Roles in the Studio

There isn't a whole lot I can throw in here other than the basics on the day as it really was a basic run. As I said in a previous post we had a lot of things already prepared for us such as the graphics, titles, a V.T and even a topic. However here's a look at all the roles we had that day:

Camera:
Pretty standard. I'll need to edit this once I have hold of the names of the cameras we were using but there are 3 main HD cameras in the studio; there's camera 1 which is just a camera on a moving tripod so you can move it anywhere in the studio. Camera 2 has the same deal but has the auto-cue screen on it and is usually the main camera the presenters always look into and camera 3 is a moving camera but is on a pedestal that can be pumped up so you can move the camera up and down as well as all around, brilliant for filming live acts in the studio.

Director:
The director is the boss on the day of filming if you like. The producer has the main role leading up to the shoot because its a job based more around organising but how the final product itself looks, how its filmed, where lighting is placed, how the presenters act, overall everything seen on the screen is lead by the director. The director will tell the cameras what shot he/she wants so whilst filming the director might want camera 1 to get a low angle shot on the singer of a live performing band so that the director can cut to it and use it in the final product. Whatever the final product looks like visually is what the director was in charge of. Not so much the organisation but rather how it looked and sounded.

Sound:
The title says it all really. These folks are in charge of how the show sounds. The sound guys reside in a small room next to the gallery which is where the main sound desk is located. The jobs of the sound crew is to make sure everyone being filmed in the studio is mic'd up, making sure all sound levels are correct so there are no horrible screeches during filming, making sure all com's are working so the director and PA can be heard through everyone's headsets in the studio and that when the VT's are being played that the sound is heard on the VT and not from sounds in the studio.

Floor Manager:
Of course not everyone in the studio can hear the PA and director in the gallery so the floor managers role is to keep everyone in the studio informed on when the cameras will start rolling, any changes to the running order, addressing any issues with things like how the presenters look and such things. They are basically the directors mouth for the crew in the studio.

Vision Mixing:
The vision mixer is in charge of the shot cut-aways, any small effects and transitions that happen between camera shots. The vision mixer can also make it so the cut from one camera to another could be a simple cut or have a fade out effect and such. When the director wants a shot changed, this fellow makes it happen.

Graphics:
The graphics person is responsible for when you see an aston or an effect appear on the screen. This fellow is armed with a computer and is linked up with the cameras to make it so if you wanted to know the names of the presenters, the graphics person would have made an aston of the name and then would slot it in during filming. Any other effects shown on screen like fake explosions as a random example will be done by the graphics leader.

Auto-Cue:
"Hi I'm Ron Burgundey...?" Anyone who gets the reference gains 5 points. The reason he says that is because of some cheeky fool putting a question mark on the auto-cue. The auto-cue is what the presenters read off for their lines but luckily enough they don't have to look at a piece of paper to remember their lines, they get the luxury of looking at a reflection of a screen under the camera that shows the lines but when reading them it looks like the presenters are just simply looking into the camera. The person who is in charge of the auto-cue sits at a computer in the studio that's linked to the auto-cue camera. He controls what's on the screen and how fast the script moves on the screen, so the presenters don't read the same line over and over...

VT
The VT is the extra little insertion that was made leading up to the shooting day. It could be a little 2 minute video that can be shown in the middle of the show to give a little more insight into the topic at the time in the show. It does however need someone to play the VT at the right time so even though essentially the person in charge of the VT has to make sure the right VT is going to play and to press play at the right time its all about the timings. Get the timing wrong and the whole show could suffer.

PA (Production Assistant)
The PA has a very important job role. TV shows run off a structure so when one part finishes say an interview and another part starts, maybe a VT, there can't be any gaps. Everything has to run smoothly with no awkward gaps or black screens so someone needs to keep the timings in mind. Timing is very very important in shows and especially in live recording so it is all up to the PA to keep track of the timings for everything and make sure everyone is cue'd for their parts. Without a PA to give a shout when another section is going to start, when a VT will end and when the cameras cut back to the studio the whole show would collapse... No pressure.

Each week we swap around our roles to gain experience in all areas of the field if you like. Its interesting going from say directing one week to camera the next. It really shows just how important every job is. No matter how big or small. Everything has to be running at its best for the chance of making a good show. Teamwork is essential in filming TV and film.