Directing and Producing for Television, 4th Edition

chapter six

Scripted Format

The conventions we now use for shooting multiple-camera television come from the early days of live television when directors were imported from the theatrical community. The skills they had learned in the theater were effective when it became necessary to put dramas and scored musicals on the air. They found the stage managers prompt book particularly valuable (Figures 6.1A and 6.1B). In fact, the procedures and the script markings we now use for “a line cut” or “cutting” a television show—daytime dramas, some sitcoms, classical music, operas, ballet, and theatrical productions—are very similar to the notations used by stage managers in the theater.

Figure 6.1A A page from the prompt book for Man of La Mancha. It ...