On a studio we’ll find all different kinds of equipment:
-Camera -> the cameras are used to record the show. There are more than one to get different types of shot in order for the director to pick them.
-microphones -> used on the contestants and the audience to capture the sound of people talking or just the applause. These are put on the side of the talent top depending on their eye line. For example if team A is on the left hand side of the camera the microphone will be put on the right hand side because it’s where they will be looking the most at.
Lights:
The lights are up on the grid and they are used to give the show a lighting style. The director will watch someone testing all the lights in different styles till the director will pick the one he prefers.
There are a few styles of lighting but there’s always the main three lights for the host:
It’s the three point lighting. The host sits on his sit looking to the camera he/she will be looking at for most of the time then there are three lights pointing at him:
- Spot light: which is a hard light and it’s to light most of the hosts face.
- Fill light: Which is a light on the other side of the host, this light is softer and it’s used to light up the shades on the host that the spot light gives him/her. And this way the camera will get more detail from the host.
- Back light: This is a hard light too. This one is to light the host from the back. This is used to give the host more details and so he doesn’t blend in with the background. This way you’ll see more of the host than the set and it’s more interesting.
The lighting is used in each one of the talent, and the tests are made depending on the people’s skin so normally each individual of the show should get a 3 point lighting on them.
Here’s a diagram to show how it works:
-Monitor -> shows what’s being filmed or the scripted parts of the hosts speech. If needed also shows the talent the inserts that are going to be used during the show.
-camera cable -> takes the images to the STOB box. This is sensitive piece of equipment so to make sure that no one trips on it and it’s easier to move the camera’s around without damaging them the camera assistants will hold them, and take them out of the way.
- fold back -> The fold back is a big speark that’s in the studio and it’s used to play back any sounds needed for the show or the sounds from video that is hsown during the programme.
-The grid -> This is a big grid that’s in the studio’s ceiling and holds all the lights needed in position to be used.
- Dimmer -> Has all the switches from every single light on the grid and from the desk when the lights have to be softer it sends the energy needed to each individual light in order to get the lighting needed.
Crew roles and responsibilities:
Director: the director has the role of making the show happening and directing everyone so they do what he/she wants. He’s responsible for everything that happens on the show and how it looks like he chooses each shot individually to appear on the TV.
Producer: They are responsible for organising the show and they give each job to a different person so it happens. They are responsible for delivering the programme on time, making sure they only use the budget aloud, and they have to make sure what happens on the show won’t offend people.
Floor manager: The floor manager is responsible for everything that happens in the studio. He/she lets the director know that everything is going ok and if the director needs anything he/she ;lets the floor manager know so the floor manager can change it. The role of the floor manager goes from start the clapping to let the camera operators know if the director needs something new.
Camera Operator: The camera operator is on the camera delivering the shots that the director needs for the show to be good.
Camera assistant: Mostly holds the camera wire so it’s easier for the camera operator to move around with the camera casually helping if the camera operator needs to crab left or right.
Sound Operator: Makes sure the microphones are working at the right level and any sound needed on studio won’t go so loud that the microphones pick up. The sound desk will have faders for each individual talent on the show so the volume is picked so it peaks just loud enough (this should be somewhere between 6 and 9 on the VU meter). There’s also a master fader in case that everyone starts talking at the same time it’s easier to control it, there’s also \a fader to play the sounds back to the studio through the foldback.
Vision mixer: Sits near the director picking the shots the director wants. And every now and then if he thinks that there’s a better shot than the director’s picked he may pick it himself. Not all the time though. Also he’s responsible to mix shots if needed.
Light operator: Turns on and off the lights as needed. Before the actual show he turns the lights on and off to show the director different styles of lighting so then the director picks the one he prefers and that’s how the show is going to look like.
Multi-cam production terms:
Signal flow:
Camera signal flow:
The camera captures light and turns into energy and then it goes to a little box on the camera’s ped, then is taken from there to the STOB box through the wires and then is taken to the vision mixing desk where all the shots from every camera are being recorded to and then the director picks which one he prefers and then is then sent to the floor monitor.
