Introduction to Visual Communication

Television

TelevisionTelevision

• Like film – television is actually a series of Like film – television is actually a series of still images presented to the eye in rapid still images presented to the eye in rapid successionsuccession

• Earliest experiments in 1890sEarliest experiments in 1890s– Italian monk – Italian monk – CasselliCasselli– Pictures by wirePictures by wire

TelevisionTelevision

• Mechanical TelevisionMechanical Television

• Paul Nipkow – scanning diskPaul Nipkow – scanning disk– Nipkow diskNipkow disk

• John Loge BairdJohn Loge Baird– Scottish inventor working with BBCScottish inventor working with BBC– Launched the first system based on Launched the first system based on

mechanical scanningmechanical scanning

Nipkow diskNipkow disk

TelevisionTelevision

• Electronic television – cathode ray tubeElectronic television – cathode ray tube

• Vladimir ZworykinVladimir Zworykin– IconoscopeIconoscope

• Philo T. FarnsworthPhilo T. Farnsworth– Image DissectorImage Dissector

Electromagnetic yoke

Filament

Electron cloud

Electron stream

Electronic scanning

White lightBeam splitterBeam splitter

Color TV screens

Television standards

• National Television Standard Commission (NTSC)

• Standard Definition (SDTV)• 4:3 aspect ratio• 525 lines of horizontal resolution• 30 frames per second• 60 fields per second• 2 fields per frame• Interlace scanning

Television standards

• High definition (HDTV)

• 16:9 aspect ratio

• 1080 lines of horizontal resolution

• 30 frames per second

• Progressive scanning

Television production

• Originally all television was live – except for films which were shown on TV

• Multiple cameras were connected to a switcher

• Camera shots were selected in real time and sent out over the air

Switcher

Transmitter

Videotape

• Ampex corporation invented the videotape recorder

• Allowed television programs to be recorded and “mistakes” could be corrected

Quadruplex Videotape

Quadruplex

Helical scan

Helical scan

SwitcherVTR

Live on Tape

Isolated Camera

VTR VTR VTR

Film Style

• Single camera production

• One camera – film or video

• Each shot is recorded individually

• Entire program is assembled in post production through editing

• Most hour-long dramas and some sit-coms

Forcing perspective

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY_QVS0hE8g&feature=related

Forcing perspective