For the actual production I was operating camera 4 for the first half of the filming as live. This camera is the wide shot camera, and can also be used for safety shots in case something goes wrong. My assistant was Lucy Ray, and I think we did a good job together as we crabbed and used the ped up / down to try to get some interesting shots. I felt I could of done some more interesting shots if I had been on the camera longer, but I also think I did do a good job. The time seemed to go so quickly!
Overall I think the production went really well, and that we worked well together to make this Quiz show as good as we could possibly make it. I think we should all be proud of what we achieved in such a short space of time.
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Problems . .
In our rehearsals the day before the live production, we were told from our Technical Producer that our VT and image inserts would be too difficult to place in the production as the person in charge of the inserts wouldn't know when to play them, and by the time the question popped up it would be too late to play the insert. Our round was too fast a pace to get the inserts in the right place at the right time.
We were supposed to have a heartbeat sound playing over the contestants answering the questions, but it turns out that we had burnt it to disk in the wrong format, so we couldn't use the track we had planned to use.
Without these inserts our round looked really boring and plain, and I think that if we had these inserts the Quickfire round would of been much better.
We were supposed to have a heartbeat sound playing over the contestants answering the questions, but it turns out that we had burnt it to disk in the wrong format, so we couldn't use the track we had planned to use.
Without these inserts our round looked really boring and plain, and I think that if we had these inserts the Quickfire round would of been much better.
Friday, 11 December 2009
Scripts
Multi-Camera scripts are different from normal scripts. They differ as they appear to be halved down the middle; visual commands on the left, and audio commands on the right.
Things included in the script are the shot number, camera shot, camera that is online, audio stings, dialogue, cut lines, advert breaks.
Scripts are important for 6 main reasons:
- To know where we are in the production. If for any reason the production needs to stop to solve a problem, then we can pick up from where we left off, and the script makes sure everyone knows where we are picking up from.
- It helps specify camera shots. This helps the camera operators to know what is expected of them and to know what sort of shots they need to be creating.
- Timings. Having a script with all the timings on it makes sure everyone knows how long they have for each section. It informs everyone of the program duration, duration of inserts, and for our production, it helps us to know how long each round is and how long the host has to banter with the contestants.
- Dialogue. Scripts inform the crew of questions and answers, intro, outro, ad lib. This helps to keep the timings right and tells the crew when the advert breaks are.
- The script also tells the vision mixer and Director when the next shot needs to be cut. On the script there are cut lines that look like this: ______________/
The forward slash indicates when the production needs to be cut.
- The script also tells the crew about every scripted audio and video source, when they need to be played, and the duration.
Things included in the script are the shot number, camera shot, camera that is online, audio stings, dialogue, cut lines, advert breaks.
Scripts are important for 6 main reasons:
- To know where we are in the production. If for any reason the production needs to stop to solve a problem, then we can pick up from where we left off, and the script makes sure everyone knows where we are picking up from.
- It helps specify camera shots. This helps the camera operators to know what is expected of them and to know what sort of shots they need to be creating.
- Timings. Having a script with all the timings on it makes sure everyone knows how long they have for each section. It informs everyone of the program duration, duration of inserts, and for our production, it helps us to know how long each round is and how long the host has to banter with the contestants.
- Dialogue. Scripts inform the crew of questions and answers, intro, outro, ad lib. This helps to keep the timings right and tells the crew when the advert breaks are.
- The script also tells the vision mixer and Director when the next shot needs to be cut. On the script there are cut lines that look like this: ______________/
The forward slash indicates when the production needs to be cut.
- The script also tells the crew about every scripted audio and video source, when they need to be played, and the duration.
Roles in the Studio
In earlier blogs I mentioned the roles we would be undertaking in the production, and in this post I will be explaining each of the most important roles in a little more detail.
Sound Operator is responsible for the overall sound-related aspects of a production. In our production they will be operating on the sound desk in the Audio Control Room, where they will be controlling the sound levels of the inserts, contestants, audience, host, etc. They will be aiming to keep all of the spoken levels the same so it is clear, and turning them down when VT inserts are being played.
Assistant Director will be sitting on the left of the Director (Peter) in the Vision Mixing Room situated next to the Audio Control Room. They will be telling the Director when the camera they called is online, and informing the controller of the inserts (length, VT, audio, etc).
Vision Mixer is the piece of equipment used to "switch" between different video sources to get the shot that the Director wants. The vision switcher is in charge of this equipment and pushes the button that corresponds to the video source needed when the Director says "cut".
Floor Manager is in charge of the studio floor. They are the link between the studio floor and the control room. They make sure everyone is briefed on what they need to do, and they inform the Director of any problems and how long it will take to solve. Generally, our floor managers shouted a lot until what needed to be done was done.
