Live TV Event

It's the 3rd November, and we've just got back from a relaxing half term thinking that today would be an easy day. We were wrong.
Today we were told about our task for the next 5 weeks, which is a Multi-Camera Production where we would be creating and filming our own quiz show. I was so excited on hearing that this would be our project as it's right up my street and is what I enjoy the most, so I was eager to get stuck in.
But first we needed to learn the theory, which was what this afternoon and tomorrow would be about. So we got stuck in on the Vision Mixer and the Audio Mixer.
Peter explained to us that the Vision Mixer (VX) has 12 channels of which 4 are line channels, and 8 are program channels. For our production we would be filming with 4 cameras, which would be mounted on pedestals to make it easier for us to film and to move the cameras about. We also learnt that you can add a DVD (video input only), HDDR and a VTR into the VX; but there is only one output.
For the Audio Mixer, there is also 4 line channels, and 8 program channels; but again, only one output. You can add a CD player and a computer into the Audio Mixer to play sound effects and tracks into the studio if we wanted.

Peter also talked to us about the lights that we might wish to use. We talked about the grid, of which the lights are all attached to. The grid is a square of black bars fixed to the ceiling.
Soft lights are used to add fill light are are flourescent, so do not get really hot.
Spot lights aren't flourescent and so get really hot and also draw a lot of power. They give out concentrated, hard light to light faces.
Floodlights are used to light scenery. They have no barn doors, so it is very hard to control the spill of light.
Barn doors are flaps attached to the lights so that we can control the spill of light and control where the light is being used.
All of the sockets (number on the lights) are numbered and fit into a channel on the dimmer pack, where each light can be individually controlled. A dimmer pack has 24 channels and it gives power to the lights.

A "STOB" box is a big, black box situated in the corner of the TV studio. It stands for:
Studio
Termination
Outlet
Box.
The curtains that you normally see around TV studios are almost always black, and are designed to absorb light. They are good for low budget productions like ours.

After our break we talked about the studio crew, and what jobs we would need to undertake. As we are filming our quiz show in two 15 minute halves, Peter told us we would have two jobs during the filming, and we would swap to our second job in the break of the filming.
The jobs we needed to undertake would be:
- Sound Operators*
- Lighting Operator
- Director*
- Assistant Director
- Vision Mixer
- Floor Manager*
- Assistant Floor Manager*
- Camera Operators*
- Assistant Camera Operators
- Producer
A producers main job is editorial (content based), thus will have been decided on before we begin filming.

To keep everyone in touch with each other, we will be using talkback systems, where the director can tell everyone what he needs and the shots he will need. He needs to prevail as he acts as God in the studio. The talkback system is also where the crew can report problems to the director and tell him how long until they are ready to shoot.
You should never take off Cans until told to.