TV networks tend to deal in drama, action and mayhem. Scripps Networks has a different approach. “We’re about food and shelter,” says Peter Franks, director of design and motion services for Scripps Productions — a part of Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, FINE LIVING TV NETWORK and Great American Country (GAC). “We’re about providing information — from how-to home improvement projects to recipes to vacation planning. All that information is reinforced by our graphics. And those graphics must be clear and concise without distracting our viewers from the content.”

To create those graphics, the Scripps design team uses Macs running Final Cut Studio, QuickTime Pro, Cinema 4D, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. “We have more than 70 Mac workstations at Scripps Networks for print, video and Web design,” says Franks. “We do all the graphics, soup-to-nuts, on the Macs.” That includes capturing and editing video footage with Final Cut Pro.

“We’re not trained video editors,” he says. “But Final Cut is so intuitive and so easy to use that we don’t need specialized training in the software. We can teach ourselves to do anything we need. It’s just simple for artists to get. That’s one of the strengths of Final Cut.”

Good Build

Building a smooth art department isn’t that different from building a finely finished deck. You need the right tools, teamwork and good plans. Franks’ Knoxville, Tenn. workshop is crammed with tools and great teams. It also has a strategic layout that lets the artists work quickly through projects to meet production deadlines. “Each of the brands (networks) has its own graphics group,” says Franks. HGTV, DIY and FINE LIVING operate out of Knoxville. Food Network cooks it up in New York and Great American Country jams in Nashville.

The Knoxville design teams receive footage from in-house film crews or out-of-house production companies. Then they add the graphics. “Besides being good content, it has to be interesting to watch,” says Franks. “That’s the real challenge for us — creating informational and entertaining graphics.” That includes everything from lower thirds to full-screen graphics. The teams use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create storyboards, and After Effects to build visual animatics. Then they use Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Cinema 4D and Final Cut Pro to make the final graphics.