Film or Television programs are built up from separate shots that are its raw material. However, editing is much more than a process of joining two shots in their proper time succession. Editing is in effect the creative force, by the power of which cinematographic essence. Effective editing should be seamless and appropriate edit point must not draw the attention of the viewer. The shooting of a film or recording of television program has to be planned keeping the do’s and don’ts of editing in mind and with a view to providing the editor with right kind of footage in adequate measure.

This monograph just about covers the element of an important aspect of screen presentation.

The art of acting is probably the most popular of all the arts and the fundamental of the actors work is the creation of a whole and lifelike image.

Some of us believe that acting is an inborn talent, shrouded in mystery, a passion and it can’t be taught. The theory of born actor is widely accepted and so is the theory that acting is a difficult and complicated art which can only be learnt by devoted study. The fact is that the modern actor is the product of an acting school. It may be said that just as best of the raw diamond requires cutting and polishing, so does the person aspiring to be an actor. The art of communicating with others has to be understood, learnt and practiced by the actor I making. Being an actor is a process of continuous growth and the actor like other creative artists, never stops learning and exploring new forms and subjects.

This monograph is a brief introduction to one of most cherished vocations of all times.

It is generally believed that films and television programs can be made by anyone who has the required money to do so. This is partially true because film and television productions have to be viewed from the technical, artistic as well as business angles.

The show business is indeed fascinating by extremely unforgiving. Screen presentation fail or succeed largely because of two factors. One, how credible and compelling the human presence is on the screen. Two, originality in the writing, dramatic and visual design stages.

Learning to make films or television programmes is like learning to became musician. Besides learning the craft, one has to do extensive practical work to master the skills of screen presentation. The key to success in performing arts including films and television, is short systematic training followed by long hands on experience in the field.

Technological advances are holding out promise of great diversity in cinematic form, as more and more people are able to experiment. However today’s film makers emerge from film-schools.

This monograph is one of the many view-points on the subject. It is merely intended to excite the mind of those who may be aspiring to be a producer/director. We hope and trust it will be useful to them

This monograph is intended to provide a brief overview of the technical basis of television. The treatment possible in a work of this size is necessarily restricted. Topics covered here are a subject matter of more than one complete text book and to many these may appear to be superficial. As we enter the twenty first century, television is not what it used to be in 1960’s, nor it is yet what it is going to be. Digital revolution is significantly affecting the established practices in the production and distribution of television programmes. Personal computers have invaded the television industry. Technology is only a tool in the hands of a creative person. However, the knowledge of the fundamentals of analog and digital television is anytime helpful.

The principal tool of the actor’s trade are voice and speech. The actor needs utmost skills in the use of voice, speech and language to do his work.

Voice is the sound itself. Speech is the form, shape and meaning we give to sound. Language is derived from assigning meaning to vocal sounds. Control of language concerns the actor’s ability to articulate, enunciate and pronounce words properly. It has also to do with phrasing and grouping words to facilitate a listeners understanding. The actor has not only to speak clearly, but he must also pronounce the words correctly. There are techniques for improving voice speech and language. I hope and trust that the valuable contents of this booklet will be useful to the actors in making

Television and Motion Picture Camera equipment

Films and television are mediums of the camera. All techniques of film and television production are related to the functioning of the camera. Light is necessary to produce an optical image of the scene and there will be no films or television programs without light. Lighting has to be controlled to produce pleasing visuals with the camera equipment. The two main responsibilities of cameraperson are, therefore, lighting of a scene and operation of the camera. This monograph is intended to provide necessary inputs for a proper understanding of the basic tools of the cameraperson.

Creating Effective Visual

The job of a professional cameraperson is to provide pleasing shots for the screen presentation. For this purpose he must understand the principles of pictorial focusing , framing and composition. He has also to develop instinctive feeling for producing a pleasing shot.

This monograph is a companion of three others relating to motion picture photography

Lighting for Motion –Pictures and Television

Without light  nothing is visible and there is no image.

Light is a phenomenon that we accept naturally and unquestioningly. However ,as we begin to study the nature and effect of light ,we become familiar with its exciting properties. Lighting of a scene for film and television production which is much more than just illuminating it, is a fascinating process with endless possibilities. Like in painting and other performing arts, there are no rules , no absolute laws and no restriction in this work.

Any means is permissible to gain a desired effect. However , lighting for film and television falls within the parameters of accepted practices because this work has to be viewed from technical, artistic as well as business angles.

The most important qualities of any particular light are the direction from which it comes, its intensity and its quality in terms of softness or hardness. The light is best known by the way in which it is used.

This is just an introduction to the science and art of film and television lighting

as this monograph is being written new lighting equipment is appearing on the market and new ways of seeing are being tried. Film and television lighting personnel must be aware of the technological developments which are influencing their work

Camera Optics

Films and televisions are a medium of the camera and the heart of a camera – still, motion picture or television –is the lens.

The camera lens focuses the image of the scene on the photographic film in case of a still or motion picture camera or the sensor incase of a television camera. Familiarity with the lens is essential to both the cameraperson and the director. Creation of effective and pleasing visuals depends largely on the lens. Lenses are usually known by their focal length which bears a close relation to angle of view. An other import feature of a lens is its adjustable iris diaphragm.

which controls the amout of light entering the lens as well as the depth of field. If a camera has to be sharp focus, it must be placed exactly where the image is formed. However objects at different distance from the camera are imaged at different distance behind the lens. As a subject moves closer to the camera the distance between the lens and the photographic film or sensor must be increased. This is called focusing the camera. To understand these and some other peculiarities, the cameraperson must know a little bit of what is called the camera optics. 

This monograph deals with this single topic.

Film and television professionals have their own vocabulary for communicating with each other. The technical jargon used by then should naturally encompass the entire gamut of production work. The list of terms is rather long because of television which is a technology intensive medium.

FILM & Television glossary, compiled by Asian Academy of Film & Television is based on the perception of the terms considered worth knowing. I hope and trust this glossary will be useful to the new entrant to the fascinating world of film & television production.

One of the concerns of the user of the moving images as an art form or means of mass communication is to ensure that the pictures reaching the viewer are sharp, crisp, steady, free from extraneous disturbances and with true colours. Similarly, the sound accompanying this picture is also of the highest quality. Expressed differently, everyone expects that the original picture and the sound will not suffer any degradation during their processing or transmission. All this has been made possible by digital technology.

All natural phenomenon on begin life continuous analogue form and end up as such. Human perceptual system is inherently analogue. Analogue electrical signals representing pictures and sound are time continuous and amplitude continuous. Whereas analogue data is continuous, digital data is discrete and have just two stages on or off, 1 or 0.

Digital Video and audio are indeed technological magic. Translating pictures and sound in the analogue form to digital form is currently the fastest and the most efficient way to handle them.

Converting an analogue television picture and the accompanying sound into digital form results in the creation of incredibly large amount of data. Same , perhaps, is true of the vocabulary relating to digital television. We have attempted to compress the list of terms currently being used by the professionals in this field, to the extent possible.