Cue card

Cue cards, also known as note cards or idiot cards,^[1] are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the audience. Cue cards are still currently being used on many late night talk shows including Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien as well as variety and sketch comedy shows like Saturday Night Live due to the practice of last minute script changes.^[2] Many other TV shows, including game and reality shows, still use cue cards due to their mobility, as a teleprompter only allows the actor or broadcaster to look directly into the camera.

Cue cards were originally used to aid aging actors. One early use is know to have occurred by John Barrymore in the late 1930s, Barrymore began to lose his ability to remember his lines, and his diminished abilities were apparent in a surviving screen test that he made for an aborted film version of Hamlet in 1933.^{[neutrality is disputed]} From then on, he insisted on reading his dialogue from cue cards.

Cue cards however did not become widespread until 1949 when Barney McNulty^[3] a CBS page and former military pilot, was asked to write ailing actor Ed Wynn's script lines on large sheets of paper to help him remember his script. McNulty volunteered for this duty because his training as a pilot taught him to write very quickly and clearly. McNulty soon saw the necessity of this concept and formed the company "Ad Libs."^{[citation needed]} McNulty continued to be Bob Hope's personal Cue Card man until he stopped performing. McNulty who died in 2000 at the age of 77 will forever be known in Hollywood as the "Cue-Card King".

Marlon Brando was also a frequent user of cue cards.^[4] In the 1970s, during production of the film Last Tango in Paris, he had cue cards posted about the set, although director Bernardo Bertolucci declined his request to have lines written on actress Maria Schneider's rear end.^[5]

References

1. ^ 'Cue card', in The International Dictionary of Broadcasting and Film (2000)
2. ^ "Team Coco Podcast #25: Cue Card Master Steve Burm!". Conan (TV series). May 2. 2011. http://teamcoco.com/content/team-coco-podcast-25-cue-card-master-steve-burm. Retrieved 8 May 2011. 
3. ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BARNEY+MCNULTY,+77,+CUE+CARD+CREATOR,+DIES-a083412398
4. ^ Brando, Marlon and Robert Lindsey (1994). Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me. Random House. pp. 414–416. ISBN 9780679410133. 
5. ^ "Dossier: Marlon Brando". Esquire 96 (1): 74–75. July 1981. 

This article about television technology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Television technology Film and video technology Television terminology Television technology stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат Kifli Martin Meehan Look at other dictionaries: cue card — cue ,card noun count a large card that someone holds beside a television camera so that speakers and actors can read the words they have to say …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English cue card — n. a card, unseen by the audience, carrying dialogue, lyrics, etc. as an aid to a television performer …   English World dictionary cue card — Television. a large card, out of range of the camera, on which words or phrases have been printed in large letters for the speaker or performer to read or use as a memory aid during a program. * * * cue card UK US noun [countable] [singular cue… …   Useful english dictionary cue card — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms cue card : singular cue card plural cue cards a large card that someone holds beside a television camera so that a television presenter can read the words they have to say …   English dictionary cue card — Television. a large card, out of range of the camera, on which words or phrases have been printed in large letters for the speaker or performer to read or use as a memory aid during a program. * * * …   Universalium cue card — noun a card held beside a camera for a television broadcaster to read from while appearing to look into the camera …   English new terms dictionary cue card — /ˈkju kad/ (say kyooh kahd) noun → idiot board …   cue cards —   a device (cards, scrolling screen, teleprompter, or other mechanism) printed with dialogue provided to help an actor recite his/her lines; an electronic cue card is called a (tele) prompter; derogatively called idiot cards or idiot sheets …   Glossary of cinematic terms Cue — or CUE may refer to: Contents 1 Event markers 2 Places 3 Education 4 Music 5 Other …   Wikipedia Cue bid — In contract bridge, a cue bid (also, cuebid or cue bid) is a term that applies to two types of bid: A bid of a suit that has already been bid by opponents. A slam investigating bid made during an auction s later rounds that shows control of a… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”