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Interstitial program
Encyclopedia
In television programming, an interstitial program (or wraparound program or wraparound segment) refers to a short program which is often shown between movies
or other events, e.g. a cast interview(s) after movies on premium channels. The term can also refer to a narrative bridge between segments within a program, such as Leopold Stokowski
's interstitials for Disney's Fantasia
or the Simpson family
's interludes between segments during their annual Halloween
special, the Treehouse of Horror.
Sometimes, if a program finishes earlier than expected, a short extra program may be inserted in the schedule to fill the time until the next scheduled program is due to start. American cable channel TBS commonly aired TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
after shorter-than-average Braves
games.
Radio Telefís Éireann in the Republic of Ireland
used a variety of material as interstitials; often animation
, including Roger Mainwood's video of Kraftwerk
's hit "Autobahn
", Halas and Batchelor
shorts, and stop-motion Soviet cartoons; also rhythmic gymnastics
performances, instrumental music, or sometimes simply a test card
.
Japanese
public broadcasting
organization NHK
's Minna no Uta
is something of a national institution, commissioning makers of usually animated
films and famous or upcoming music acts to collaborate on exclusive music video
s used to plug schedule gaps in lieu of advertisements
.
In Canada, short film series such as Canada Vignettes
and Heritage Minute
s were often used on CBC-TV and other broadcasters.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or other events, e.g. a cast interview(s) after movies on premium channels. The term can also refer to a narrative bridge between segments within a program, such as Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
's interstitials for Disney's Fantasia
Fantasia (film)
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
or the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
's interludes between segments during their annual Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
special, the Treehouse of Horror.
Sometimes, if a program finishes earlier than expected, a short extra program may be inserted in the schedule to fill the time until the next scheduled program is due to start. American cable channel TBS commonly aired TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes is a television series and a group of television specials that aired in the United States by NBC and, later, ABC from the 1980s to the mid-2000s...
after shorter-than-average Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
games.
Radio Telefís Éireann in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
used a variety of material as interstitials; often animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, including Roger Mainwood's video of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
's hit "Autobahn
Autobahn (song)
"Autobahn" is a song by German electronic band Kraftwerk, composed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider of the band, with Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is co-produced by Conny Plank, and was the band's first track to use sung lyrics...
", Halas and Batchelor
Halas and Batchelor
Halas and Batchelor was an animation company founded by John Halas and his wife, Joy Batchelor. The company started as a small animation unit that created commercials for theatrical distribution...
shorts, and stop-motion Soviet cartoons; also rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which individuals or teams of competitors manipulate one or two pieces of apparatus: rope, clubs, hoop, ball, ribbon and Free . An individual athlete only manipulates 1 apparatus at a time...
performances, instrumental music, or sometimes simply a test card
Test card
A test card, also known as a test pattern in North America and Australia, is a television test signal, typically broadcast at times when the transmitter is active but no program is being broadcast...
.
Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
organization NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
's Minna no Uta
Minna no Uta
, literally Everyone's Songs, is a five minute NHK TV and radio program broadcasting several times daily since 1961. The program is generally used as filler at the end of regular television programs...
is something of a national institution, commissioning makers of usually animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
films and famous or upcoming music acts to collaborate on exclusive music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s used to plug schedule gaps in lieu of advertisements
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
.
In Canada, short film series such as Canada Vignettes
Canada Vignettes
Canada Vignettes are a series of vignettes by the National Film Board of Canada , some of which aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and other Canadian broadcasters as interstitial programs. The vignettes became popular because of their cultural depiction of Canada, and because they...
and Heritage Minute
Heritage Minute
Heritage Minutes, also known officially as Historica Minutes: History by the Minute, are sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. They appear frequently on Canadian television and in cinemas before movies...
s were often used on CBC-TV and other broadcasters.