TASC Media Production cheat sheet

Three production phases: pre-production (planning, scripting, scheduling, permits, budgeting), production (principal photography or recording), and post-production (editing, sound design, color, delivery).

Frame rate defines temporal resolution: 24 fps for cinematic motion, 25/50 fps for PAL regions, 30/60 fps for NTSC regions; mismatched capture and delivery rates cause judder or pulldown artifacts.

Aspect ratio is width-to-height: 16:9 for HD/UHD delivery, 4:3 for legacy SD, 2.39:1 for anamorphic widescreen; changing ratio requires cropping, letterboxing, or pillarboxing.

Resolution ladder: 1280x720 (HD), 1920x1080 (Full HD), 3840x2160 (UHD/4K), 7680x4320 (8K); doubling horizontal and vertical pixels quadruples total pixel count.

The 180-degree rule keeps the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two subjects so screen direction and eyelines stay consistent across cuts.

The 30-degree rule requires a minimum change in camera angle between successive shots of the same subject to avoid a jarring jump cut.

Shot size vocabulary in ascending scale: extreme wide, wide, medium, close-up, extreme close-up; coverage typically pairs a master shot with matching singles.

Three-point lighting uses key (primary directional source), fill (softens key shadows), and back/rim (separates subject from background); key-to-fill ratio sets contrast.

Continuity editing preserves spatial and temporal logic via match cuts, eyeline matches, and the 180-degree rule; montage editing instead builds meaning through juxtaposition.

Sample rate sets the highest reproducible frequency (Nyquist limit = half the sample rate): 48 kHz audio captures up to 24 kHz, which exceeds human hearing.

Bit depth sets dynamic range: each added bit yields roughly 6 dB more headroom; 16-bit gives about 96 dB and 24-bit about 144 dB theoretical dynamic range.

Target loudness for broadcast and streaming is typically -23 LUFS (EBU R128) or -24 LKFS (ATSC A/85); true peak ceilings usually sit at -1 dBTP.

Non-destructive editing references source clips via an edit decision list, so trims and reorders never alter original media; destructive editing rewrites the source.

Codec choice trades quality against bitrate and file size: intra-frame codecs (e.g., ProRes) ease editing; inter-frame long-GOP codecs (e.g., H.264) compress harder for delivery.

Color grading operates in log or linear space; LUTs map log footage to a display space, while primary correction fixes exposure and white balance before secondary isolation of specific hues.

Multitrack mixing balances dialogue, music, and effects; sidechain compression or ducking lowers music under speech to preserve intelligibility.

A delivery spec sheet fixes container, codec, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, audio channels, and loudness so the master plays correctly on the target platform.

Copyright protects original expression fixed in a tangible medium; ideas, facts, and titles are not protected, and protection arises automatically at fixation.

Fair use weighs four factors: purpose and character of use, nature of the work, amount used, and effect on the market; it is a defense, not a blanket permission.

A release (talent, location, or property) grants written permission to record and use a person's likeness, a venue, or branded property in a production.

A sync license covers pairing music with moving images; a master license covers use of a specific recording; both are usually required for commercial music.

Public domain works have expired copyrights or were never protected; U.S. works published before 1928 are generally public domain as of 2024.

Standard crew roles: producer (budget, logistics), director (creative vision), director of photography (camera and lighting), editor (assembly), and sound mixer (location audio).

Call sheet basics: shoot date, call times, location address, scene list, crew contacts, and safety notes; it is the day-of coordination document.

On-set safety rules include designated power distribution, cable matting or taping, fire-lane clearance, and a documented risk assessment for stunts or heights.