ASSIGNMENT DRIVE FALL 2014

PROGRAM BAJM
SEMESTER 3
SUBJECT CODE & NAME BJ0043 TV BROADCASTING
BK ID B1176 CREDIT 2 MARKS 30

Q.No 1 Discuss the six shots classified by camera movement, and the four shots
classified by usage. 10 marks
Answer:
Six shots classified by camera movement:
Pan The simplest camera movement is the pan. The horizontal movement of the camera - left
and right - even as the pedestal (also called the tripod) stays stationary is called a pan. This
movement does not involve the movement of the camera mount (camera stand). The pan is
often used to give visual variety among a number of static shots, but usually the main use of a
pan, apart from keeping a moving object/ subject in frame, is to show relationships. Shots
beginning with a pan should be well-balanced and continue to do so until the pan ends.
Tilt Another simple camera movement is the tilt. The vertical movement of the camera-up
and down-even as the pedestal stays stationary is called a tilt. The tilt, resembling the movement
of our head up and down, provides a view of the elements lying above and below the field of
view, so to say. Like the pan, there needs to be a motivation for a tilt. Apart from the pan and the
tilt, the other camera movements are track in/out, truck left/right, zoom in/out, arc right/left,
pedestal up/down. Let us examine these movements in detail.
Track in/track out Also called 'dolly in' and 'dolly out', track in/track out is the combined
physical movement of the camera along with the pedestal. The camera and the pedestal are
mounted on a track and trolley that moves the camera either towards or away from the principal
object. Moving the camera towards or away from the subject alters the size relationships
between foreground and background objects.

The perceptual change is similar to what we observe when we physically move towards or away
from an object. Tracking conforms to our normal visual experience and also sets up interesting
rearrangements of all the visual elements in the camera's field of view.
Truck left/truck right Also called 'crab left' and 'crab right', truck left and truck right
involves the lateral movement of the camera and the tripod mounted on a track and trolley. In
this case, the camera moves sideways on its mount along with the subject. It is mainly used to
follow the subject moving across the screen. Trucking or crabbing is also used to reveal the
extent of a scene, section by section, and also a series of objects. It is important to keep the
frame steady and maintain the same shot size all along the shot. When two persons engaged in
dialogue are walking across the frame, a truck shot looks as if a third person is listening in on
their conversation.
Arc right/arc left As the name itself suggests, the angular movement of both the camera
and the tripod mounted on a track and trolley is called arc. Also meant to provide fresh
viewpoints, arching serves to change visual emphasis on a subject while the camera is in
movement.
Zoom in/out Whereas in track in/out, the camera and the pedestal (tripod) move physically
either towards or away from an object, in zoom in/ out, the camera and the tripod are steady,
but the combination of lenses in the camera head moves forward and backward in order to get
closer or farther away from the object.
Shots Classified by Usage:
Master shot The master shot is normally the long shot in which the entire scene is played
out. Closer shots in other angles may be shot later and edited into the master shot. The master
shot is usually an objective shot, usually shot from the point of view of an imaginary viewer
outside the scene.
Point-of-view shot The POV shot is from the viewpoint of one of the performers in a scene.
It is also called a subjective shot.
Over-the-shoulder shot The OTS may usefully link two or more participants in a
conversation; the camera looks at someone over the shoulder of the person near the camera.
This is also a subjective shot
Cut-ins and cut-aways Directors and editors are fond of camerapersons who shoot a lot of
cut-ins and cut-aways. These shots come in handy while editing a programme and may be
inserted into the programme to speed up the editing, compress time, or to cover a break in the

action. During a routine interview, shots of the interviewer or of the interviewee's hands, of
objects around the room are examples of cut-ins, whereas cutting to shots of objects that the
interviewee is referring to outside the geographical area of the interview (for example, shots of
trains, platforms, etc., edited into an interview with a railway minister) are called cut-aways.

2 Discuss the video switcher. 10 marks

Answer:
A video switcher, also called a vision mixer in common parlance, is a device that enables us to
switch from one camera to another without actually stopping the camera(s) or the performers.
With a series of input selectors that permits one or more selected inputs to be combined,
manipulated, and set out on the line, a vision mixer is used for selection and proper sequencing
of images supplied by cameras and other input sources like tilting, graphics machines, and
VTRs. All the video sources or inputs are fed into the box through a range of input sockets.
Not only does the vision mixer route one or more video sources (from cameras, VTRs, and
graphics generators), but it also enables the technician to mix, manipulate, and implement a
host of transitions like cuts, dissolves, wipes, fade ins and fade outs, and also super titles, if any.
The main concept of a professional vision mixer is the bus-basically a row of buttons, with each
button representing a video source. Pressing such a button will 'release' the video signal out of
that bus. Older video mixers had two equivalent buses called the A and the B bus, and such a
mixer is known as an A/B mixer. One of these buses could be selected as the main out (or
program) bus. Most modern mixers, however, have one bus that is always the program bus, the
second main bus being the preview bus. These mixers are called flip-flop mixers, since the
selected source of the preview and program buses can be exchanged. Both preview and program
buses usually have their own video monitor.
Another main feature of a vision mixer is the transition lever. This lever, similar to an audio
fader, creates a transition between two buses. Note that in a flip-flop mixer, the position of the
main transition lever does not indicate which bus is active, since the programme bus is always
the active or hot bus. Instead of moving the lever by hand, a button (commonly labeled Mix) can
be used, which performs the transition over a user-defined period of time. Another button,
usually labeled Cut, directly swaps the buses without any transition. The type of transition used
can be selected in the transition section. Common transitions include dissolves (similar to an
audio crossfade) and pattern wipes.

