When you encounter this final exam, don’t look for hidden meanings or surprise definitions. The questions will be straightforward and will come from lectures, text and the DVDROM, the latter two insofar that they address what we talked about in class. One more thing to think about: this exam will contain cumulative questions. Now that doesn't mean that I'll go back and find the most obscure minutiae to drill you on. Rather, it means you’ll see questions interrogating things you should know by now in this course. Thus you'll need to rehearse some of the basic issues, technologies, concepts we've discussed throughout the term. I give you examples for this. None of this should panic you, however, if you think about the strategies we discussed in class for studying. Here are the topics that will furnish the content for the final exam. Best of luck!
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
- What consortium determined the signal standards for analog video? Digital?
- How does digital processing of the video and audio signal differ from analog?
- What are the limitaions of an analog signal?
- How does digitizing the signal eliminate those limitations? (Consider, for instance, the on/off switch versus dimmer analogy we discussed.)
- What is sampliing?
- What are some dates we associate with digital? (For example, introduction of color, establishment of NTSC, introduction of HD.)
- What resolution, aspect ratio, pixel and scanning formats will we have in digital production and broadcasting? In HD?
- What is the problem of bandwidth when dealing with video and audio?
- Where might such bandwidth problems manifest?
- What is our solution to bandwidth concerns?
Sample Question:
Standard definition digital television contains this many lines of resolution:
a) 480
b) 525
c) 1080
d) 720
e) 650
PREPRODUCTION AND POSTPRODUCTION
- What are the various objectives one looks to accomplish in preproduction? (Consider such things as scripting, scouting, conceptualization, etc.)
- You should be able to describe the dominant types of scripts we discussed in class.
- What kinds of things are done prior to acquisition (field news gathering) in news? What kinds of things after acquisition (field news gathering)?
- What are such things as EDL's? On-line and off-line edits?
- Be able to describe how film and video editing were historically conducted (e.g. cut and paste versus EE).
- What exactly does linear editing entail? What principle thing are you trying to do in linear editing?
- Understand how most content is edited today (i.e.non-linear).
- Know the terms associated with non-linear editing, such as digitizing or capture, bins, clips, etc.
- Be able to describe the two central aesthetic and theoretical philosophies surrounding post-production editing:
- realism
- formalism
Sample Test Questions:
- Which venue of production does not require a release from individuals for any significant on-camera appearance?
- Where did the Russians feel the preponderance of film meaning should come from?
- What are some key objectives to pre-production scouting?
- What is a storyboard? An animatic? A storyboard script?
SIGNAL DELIVERY
- What can you tell me about the differences between the various methods of hard line delivery? (Consider not just the material used--i.e. coax vs. fiber optic cable--but also how we discussed such things as cost of each, attenuation, bandwidth, etc.)
- What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of each?
- What is attenuation?
- What about wireless (radiowave) delivery?
- What advantages/disadvantages does it offer in relation to hard line delivery?
- How do the methods of radiowave delivery differ from each other as we discussed them in class?
- Why might you opt to use satellite delivery instead of terrestrial microwave, or vice versa?
- What are the mechanics of satellite and terrestrial microwave delivery as we described them in class?
- What do we mean by line-of-sight propagation?
- What are some of the newer technologies appearing with respect to satellite delivery of video and audio signals?
- What is bonded cellular? Where is it dominantly being used presently?
Sample Question;
Microwave signal delivery propagates via the following radiowaves:
a) ground waves
b) sky waves
c)direct waves
d) ionospheric waves
e) ultra waves
CUMULATIVE STUFF
The following material is from things we've talked about in the past and offer examples of typical cumulative questions that could appear on the exam. This will direct the nature of your review. Remember, this isn't all that may appear on the exam, but it should give you valuable insight into the draconian workings of a perverted mind...mine. (Scary, isn't it?)
- What are the three general areas we discussed at the first of the term in which production meaning is conveyed?
- What are the various genres of production I identified in class?
- How and why does news production differ from all other types of production?
- What are the essential differences between news and documentary production?
- What are the two broad sources of light that exist?
- Who are the key figures I identified in class with respect the historical development of photography? What were their contributions?
- What are two ways in which we classify production lighting? (Hint: consider high key versus low key.)
- What are some other terms for directional light? Diffused?
- In a large-budget commercial production, what is the difference between an executive producer and line producer?
- How does a producer in news differ from a producer in any other production genre?
- What are typical starting positions when you first begin in non-news production?
- What are some concerns of pre-production? What are you trying to accomplish and what specific things should this stage of production entail?
- What are some typical positions for above-the-line and below-the-line positions in commercial production?
- What are the various formats/platforms we discussed for post-production editing?
- How does cuts-only editing differ from A/B roll?
- What are the advantages linear editing might have over non-linear? Vice-versa?
- What is a sound system, and what components make up such a system?
- In what ways do we distinguish different microphones?
- Which mic might you use outdoors and why?
- Which mic would you use when you want it to be relatively obscure in the shot?
- Where do you find line level sound signals?
- Which mic is usually associated with a pop filter?
- Why is a parabolic mic very directional?
- What is figure/ground in terms of sound aesthetics? Sound perspective? Sound environment?
- How do video cameras work and what are some of the major components to them that we discussed?
- Why do I characterize the lens as counter-intuitive?
- What are typical characteristics of long and short lenses? Which one is best to show crowded conditions in a line of individuals or objects?
- What is a servo on a camera lens?
- What types of batteries did I identify in class and what are their respective characteristics?
(Don’t forget potential information from our screenings which could also appear as questions on the final exam. If you were there, you’ll know what you need for the exam.)
Bon Chance!