A television studio is an installation in which video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the special requirements of television production. A professional television studio generally has several rooms, which are kept separate for noise and practicality reasons. These rooms are connected via intercom, and personnel will be divided among these workplaces.
Studio floor
The studio floor is the actual stage on which the actions that will be recorded and viewed take place. A studio floor has the following characteristics and installations:
- decoration and/or sets
- professional video camera (sometimes one, usually several) on pedestals
- microphones
- stage lighting rigs and the associated controlling equipment.
- several video monitors for visual feedback from the production control room (PCR)
- a small public address system for communication
- a glass window between PCR and studio floor for direct visual contact is usually desired, but not always possible
While a production is in progress, people composing a television crew work on the studio floor.
- the on-screen "talent" themselves, and any guests - the subjects of the television show.
- a floor manager, who has overall charge of the studio area stage management, and who relays timing and other information from the television director.
- one or more camera operators who operate the professional video cameras, though in some instances these can also be operated from the PCR using remotely controlled robotic pan tilt zoom camera (PTZ) heads.
- possibly a teleprompter operator, especially if this is a live television news broadcast
Production-control room
The studio control room (SCR) is the place in a television studio in which the composition of the outgoing program takes place.(An SCR is also often the acronym for the Satellite Control Room, from here TV feeds are sent to & received from the local Satellite used by the TV station) The production control room is occasionally also called a studio control room (SCR) or a "gallery"Â â" the latter name comes from the original placement of the director on an ornately carved bridge spanning the BBC's first studio at Alexandra Palace which was once referred to as like a minstrels' gallery. Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. Master control is distinct from a PCR in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated. A transmission control room (TCR) is usually smaller in size and is a scaled down version of centralcasting.
Master control room
The master control room (MCR) houses equipment that is too noisy or runs too hot for the production control room (PCR). It also makes sure that coax cable and other wire lengths and installation requirements keep within manageable lengths, since most high-quality wiring runs only between devices in this room. This can include the actual circuitry and connections between
The master control room in a US television station is the place where the on-air signal is controlled. It may include controls to playout television programs and television commercials, switch local or television network feeds, record satellite feeds and monitor the transmitter(s), or these items may be in an adjacent equipment rack room. The term "studio" usually refers to a place where a particular local program is originated. If the program is broadcast live, the signal goes from the PCR to MCR and then out to the transmitter.
Other facilities
A television studio usually has other rooms with no technical requirements beyond broadcast reference monitors and studio monitors for audio. Among them are:
- one or more make-up and changing rooms
- a reception area for crew, talent, and visitors, commonly called the green room.
See also
- Broadcast engineering
- Engineering technician
- Technical operator
- RF engineering
- A2 (remote television production)
- Electronic field production (EFP)
- Electronic news-gathering (ENG)
- Remote broadcast
- Outside broadcasting
- Remote broadcast
- Television crew
- Television studies
- List of motion picture-related topics
- Film crew
- Production team
- Fox Broadcasting Company
- CNN
- PBS
- ZDF
- BBC
- European Broadcasting Union
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation