Television Strategies, Genres, and Film Terminology

Posted on Feb 6, 2025 in Arts and Humanities

Television Strategies

  • Lead-in: Start telecast in prime time with the most successful program.
  • Block Programming: Schedule similar programs back-to-back to retain viewers.
  • Cross Programming: Interconnect two shows by extending the storyline over two episodes of two different programs.
  • Hammocking: Launch or introduce a new program in the weekly schedule or place it between two high-rated programs.
  • Tent-poling: Introduce a high-rated program between two others which have a lower audience share.
  • Bridging: In order to prevent the audience from changing channels, run a program late so that viewers will miss the start of a competing show.
  • Hotswitching: Eliminate any sort of commercial break and start the next program immediately in order to hook the audience to the channel. Introduce a similar program of a competing channel ahead of time.
  • Stripping: Broadcast the same series at the same time weekly to ensure audience fidelity.
  • Checkboarding: Used whenever the channel runs out of sufficient episodes of that series in order to make a stripping, or when a different series is broadcast 5 days a week.
  • Spin-off: Create a new series starting with a character (or characters) from a previous one.
  • Crossover: A certain character in one series appears in an episode of a different one.
  • Stunting: Changing the usual programming schedule to include a non-regular, occasional one.
  • Aging the Demos: Progressive changes in the schedule of the programming content in order to appeal to the various potential audiences that keep joining the channel.

Television Genres

  • Television is an electronic medium that broadcasts many different kinds of programs.
  • Commercials
  • News Shows
  • Situation Comedies
  • Sports Broadcasts
  • Crime Shows
  • Soap Operas: This genre produces programs that can last for decades. It is characterized by incredibly complicated and never-ending love relationships and family problems, generally with physically attractive romantic leads.
  • Game Shows: These shows involve having participants guess the price of some object or answer questions on some subject.
  • Children’s Programs
  • Religious Programs
  • Talk Shows
  • Reality Shows
  • Science and Education Shows
  • Cooking Shows
  • Action-Adventure Shows

Film Terminology – Professions

  • Producer: Responsible for hiring the film crew.
  • Director: Primarily responsible for the acting in the movie and managing the creative elements.
  • Assistant Director: Manages the shooting schedule and logistics of the production, among other tasks.
  • Casting Director: Finds actors for the parts in the script. This normally requires an audition by the actor.
  • Actors: Are carefully chosen and are often based on the actor’s reputation or «star power».
  • Location Manager: Finds and manages the film locations.
  • Production Manager: Responsible for the production budget and production schedule.
  • Director of Photography: Or cinematographer, creates the visual look of the film.
  • Set Decorator: Creates the look and feel of the production sets and props, working with the art director to create these elements.
  • Costume Designer: Creates the clothing for the characters in the film, working closely with the actors, as well as other departments.
  • Storyboard Artist: Creates visual images to help the director and production designer communicate their ideas to the production team.
  • Sound Designer: Manages the audio experience during the production stage of the film.
  • Composer: Creates new music for the film.
  • Choreographer: Creates and coordinates the movement and dance.