VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION

VIDEO PRODUCTION LAB

(Subject Code: BA(JMC) 253)
Semester III

Submitted by: Naman Jain Submitted to: Dr. Debarati Dhar

Enrollment No: 09317702419

Vivekananda School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies
Accredited Grade “A” by NAAC, Recognized under Section 2(f) of UGC, Affiliated to Guru
Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Recognized by Bar Council of India Approved BY AICTE,
ISO 9001:2015
AU Block, Outer Ring Road, Pitampura, Delhi – 110034

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 UNIT – I

VIDEO CAMERA

A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition (as opposedto a
movie camera, which records images on film), initially developed for the
televisionindustry but now common in other applications as well.

PARTS OF A VIDEO CAMERA

1. A camera lens
 consists one or more pieces of glass that focuses and frame an imagewithin the camera.
The lens contains aperture control ring allows the camera operator toadjust the lens iris
manually to control exposure and the focus control ring on Lensallows the camera
operator to turn the ring manually to obtain the optimal focus.

2. Microphone
Most portable video cameras include a microphone intended forenvironmental (natural)
sound pickup. It may be built in or removable. A foamsponge cover over the microphone
reduces low-pitched wind rumble. The camera may or maynot have sockets for more
audio inputs.

3. The power zoom rocker switch

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 A switch located on the side of the lens, allows the camera operator to electronically
zoom the lens. The speed of the zoom may vary, depending onthe switch pressure.

4. The focus control ring

 on a lens allows the camera operator to turn the ring manually toobtain the optimal focus.

5. Lens shades
protect the lens elements from picking up light distortions from the sun or a bright
light.

6. Viewfinder
The viewfinder contains a small screen with a magnifying lens that

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enlargesthe image to be viewed by the camera operator. Depending on the camera,
aviewfinder can come various shapes and sizes.

7. Battery
 Battery power is essential for camera use. Every camera is equipped with arechargeable
battery. Most batteries are lithium-ion based, and each is made anddesigned to work
specifically with its camera model only. A full battery charge canusually take 12 hours,
meaning an overnight charge will suffice.

8. Controls
The camera's main controls include the Power switch and the Record button. It will also
include playback buttons such as Play, Stop, Rewind, Fast Forward and Pause. The
controls also include output ports to connect the camera for playback. All cameras should
include the basic red/white/yellow RCA cables to connect to any playback machine, but
they can also include USB or FireWire control.

WORKING OF A VIDEO CAMERA

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 All camera work on same principles whether we shooting with professional or
consumer camera.

 When the camera is pointed at a subject, the lens gathers the light reflected from
thatscene first and focuses it on the beam splitter. The amount of light can be
controlled by aperture ring here.

 The beam splitter (consists of various prisms or filters) splits the white light into
redgreen and blue light beams, usually referred to as RGB.

 Once the white light has been divided into the three primary colors, the light beams
are directed imaging device (CCD or CMOS or a Camera pick-up tube) which
converts light into electrical signals. Generally 3 CCDs are used for separate
channels.

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 After the information converted into electric charge, all the electrical charges
combine to become the video signals for the three primary light colors. These RGB
signals make upthe chrominance (color) information. The black and white signal
(Luminance) information is generated internally.

 Here, these signals are amplified and processed which can be recorded on video
tape or memory card.

 These information can be viewed through viewfinder and LCD panel also.

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 UNIT – II
WHAT IS A SHOT ?

A shot is the basic element of any video. It is a span of video recorded between eachtake,
or switching on and off the camera. These shots are arranged in sequence to
takethe narrative forward and showing different aspects or elements one by one. The prim
ary jobof the producer to shoot the shots to emphasize the elements of the narrative to
attract theattention of the audience, while conveying the meaning.

TYPES OF SHOTS

1.Extreme Long Shot (ELS)
A very wide field of view in which the camera takes in the entire viewing area. The
subjector subjects are small in relation to the background and tend to compete with
thesurroundings for the viewer's attention. The ELS is often used early in a scene
as an"establishing shot". An establishing shot is used to show the audience where the
action istaking place. Background in dominating.

2.Long Shot (LS) or Wide Shot (WS)

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A slightly closer field of view than the extreme long shot, but subject remains dominated
by the much larger background area.

