PREPARING TELEVISION VISUALS

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the techniques used to prepare television visuals.

Regardless of the purpose or format of your television visual, you must consider the following basic aesthetic elements: l Simplicity l Contrast l Balance and composition l Lettering

SIMPLICITY

The old adage, "Keep It Short and Simple" (KISS), certainly applies when you create television visuals. Your visual should be uncomplicated and easily recognized. Do not make the viewer work too hard to understand what he is seeing. For example, viewers normally will ignore a visual with too much lettering. Additionally, try to keep colors to a minimum.

All copy or lettering must be readable. Fancy fonts may look good on paper, but they might not permit the viewer to understand what you are trying to convey.

Sizing of the subject in the picture also is important. "Keep the primary subject somewhat large within the picture that you are framing. Do not make the viewer strain to read or see the subject. A good subject size is about one-half inch in height on a 19-inch monitor.

CONTRAST

High definition, or contrast quality, is important for reproduction over a television system. Contrast in visuals should be sharp but not excessive. Avoid large areas of white. The pickup tube(s) of the camera will transmit glitter and flair when you shoot high-intensity reflected light, especially during camera movement. This also may introduce audio noise into the television picture.

The human eye can identify about 100 different shades of gray. The television camera clearly identifies only about 10 shades. Since the brightest area can be no more than 20 times as bright as the darkest area, you must be careful when using pictures and visuals that have high contrast.

You also should consider how color will appear on a black-and-white (monochrome) television set. Color material will appear as shades of gray on a monochrome

Figure 14-18. - Unbalanced (left) and balanced station identification visual.

television set and must be used according to its gray scale value. The best way to test colors is to check them with a color television camera and monitor. You will find that brown, purple, dark blue and black appear black on a monochrome television; red, medium blue and medium green appear dark gray; light blue, chartreuse, gold and orange appear light gray; and pastels, bright yellow, light gray and tan appear almost white.

Even a color television system acts as a filter - it only sees a portion of the hue (color) and saturation (color strength) that the human eye can see. Most color cameras have trouble with the colors red and orange. Saturated colors cause excessive video noise or color stretching over the entire screen. Stripes or color banding also may show up as color vibrations, thus disrupting the picture. Stay with basic, solid colors - primarily blues and greens - and avoid supersaturated reds and oranges.

Studies have revealed that color may influence our judgments of size, weight and temperature, and even affect our psychological state of mind. Colors are viewed as "high energy" or "low energy." Cool colors are considered low energy; warm colors are termed "high energy." Make sure you avoid using two colors that have the same value on the gray scale.

BALANCE AND COMPOSITION

Balance and composition are also important factors when you design television visuals. For full screen visuals, make sure the design is balanced and aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. Try to visualize the final, on-air picture before you use it in a production. An example is the station identification visual shown in figure 14-18.

LETTERING

Letters too small or too thin will not be seen by the viewer. A general rule of thumb is not to use letters smaller than 15 to 20 percent of the essential area. If the visual is too busy or includes too much material, it will probably distract your audience. Five or six lines of 15 to 20 characters is considered the most a viewer can handle at onetime.