# sitcom broadcast nomenclature **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035 "2014-11-08T01:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/1 "2014-11-08T01:26:57Z")
In the Big Bang Theory, scene transitions are punctuated by “dancing atoms”. In Third Rock from the Sun, scene transitions have “dancing planets”. Do these scene transitions have a technical name? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/2 "2014-11-08T01:44:10Z")
I couldn’t find anything specific, if there’s a name for it, I’m not sure what it is. You could just call it a transition or transition scene. It is essentially a scene in and of itself with a transition (cut) at each end. Take a look here and click on all there different things, including the ones in the box at the bottom to see if you can find anything that I missed. > **[Film transition | Cut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_transition#Cut)** > > The cut is the most basic and common type of transition. In a cut, one image on the screen is instantly replaced by another, often with a change in camera angle. Shot A ends abruptly and shot B begins. Cuts can be classified into different types, as detailed below. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/3 "2014-11-08T01:49:12Z")
Bumpers ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/4 "2014-11-08T01:57:28Z")
I think “bumper” is usually used for ones between the show and commercials. I believe the official term is just “scene transition.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/5 "2014-11-08T16:55:10Z")
I agree with **magnusblitz**. Bumpers are for commercial break related transitions. On some talk shows, they sort of come back from commercial, have a bumper with music playing, then go back to “station break”. No transition to actual program is technically required. You can also win an Emmy for these. The old Letterman show used to get them for the jokey bits in them. Some shows really overdo the transition scenes. _The Big Bang Theory_ does the flying atoms almost all the time. They skip it for some mysterious reason only once in a very long while. Maybe something to do with how things are labeled in terms of scenes/acts in the script despite how they appear to the viewer on screen. E.g., the scene changes to a different location/different actors but might be considered part of the previous act in some way. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/6 "2014-11-08T17:30:57Z")
Maybe someone can explain that crazy-ass bit from Rocky ans Bullwinkle that starts with the lightning and ends with the flowers. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-broadcast-nomenclature/704035/7 "2014-11-08T21:32:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Maybe someone can explain that crazy-ass bit from Rocky ans Bullwinkle that starts with the lightning and ends with the flowers. Just filler. Animation, even at the level of _R&B_ was quite expensive then. Shortcuts were taken. Lots of little bits were added in and re-used and re-used and … Some were passed off as intros: “And now here’s something we think you’ll really enjoy.” But the main reason was to save money. As to the nature of the bits, Jay Ward was a genius and liked to do quirky things. The theme of the R&B segments was adventure and peril. 'Nuff said. (As animation costs got higher, the standards got lower. Hence _Scooby-Doo_ and such.) BTW: Regarding “bumpers”. Forgot to mention a key point about them. They allowed some slop for the commercials to start/stop. Especially for the local station breaks. If a commercial started a second early/late, no problem. Hence “bumpers” like at the end of a railroad track or such. Something to absorb slack. Which is why they shouldn’t be confused with scene transitions where no such slack should exist within the show proper.