October 2013
Beginner
224 pages
5h 36m
English
Interviews are television at its least complicated. Yet without appreciating the pitfalls and having a basic grasp of television grammar they are stunningly easy to get wrong, either on location or in the studio. Interviews are only the beginning.
There is nothing harder to explain in words than the grammar of crossing the line of action or the optical barrier as it is often described. There is also nothing easier to demonstrate, by design or by accident. The beginner need not stay awake at night wrestling with the abstract concept since observing a few simple rules can avoid serious trouble. Crossing the line is an unforgivable sin only in the eyes of a complete purist; there are ways of getting away ...