3.Medium Long Shot (MLS)
Used to clearly show body gestures. In the case of a standing actor, the lower frame line
cutsoff his feet and ankles. Some documentaries with social themes favor keeping people
in thelonger shots, keeping social circumstances rather than the individual as the focus of
attention.

4.Medium Shot (MS)

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The subject becomes larger and more dominant. The background is still important butnow
shares space with the subject. Used to help viewers easily recognize the subject and
seewhat are the doing.

5.Close-up (CU)
The subject becomes the primary focus within the shot. Only a small portion of thebackgro
und is visible.

6.Extreme Close-up (ECU)

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The subject fills the screen and is clearly the central focus of the shot. It could be a
shot ofeyes, or hands or the object of interest in the frame.

7.Over-The-Shoulder Shot (OS)

Another grouping that is commonly used is the over-the-shoulder shot (OS). This
shotestablishes a relationship between two characters and also enhances the depth of
the shot.

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RULES OF COMPOSITION

1. Rule of Thirds
Mentally divide your viewfinder into thirds horizontally and vertically. Place your primarypoint
of interest on the intersection of two lines. Lines of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the
way up (or across) the frame, rather than at the centre. In this shots the main lineof interest
is the imaginary line going through the subject's eyes.The theory is that if you place points of
interest in the intersections or along the lines that yourphoto becomes more balanced and will
enable a viewer of the image to interact with it morenaturally.

2. The 180 Degree Rule

this one is simple and complicated at the same time. The 180-degree rule draws an
imaginaryline that connects the characters in the scene. The camera should be on one side of
this line forevery shot in the scene. This way, the first character is always frame right of the
secondcharacter, and the second one is frame left of the first. This rule helps with continuity and
eyelines.

3. The Rule of Odds

When a frame includes an even number of subjects, like two or four, your brain tends to
organise the subjects into pairs, which can make your compositions look a bit dull. When you
use the rule of odds to place one main subject in the frame, with two other supporting subjects,
your eyes will naturally fall to a middle subject, giving your photo a focal point. The rule of
odds states that when you’re including a group of subjects in your photo, an odd number, rather
than an even number will produce a more interesting, and more visually pleasing composition.

4. Leading Lines
Direct the viewer's' eyes with leading lines. Use leading lines to direct them to focus on the
mainsubject of your shot. The direction of the dominant lines in a picture has
psychologicalconnotations.
Horizontal -serenity and inactivity.
Vertical -strength and dignity.
Diagonal-action, imbalance, insecurity.
Curved-softness or movement

5. Headroom
Headroom is the space between the top of subject’s head and the top of the frame. Neither too
much, nor too less headroom is ideal for a perfect frame. Too much of Headroom makes our
subject look like it is sinking and also the subject looks too small wheras very less headromm
shows a congested frame. To apply proper headroom for a frame , rule of thirds should be
applied by dividing the frame into 3 equal parts horizontally and keeping the head of the subject
at the botton point of the 1st division from top.

UNIT – III

LIGHT AND ITS PROPERTIES

Lighting is the essence of film making. Visual artists refer to lighting as painting with light.
Alighting director can use lights just as effectively and expressively as any painter usescolour
pigments to evoke a specific mood or visual impression. Lighting can be used to emphasize and
dramatize a subject by bringing objects into sharp relief or contrast, or it can be used to soften
and to harmonize. Lighting directly affects the overall impression and feelings generated by
recorded visual images. It is a complex art, but basic videoand film lighting can be reduced to a
limited number of concepts and techniques.

1. Intensity : The intensity of light is measured in lux or candela. For the purpose ofcamera, it
can be quantified in terms of aperture or F stops. This is measured with alight meter, or the
meter in the camera. It also varies with the distance from the subject.

2. Colour : If you turn on an electric stove element you will notice that it radiates bothheat and
light - it glows. The hotter the element, the brighter it glows. This is the principle behind
colour temperature. Similarly, all light sources have a colour temperaturewhich is measured in
Kelvin.

3. Angle : The shadows depend on the angle of the source of light. Lights from different angles
on a subject, results in different shadows and shades which sets the mood and the environment
of a shot or a frame.

4. Distance : The distance has a major impact on the intensity and sharpness of light. Here also
comes the concept of Shallow Depth of Field and Narrow Depth Of Field.

