Television studio production is a field unlike any other in video production. It has a standard cycle that is unique, as well as positions and technology that are not used in many other types of video. Its jargon can be alienating for some, so here a few common terms used in digital television studio production.
ESS stands for Electronic Still Store. This is where pre-made graphics and effects are stored on a computer so they can be applied during live television broadcasts.
A Paint Box is used to create graphics at will during a live television broadcast.
CG stands for Character Generator. This is often used to create text slates spontaneously during live television broadcast. These could be things like title screens or text boxes indicating who a person is. Most CG programs will let you make and store CGs for later use.
A teleprompter is a device that displays a scrolling script so that the people in front of the camera can read the text live. Someone in the studio types the script into the teleprompter computer and then controls the scrolling so the people who are being recorded can read the words right off of a monitor. That monitor is usually put right near the camera so while they read the words out loud it appears as though they are looking into the camera.
Master Control is a room where tapes or digital video files are set for live video play. When you are watching a live studio production and they go to a video segment or commercial, master control then plays a tape or initiates a digital video file to be played on the air. This can be done with a computer set-up or a series of playback devices.
The intercom is a device allowing people in the control rooms, Master Control, and the other technical departments of the studio to communicate with each other and the talent on the floor. The people who will be speaking wear a headset and then their voice is broadcast over speakers that are positioned in desired locations.
A Generator Lock is a signal that is given to a camera that tells all the cameras in a multi-camera studio setup to link up and match their pictures. A TBC, or Time Based Corrector, is similar to a Generator Lock and tries to reduce errors caused by the equipment by creating a delay in the video stream.
IFB stands for Interruptible Fullback. This is an earpiece device, similar in principle to the intercom, that lets the Director talk to the talent through a small earpiece.
The switcher is in the control room and allows the Director and Technical Director to switch between the images the cameras are picking up and apply transition effects like dissolves. A dissolve is a slow change between one piece and another. Another common effect used by a switcher in live television studio production is the Fade to Black, which is the same as the dissolve except the image goes completely black in between.
The Preview Bus are the monitors that allow you to see possible camera shifts before they are broadcast. When you are switching between cameras you do so in the Preview Bus before you do it on the air.
These are just a few of the more technical terms used in digital television studio production, but there are still many more. The best way to get a feel for this process is through actually doing, so try gaining an internship at a local news station or begin working on a public access show for experience.