TELEVISION VISUALS

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize the technical requirements and main types of television visuals.

As a television broadcaster, you must be able to think visually in order to make the most of the television medium. In some cases, visuals can tell the entire story by themselves and should be an integral part of a production instead of an afterthought. You may have heard the cliche, "One picture is worth a thousand words." This is true because effective visuals will help you tell the story with more clarity. A viewer's imagination can actually provide the "soundtrack," sometimes enhanced by narration (used sparingly) and television dialogue.

The term visuals maybe broken into the following three subgroups:

l Graphics (maps, charts, diagrams, illustrations, printed IDs, outlines and summaries and CG information)

l Photographic techniques (still photographs)

l Television backdrops, props, scenery and subject/talent visual information not included in the first two categories

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Before you plan or use any type of television visual, you must be aware of the technical limitations and guidelines involved Even if you do not actually design or prepare the visuals, you must be able to guide your artist and understand the limitations of visuals.

It is important for you to understand how visuals must be tailored for television before producing or selecting them. For example, a novice television broadcaster may see a random visual he likes and try to use it immediately, while a seasoned veteran will base his decision on more scientific guidelines and will not rely on first impressions.

Any producer of television programs learns quickly that he needs a "working knowledge" of many contributory fields. One of these is graphic arts. All television shows use graphic materials - title cards, photographs, illustrations, charts and maps - just to name a few. Graphic materials greatly enhance news and feature productions, spot announcements and virtually all types of television programs. Keep in mind that, in television it is important for you to present information visually as often as possible since people remember visual information longer than the spoken word. Without visuals, you lose the force of this powerful medium.

Whether written, pictorial, diagrammatic or sheer design, visuals have a place in almost every television production. In preparing visuals for television, you should pay close attention to the aspect ratio, scanning area, essential area, border area and the size of the visuals.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio of any television screen, regardless of its physical size, is 3:4. This means the television screen is divided into three units high and four units wide. The visual elements should be kept in a format size that will complement either 6:8 or 9:12. These aspect ratios will help you keep the materials and objects within the 3:4 aspect ratio format shown in figure 14-13. A television visual prepared within this aspect ratio will be seen in its entirety on the television screen. Conversely, think about what would happen if you were to shoot a vertical photograph without the proper aspect ratio. The photograph would lose a major portion of its

Figure 14-13. - Television aspect ratio.

information from either the top or bottom, or its sides, and visually, it would look poor on the television screen.

Scanning Area

The total area seen by the camera is called the scanning area. This image is transmitted fully, but the outer edges and the corners usually do not appear on the home television set because of the shape of the picture tube. A properly aligned television receiver will display all scanned information at the top and bottom center of the picture, but will crop corners because of the nonsquare corners of the picture tube.

The common mistake many new television broadcasters make is allowing too much headroom at the top of the picture. Remember: the home receiver sees everything at the top center, so do not overcompensate the same way you do for edge and comer cropping.

Essential Area

The portion of the picture that reaches the viewer must include all of the important information - this is known as the essential area. All visuals have a scanning area and an essential area. The scanning area is the entire picture from top to bottom and from side to side. The essential area is the meat of the picture - the main information within that picture area. Both the scanning and essential areas of a picture are shown in figure 14-14.

Border Area

The border area is another important area of the television picture. Graphic artwork should have a border around the scanning area for the following reasons:

1. It helps prevent the picture from being damaged if dropped.

Figure 14-14. - Scanning and essential areas of a television picture

2. It helps protect the artwork from fingerprints and smudges.

3. It may prevent your audience from seeing past the card to some behind-the-scenes activity if the camera operator did not have time to frame the shot properly.

4. It serves as a "bleed-off' area for overscanned sets. The excess border contains no essential information.

Size

There is no specific size of studio title cards or other television visuals. However, a generally accepted size is 11 by 14 inches. It is best that all visuals be made the same size for storage purposes. The 11- by 14-inch size fits well in a standard file cabinet. The cards should be numbered with a piece of marking tape on the edge. Stagger these tabs for easy access.

A visual that is 11 by 14 inches offers the following advantages:

1. It allows an ample 2-inch handling border so fingerprints and smudges will not damage the primary. information.

2. It leaves a 9- by 12-inch working area for both the camera operator and artist.

3. It is compatible with the aspect ratio requirement of 3:4, thus incorporating a measure of safety.

It is also wise for you to mark off an additional 10 or 15 percent inside this 9- by 12-inch area. Your doing this will give you a copy area of about 7 1/2 by 10 inches and compensates for the picture area lost because of cropping (transmission loss) on the home television receiver (fig. 14-15).

Figure 14-15. - Transmission loss.

Remember to use the scanning area! The total scanning area is visible on most television sets, but there is a 10-percent loss on others. Therefore, keep all pertinent information within the essential or "safe" area. This is especially critical when you use words.