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Glossary:
S-Z
saturation
(chroma or chrominance)
In
terms of television's image quality, the level of a
color's purity (or how much or little grayness is mixed
with the color).
scan
line
Lines
of glowing pixels
that make up the television image. In the NTSC system
used in the United States, there are 525 lines in the
TV image. PAL, developed in Germany, and SECAM, from
France, are 625-line systems.
scanning
See
pan-and-scan.
scene
The
smallest piece of the narrative action; a single narrative
event that occurs in continuous space over continuous
time.
scientific
method
An
empirical
approach which advocates developing research questions
and hypotheses based on an established body of theoretical
knowledge, investigating them with replicable methodology,
and explaining the results in terms of its contribution
to the established body of knowledge.
Scopitones
Produced
in the 1960s, short films of performances by popular
musicians presented on coin-operated machines akin to
jukeboxes.
screen
direction
From
the camera's perspective, the direction a character
is looking and/or an object is moving in a shot.
screenplay
Generally
speaking, a written description of a program, wherein
the action and dialogue are described scene-by-scene.
(Terms used to describe different types of scripts vary
considerably within the television and film industries.)
screen
time
The
duration of a program--which is normally shorter than
the time represented in the program's narrative (that
is, its story time).
E.g., the story time of one soap opera episode is typically
a day or two, but its screen time is less than 60 minutes.
segue
A
transition from one sound to another.
selective
use
In
the study of television stars, a use of selected parts
of the star's polysemy
in a particular role.
self-reflexivity
A
program which refers back to itself or similar programs.
In a genre's evolutionary pattern, the stage during
which the genre turns inward and uses its own conventions
for subject matter, often in the form of a parody.
semiotics
An
area of television criticism
that breaks down all forms of communication into individual
units of meaning that are studied in terms of their
singular characteristics as well as their interaction
with other units of meaning. The science of signs.
sense
memory
Technique
of method
acting style in which the actor draws upon memories
of physical sensations of an emotional event in order
to generate emotional
memory.
serial
A
narrative form of television that presents daily/weekly
episodes, with a multiple set of recurring characters
and simultaneous story-lines. Because each episode specifically
links to the next, narrative closure
is rare.
series
A
narrative form that presents weekly episodes, usually
self-contained, with a defined set of recurring characters.
set
designer (scenic designer)
Person
who builds or selects elements in constructing the setting
of a television program.
sexual
politics
In
feminist
studies, the power relationship between men and women.
shallow
focus
A
small depth
of field, with just one plane (foreground, middle-ground,
or background) in focus.
shallow
space blocking
A
type of blocking associated with multiple-camera, studio
set productions, where, due to the shallow sets,
the actors mostly move side-to-side, rather than up-and-back.
share
In
the context of TV ratings, the percentage of homes with
turned-on television sets that are tuned to a specific
program. Usually used in conjunction with ratings.
shooting
script
Generally
speaking, a written description of a program, wherein
each scene is described shot-by-shot. (Terms used to
describe different types of scripts vary considerably
within the television and film industries.)
shot-counter
shot (shot-reverse shot)
An
editing principle of the continuity system that alternates
shots, particularly in conversation scenes between two
characters. It is a mainstay of the 180
rule and the continuity
system.
sign
In
semiotics, the smallest
unit of meaning--composed of a signifier
and its signified.
signified
The
meaning communicated by the signifier;
can be an object, a concept, a visual field, and so
on.
signifier
The
physical aspect of a sign,
such as ink on a page, chalk on a chalkboard, a blinking
light, light emanating from a TV screen, etc.
signs
of character
The
various signifiers--viewer foreknowledge, character
name, appearance, objective
correlatives, dialogue, lighting, videography
or cinematography, and action--that communicate the
character to the viewer.
signs
of performance
The
actor's facial, gestural, corporeal and vocal signifiers
that contribute to the development of character.
simulcasts
Programs,
particularly in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which
are simultaneously broadcast on both radio and television.
