Tv journalism & Programme Formats 1 tv journalism & Programme Formats

TV Journalism & Programme Formats
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It is most common when a news or television show presenter is reporting or explaining items to the viewing audience. Indeed, news programmes usually take the form of a combination of both interviews and pieces to camera.
The Piece to Camera, also known as PTC, is any part of a news report, whether packaged or live, in which the reporter speaks directly to the camera while on the location of the story. The following points need to be kept in mind for delivering an effective PTC.
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Position camera on the tripod and ensure the lens is level with your eyes.
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Do a white balance
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Zoom out as far as you can go - this is an easy lens angle to find and will work best with non graduated lens. If you have a more professional camera and lens you'll have to experiment with angles. The wide lens will ensure focus isn't so critical and will make sure the viewer can see some of the background.
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Frame the background
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Tilt the camera down slightly from the horizontal - this will stop you having acres of space above your head, which will make you look short.
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Switch to Auto exposure and auto sound levels
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Start recording
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Take 2 steps back from the camera and place a marker by your feet a battery or notebook will do. Stand in the shot fora few seconds.
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Review the tape to make sure your framing is correct.
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Focus on the marker and reframe shot.
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Lock the tripod head so that the camera doesn't tilt up or down while recording.
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Start recording - again
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Do your piece to camera
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Once you've done it - check it.
4.1. PRINCIPLES OF DELIVERING AN EFFECTIVE PTC
1. When a news story starts with a PTC, it is called an Opening PTC. An opening PTC must introduce the story effectively. It is used most often when the reporter is present in a place where the interior shots of the location are not readily available, and the reporter has to fallback upon the option of using a PTC. In such events, the outdoor aspect of a location maybe used as the backdrop for the PTC.

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