VO/SOT/VOSOT/BLAHBLAH

[Tootie]

I'm a high school student interested in tv news. Can someone please explain what all these letters stand for -- VO, SOT, and whatever else is used in broadcasting?

Thank you.

[Sound Girl]

VO- Voice over. It's when the video rolls on air with an anchor reading over it.

SOT- Sound on tape. A soundbite from whomever you've interviewed.

Sometimes we use them together... as a VOSOT.

We also have Packages... or PKG... That's when a reporter goes out in the field, shoots some video (called B Roll) gets some interviews (sound) Records their voice (or cuts their track) and edits it all together. The end result will be the Package. The anchor will lead into it and sometimes out of it on camera with a bit of copy. Maybe a producer will have them wipe out of the package (meaning they'll go straight from the package to the next piece of video with no sight of the anchor in between) to a related vo.

This was a basic explanation... but you'll find a lot more of what you're looking for in course books. Check your local college book store.

Good Luck!

[David R. Busse]

IFB= Interrupted fold-back. It is sometimes improperly called interrupted feed back

That's the audio reporters have in their ear during a live shot...it's a mix of off-air and director's cues, often fed to the talent thru cellular phones or two-way radio. When the person is actually on-the-air live, the off-air audio is cut...that's called mixed-minus IFB. When you see a reporter yank his or her earpiece out a few seconds into a live shot, that's a pretty good indication that mixed-minus isn't working.

Generally, panic attacks right before live shots are due to IFB problems. One of the nice things about this aspect of live television is that IFB is called IFB all over the world, no matter what language.

[This message has been edited by David R. Busse (edited June 25, 2002).]

[ants in da' pants]

LIO = leave internet on (that way creditors can't call you
LAS = lunch at stop light (you will have many)
HIBL = honey, I'll be late (get used to saying that)
WCG = wish I could go (get used to saying that)
SIS = sorry it's sweeps (get used to saying that)
HUW = hurry up and wait (applies to just about everything)
IDC = I don't care (phraze that will become handy later in your career)
ATS = another travel story (phraze that will become handy later in your career)

I could go on, but I'll start you with these - let me know when you get these terms down.