Blog 1- Ricardo

Discussed ideas and roles

Producer- Matty

Director- Ashley

Vision Mixer- Fred

Floor Manager- Abid

At the beginning we were given briefs and had been told on what we would be doing for the next eight weeks. We discussed our idea for what we should do as a programme and also which roles were to be given to who. We decided that Matty would be best suited for the producer role because he is the most efficient and organised. We chose Ashley as our director because we agreed that he was the most creative and also had the most experience in filming. We decided that I was going to be floor manager because I was able to control the environment and control the speed of the production team. This left Fred with the job of being vision mixer and we chose these roles because we believe they suited each individual.

Studio Role Research

Production Roles

Producer

The producer is in my opinion the most important and influential role in the making of television because the producer has to deal with an essential part of making a television programme, which is money. It is the producers’ job to fund or find funding for locations, artists, and the crew. Another job is to market the film to directors, artist, television channels and whoever is going to apply the funding for the programme. If the production is given a certain budget for a programme then it is the producers’ role to keep it within that budget.

The producers’ job does not stop at just the funding of the film because they also have to overlook the entire production from start to finish. The producer is essentially the team leader and is supported by other people such as production assistants, coordinators and other managers. A producer will sometimes also have another job such as a director, so it is important that he/she has some directing skills as well. More jobs for the producer is to research and looking at ideas for scripts, hiring writers or securing the rights to use novels/books. Throughout these jobs a producer will make contacts them self and also allow other people to connect.

Director

A director is the liaison between the producers and members of a production team. It is the directors’ job to project the ideas of the producers onto screen and add their own creative input. It is their decisions that affect the overall outcome of a production because they decide which shots to use and they interact with the artists so that they can give to the audience what the director requires. The director also interacts with the other production staff so he can get a required look and feel. E.g. he will work with the lighting team to get a better look in a scene or work closely with the camera operator to achieve a similar objective.

The director’s job differs depending on the different type of television he may be doing, e.g. if it’s a live event such as a football game or a live entertainment programme. As well as the different types of shots the director also decides on the placement of microphones, lighting and props. They decide where everything that will be seen and even items that won’t be seen are placed. After the production (if it isn’t a live production) the director will work closely with the director and choose which shots to use and if needed they will remove certain shots also.

Floor Manager

The role of a studio floor manager is a very important role because the floor manager is the link between the director and every other person on the studio floor. It is the floor managers job to ensure that all equipment is safe and ready to use by checking with the people in different departments. The floor manager must also make sure that the audience and guests are being seen to and are seated prior to filming. Also as part of health and safety it is the floor managers job to ensure that the audience is aware of safety measures, show timings and to make them aware of when the programme will be aired.

The floor manager is also the link between any presenters/anchors during a show. They need to make sure that the presenters are comfortable and also to brief them on how everything has been planned. Also to pass on cues to presenters to ensure that everything is done according to its time and that everything is being filmed smoothly and efficiently. The floor manager could be classed also as the directors’ assistant because they are a direct link between the director (in the gallery) and staff other than the camera operators as they also have links with the director.

During the shoot a floor manager would pass on instructions from the director using a talkback system to other production staff. It is the floor managers duty to report back to the director any off camera action that may be going on. They also organise runners to make sure every second is saved and put into filming time. If any technical issues are occur then it is the floor managers role to see that they are being dealt with and at the same time to report back to the director any information or loss of time. If so then it is in their hands to stop proceedings and also keep the audience entertained if need be.

In other occasions e.g. outside of the studio the job roles of the floor manager is changed slightly. If there is an interview then the floor manager must speak with public relations staff to agree on who will be interviewed during a sports match. Also if there is a live event happening and the floor manager is not in the studio, then they will feed information from what they are witnessing to a television presenter. When away from the studio it is still the floor managers job to ensure that there is a safe working environment.

I believe that the first and major quality a floor manager would need to be successful is to be able to work in a team. While they need to be able to work in a team they also need to be able to give instructions clearly to other production staff so that everything is done to satisfy the directors needs. On occasions a floor manager will play a roll of an interviewee for a presenter/reporter. They must also be good at time keeping so that they can plan a schedule to ensure everything is done smoothly and nothing is left out. People skills are also essential because as well as working within a team the floor manager also communicates with the audience to make sure they are being looked after well before, during and after filming. Time keeping is also a must have quality as it is their role to ensure that everything is on time and nothing is left out of the show.

The floor manager must keep everything on schedule and when something does happen that halts proceedings then it their job to make sure the issue if resolved quickly so that filming can resume again. Another useful skill is for the floor manager to be able to watch over all other departments and staff because everyone is involved in filming and if one person isn’t doing their job properly then it would be a problem for the whole production. Another reason for them to be watchful is for health and safety reasons. The floor manager needs to stay vigilant at all times of possible risks that may occur during the shoot.

My Skills

I believe so far I have some skills that are equal to that of a professional floor manager such as, coordinating the production team, directing other members of the team, dealing with problems that occur when filming and speeding up a production if needed. I have been a floor manager a few times now and when I am floor manager I’m very comfortable and I like to work closely with the director and other members of the team. I think I can be an important link in a production and make my voice heard so that people understand what is happening at all times and there is no confusion.

Skills Needed

Although I am confident in being a floor manager I don’t think I have enough confidence if I was needed to manage an actual production, which was being shot live on television. I think I would not be able to go straight into a production team as a floor manager because I would probably need to shadow a floor manager because I know what I have been doing isn’t anywhere near as big as a scale as what it is really like. Shadowing a floor manager would help me understand the works of a production team, e.g. the positioning of the cameras, microphones and track/dolly.

