TYPES OF VISUALS

The types and uses of visuals are limited only by your imagination. Visuals come in various forms, each having a name that makes it easily identifiable to production and artwork staff members.

The following is a list of the major types of television visuals:

studio card

Plain title card

Combination title card

Super/key card

Chroma key card

Maps and charts

Character generator

Computer graphics

Studio Card

The studio card may be a mounted photograph or an illustration. It sits on an easel and maybe a plain card (words only) or an illustration or picture with words. Combining words and illustrations requires the coordination of two video sources, such as a character generator and art.

Plain Title Card

The plain title card has printed lettering (without any pictorial background), such as the title of the show, the name of the performers and producer, and so forth. Rich, deep color backgrounds with light lettering make reading easy.

Combination Title Card

The combination title card has lettering against may be either artwork or photography. The lettering may be either on the card itself or on an overlay.

Super/Key Card

During the showing of a super/key card, the card lettering is superimposed electronically over another background (or over another picture) from either another camera or from a film chain camera. This technique is an accepted form for placing the name of the subject on the air while the subject is talking. Use only simple, bold letters and try to restrict the amount of information on the super/key card. Normally you should avoid white lettering on a black background, because the contrast between the two is too great. Nonetheless, in this case, the lettering must be white and the background black.

Use caution when you plan the super/key card. You must consider how two camera shots will look as one picture. In addition, you should place lettering in the lower third of the card and center the card on the picture. This is done so you will not obstruct the background or the main action.

Chroma Key Card

The chroma key card is similar to the super card, except the background for the lettering is usually blue instead of black and the letters are i-reprinted on the card The background of the card may be any color. However, most television producers use a chroma-blue background color, because it makes skin tones appear natural and suppresses picture distortion.

Through electronic means, the chroma-blue background becomes transparent during the matting process, only showing the typically white or yellow letters. The camera picture from the second camera shows through without interfering with the foreground image. The chroma key matting process appears to the viewer as a rear screen projection, such as when the picture is keyed (shown) behind an announcer or is a boxed support graphic inserted alongside the announcer. The video source may be a VCR or a live television camera shooting a studio card.

Maps and Charts

Maps and charts are also important visual aids for

pictorial information for the background. The picture television programs, especially newscasts.

Figure 14-16. - Character generator (CG).

You can limit details to the essential areas by using simplified drawings. For example, if you want to emphasize the state of Colorado on a map of the United States, you could retrace the borders and darken the state area with green or blue tints.

Keep written copy on charts to a minimum. Maximum clarity with minimum essentials must be your chief objective.

Character Generator

When you have a lot of printed information to air, such as sports scores or closing credits, you should use a character generator (CG) (fig. 14-16). The CG is a computer graphics system used widely in closed circuit and broadcast television. It creates letters and numbers in a variety of sizes and fonts and requires no special skill for the user to make flawless letters.

A CG has a solid-state keyboard similar in appearance to a microcomputer keyboard, except it contains additional keys for specific CG functions. As you create text, you may store it in RAM (random access memory) and recall it as needed. Since RAM is cleared when microcomputers are turned off, most CGs use a floppy or hard disk drive system for permanent text storage.

Some of the more advanced CGs feature 14 to 16 lines of 32 characters within the frill-screen scanning area line-by-line memory recall, automatic centering, word flash, word or line underline, stand alone titling, titling over video and two-speed roll (or crawl) through all or part of the memory. You may even program the letters in certain color arrangements by using a colorizer. A cursor helps you move information to any location on the screen.

Although the CG is a timely means to display information, you should not rule out the use of other graphic support material.

Computer Graphics

Computer graphics, the newest elements of the television medium, have all but replaced 35mm slides for television work. This process starts with an electronic picture recorded on videotape. The computer operator converts the picture into a digital code format and stores it either on the hard disk drive or a floppy drive. When the image is needed, a graphic artist retrieves it and converts it into an electronic picture. Now he may paint or draw a picture using an electronic pen and palette. The graphic artist can add or delete information and change the colors of the picture and letters at will while "on-the- air." Some advanced computer graphic systems have a wide range of colors and can produce detailed animation.

Figure 14-17. - Computer graphic system.

A computer graphic system is shown in figure 14-17.