5. Source: A point source will have distinct qualities comapred to a scattered one.

BASIC LIGHTING TECHNIQUES

1. THREE POINT LIGHTING

This lighting technique is the most elementary and widely practised one. It consists of 3 lights–
key, back, fill.
Key Light
★ The key lights are the brightest and, in some ways, the most important lights on the set. The
key light determines the overall recording or exposure level. It's positioned thirtyto forty-five
degrees to the side of the camera and should strike the subject at an angleof about forty-five
degrees from vertical.
★ Moving the light closer to the camera will reduce the amount of modelling in theface and
make the subject appear heavier than he is.Conversely, moving the light fartherfrom the camera
will throw more of the face in shadow, making it appear narrower.
★ The key light is focused on the subject by putting the bulb in the "full spot" positionand
centering the beam on the subject. The light is then flooded out until a reasonable overall level
is reached.

Fill light
★ Fill light is used to provide general illumination on the set and to fill in the shadowscreated
by the key lights.
★ Fill Light is usually softer than key light. it is frequently diffused by reflectors ortranslucent
materials placed in front of the lighting instrument.
★ The fill light is usually set up opposite of the key light. Often a broad,scoop, or soft lightis
used instead of a spotlight to provide fill.
★ It’s important to remember that the fill light should not be as bright as the key light.
Acommon mistake is having the intensity much too high. This can cause the subject toget
blown out.
★ Not using a fill at all can result in stark contrasts (due to shadows) across the
subject'ssurface, depending upon the key light's harshness.

Back Light
★ The back light is placed directly behind the subject, in line with the camera. The backlightis
spotted down and aimed at the subject's neck. It is then flooded until it has about thesame
intensity as the key light.
★ The back light should be adjusted to produce a crisp but subtle border around thesubject.
People with blonde (or missing) hair require less intensity.People with verydark hair require
more. When the back light is still too bright in the full flood position,ascrim can be fitted in
front of the housing to soften and reduce the light.

Background Light
★ The background light, or fourth light, is often used to locate the subject in the set, thatis, t
o show the relationship of the subject to the background.
★ The placement of this light can vary, but the idea is to illuminate part of the backgroundto
show its texture, shape, and depth relative to the subject. It may be extra trouble topurchase,
carry, and set a fourth light, but it becomes very important when you mustvideotape a subject
with dark hair or a dark shirt against a dark background. The fourthlight can give the viewer a
better understanding of volume within the shot.

2. Managing Contrast

High Contrast or low key

The technique of eliminating fill lighting or reducing it to bare minimum, leaving only key
andback light, is called "high contrast" lighting. While it may be appropriate for some
content,its use in other contexts should besparing.

Low Contrast or High key light

The ratio between key and fill is very less. There are almost no shadows. This type of lighting
isused for low drama, peaceful effect.

3. Backlighting
Backlighting is generally used in the attempt to conceal the identity of people on camera or to
provide an "interesting" background for program title sand credits. Key and fill lights are
eliminated, leaving only back and background lights.

★ Cameo Lighting - Certain television shows, especially those of a dramatic nature, are

staged in the middle of an empty studio againts an unlighted background. This technique where
the performers are highlighted against a dark background is known as cameolighting.

★ Silhouette Lighting - We use this to conceal the identity of a person appearingon-camera.

To achieve this lighting, use highly diffused light to evenly illuminate thebackground.

UNIT – IV
SOUND AND ITS USES IN PRODUCTION

Sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such

as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the reception of such waves and
their perception by the brain. Only acoustic waves that have frequencies lying between about
20 Hz and 20 kHz, the audio frequency range, elicit an auditory percept in humans. Sound
waves above 20 kHz are known as ultrasound and are not audible to humans. Sound waves
below 20 Hz are known as infrasound. Different animal species have varying hearing ranges.
Sound is a the soul of every production and used in these various forms
1. Voice : Human voice is one of the prime most elements in audio. Be it a
commentry,songs a playor news, without human voice, nothing would be possible in
audio.The dialogue is the foremost of the three “ingredients” of a soundtrack. The
dialogue brings forth the story by showing the communication and interaction of two or
more characters in thefilm. The dialogue is derived from the film script, but there goes
more than just recording acharacter speaking in designing the film’s sound track.