The process was revived in the 1960s and 1970s in order
to transmit stereo sound on FM radio that would accompany
television visuals (of, for example, a music concert).
single-camera
production
A
mode of production
wherein one camera operates at a time and the shots
are done in the most economically efficient order. On
television, the main mode used in creating prime-time
dramas, made-for-tv movies, music videos and commercials.
social
actor
"Real"
people as used in nonfiction television programs; people
"performing" according to social codes of behavior in
order to represent themselves to others.
soft
focus
An
entire image that is slightly out-of-focus.
soft
news
News
stories that examine the personal, such as gossip, scandal,
murder, mayhem, and "human interest" stories.
soft
light
A
diffused light source, resulting in indistinct,
blurred outlines and minimal shadows.
sound
bite
In
a news package,
a short piece of audio that was recorded on location.
sound
editor
Technician
who, in post-production,
manipulates a program's soundtrack.
Soundies
Produced
in the 1940s, short films of performances by popular
musicians presented on coin-operated machines akin to
jukeboxes.
sound
stage
A
large room designed for the filming or videotaping of
programs. Sets are arranged on the stage in a variety
of ways, depending mostly upon the presence/absence
of a studio audience.
stand-up
The
feature of a television news package,
in which the reporter stands before a site significant
to the story to narrate it.
star
image
A
representation of an actor that is fabricated through
the media texts
of promotion, publicity, television programs, and criticism.
Steadicam
Registered
trademark for a gyroscopically balanced camera mount
that attaches to a camera
operator's body, which produces smooth camera
movement without the use of a dolly.
stereotype
A
conventionalized character type that is demeaning to
a particular social group.
story
time
The
amount of time that transpires within a program's narrative.
See screen time.
storyboard
A
written description of a program consisting of small
drawings of individual shots. When used in animation,
this series of sketches precisely outlines the progression
of the entire cartoon.
stripped
syndication
A
programming strategy in which syndicated shows are scheduled
Monday through Friday in the same time slot.
structured
polysemy
The
organization and emphasis/repression of meanings within
television's polysemy.
studio
set
Three-walled,
ceilingless set erected on a sound
stage; this type of set is usually shallow,
normally wider than deep, and rectangular rather than
square.
subject
In
the contemporary psychoanalysis, the human psyche--formed
chiefly through the Oedipal Complex. In contemporary
Marxism, an individual viewed as a psychological construct
who enters the ideological world, and must be considered
in relationship to this ideology.
subjective
shot
A
shot wherein the camera is positioned as if it were
inside a character's head, looking out of his or her
eyes.
subtitling
The
process in which the original dialogue of a film or
television program is both heard and printed at the
bottom of the screen. Subtitling is often used for foreign-language
films. In television it is also used, as closed-captions
for viewers with impaired hearing, on conventional programs.
subtractive
color
The
process wherein, as white light passes through a piece
of film, yellow, magenta and cyan colors are filtered
out, leaving the many colors of the spectrum.
superstructure
In
Marxist terms, a society's ideological constructs, which
grow out of its economic base.
sweeps
Time
period during which Nielsen Media Research conducts
seasonal ratings
of network television programs.
sweetening
A
post-production
sound effects process wherein the sound technicians
add more applause and laughter to those of the actual
studio audience.
switcher
A
technical device that allows a director to change between
various video cameras while recording a scene.
symbolic
sign (symbol)
In
semiotics, a type of
sign in which the signifier
and the signified are
connected solely through cultural convention. For example,
Christianity (a signified)
represented by a cross (signifier)
or Judaism (signified)
by a Star of David (signifier).
sync
(or synch)
The
synchronization of sound and image. See lip
sync.
syndication
The
distribution or leasing of television programs to stations
and networks by their production companies. It refers
both to the second run of a program after a network's
initial license period (e.g., I Love Lucy[1951-57])
and a program that was created specifically for syndication
(e.g., Baywatch[1989-99]). See stripped
syndication.
syntagm
In
semiotics, a first level
ordering of signs--e.g., in narrative television, an
individual scene. The sequence
of scenes is their syntagmatic
structure.
syntagmatic
structure
In
semiotics, the manner
in which signs are linearly
and/or temporally organized. E.g., the batting line-up
in baseball is in syntagmatic order. See paradigmatic
structure.
take
A
single shot, lasting from the starting to the stopping
of the camera.
teasers
On
television news, brief announcements of upcoming stories
used to maintain viewer attention.
Technicolor
A
type of color film process, used mostly from the late
1930s to the 1950s.
telephoto
lens
A
long focal length
which creates a narrow, but magnified view of an object
or person.
