television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and film, a piece to camera (PTC) is when a television presenter or a character speaks directly to the viewing audience through the

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

Details

It is most common when a news or

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

presenter is reporting or explaining items to the viewing audience. Indeed,

news programmes News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or telev ...

usually take the form of a combination of both

interviews An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" r ...

and pieces to camera. There are three type of piece to camera: # opening PTC - when presenter opens-up the news, and introduce himself/herself to the audience. # bridge PTC - information that presenter gives to bridge the gap between empty space. # conclusive or closing PTC - ending of news where the presenter acknowledge itself and the cameraman, place and the news channel. The term also applies to the period when an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, playing a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

in a film or on television, talks into the camera and hence directly to the audience. Depending on the genre of the show, this may or may not be considered as a breaking the fourth wall.

References

{{Reflist NDTV NEWS / ZEE NEWS Channel

External links

A television presenter’s guide to their first piece to camera
Cinematic techniques