Camera Operator is in control of the cameras and gets the shots needed when needed. Common shots for our production were 2 shots, MS, WS, 3 shot. They needed to know about framing, breathing room, looking room, and understand what each shot was. They also would of thrown up a lot of interesting shots to make the production look interesting and impress the director.
Assistant Camera Operator helps the camera operator get the shot needed. They can assist by helping to move the pedestal, crab left and right, ped up and down, etc.
Sound Operator is responsible for the overall sound-related aspects of a production. In our production they will be operating on the sound desk in the Audio Control Room, where they will be controlling the sound levels of the inserts, contestants, audience, host, etc. They will be aiming to keep all of the spoken levels the same so it is clear, and turning them down when VT inserts are being played.
Assistant Director will be sitting on the left of the Director (Peter) in the Vision Mixing Room situated next to the Audio Control Room. They will be telling the Director when the camera they called is online, and informing the controller of the inserts (length, VT, audio, etc).
Vision Mixer is the piece of equipment used to "switch" between different video sources to get the shot that the Director wants. The vision switcher is in charge of this equipment and pushes the button that corresponds to the video source needed when the Director says "cut".
Floor Manager is in charge of the studio floor. They are the link between the studio floor and the control room. They make sure everyone is briefed on what they need to do, and they inform the Director of any problems and how long it will take to solve. Generally, our floor managers shouted a lot until what needed to be done was done.
Camera Operator is in control of the cameras and gets the shots needed when needed. Common shots for our production were 2 shots, MS, WS, 3 shot. They needed to know about framing, breathing room, looking room, and understand what each shot was. They also would of thrown up a lot of interesting shots to make the production look interesting and impress the director.
Assistant Camera Operator helps the camera operator get the shot needed. They can assist by helping to move the pedestal, crab left and right, ped up and down, etc.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Art Directors Meeting
All of the Art Directors decided to have a meeting so that we could finalise a design for our set and then get started on actually building it.
This took longer than we imagined.
We all had different ideas of what we wanted to do, and found it hard to fit all of these ideas into one design. We did drawings of our top three designs and tried to discuss which one would work best. We did agree that we should have symbolisms of each round included in our design to relate to the production (Music, Film, TV, Internet)
Our first design was a film strip crossing the five flats and then having images that symbolised the other rounds around the main image. We thought this may appear like a film quiz, which in actual fact it wasn't.
Our second design was to have one flat represent one round, so four flats would be decorated with giant images of the round categories. We decided that the fifth flat wouldn't relate to the others as it wouldn't have a giant image and would therefore look plain.
Our third design was to have the middle flat decorated to look like a giant iPod with the headphones linking the other flats together, and then having images of the other rounds appearing to come out of the ear-pieces as music would do. We liked this idea as the iPod is a multi-media product and can relate to all the rounds, but we still felt that it lacked something to make it unique.
By the lunch came about we still had no design we really wanted to go ahead with, so we decided to think about it over lunch and then have another meeting.
After lunch and much needed brain power we suddenly had, what we thought, was the perfect design for our set.
We were going to go ahead with the idea that one flat represents one round, but this time we found a way to include the "Quickfire" round so all five flats were covered. Each flat would have a giant image to represent each round. It would be a flowing line that crosses all the flats and incorporates each round.
The first flat would represent the Film round, and would have a film strip crossing the top third of the flat.
The second flat would represent the Internet round, and would appear to look like a Windows Vista homepage, including a search bar and internet logo. This would join on from the first flat.
The third flat would represent the TV round, and as this flat has a rectangle cut out for the screen, we decided to paint a retro TV around the hole that had been cut out. We thought this was perfect to represent this round.
The fourth flat would represent the Quickfire round, and would consist of a collage of newspaper articles following the flowing line. The articles would be seemingly random to symbolise the Quickfire round being random and you never knowing what's coming next.
The fifth flat would represent the Music round, and would have giant musical notes placed on a giant painting of musical paper.
We also decided that our main colour for the flats should be a dark blue, as we have seen from various quiz shows that blue is the main colour used as it suggests intelligence and calmness. This colour would be used to finish painting the flats around our giant images to help make our set come alive.
This took longer than we imagined.
We all had different ideas of what we wanted to do, and found it hard to fit all of these ideas into one design. We did drawings of our top three designs and tried to discuss which one would work best. We did agree that we should have symbolisms of each round included in our design to relate to the production (Music, Film, TV, Internet)
Our first design was a film strip crossing the five flats and then having images that symbolised the other rounds around the main image. We thought this may appear like a film quiz, which in actual fact it wasn't.
