the space available here to provide as much detailed descriptive information about these roles, or the compe- tences needed to carry them out to professional standards, as can be found in the many ‘how-to’ books on the market about television production. A few such books are listed in the Bibliography section at the end of the chapter. Nevertheless, the chapter considers the different roles in television programme-making and gives an overview of the different stages of the production process, including some of its key terminology. It also considers YouTube content creators, their production process and position on the streaming platform, and how they can straddle the amateur/professional divide. It concludes with a case study of fixed-rig documen- tary production. The aim of this chapter is to develop an analytical understanding of how television production communicates with audiences through the skills and techniques used by professional television-makers. The assumption behind it is that learning about television is not only a critical and theoretical enterprise: tel- evision is an industry, a technology and a set of working practices. So the student
genre a kind or type of programme. Programmes of the same genre have shared characteristics.
streaming platform company that provides video on-demand via the internet, can be subscription-based or supported by advertising or a licence fee e.g. Disney+, BBC iPlayer.
schedule the arrangement of programmes, advertisements and other material into a sequential order on linear television, within a certain period of time, such as an evening, day or week.
budget the money allocated to the making of a particular programme or series of programmes, which is controlled by the producer.
treatment a short, written outline for a programme, usually written for a commissioning executive to read, specifying how the programme will tell its story or address its subject.
pitch a very short written or spoken outline for a programme, perhaps only a few sentences, often used to persuade a commissioning executive to commission the programme.
location any place in which television images are shot, except inside a television studio.
storyboard a sequence of drawn images showing the shots to be used in a programme.
director the person responsible for the creative process of turning a script or idea into a finished programme, by working with a technical crew, performers and an editor.
off-line editing the first stage of editing a completed programme, where the sequence of shots, sounds and music is established.
online editing the final stage of editing a completed programme, where effects are added, colour grading and sound mixing takes place, and a high-quality version of the programme is produced.
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of television should understand the broad principles of the production practices that bring programmes into being.
Television has long been regarded as a producer’s medium, meaning that the television producer has the predominant authority over and responsibility for television-making. While there are several other roles that could claim such creative and managerial authority, particularly those of director and scriptwriter, this chapter devotes the greatest space to the key elements of the producer’s role.
The producer contributes to the process of selecting and working with writers, controls the process of making a programme and fulfils a responsibility to the television company that has commissioned the programme by overseeing budg- ets, personnel, the production schedule and the delivery of the programme. The chapter explains how producers work with creative personnel on the production such as the director, performers, designers and editors. As far as possible, the chapter offers a discussion that can apply across the genres of factual and fic- tional television production, but there are specific discussions of genres that have particular patterns of organisation and production. News is not discussed in this chapter (for news production, Allen 2010 and Keller 2019), nor is the making of television commercials.
Development
Although the production of television programmes is a linear process from the initial idea to the final broadcast of the programme, making programmes demands anticipation of later stages at every point in the process. An initial idea will need to be shaped so that it will appeal to the audience imagined by the programme-maker. A programme pitch needs to balance formula and innovation, aligning with types of programme familiar to audiences, but different enough to stand out, offering a twist on an established norm. Right from the start the programme-maker will have an audience in mind for the subject, style, genre, aesthetic form and pace of the programme. As the production continues, this sense of the audience may be modified, but it will always be present as a check on the probable effectiveness of each individual decision. Programmes will be pitched to development executives at production companies, then to commission- ing executives at channels and streaming platforms. So the idea and the intended process of its realisation will also need to appeal to those people, their tastes and understanding of their audiences. There is potential for conflict at this point, as the scriptwriter’s sense of the audience appeal of their project may not be shared by the executive. In practice there is always a process of negotiation between all the parties involved in making a television programme, and it is the responsibil- ity of all the parties involved to maintain the integrity of their ideas yet also to be persuaded by the ideas of the others. Tensions, power-struggles and ulterior motives are endemic to television production, as well as the more positive factors of teamwork, creative co-operation and pride in one’s expertise.
Whereas cinema has been a medium in which the director has creative control over the film, in television considerably more power is wielded by the producer and in prestige TV, the writer. Producers are primarily managers, but they also work closely with creative staff and require a broad range of knowledge. The
prestige Tv critical and industry term to describe high-budget flagship drama and comedy. term aims to remove hierarchical/
judgemental connotations of the term ‘quality television’.
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producer will manage all the staff involved in the making, including the direc- tor, and have traditionally enjoyed a more secure position in employment as they oversee the planning, shooting and post-production of television programmes. In the contemporary US industry and increasingly within other television markets, this production role in drama and comedy is referred to as the ‘showrunner’.
The showrunner is a creative writer-producer responsible for the creative direc- tion of the programme. They frequently work alongside non-creative producers responsible for logistical and financial aspects of production. In the lengthy sea- sons of US television, long-running television programmes can be expansive pro- ductions that employ hundreds of people. The showrunner oversees the ‘writers’
room’ and guides the production of episodes through development, production and editing. This is often, but not always the programme’s creator. The showrun- ner maintains the programme’s ‘voice’ and creative direction and is frequently assigned authorship of the programme in marketing, press and cultural discourse (authorship is discussed further in Chapter 12). The showrunner takes on the authorial role attributed to the director in cinema, as in television directors are employed freelance for individual or a short set of episodes. However, prestige serials with short episode runs can employ one or two directors across a season.
Prestige cable dramas and high-profile network dramas will frequently employ a high-profile director (often with an established reputation in cinema) to direct their pilot episode. This director will help develop the project and establish the programme’s aesthetic sensibility and tone. They retain an ‘executive producer’
credit but rarely continue working on the production.
The producer’s primary role is to lead the team making a programme, to deliver that programme to a deadline imposed by the institution that has com- missioned it and to maintain a standard of quality that will ensure approval from industry colleagues and prospects of further work. The skills needed to achieve this include:
■ Management skills of wielding authority effectively while maintaining the coherence and harmony of the production team
■ Commitment to the project’s vision
■ An ability to understand and evaluate the work of others
Since television programmes are subject to a range of legal considerations such as copyright, health and safety, and libel and defamation, the producer also needs to know the basics of these legal frameworks as well as the guidelines provided by broadcasting organisations. As producers will be managing technical specialists, such as camera operators, lighting and sound technicians, graphic artists, design- ers and editors, they need to know enough about these areas of expertise in order to recruit individuals, manage and evaluate their work, or in large-scale produc- tions to employ department heads with the requisite knowledge.
In many television genres the producer will need writing skills in order to advise scriptwriters and to edit and sometimes rewrite their work, and an under- standing of the visual and sound qualities of television that will be used to realise a programme idea or script. In drama the relationships built up between produc- ers and writers are crucial to the success of television programmes. In factual genres such as documentary, even though a programme will not be scripted for
showrunner the writer-producer in charge of the day- to-day running of a television programme, who is also tasked with the shaping and maintaining of that programme’s ‘voice’.
copyright the legal right of ownership over written, visual or aural material, including the prohibition on copying this material without permission from its owner.
documentary a form aiming to record actual events, often with an explanatory purpose or to analyse and debate an issue.