The use of broadcast video camcorders came to be called ENG (electronic news gathering) and EFP (electronic film production). Television companies ceased using 16mm film for news gathering and removed their in-house film processing facilities. Until this change, independent filmmakers often benefitted from the film-based resources of television studios, by being given free 16mm film stock and processing.
In the late 1980s I freelanced in television in several roles such as lighting and camera grip assistant on corporate productions and factual television, adapting and adding to the skills I had developed in community video. The crewing company, Puffin Pictures, moved into EFP, initially using a Sony tube camera that needed constant calibration and required many batteries. Later, they upgraded to more functional cameras with three CCD sensors. Television crews typically had three or more technicians: camera operator, sound recordist and camera assistant. The cameras were heavy and needed sturdy tripods, bulky CRT video monitors and even the BetaSP tapes used for recording were weighty. The crew was often augmented by an electrician in charge of lighting, which typically used high-powered halogen lamps – 800- and 2,000-watt heads in a basic setup – which drew a large current and quickly became extremely hot when used.