As Seen on TV

An inside look at television production introduces the photographers, segment producers, audio engineers, graphic artists, animators, and others who contribute to the making of network news, talk shows, and prime time serials

In eight informative, engaging chapters, Denison, a columnist for the Boston Globe Magazine , offers bird's-eye glimpses of the photographers, lighting engineers, propmasters and others behind television programs. Denison travels with a TV magazine show photographer who discusses his strategy for shooting a story; follows the producers of the PBS series This Old House --a visually fluid show filmed with the belief that the camera should behave like the human eye; and dissects the many tasks (from pre-interviews to preparing cue cards) of a busy talk show segment producer for Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Denison goes to both the East Coast and West Coast production sites of the cop drama Against the Law and explains how scenes are shot by theme rather than in sequence and how a group of actors provides "walla"--the industry term for background noise. He also examines a more obscure MTV show that tries to combine actors and animation. Denison's light touch, including mini-profiles of people he meets, should satisfy TV junkies, but the book is a series of snapshots, not a comprehensive view of television production. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

B-roll, walls, and squib are not items on a trendy new diner's menu but some of the technical terms found in the glossary of this "inside edition." From ENG (electronic news gathering) to MTV, this book goes behind the video camera and spotlights the work that makes TV possible. What goes on behind the camera is sometimes as interesting (some would say more) as the finished program. One half of the book ("TV/Fact") details the processes involved in producing news and other programs. The other ("TV/Fiction") describes the bicoastal operations necessary for producing a dramatic program and MTV segments. Through conversations with producers, camera people, tape editors, audio technicians, and others, Denison provides an interesting look at the industry that powers the big black box.
-Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.