Text 3 Better Viewing and Listening

The viewer switches on the set and settles down to watch the colourful programmes. For most viewers, most of the time, it is as simple as that, and who would have it otherwise? Yet to make this possible involves one of the success stories of modern technology and many specialist engineering skills – in the studios, the control rooms, the technical areas, the Post Office switching centres, the colour control rooms. And behind it all the broadcast equipment industry, the research and development engineers, the network planning and administrative staff, the transmitter design, construction and maintenance people, the aerial engineers and the riggers who climb the 1,000 ft masts … the list is long but yet the aim of them all is to ensure that they pass on to the next link in the chain a television picture or music every bit as good as it reached them. Seldom can so much skill have been used with the sole aim of doing nothing!

“We have got an extremely good television system at the moment, so why all this talk of improving it? Forget the technology and concentrate on the programmes!” One can indeed understand and sometimes sympathize with this viewpoint. But then one remembers that, even today, programmes are moulded and defined by the technology. Producers and directors still say “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could only …” and then enthuse about the programmes they could make with lighter cameras that would work with natural lightening and never drift out of registration; news editors fume at the difficulty of providing “live” coverage from far-away places; company accountants are horrified at the cost of “machine time” in post production editing; artists grumble at the number of technicians who get between them and their audience or the “noisy” pictures that can result from multiple generations of editing; while everybody who works in the studios is convinced that the picture was fine leaving them (a view shared of course by the transmitter engineers who blame the set makers who blame the broadcasters who …). The simple truth is that, to critical eyes, the pictures seen on a domestic set are not consistently “perfect” although those seen in the UK certainly stand comparison with anywhere in the world.

Every engineer has his own ideas to how we could achieve more consistent quality while providing more flexibility to the programme people. Many of the solutions are based on techniques for handling the signals in “digital” form (systems which process the picture by using a sort of extremely high-speed Morse code technique). Others believe that there is still scope for improving and extending the more conventional “analogue” systems.

Preparing the Text

A. Studying the language

1. Transcribe the following words and practice their pronunciation:

technology; engineering; area; equipment; research; administrative; maintenance; aerial; rigger; extremely; sympathize; enthuse; technician; consistently; flexibility; techniques.

2. Give the Russian equivalents for the following phrases:

to settle down to watch a programme; who would have it otherwise; the research and development engineers; construction and maintenance people; the aerial engineers; the sole aim of doing nothing; why all this task of improving it; to sympathize with someone’s viewpoint; progrmmes are moulded and defined by technology; to provide “live” coverage; far-away places; to be horrified at the cost; post-production editing; there is still scope for improving.

3. Match the meaning and the word.

newscaster	a short film that presents current events;
newsstand	an organization that provides news reports for subscribers, such as newspapers;
newsreel	a news story delivered by a television reporter from the scene of the incident;
anchorman	a boy who sells or delivered newspapers;
newspaperwoman	a female newsboy;
news agency	an open booth or stand at which newspapers are sold;
newsmonger	a man who operates a cine-camera or television camera;
standup or standupper	the presenter or coordinator of a broadcast involving several different contributors or correspondents;
commentator	a person who reads the news on television or radio, a newsreader;
newsflash	a radio or television broadcast, often with commentary, of events in the news;
cameraman	a person who spreads news;
newsgirl	a female newspaperman;
newsboy	1) an author of commentaries, especially on current or political events; 2) a person who makes radio and television commentaries;
newscast	a short, usually unscheduled announcement of news, a flash.

4. Find English equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases in the previous exercise:

кинооператор, фоторепортёр; сплетник; газетчик, продавец газет; диктор, радиокомментатор; передача последних известий (по радио, телевидению); ведущий программы; комментарий репортёра, находящегося в кадре; журналистка; хроника, хроникальный фильм, киножурнал; газетный киоск; агентство печати, информационное агентство; вставка-молния.

5. Learn some more words and expressions which will help you to discuss the problems dealing with television and radio. Choose any ten words or expressions and use them in the sentences of your own.

air	- эфир
ban from the air	- запрещать выход в эфир
announcer	- диктор
broadcast	- 1) широковещание; 2) передача, вещание
education broadcast	- образовательная передача
outside broadcast	- внестудийная передача
political broadcast	- политическая передача
religious broadcast	- религиозная передача
school broadcast	- передача для школ
school television (radio) broadcast	- 1) телевизионная (радио) передача для школ; 2) внутришкольное вещание по замкнутой цепи
live news broadcast	- прямой эфир
programme	- программа
to produce a television programme	- выпускать телевизионную программу
to make a programme	- делать программу
current affairs programme	- программа новостей
documentary programme	- документальная передача
educational prgramme	- образовательная передача
feature programme	- рубриковая программа

B. Points for comments and discussion

1. Answer the following questions about the text:

1). Do you know how many people are involved in producing television programmes? Have you ever read the list of people who have taken part in the production of the programme? Whose skills do you usually appreciate most of all? Can you name any favourite professionals working on TV besides newscasters, commentators and anchormen?

2). Do you agree that special engineering skills are of great importance for the quality of a programme? How can engineering skills influence a TV programme?

3). What is the role of the network planning and administrative staff on Russian TV?

4). Why does the author state that, even today, programmes are moulded and defined by technology? Do you agree with his viewpoint? Why?

5). What professionals working on TV are mentioned in the text? Enumerate them according to their importance from your viewpoint. Give your arguments.

6). What kind of conflicts can arise between opposing groups and opposing ideas or principles on TV? Can you give any examples of such conflicts on Russian TV?

2. Divide the text into logical parts. Write a plan. Summarize the text according to your plan.