Telescriptions
Produced
by Louis Snader in the 1950s, short films of musical
performances that were marketed to television stations
for use in variety shows or as filler material.
television
apparatus
The
combined work of all of the various factions (bankers,
media corporations, directors, scriptwriters) that create
television programs and the viewing experience itself--including
the psychological mechanisms at work during TV viewing.
television
criticism
Non-empirical,
analytical methods (e.g., auteurism,
genre study,
semiotics and feminism)
employed to understand systems of meaning on television.
The term is also used in the popular press to refer
to evaluative reviewing of television.
televisual
Characteristic
of television.
text
A
segment of the televisual flow, such as
an individual program, a commercial, a newscast, even
an entire evening's viewing.
theatrical
film
Films
originally designed to be shown in theaters, as opposed
to made-for-TV films (MOWs).
three-point
lighting
An
aesthetic
convention in which an actor or object is lit from three
sources or points of light of varying intensity. There
is one main source of illumination (key
light), one source filling shadows (fill
light) and one source backlighting the actors
(back light).
three
shot
As
with the two shot, the
conventional framing of three characters in a medium
shot.
ticker
Information
moving across the bottom of the screen--such as sports
scores and weather updates.
timbre
(tone)
A
characteristic of television sound referring to the
tonal quality of a note and/or voice.
tilting
The
action of rotating the camera up and down, on a horizontal
axis in a stationary body. Tilt also refers to
the resulting vertical movements in the image.
track
An
area along the length of recording tape (like the lanes
on a highway) in a
multi-track tape recorder on which speech,
music or sound effects are individually recorded. Similarly,
computer-based, nonlinear
editing (DNE)
also relies on the metaphor of tracks of sound and image.
tracking
Any
sideways or forward/backward movement of the camera
dolly--sometimes on actual tracks.
treatment
A
written description of a program, containing only a
basic outline of the action; the first stage of the
scriptwriting process.
trucking
(crabbing)
In
television studio production, any sideways movement
of the camera.
tweening
A
process in animation by which frames are created that
constitute a character's movement. These frames come
in between the keyframes
the animator has designed an can be automatically generated
by a computer.
two
shot
The
framing of two characters in a medium shot.
typecasting
When
the star image perfectly
fits the character he or she portrays.
unidirectional
microphone
A
microphone that picks up sound from a specific direction.
unique
selling proposition (USP)
Rosser
Reeve's term for that certain something that distinguished
one product from all the others.
A
microphone that picks up sound from a specific direction.
uses-and-gratifications
A
research method that sees the viewer as an active user,
and attempts to chart the way that viewers employ television;
this method quantifies how television fulfills viewers'
emotional or intellectual needs.
USP
See
unique selling proposition.
vaudeville
Anti-naturalistic
performance style in which the actor reminds the viewer
that the character is not a real person, often by directly
addressing the viewer.
verisimilitude
The
impression of truth or reality.
videographer
The
person overseeing all aspects of the video image--including
lighting and the operation of the camera.
videography
The
characteristics of the video camera.
volume
How
loud a sound is. One of three main characteristics of
television sound. See pitch
and timbre.
wide
angle lens
A
focal length
which generally provides a wide view of a scene and
increases the illusion
of depth, so that some objects seem to be far
apart from one another.
widescreen
An
aspect ratio
wider than television's original standard of 1.33:1
(that is, 4:3). Television widescreen (a part of the
high-definition format) is 16:9 or 1.78:1. Common variations
of widescreen in theatrical films are masked
(1.85:1) and anamorphic
(2.35:1).
wipe
A
special effect used as a transition device between scenes,
in which a line moves across the screen, apparent erasing
one shot as the next replaces it.
wireframe
A
stage in computer-generated
imagery wherein the surface of objects is represented
with polygonal lines (wires). The wireframe will be
covered with surfaces when the animation is rendered.
zoom
in or zoom out
A
function of the zoom lens
wherein the focal
length is varied from wide
angle to telephoto
(zoom in), thereby magnifying the object as the angle
of view is narrowed--or vice versa (zoom out).
zoom
lens (variable focal length)
A
lens with a variable focal
length, allowing the operator to shift immediately
and continuously from wide
angle to telephoto
(or vice versa) without switching lenses.
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