The third bus on a vision mixer is the key bus. A mixer can actually have more than one of these,
but they usually share only one set of buttons. Here, a signal can be selected for keying into the
programme. The image that will be seen in the programme is called the fill, while the mask used
to create the translucence of the keys is called the source. Note that instead of the key bus, other
video sources can be selected for the fill signal, but the key bus is usually the most convenient
method for selecting a key fill. Usually, a key is turned on and off the same way a transition is.
For this, the transition section can be switched from programme mode (or background) to key
mode.
These three main buses together form the basic mixer section called Programme/Preset or P /P.
Bigger production mixers may have a number of additional sections of this type, which are
called Mix/Effects (M/E for short) and are numbered. Any M/E section can be selected as a
source in the P /P stage, making the mixer operations much more versatile, since effects or keys
can be composed 'offline' in an M/E and then sent 'live' at the push of a button.
After the P /P section, there is another keying stage called the downstream keyer. It is mostly
used for keying text or graphics and has its own Cut and Mix buttons. After the downstream
keyer is one last stage that overrides any signal with black, usually called FTB or Fade To Black.
Modern vision mixers may also have additional functions, such as auxillary channels for routing
signals to other sources than the out and digital video effects (DVE) capabilities.
Since vision mixers combine various video signals such as VTRs and video cameras, it is very
important that all these sources are properly synchronized. In professional facilities a sync
generator feeds all the equipment. Sync can also be achieved by sending out a black burst signal
from the switcher, and this method is called genlock. Signals that are not in sync, either because
they originate outside the facility or because the particular equipment does not accept external
sync, must be synchronised properly to get the right picture. Some vision mixers have internal
frame-syncs or they can be a separate piece of equipment. If the mixer is used for video editing,
the editing console, which usually controls the vision mixer remotely, must also be syncd. Larger
vision mixers divide the control panel from the actual circuitry because of noise, temperature,
and cable length considerations. The control panel is located in the production control room,
while the main unit, to which all cables are connected, is located in a machine room alongside
the other hardware.

3. Discuss working with soundwaves (including sound wave properties such as

wavelength, amplitude and frequency). 10 marks
Answer:
Sound waves exist as variations of pressure in a medium such as air. They are created by the
vibration of an object, which causes the air surrounding it to vibrate. The vibrating air then
causes the human eardrum to vibrate, which the brain interprets as sound. Sound waves travel
through air in much the same way as water waves travel through water. In fact, since water
waves are easy to see and understand, they are often used as an analogy to illustrate how sound
waves behave.
Note that a waveform graph is two-dimensional but in the real world sound waves are threedimensional. The graph indicates a wave traveling along a path from left to right, but real sound
waves travel in an expanding sphere from the source. However, the 2-dimensional model works
fairly well when thinking about how sound travels from one place to another.
The next thing to consider is what the graph represents; that is, what it means when the wave
hits a high or low point. The following explanation is a simplified way of looking at how sound
waves work and how they are represented as a waveform. Don't take it too literally treat it as a
useful way to visualise what's going on.
In an electronic signal, high values represent high positive voltage. When this signal is converted
to a sound wave, you can think of high values as representing areas of increased air pressure.
When the waveform hits a high point, this corresponds to molecules of air being packed together
densely. When the wave hits a low point the air molecules are spread more thinly.
In the diagram below, the black dots represent air molecules. As the loudspeaker vibrates, it
causes the surrounding molecules to vibrate in a particular pattern represented by the
waveform. The vibrating air then causes the listener's eardrum to vibrate in the same pattern.
Voila Sound!

Fig: Variations in Air Pressure and Corresponding Waveform

Note that air molecules do not actually travel from the loudspeaker to the ear (that would be
wind). Each individual molecule only moves a small distance as it vibrates, but it causes the
adjacent molecules to vibrate in a rippling effect all the way to the ear.
Sound Wave Properties
Wavelength: The distance between any point on a wave and the equivalent point on the next
phase literally, the length of the wave is known as wavelength.
Amplitude: The strength or power of a wave signal i.e. the "height" of a wave when viewed as a
graph is known as amplitude. Higher amplitudes are interpreted as a higher volume, hence the
name "amplifier" for a device, which increases amplitude.
Frequency: The number of times the wavelength occurs in one second is know as frequency. It
is measured in kilohertz (Khz), or cycles per second. The faster the sound source vibrates, the
higher the frequency. Higher frequencies are interpreted as a higher pitch. For example, when
you sing in a high-pitched voice you are forcing your vocal chords to vibrate quickly.