Discussion:
Traditionally a studio was chosen for low costs, fast production times, and precise control of environment. News started out in the studio, and many films migrated to the studio to control expensive shooting costs: films like “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” were planned for production all in the field, but were moved into the studio when budgets where cut, while television news was always produced in the studio, and only moved out of the studio when methods of getting film onto video were perfected, and eventually when technology reduced costs to where field equipment of high enough quality could return images to a studio rapidly enough to be incorporated into a production.

It is important not to get too hung up on the difference between studio and field production. A field camera can be brought into an enclosed controlled environment, and be used to produce work that in all ways, from expense to quality, rivals the field, while a studio can be constructed in the field, and often is (which is how major sporting events are often covered). You will often see “odd ducks” which seem to violate the norm: NFL Films produces film style field productions of games that are more often covered as live events, while sitcoms, since the advent of the “three camera style” with “I Love Lucy” try to simulate single camera field shooting in a studio environment. There are actually more exceptions than rules.

What is a studio?
A studio consists of several parts:

1. The studio floor: The only thing a studio really needs is an enclosed space. More advanced studios will have lighting grids, special low-noise air conditioning, storage areas, and possibly a set shop. Television studio floors often contain one or more cameras, three cameras are the norm, although some have only two, or use robotic cameras.

2. The studio control room: Film studios omit this, but television studios usually have a control room for equipment whose operators make too much noise (and indeed, with dozens of fans going inside of the equipment, a studio control room is rarely silent.

3. The announcer’s booth: Not many studios have these anymore, but in the days before digital audio recording, studios would have booths specifically for announcers who worked with voice over material during live programs.

4. Audience area: Some studios designed to have live audiences, have areas specifically for them. Sometimes these areas are part of the studio floor; sometimes they are glass bubbles overlooking the set.

5. Green room: Any studio designed to have guests in it will have a green room, sometimes more than one. A green room is simply a comfortable area where talent, guests, and producers prepare for a show. It is different from a dressing room, although private green rooms are often used as a dressing room.

6. Dressing room: Most studios which function for theatrical productions will have dressing rooms, hopefully equipped with showers, a well lit mirror, and clothing and makeup areas. Some studios simply rely on the green room for this.

7. Multi-purpose room: Often forgotten by studio architects is the room for “other things”, something I call the elephant room. You never know when you will have a show on cooking, llama breeding, or what have you, and all that stuff needs to be staged before it is brought out for a program.

8. Scene and prop rooms: It is always nice to have someplace other than one wall of your studio to store scene flats and property. A good studio will acquire things that are too valuable to throw away, but which are bulky. Ideally, storage can be found both near the studio, for stuff you use all the time, and in some distant location for stuff that is valuable but not used often.

9. Office space: Everyone wants an office. Some people need an office, and a few of these people need an office as close to the studio as possible. It is usually nice to have a “newsroom” open office space plus a number of private offices near a studio.

What is a production?
Productions are the shows we work on. A car manufacturer produces cars; we produce visual media. All productions follow several basic phases no matter what type of program they are. Almost all creative media follows several steps from idea to reality, which are listed below.

1. Conceptualization: Coming up with the idea for a program.

2. Pre-production: Organizing, writing, designing, and paying for a program.

3. Production: Actually making a production by getting all the materials needed for its completion.

4. Post Production: Taking all those materials, and if need be, making them fit a certain format and style. This process is also known as editing.

5. Distribution and Archiving: The program usually goes somewhere to someone. Its purpose and direction are its “format.” For example, a theatrical release to home audiences is a creative piece created directly for DVD. Other possible venues are broadcast television (includes cable and satellite), theatrical screening (“the movies”), pay-per-view, educational, on-line, and interactive (primarily video games). Archiving is how it will be stored.

Step (5) is technically a purely mechanical process, although it is important to understand, while step (1) is a creative and business phase that we will cover. Steps (2) - (4) are the core of learning the process of studio production from a creative or technical side.

Above-the-Line and Below-the-Line:
These terms come around from time to time to haunt unwary undergraduates on vocabulary tests, but they have a practical purpose. By understanding who is above the line and who is below, a person can make sense of the culture of creative media production.

Above-the-line staffs are creative, performing and accounting people who usually see a production through from start to finish. Below-the-line staffs are the creative and technical trades that work on certain parts of the production process. By definition, some jobs are always considered above the line (executive producer) while some are always considered below the line (grips). But it is possible to have a producer who is working below the line, or a certain grip whose importance to the show concept means that they are above the line, despite tradition. When in doubt, ask yourself if the person is paid to see the production through from start to finish, and if they work on the production from concept to distribution, and this is usually a person above the line.

In accounting, below the line staff usually refers to trades people on the show, while above the line refers to the creative staff. Again, one person’s above the line is the next below.

There are several types of studio productions:
Multicamera - Live to Tape
Multicamera - Live to Air
Multicamera - Assemble Edited
Single Camera Narrative
Multicamera Narrative
Scripted
Event Driven
Truck Production

Multicamera - Live to Tape
This show is produced live but is recorded to tape. An example of this is late night TV (recorded earlier in the night) or tape delay tv shows (some informercials).

Multicamera - Live to Air
This includes news and online shopping. The show is made in real time, possibly with roll ins of more complex information.

Multicamera - Assemble Edited
The show is produced live to tape but each segment is produced one at a time, then added to the existing show.

Single Camera Narrative
Traditional movies and TV series shot in the studio using one camera techniques. Many TV shows are produced using traditional film techniques but in the controlled environment of a studio (House M.D)

Multicamera Narrative
Made famous by "I Love Lucy," and the common method of making soap operas, multicamera narrative allows scenes to be produced using multiple cameras for shot coverage, but also allows for a studio and possibly an audience to help the actors gage timing.

Scripted
Scripted studio shoots are any that rely on traditional scripts directing action and dialog.

Event Driven
The realm of the talk show, event driven studio productions are not scripted, except for segment rundowns, and rely on a moderator to keep the action going.

Truck Production
Sports is often produced in a truck that takes the studio into the field. The stadium then becomes the actual studio floor, the truck becomes the control room.

Studios are chosen because:
Security
Expense compared to large field shoots
Speed of production
Ease of matt production
Control of the Environment

Studios are limited because:
Larger projects require very large and expensive studios
Locations can be cheaper than digital reproduction
Some subjects cannot be contained in a studio

Modern technology has changed the studio:
Pocket studios - tiny studios with limited space for small productions.
Robotic studios - Studios where
Virtual studios - Studios built using green screen and blue screen technology to appear to be larger and more complex than they really are.