ABSTRACT
Watching a show on TV, our thoughts are normally centered on the program material: the story-line, the message, the argument. We become interested in what people are saying, what they are doing, what they look like, where they are, and so on. Unless we start to get bored, or the mechanics become obtrusive, we are unlikely to concern ourselves with how the production is actually made. We ‘believe’ what we see. We respond to techniques, but remain unaware of them unless they happen to distract us. We even accept the drama of the hero dying of thirst in the desert, without wondering why the director, camera and sound crew do not help him! All this is fine, but when you set out to make programs for yourself, you will soon realize the gulf between ‘watching and enjoying’ from the audience, and ‘creating the illusion’ by the way you use the equipment.
