A Comprehensive List of Production Studio Equipment and its Applications

Television production and postproduction involve various techniques, but the most critical component is patience.

FREMONT, CA: Production studios are densely packed with various equipment used to generate films, television, video, and audio. Not all furniture and equipment found in one sort of studio will be found in another, while many things are interchangeable and have applications in several production contexts.

Dolly: A wheeled platform that enables the camera and its operator to perform smooth tracking movements. Dollies can be purchased for as little as $15 for a piece of plywood on skateboard wheels to thousands of dollars for a professional dolly with superior control.

Tripod: This is a gadget with three telescopic legs, and a mechanism called a "head" at the top is used to support a camera and perform panning and tilting movements.

Kino: These are Kino lighting's specially color-balanced fluorescent lights.

Pedestal: Similar to a tripod, this is a sort of camera support. Pedestals comprise a central core tube mounted on wheels and a camera mounting platform in their simplest form. The center core telescopes upwards and downwards to accommodate a range of camera heights. The wheels are comprised of a smooth rubber, which helps minimize camera shake and undesired noise.

Blimp: A robust, soundproof housing for film cameras that prevents the camera's noise from interfering with the scene.

Jib: When used in conjunction with a camera, a jib is a long, pivoting arm attached to a tripod and allows the camera to move in various directions. Jibs range in length from 4 feet to 40 or 50 feet (at which point they become cranes) and enable intricate overhead or moving shots.

TelePrompTer: TelePrompTer is a trademark for a two-part system that enables on-camera talent to read text while directly staring into the camera lens. The first section features an angled two-way mirror that reflects text from a monitor suspended underneath the mirror. The second component is a computer and a hand controller or foot pedal that controls the rate at which text scrolls along with the screen.

Lighting Board: Lighting Board is a big console featuring rows and columns of faders and controls for adjusting the output levels of studio lights.

Video Switcher: Video Switcher is a big console that manages camera, videotape, hard disc, and graphics device inputs. The switcher enables the director to combine and cut between the many input streams to create a final program.

Audio Mixing Console: Audio Mixing Console is a console that houses the inputs for all of the studio's audio sources, such as microphones, CD drives, and players, sound effects generators, and computers. The mixing console is used to regulate the volumes of each audio input's numerous controls.

Monitors: Monitors is professional-grade audio speakers of the highest quality. Monitors can reproduce a wide range of frequencies to assist technicians with audio sweetening.

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