Fun Times with Andrew Exley –
When in the TV studio I have undertaken various roles such as a director, vision mixer, studio floor manager, etc. Some roles are harder than others.
Directing –
Out of all the roles that I played, in my opinion being the director was certainly the most stressful. As a director you have to communicate with the camera operators on the studio floor, asking them to prepare their shots.
You also have to rely on the studio floor manager to be good at listening and relaying the correct information at the correct time. Along side this you need to have full control over the studio floor, this includes the talent.
If the sound operator is testing someones sound, and the director has asked the studio floor manager to get that sorted, then it needs to be done calmly but quickly, otherwise the shoot won’t run smoothly and might end up running over.
All of that is before you have hit record!
During recording it is the directors responsibility to tell the vision mixer quickly and clearly what camera they want to switch to and when, and at the same time, getting the camera operators to change the shot size in time and correctly.
Vision Mixer –
To be a great vision mixer, you need to have the skills to listen and act quickly. It is their job to listen to the director and switch cameras when asked, run the VTs, record and stop recording, and fade cameras out. I think if you’re not used to it, then yes vision mixing can be a bit daunting, however, I certainly don’t think it is the most stressful role. If you don’t listen, or are tired on production day, then you might mess up something the director has asked you to do, consequently it will look odd on screen if being run live.
Studio Floor Manager –
It is the studio floor managers responsibility to keep the studio floor under control. This includes the talent, audience and crew. It also heavily involves them listening to every word the director says so they can relay the correct information at the right time to the right people. This could be getting a specific person from the talent to do their sound check, or even getting the audience to clap at a certain time.
Single Camera Production –
A single camera production usually has one camera facing its subject throughout filming. The issue with this is that when it comes to editing, your video might not look smooth, it might end up looking jumpy because there will be a few cuts within the same shot. There isn’t another shot size to change to. Also, the footage is only on one camera, so if somehow the card gets damaged then you don’t have a back up.
If a sitcom is filmed as a single camera production, then each shot will be filmed individually. This is time consuming, which could mean you are spending more money on studio and equipment hire. It is also tiring for the cast and crew. In some single camera productions, two cameras are used to capture two different sized shots within the same take.
Although the actual shooting process might take longer in a single camera production compared to a multi-camera shoot, it is much faster to set-up than when using more than one camera. You will also have a reduced cost on insurance, amount of equipment to hire, and less crew to pay. Also, you have the option of using a smaller location because there is little equipment so it won’t take up much space.
Multi-Camera Production –
Multiple cameras are used during a multi-camera production. Generally in a magazine shoot one camera will be a wide shot of everyone on screen and the surrounding cameras will get a close up of the subject they are facing.
Using more than one camera saves a lot of time when it comes to editing. If a magazine shoot then it can be edited live, like we did for Fun Times with Andrew Exley. It was edited by the vision mixer using a tri-caster. Multiple angles can be filmed at once!
If using a multi-camera shoot, you will only need to do one recorded run through. This means that the talent doesn’t have to worry if they are sitting in the same position as in the previous take. The chances of continuity errors will decrease. Multi-camera productions are common in magazine shoots and sitcoms, examples of this are Mrs Browns Boys and Friends.
With using multiple cameras, your options for shots can be limited. For example, if you wanted to do a POV shot during a conversation, it might not be possible because you could have the recording equipment in the shot. Also, you might have to mess around with the lighting a bit more because more of the stage will be on screen.
Final Production –
In my groups final production my role was the director. I was very nervous about this and I didn’t really want to do it, however nobody else volunteered. Due to this being our first proper magazine shoot, everyone was rather on edge, scared they were going to do something wrong. To reassure everyone, I decided it would be best to do a couple of practices so that the crew knew what to expect from the director.
As the director I need to take charge, being firm and clear with my requests, but calm as well so the crew were happy and calm too.
Due to me being nervous, I found this aspect of communication quite difficult, however, with doing practices I felt I got better at it, and the rest of the team did as well. We all had to learn not to speak over the top of eachother over the mics and when something needed answering or doing, to respond quickly, otherwise you waste time.
With directing a multi-camera shoot for a magazine show, I think the main skills required are certainly timing and communication. If a director isn’t clear with their instructions, then it will lead to misunderstanding on set, and the shoot will take longer and might not be as smooth. Also, if your timings are out, then you could miss out a nice shot for the video. You need to always be on the ball, watching every screen and keeping a eye on whoever is talking, and who will speak next.
Pre-production Paperwork –
The pre-production paperwork we had to use was a running order, a schedule, and a script.
The running order was there so that everyone knew what order the performances and interviews were in for that show. It also gave the expected length for each feature. The people that would need the running order in particular would be the director, the vision mixer, the talent, and the studio floor manager. If the studio floor manager has a copy of the running order, they can make sure that the correct people are on screen and the right props are on screen too.
Alex was the studio floor manager on the Fun Times shoot. She ensured made sure that things like a third chair was added for the Red Head interview, and that everyone was doing their roles at the right time. She knew that she needed to put the extra chair on set because she could look at the running order and know when the time was right and how long she had to do it before the VT ended.
The schedule was similar, it had the same information on as the running order, but it would have been more detailed. Giving more information on who comes on screen and who is needed at a certain time. A copy of this would then be given to the studio floor manager so they can ensure the each time it met. This helped our production because the people that had a copy of this, knew everything that was scheduled throughout the day, they could then help with set up when appropriate.
Above you will see an example of a magazine show script. The director had a copy of this and the presenter also had one before the recording so they had an idea of what they had to say. A similar copy of that would be put on the teleprompter for the presenter to read from without having to hold the script. Our production had quite a lot going on. Having the script on the teleprompter gave the presenter a clearer idea of how long each set would need to be and when to wrap it up.
Team work –
My group I think worked quite well together. There were times when people panicked because they felt something hadn’t gone the way it should have, or if they did something at the wrong time. However, looking back, we all got on with it really well, and if something did go wrong, say with the audio, then it was rectified calmly but quickly.
I think in the production, the times when team work was at its best was when the sound operators had to re-mic different people in a short space of time, and when chairs needed to be added on set. This was done quite professionally, and we never ran out of time to do something.
Safety in the studio –
Part of the pre-production paperwork was to make a risk assessment. Before we started the production, everyone was briefed on what to do and what not to do. For example, don’t leave a bag in a walk way, or to have cables not stuck to the floor causing a trip hazard, etc. Everyone knew what to do in case of the fire. There wasn’t anything major that needed to be added to the risk assessment because the production wasn’t complicated.
The risk assessment was there so that if something could possibly go wrong, what would we do to prevent it, or what would we do if it happened.
End product –
Overall I think the production was quite successful. The interview with the cast of Redhead ran smoothly, as did the debate about a video game. The conversations were consistent, and we met our time target for the video at 12 minutes.
If I was to go back and change something, it would be to add more shots of Andrew. I found it hard to change the camera to him because when he did speak it was only for a short sentence.
Juliette Elizabeth Holmes 
Leave a comment