Television Programme Production: Various activities studios use to produce a show

By Ashok Jailkhani and Maharaj Shah

In spite of the fact that India produces the maximum number of films each year, quality books and magazines related to the production of programmes for television channels and even those related to cinema, video, and television are difficult to find. To pave this gap, the two writers have penned down their years of experience and knowledge of Television Films in this book. Television is no longer merely a source of entertainment or income.
This book is very informative for readers who are interested in Television Programme Production. In this book, all processes and equipment used in the production of a television programme have been explained with the help of pictures and diagrams. This is definitely a multi-dimensional book in its own right, and will definitely prove to be very helpful to the readers who are interested in knowing more about the subject.
The Hindi version of the book has received the prestigious “Bhartendu Harishchander Award 2008” under Media and Mass Communication Category. The awards are given annually by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.  
#v&spublishers

• Language: English
• Publisher: V&S Publishers
• Release date: Dec 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9789350574546

Book preview

Television Programme Production

Television transmission started for the first time in the United States of America around the year 1920. By 1930, television was well developed in England and the US. Television centres had been established in New York and London. Whatever little obstruction the Second World War had caused in the popularity of television ended as soon as the War ended. Television left the old means of communication way behind in popularity. By the year 1948, there were crores of television viewers in Canada, Japan, and all the countries of Europe. With the advent of satellite technique, television became popular in almost all countries of the world.

The reason for television’s popularity and fast development is its ability to provide the experience of cinema within the comfort of our home. On the television, we can watch programmes based on entertainment, sports, news and current affairs, and hundreds of other topics.

For developing countries like India, where 75 per cent of the population stays in villages and is exposed to different types of diseases, illiteracy, poverty, and malnutrition, television is primarily seen as a powerful medium for spreading education.

The Indian Public Relations Policy and the Education Policy of the year 1968 make it clear that the mass media should stay more and more committed to education programmes. Television had started being seen as a powerful medium for social upliftment and change. In the words of Anand Mitra -The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, accepted the importance of television and placed it in the national agenda. In this way, when after a lot of brainstorming, television started for the first time in India in the name of ‘Doordarshan’ in 1959, entertainment programmes were given preference and education and development programmes were given priority. This is how on 15 September 1959, the first steps were taken under a UNESCO project to establish television as a medium of publicity and broadcasting to speed up the education and rural development in India. In the beginning, a total of twenty TV sets were installed in and around Delhi, which were accessible to 150 to 200 people. These were known as Teleclub. After this project, school education programme was shown to school children every Tuesday. On the Independence Day of the year 1965, the transmission of television programmes formally started in India. The cycle never stopped after this. Doordarshan has reached even the remote part of India now and 80 per cent of Indian public watches it.

But the scene has changed now. There has been some change in poverty, illiteracy, and financial troubles in the country, but it is still much below the expectations. Even today, there is a lot of friction and prejudice in the society because of illiteracy and poverty. The face of casteism and religious intolerance has become more contorted. Social justice is a slave to financial disparity, and law and order is tainted with political influences. In such a situation, to protect and maintain the republic, it has become even more important to understand the role of television.

Private channel owners earn money through these channels in the form of advertisement or cable fees or pay-channel fees. Because of this, their programmes are influenced by financial dividends and this has a lot of impact on programme production. At the same time on the other side, government communication mediums are often seen floundering because of red tapism and other interferences; but still, the responsibility of social welfare more or less still rests with government communication mediums, especially Doordarshan. In such a situation, only an aware and successful programme producer can produce a quality programme. It is important to understand this scenario, which can prove to be helpful in showing you the right path.

Television Programme: Birth and Development

Day by day, the list of television programmes is becoming longer. Television programmes are the medium through which we can see new ideas and imaginations. The process used for the production of a programme depends upon what the programme wants to communicate. Usually we can divide the practice of programme production into three parts -1. Fiction, 2. Non Fiction, 3. News and current affairs, namely -‘drama, documentary, news and current affairs-based programmes.’

Fiction consists of programmes like dramas, telefilms, and serials etc., which show the dramatized version of actual or imaginary incidents.

Non-fiction consists of documentaries, chat shows, interviews, music-songs, quizzes, dance shows, sports programmes, programmes for women and children, programmes related to cultural and social topics, programmes based on rural people, programmes based on folk arts and contemporary fashion, programmes related to cinema, and other such programmes that are based on actual incidents and have been recorded on actual locations. Such incidents are sometimes dramatized for presentation.

News and current affairs not only focus on news but also on programmes based on contemporary topics, news summary, daily incidents, or on various social, political, or other such incidents that affect our lives directly or indirectly. Channels based on financial issues are now running separately.

How is a Programme Born?

Programmes are produced on different television channels ac-cording to the main objective of the channel. News channels show news and news-based programmes, such as programmes related to political, social, and financial issues. Religious channels show programmes about religion-based topics, discourses and pilgrimages, devotional music, yoga etc. At the same time, various national and international channels show programmes on science, astronomy, geography, and other knowledge-enhancing topics. Some channels only show programmes for entertainment, while others only show sports or fashion-related programmes. To produce a programme and to make sure that it reaches the viewers, one has to go through a long process, and it is important that one understands this process. This process is known as the television programme production process.

Ideas

You need an idea to be able to make any programme. The idea should be novel, interesting, and one that invokes curiosity and interest in the viewers. This idea should be such that it excites you first, one that stirs your emotions, the mere thought of which causes your creativity to bloom. This idea should be original and meaningful. This idea should have the potential to invoke interest in lakhs and crores of people besides you. This is the seed, that will be the basic building block of the entire programme. This is the thread, which will be used to weave the entire fabric of the programme. This can be based on an ordinary incident, which reveals an extraordinary aspect of humanity. For example, it can be based on the struggle for existence of the lone survivor of a plane crash high up on a snow-covered mountain peak. You will need to keep invoking excitement and curiosity to keep the viewers interested. The possibility of step-by-step and natural development should always exist in the story. How far can you expand the idea? The time span of the programme will depend upon the nature of the idea. Can a 3-hour-long film be based on this idea or can it be developed into a serial that runs for 3 years? A multidimensional idea can be expanded into a serial, whereas a concise programme can be considerably shorter in duration. Your idea should be suited to your production