Sound signal flow:
The contestants and the host talk to the Omni-directional microphones and that is sent to the STOB box through Wi-Fi and then sent to the sound desk where the sound operator decides whether to turn the fader up or down depending on the people’s voices. The same happens to the sound coming from the audience. The sound from everyone goes into the sound mixing panel through different cables but when it comes out it’s through one output altogether.
Camera shots and moves:
On a live quiz show the shots used are very limited:
c.u.: From the tie knot to a finger of head room.
m.c.u.: From under the breasts to two or three fingers of head room.
Mid-shot: From hips to three fingers of head room.
Two-shot- A shot with two people in it.
Three-shot: A shot with three people.
Wide shot: normally used at the beginning to show people watching it the set and to let them know kind of what’s going on.
You can track in and out which means moving the ped in and out on the studio floor. Crabing left or right is the same move but sideways. This helps the camera operactiors to get better shots.
On a live quiz show you’re not supposed to pan or tilt the camera unless is the camera used for the wide shot so it shows the audience the set and what’s going on.
DVD operation and insert requirements:
For this we need a DVD with all the inserts we’re going to use, and they all have to be in order and labelled so the director knows it’s the right one and has enough time to change shots. Also the DVD operator has to know the exact time of every insert how long it lasts so the director knows when it’s going to end to change the shot for the contestants.
Directing and director calls:
Directing a live event is a very difficult task. The director has to know that everything is ok and if there’s any problems, depending on the what it is most of the time the floor manager can help if the show is on air already. The director will talk through the talk back to every single person working on the studio and he’ll tell them what they need from them and they want to get it. The Director sits in the director’s room with the vision mixer looking at all the shots and talking to sound and the DVD person. He expects the assistant manager to tell him how long the inserts are in so he knows when the shot should be changed. When directing there’s a lot of pressure and a lot to think about so FM runs the floor for him. Director expects the FM to know what’s needed when preparing and to be ahead of him quite a lot.
Programme rundowns:
This is the technical script. The order of everything and what inserts go where. This is for the director to know what’s coming so he can plan ahead the shots his going to use. This scrip layout is a normal A4 page divided in the middle and the left side says the video stuff, like what camera should be used, and what inserts are going to be seen on the floor monitor from the DVD insert person. On the right hand side on the page there is all the sound information needed, to go with the vision. They have to be side by side, when there’s a scripted talk for the host the first and last words should be on this script so the director knows when to cut from the host to the inserts.
Floor plans:
These are the plans of the studio on a scale 1:50. Meaning when the director decides everything and where it goes the people come in and put everything on the right place by the centimetre.
When the floor plan is ready the teams start coming in and putting stuff together, they start with the lighting grid and put the lights in the right place, this is for health and safety because they’d have to use ladders and lights are heavy things if they did this when the set was ready then stuff could break. Then the set people come in and put the stuff in the right place, then the cameras and finally the audience chairs. This is done this way so everything gets put on the right place so the show can happen.
Planning camera placement and shots:
The camera’s have to be off the set for obvious reasons, the planning of when the cameras isn’t much because we have limited space in the studio so it’s going to be one opposite to each team to get two shots, mcu, and over the shoulder shots. Then there’s a camera to get and mcu of the host, a wider shot with all the contestants and then it can also show a three shot of the host and the team the host is speaking to.
These shots are planned during the lesson rehearsals.
Talk-backs and their use:
Talk backs are when the people on the floor or sound booth talk to the director and the director talks back to them. The floor manager has cans on, the camera people have a tiny box with headphones and a microphone that are connected to the director’s talk back box. Everyone apart from the director has to push a button in order to speak, and everyone can hear what everyone else is saying. The rules are:
- No chit chat over the talk backs
- Always identify yourself and say who do you want to speak to.
e.g.: Cam 1 to FM; FM to Director.
- Never ever talk over the director when he/she is talking.
- Always wait for the director to say it’s ok to talk.
The two answers that you can get when trying to talk to the director are: ‘’Yes Fm’’, or ‘’Wait one.’’
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