:: CONCEPTS SECTION ::

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCTION
In this section we will examine digital video production from a factual or documentary perspective. While it can take time and experience to produce good work, it nevertheless lends itself well to a training environment.This is due in no small part to the lower cost of equipment ownership involved by comparison to that required for film or drama production.

In any production there are three distinct stages:
Pre-production.
Production.
Post-production.
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PRE-PRODUCTION
Probably the most important in many ways. Good preparation lies at the heart of good documentary making. Even if you can't foresee every stage of the video, it is important to plan as much as possible.

PRODUCTION TEAM
Any video production involves team work. A small team will usually consist of a producer, director, researcher as well as a camera and usually a sound operator. Often there will be some doubling up e.g. a producer may also direct and a researcher may monitor sound. Modern digital camcorders can now be operated by one person, although that can place unreasonable demands on the operator - it does depend on context.

PRODUCER: is the person responsible for making the whole project work. He/she will often raise finance, organise production crews, rent equipment, commission a script if necessary and organise the budget. When things go well he/she will get the credit, when they go badly he/she will take the blame. Bigger or complicated programmes can have a Production Assistant to help share the burdens.

DIRECTOR: works with the producer, to creatively interpret the script or the particular film/video production concepts into a finished and polished product. He/she will often be in charge of the actual video recording and must be able to communicate well with a range of other technical personnel e.g. audio recordists, lighting technicians, gaffers (electricians), reporters or actors and will usually report to the producer. Sometimes the Production Assistant will also work very closely with the director to help `iron-out' any problems that may arise.

RESEARCHER: Gathers material from a variety of sources such as the internet, newspaper articles, magazines, books, interviews, radio and television sources. He/she will then categorise and analyse the content to asertain its value to the production. A good reseacher is someone who can find suitable content for the particular story under development. The researcher should also keep in mind the visual potential of the .material e.g. instead of having a clip of an expert talking, perhaps some library footage or a dramatic reconstruction would put across the message in a more impactful manner. Supplementary information or additional material which leads on from what is being investigated may also be useful.

CAMERA AND SOUND OPERATORS: are responsible for the technical operation of their equipment. They should have a good working knowledge of the range and limitations of what can be achieved using their equipment. Camera and sound operators work very closely together as one is very much dependent on the other for the successful recording of a programme. The camera operator receives instructions from the director who then technically interprets the aesthetic considerations onto video.Audio if often overlooked by those students studying digital video production, but good video and bad audio will spoil a production, and quite likely may not be able to be used. Many sound operators, especially on big or very important productions will make a second recording as a backup for the main recoding, just in case there is a problem in post-production.