ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses the many professional roles involved in making television, with emphasis on the creative and managerial roles of producer, director, screenwriter, editor and camera operator. It is not possible in the space available here to provide as much detailed descriptive information about these roles, or the competences needed to carry them out to professional standards, as can be found in the many ‘how-to’ books on the market about television production. (A few such books are listed in the Further Reading section at the end of the chapter.) Nevertheless, the chapter considers the different roles in television programmemaking and gives an overview of the different stages of the production process, including some of its key terminology. The chapter includes practical exercises which individuals or groups can work on in order to explore these processes for themselves.