Our second design was to have one flat represent one round, so four flats would be decorated with giant images of the round categories. We decided that the fifth flat wouldn't relate to the others as it wouldn't have a giant image and would therefore look plain.
Our third design was to have the middle flat decorated to look like a giant iPod with the headphones linking the other flats together, and then having images of the other rounds appearing to come out of the ear-pieces as music would do. We liked this idea as the iPod is a multi-media product and can relate to all the rounds, but we still felt that it lacked something to make it unique.
By the lunch came about we still had no design we really wanted to go ahead with, so we decided to think about it over lunch and then have another meeting.
After lunch and much needed brain power we suddenly had, what we thought, was the perfect design for our set.
We were going to go ahead with the idea that one flat represents one round, but this time we found a way to include the "Quickfire" round so all five flats were covered. Each flat would have a giant image to represent each round. It would be a flowing line that crosses all the flats and incorporates each round.
The first flat would represent the Film round, and would have a film strip crossing the top third of the flat.
The second flat would represent the Internet round, and would appear to look like a Windows Vista homepage, including a search bar and internet logo. This would join on from the first flat.
The third flat would represent the TV round, and as this flat has a rectangle cut out for the screen, we decided to paint a retro TV around the hole that had been cut out. We thought this was perfect to represent this round.
The fourth flat would represent the Quickfire round, and would consist of a collage of newspaper articles following the flowing line. The articles would be seemingly random to symbolise the Quickfire round being random and you never knowing what's coming next.
The fifth flat would represent the Music round, and would have giant musical notes placed on a giant painting of musical paper.
We also decided that our main colour for the flats should be a dark blue, as we have seen from various quiz shows that blue is the main colour used as it suggests intelligence and calmness. This colour would be used to finish painting the flats around our giant images to help make our set come alive.
Art Director
"In front of the camera, nothing is accidental"
During our production meetings we also had to decide on a main job for each member of the group to undertake. The jobs were:
- Technical Producer
- Art Director
- Post Production Producer
- Content Producer
I originally went for the Post Production Producer, but later on in the week swapped with Amy, who was an Art Director, as we felt we were better suited to the others job.
In an afternoon session with Jon Dempsey he talked to us about the 5 steps that has to happen on the Production Design.
Step 1 - Broad Strokes
This step is where you need to think about colours and what you want the productions overall feeling to be like. We were shown a scene from "Lost in Translation", where we were told to descrobe how the colours related to the feel of the production. This film uses mainly cool colours, such as greys, pale blues and purples. This relates to the film content as the main character is feeling alone in a new country and is "lost".
The things you need to think about in this stage is:
What colours do you want to appear on screen?
What tonal angles?
How do you want the production to appear?
You need to think about all of this otherwise your production will look muddled due to mise-en-scene and a mixture of colours that don't complement the production.
You may also want to include visual motifs. This is a piece of visual design that draws a product to mind or is associated with an image, such as the Nike tick.
Step 2 - Concept Art
This step is where you design the set and how it is going to look by creating a small set design that is to scale of the actual set (1:25 in our case). This is where you have to take everything in consideration in order to design the set; you need to think about camera movement so that they can still get a good shot, alongside the set looking good.
The design of the set needs to add to the theme and the audiences understanding, it cannot distract attention from the actual production. There should be a matte finish so that the lighting does not reflect off the set, and there should not be any bright colours (luminous orange) on the set design.
Drawings of the set you wish to make may also help you to decide of that is what you want as your final design.
Step 3 - Lockdown
This step is where your design is "locked down"; nothing major can change from this stage onwards. The set design is therefore final and everything is as planned; little things may change, but the main large designs and ideas will not change from this point forwards.
There is also a few more points in this stage that needs undertaking. That includes scene breakdown, where you find the locations for each scene. Prop breakdown, where you decide on all the props needed and whether they are action or dressing props. Budget also needs to be considered.
Step 4 - The Team
This is where you decide roles for your team, this includes:
- Production Designer
- Art Director (Production Designer's Number 2)
- Props Master
- Construction Manager
- Lighting Master
There needs to be clear communication between the roles so that everyone knows what they need to do in order to finish the set design.
Step 5 - The Product
This is the final step and is making sure everything is going to plan. This stage is where you build the set, decorate it, erect it, light it and then strike it.
You will also need to remember to think about textures and fittings (it must not reflect!)
You may need to think about how much room you have for the set and for cameras; is there enough room for everything to fit in the studio, and for them to both do there job well?
Are there any specific needs? Such as a studio audience to account for.
Everything needs to be thought about in this stage and slight adjustments may be needed in order for everything to work.
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