2. Voiceover - (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production

technique where avoice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a
radio, television production,filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. The voiceover is
read from a script and may bespoken by someone who appears elsewhere in the
production or by a specialist voice talent. Voiceovers are usedin video games and on-
hold messages,as well as for announcements and information atevents and tourist
destinations. Voiceover is added in addition to any existing dialogue, and it is not to be
confused with theprocess of replacing dialogue with a translated version, which is called
dubbing or revoicing.
3. Music - melodious arrangement of various musical instruments is called music. Music
can be used fora number of effects. The most obvious way music scores are used is to
guide the emotionalresponse of the audience. Simply adding a track of background
music can greatly improve your videos. Music has great power to impact your viewers
emotionally, and the pros use it all the time to add zing to ascene Want to tell your
audience how to feel? Use music. Some of the most suspensefulmovies of all time are
known by their music tracks (Jaws and Psycho, for instance). The anticipation at the
sound of the music in these movies could scare an audience out of its seat.

4. Sound Effect : There are two categories of sound in the visual medium- Diegetic and
Non-Diegetic.

★ Diegetic Sound refers to all those audio elements that come fromsources inside th
eworld we see on the screen, including dialogue, doors slamming, footsteps,etc.

★ Non-Diegetic Sound refers to all those audio elements that come from outside of
thefictional world we see on screen, for example the background score.

★ Foley sound effects are those made in a recording studio called a Foley stage, while
watching the picture a Foley artist performs the acting more or less synchroniously with
the picture (theperfect example of Foley effects are footsteps, who are always made with
 this sound effect).The Foley sound effects are the most responsible for realistic
impression of the movies.However, they often exaggerate the real-life sounds to make
them audible. Foley recording wasinvented early in the history of film sound by a man
named Jack Foley, working at the time atUniversal Studios.However, it is not
necesseraly that Foley effects are recorded on the Foley stage.

MICROPHONES

A microphone is a transducer - a device which converts energy from one form toanother. The
microphones convert acoustical energy (sound waves) into electrical energy(the audio signal).
Different types of microphones have different ways
of converting energybut they all share one thing in common: The diaphragm. This is a thin 
piece of material(such as paper, plastic or aluminium) which vibrates when it is struck by sound
waves. The diaphragm is located in the head of the microphone.

TYPES OF MICROPHONES

There are various types of microphones in common use. The differences can be divided
intothree areas
 1. The type of conversion technology they use:
This refers to the technical method the mic uses to convert sound into electricity. The
mostcommon technologies are dynamic, condenser, ribbon and crystal.
★ Dynamic Microphones

Dynamic microphones are versatile and ideal for general-purpose use. They are relativelysturdy
and resilient to rough handling. They are also better suited to handling high volumelevels, such
as from certain musical instruments or amplifiers.

★ Condenser Microphones
This type of microphone, which uses a capacitor to convert 
acoustical energy into electricalenergy. It requires power from a battery or external source.
The resulting audio signal isstronger signal than that from a dynamic.

2. The Directional Properties

 Every microphone has a property known as directionality. This describes the
microphone'ssensitivity to sound from various directions. Some microphones pick up sound
equally from alldirections, while others pick up sound only from one direction or a particular
combination ofdirections. The types of directionality are divided into three main categories.

★ Omni directional

It picks up sound evenly from all directions. The disadvantage is that it cannot
discriminate between the sound you want to hear and unwanted sounds such as
reflections from walls,noises from nearby people or equipment, ventilation noise,
footsteps, and so on.

★ Bidirectional

 It picks up sound from two opposite directions. Or Uses a figure-of-eight pattern and
picks upsound equally from two opposite directions. Uses: As you can imagine, there
aren't a lot ofsituations which require this polar pattern.

★ Unidirectional
Picks up sound predominantly from one direction. This includes cardioid and
hypercardioid microphones. Cardioid Cardioid means "heart-shaped", which is the type
of pick-up pattern these micsuse. Sound is picked up mostly from the front, but to a
lesser extent the sides as well.

