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.