see related article at Electronic journalism

Electronic journalism

Electronic journalism or electronic news-gathering is most associated with broadcast news where television producers, reporters and editors make use of electronic video production recording devices for gathering and presenting information in telecasts and radio transmissions reaching the public...

also see Outside broadcasting

Outside broadcasting

Outside broadcasting is the electronic field production of television or radio programmes from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera and microphone signals come into the production truck for processing, recording and possibly transmission...

Electronic field production (EFP) is a television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 industry term referring to a video production

Video production

Video production is videography, the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media. The term includes methods of production and post-production...

 which takes place in the field, outside of a formal television studio

Television studio

A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...

, in a practical location or special venue. Typical applications of electronic field production include awards shows, concerts, major newsmaker interviews, political conventions and sporting events.

Electronic field production (EFP) places the emphasis on high-quality, multiple-camera setup

Multiple-camera setup

The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...

photography, advanced graphics and sound.

Sports

Sports television makes up the majority of EFP. Major television networks once owned their own production truck

Production truck

Television Production trucks were developed to take television studios on the road so video productions could be made at distant locations for a remote broadcast, outside broadcasting , electronic field production with multiple-camera setup and a support of a number of different technologies to...

s for covering major events, but today, with the explosion in networks on cable and over-the-air, they rent television production trucks by the day or week from broadcast rental companies for more routine or remote broadcast

Remote broadcast

In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...

 productions.

A typical sports production truck includes:

• A large video switcher with an external digital video effects (DVE) unit and several mix/effect busses, to allow the Television director
  Television director
  A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
  
   flexibility in calling for certain visual effects in the broadcast.
• Several tripod
  Tripod
  A tripod is a portable three-legged frame, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The word comes from the Greek tripous, meaning "three feet". A tripod provides stability against downward forces, horizontal forces and moments about the...
  
  -mounted and handheld Professional video cameras.
• A variety of zoom lens
  Zoom lens
  A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
  
  es for the tripod-mounted "hard" cameras, typically at least 50x to 100x magnification, and a maximum focal length
  Focal length
  The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light. For an optical system in air, it is the distance over which initially collimated rays are brought to a focus...
  
   of at least 600 mm. The extreme amount of magnification is necessary because the cameras can be located quite a distance from the action.
• Several video recording and playback devices such as VCRs, hard disk
  Hard disk
  A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
  
   recorders and video server
  Video server
  A video server is a computer based device dedicated to delivering video.Unlike personal computers, being multi-application devices, a video server is designed for one purpose; provisioning video, often for broadcasters. A professional grade video server records, stores, and playout of multiple...
  
  s. Certain cameras or video feeds can be "isolated" to specific decks, and when something happens that the producer or director wants to see again, the deck can be rewound and shown on the air as an instant replay
  Instant replay
  Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
  
  . Hard disk recorders typically allow some limited editing capabilities, allowing highlight reels to be edited together in the middle of a game.
• Several character generator
  Character generator
  A character generator, often abbreviated as CG, is a device or software that produces static or animated text for keying into a video stream. Modern character generators are computer-based, and can generate graphics as well as text...
  
  s allowing scores and statistics
  Statistics
  Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
  
   to be shown on screen. The scoreboards used in most sports facilities can be linked to the truck to drive the television production's graphics as well as the arena scoreboards.
• An audio audio mixing console
  Mixing console
  In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
  
   booth and a variety of microphone
  Microphone
  A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
  
  s to capture audio from the sportscaster
  Sportscaster
  In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
  
  s and from the field of play.
• Several miles of various types of cable.

Related techniques

• Contrasted with the production values of EFP, in electronic journalism
  Electronic journalism
  Electronic journalism or electronic news-gathering is most associated with broadcast news where television producers, reporters and editors make use of electronic video production recording devices for gathering and presenting information in telecasts and radio transmissions reaching the public...
  
   or electronic news-gathering (ENG), the emphasis is on quickness and agility in acquisition and rapidity in the process of editing, leading to final transmission to the audience is the goal. The two terms are often seen paired as EFP-ENG and vice versa.

• Many episodic television shows, four-camera situation comedy, television drama, such as PBSs Masterpiece Theatre
  Masterpiece Theatre
  Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions...
  
   all draw upon forms of EFP

See also

• Broadcasting occupations
• Electronic news-gathering (ENG)
• Remote broadcast
  Remote broadcast
  In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...
  
  
• Television crew
  Television crew
  Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences.-Pre-production:-Casting Director:-Costume designer:-Director:* Associate Director -Location Manager:-Make-up artist:...
  
  
• Television studies
  Television studies
  Television studies is an academic discipline that deals with critical approaches to television. Usually, it is distinguished from mass-communication research, which tends to approach the topic from an empirical perspective...