3). Types according to usage

★ Microphones used in Television

The most popular type of camera microphone is the shotgun mic, attached to the top o
f thecamera. Plugged into the camera’s external mic socket, this mic will give the best
qualitylong-distance pickup from the subject.
★ The handheld microphone

Handheld microphones with cardioid patterns help reduce the amount of extraneous s
oundoverheard, so this type of mic can be used about 1 to 1.5 feet from the person
speaking. It is afamiliar sight on television, as it is used by reporters, interviewers,
singers, andcommentators.

★ Lavalier (lapel or clip-on mic) microphones

The lavalier microphone, also known as a “lav,” lapel, or a clip-on mic, has become a
favoritemic in productions where it is unimportant whether the viewer sees a mic
attached to someone’s outside clothing.

DIFFERENT FILES FORMATS

1. Different Audio Formats

★ wav - standard audio file format used mainly in Windows PCs. Commonly used forstoring
uncompressed (PCM), CD-quality sound files, which means that they can belarge in size -
around 10MB per minute of music.

★ mp3 - the MPEG Layer-3 format is the most popular format for downloading andstoring
music. By eliminating portions of the audio file that are essentially inaudible,mp3 files are
compressed to roughly one-tenth the size of an equivalent PCM filewhile maintaining good
audio quality.

★ aiff - the standard audio file format used by Apple. It is like a wav file for the Mac
★ wma - the popular Windows Media Audio format owned by Microsoft. Designed withDigital
Rights Management (DRM) abilities for copy protection

★ aac - A copy-protected version of this format has been developed by Apple for usein

music downloaded from their iTunes Music Store.

★ Real Audio (.ra .ram .rm) - Real Audio is a proprietary format, and is used for
streamingaudio that enables you to play digital audio files in real-time. To use
this type of fileyou must have RealPlayer (for Windows or Mac), which you can download for
free.Real Audio was developed by RealNetworks.

★ MIDI - Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.mid): Short for musical instrument

digitalinterface, MIDI is a standard adopted by the electronic music industry for
controllingdevices, such as synthesizers and sound cards, that emit music. At minimum, a
MIDIrepresentation of a sound includes values for the note's pitch, length, and volume. It
canalso include additional characteristics, such as attack and delay time.

2. Different Video Formats

★ AVI – Audio Video Interleave - Developed by Microsoft and introduced to the public
inNovember 1992. AVI format is one of the oldest video formats. It is so universally accepted.
AVI files are able to run on Windows, Macintosh, Linux; is also supported by popular
webbrowsers.

★ FLV (Flash Video Format) - FLV files are videos that are encoded by Adobe Flash
software.They can be played via the Adobe Flash Player, web browser plugins or one of several 
otherprograms. It has become the most common online video viewing platform used on theWeb
today.Almost all video sharing sites such as Youtube stream videos in Flash,practically
all browsers support and are compatible with the Flash Video format and canplay the video with
ease.

★ WMV (Windows Media Video) - Developed by Microsoft, WMV was originally designed
for webstreaming applications, as a competitor to Real Video,
but it can now cater to morespecialized content.WMV files are the tiniest video files over the
Web, as their file sizedecreases significantly after compression, which results in poor
video quality. One advantageof this small file size is that it is probably the only video file
format that allows users toupload and share their videos through the e-mail system. Windows
Media Player is themain application that is used to play WMV files on all Microsoft’s Windows
operating systems,but there are also WMV players available.

★ MOV (Apple QuickTime Movie) - Developed by Apple. Inc, the QuickTime file format is
apopular type of video sharing and viewing format amongst Macintosh users, and is oftenused
on the Web, and for saving movie and video files. In recent years, Apple came upwith a newer
version called QuickTime X, currently available on Mac OS X SnowLeopard, Lion
and Mountain Lion. MOV files are most commonly opened via the AppleQuickTime Player for
the Macintosh Operating System. MOV files can also be played onWindows computers.
Considered one of the best looking file formats, MOV files are of highquality and are usually
big in file size.

★ MP4 (Moving Pictures Expert Group 4) - First introduced in 1998, the MPEG-4 video
formatuses separate compression for audio and video tracks; video is compressed with MPEG-
4 orH.264 video encoding; and audio is compressed using AAC compression. The MP4
fileformat is also another great file sharing format for the Web, MP4 file sizes are
relativelysmall but the quality remains high even after compression. MP4 standard is
alsobecoming more popular than FLV for online video sharing, as it compatible with bothonline
and mobile browsers and also supported by the new HTML.