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=__**WEEK 1: What Is Television?**__=


 * Television**: A shifting and highly-debated media field that does not only refer to distribution via television sets. Common features include serial programming and short (non-feature-length) format. Can be discussed according to TECHNICAL (production-based), FORMAL (conventions, structure, and aesthetics), SOCIAL (how people use and are reflected in television), and INDUSTRIAL (how television is framed in private and public sectors**)** characteristics.


 * Webisodes/Web series**: Programming that is distributed entirely online.

=**__WEEK 2: Complex and "Quality" Television / Field Cinematography__**=


 * Complex Television**: [|Jason Mittell] argues that narratively complex television is a form of narrative TV that exhibits particular technical, formal, social, and industrial characteristics, including: TECHNICAL: Film-like production methods; FORMAL: "Series arc" stuctures, narrative devices, and continuity between episodes; SOCIAL: fan communities, creator/fan interaction, and virtual worlds within (and outside of) the show; INDUSTRY: High-cost but often caters to a niche audience, DVD and other "package" forms of distribution.


 * Quality Television**: Television scholars often categorize as "quality" television programs that may have the following characteristics: have high production values, target an affluent or "upscale" audience, or share formal characteristics and methods of production with narrative feature films. It is not intended to be a subjective evaluation of content (e.g. "all the shows that I like are 'quality shows'").


 * Cinematography**: The art of creating moving images.

__Related terms:__ //Camera angle:// Bird's eye/Aerial High Low

//Camera movement:// PAN (left or right) TILT (up or down) CRANE (up or down) TRACK (left, right, in, or out) SWISH PAN (an extremely fast pan to a new subject)

//Shot duration//: The length of a single shot (complicated shots of long duration, or "long takes," are a hallmark of many quality television shows).

//Lens effects:// DEPTH OF FIELD FOCUS PULL FOCUS ZOOM (in or out) LENS LENGTH: Long (telephoto), medium, wide

(1) Get closer! (2) Hold on any given shot for ten full seconds. (3) Don't stop recording. (4) "Shoot with both eyes open." If you're using a video screen, think of it as a rear-view mirror. Glance at it frequently but keep your eyes on the world.
 * 4 Rules of Observational Cinematography**:

=__**WEEK 3: Documentary and Reality TV / Lighting and Interviewing**__=


 * Documentary Television**:
 * Remember the "documentary triangle": Subject -- Author -- Audience. How these three "points" interact helps us to determine what mode of documentary is being used.

(1) Poetic: A documentary format that does not necessarily "tell a story," but instead relies on evocative visuals drawn from the real world. (2) Expository: Historical, educational, or informational documentary known primarily for its Voice of God narration. (3) Observational: A "fly on the wall" style documentary in which the filmmaker does not directly interact with subjects. (4) Participatory: Filmmakers are actively in dialogue with subjects through interview or other interaction. (5) Reflexive: A documentary form that comments on the nature of documentary (references the process of making documentaries) (6) Performative: A documentary that (like a reflexive documentary) explores the nature not of documentary form, but of the relationships between subjects and filmmakers. May include narrative vignettes or experimental techniques.
 * Six Modes of Documentary**:


 * Reality TV**: A contemporary form of documentary that "mixes up" many different modes of documentary filmmaking. In //The Real World//, there are poetic establishing shots, expository information about characters (in the opening credits), observational footage, participatory interviews (the "confessional"), and reflexive moments (as when a character addresses the intrusiveness of the camera).


 * The Roles of Reality Production**

Network and executive producer -- the network "sets the rules" and executive producer often sparks the project, with funding or vision. Neither necessarily has a regular role in day-to-day production (in our class, we will not be "networks" or "executive producers").

(1) Supervising Producer: Responsible for the vision and "story" to be told in the show. (2) Senior Story Producer: Creates the outlines for reality TV stories based on the vision of the higher producers. (3) Story Producer: Creates the day-to-day script for a reality series. (4) Field Producer: Coordinates and directs daily production. (5) Associate Producer: Supporting role for Field Producer, often responsible for maintaining order on set. (6) Story assist: Pulls relevant information from hours of documentary footage. (7) Logger/Transcriber: Extensively organizes and documents every minute of documentary footage.


 * Three-Point Lighting for a Documentary Interview**

(1) Key -- the main source of illumination. (2) Fill -- the light that "fills in" remaining shadows (3) Backlight/kicker -- a light source that creates a "halo" behind a subject's head.

An extra consideration: Background -- always account for the background of your shot


 * Tips for a Documentary Interview**

-- Always be courteous and respectful. Uncomfortable interview subjects give poor interviews. -- Make sure your subject repeats your question in their answer -- don't be afraid to ask them to do this explicitly! -- Always ask follow-up questions that show you have been paying attention to your subject's responses. -- Designate someone to track the entire interview for "pull quotes." This will make your editing job much easier.