I would also need to be able to work calmly under stress, which at this point I don’t think I would be able to do, as I don’t have enough experience to do so. Something else that I would need is a good sense of timing and being able to work towards a floor plan because once something changes I would need to be able to work around it and make sure it doesn’t change the initial plan.

Action Plan

For me to become a floor manager I would first need to complete my education and get good grades as it always helps to have something positive on your CV. While I’m in college/university I want to be the floor manager on as many productions as possible to gain more experience. The way forward for me will be to work on different productions as well as just in university. I would like to concentrate on a different role first, such as, camera operator or vision mixer before moving on to floor manager because these roles will help me get a wider range of understanding on what is required. I believe there is a lot more to being a floor manager then what I have already experienced so I should really pay attention to better my self.

Research Portfolio

Research Portfolio

Jonathan Ross Show

After watching and studying an interview on The Jonathan Ross show I mapped out a floor plan of where I thought the cameras were and also why they were stationed at those positions. The first thing I noticed was the safe shot, which is in middle of the studio. It is also one of three cameras which I think are primarily for the interview shots. I also found three other cameras which I believe are on cranes and they are there because of the interviewee. Lee Evans who is a real character and very practical when he’s on stage, e.g. he bungee jumps onto the studio and also runs across the studio to the other side of it. For those reasons I believe that they needed some cameras on cranes to keep up with the artist being interviewed.

I watched the show around three times to make sure I was sure about where all the cameras are and how many cameras were involved. It was difficult because the cameras had to zoom out for the interviewee, as he kept on getting up and moving which is unusual for an interview. What helped me was that before the end of each shot I saw the cameras begin to zoom back in for the close ups during the interview.

I think the production was done very well considering that the interviewee was very active and would not stop moving around. I believe the best idea was to have those three cameras on cranes to follow around Lee Evans. Without those I believe the show would not have looked as good because the picture wouldn’t look as good if it were to keep tilting up and down. The panning on the cranes look a lot better and create a smoother image.

Assessment 2- 17th January

When we arrived on the day we immediately started setting up and it was a lot faster than the first assessment day because it wasn't our first day of filming. Although we set up by 12:00 we still had to wait for the music technicians to set up downstairs so we had to wait for them which was ok because the first act was set to perform at 13:30. We all went for lunch and when we returned we ready to film except we were having issues with the online stream. I'm not sure what the problem was because I was on the studio floor but after a short while we were ready to begin.

For the first act I shadowed the floor manager as that was to be my job for the second act. The first act was quite slow because of the issues with the online stream and also the presenters were taking some time getting ready downstairs. When it came to my turn I was under pressure to speed up the filming as the performer was getting pretty hot under the lights. I worked closely with the director and made sure the camera operators were set up and ready to go as we were behind on time.

I had everyone upstairs ready and spoke to the artists. I asked them to practice while we wait for the team downstairs to prepare for the shoot. We were waiting for a while before they ready downstairs. From what I heard over the headset I believe they were waiting for the presenters to be ready but what I think it was is that there was a lack of communication between the presenters and the director. Once they were ready we began and it went very smoothly, then after the shoot I asked the runner (Danny) to escort one of the acts downstairs to film. I went downstairs as well to ensure that everything went well and there was no more miscommunications between the director and presenters.

We had 5 more acts to go and I didn't have a job for non of them so I had to help out in the presenters room. We had a camera in there so I used that twice within the last five interviews. Also I set up the boom microphones so that we captured the best sound. It was more difficult during the interviews because there was always a different amount of people being interviewed. When I wasn't filming I was the floor manager to help make things move faster.

During one of the shoots the vision mixer forgot the press the record button and so did the person in control of the online stream so we had one unrecorded video. We had three more acts left and we decided that we were going to move things as quick as possible so we could have time to re-record the other bands. We had to record three acts within an hour so that we had fifteen minutes left to record the other band again. I worked as fast as I could downstairs making the presenters hurry with their performances so that we had time. We just about made time by starting filming at 16:05 and we had to be done in ten minutes. We finished a few minutes late and had our technician waiting for us outside. We de-rigged everything within fifteen minutes and loaded it into the van. I believe it was a very successful day and any issues that we did have were resolved. The fact that we were able to re-record one of the acts is proof that we were able to be quick and efficient.

Self Evaluation

Day One of Multi Camera OB Operation

On the first day of our multi camera practice I arrived a few minutes late so I missed my job role and instead I was assisting Daniel as floor manager, which essentially made me a runner. Although on a real shoot this meant fetching people brews and sending messages to other members of the crew, because we’re all students and we’re still learning I was able to help others set up their equipment, such as, cameras, sound, talkback and the vision/audio mixer. It took us around an hour and forty-five minutes to set up all the equipment. In my opinion this was too long considering that we had already practiced setting up a few times already.

This also meant that for the second act of the day I would be floor manager because there aren’t enough roles for every student, so everyone that assisted someone for the first act would take over that persons job role for the second act. While the first act was performing I stood behind Daniel and watched carefully to see what was going on and what kind of problems he had.

After the first act had finished, the second one had arrived and it was my turn to take over the role as floor manager. The first thing I did was I spoke to the act and asked him if he felt ok and if he needed anything. Then I spoke to the director (Ashley) to make sure he was happy and if he needed anything. He decided that everything was ok and didn’t want to change the cameras or anything else either. He was however a little unhappy about the plug sockets behind the artist but that was something that wasn’t in our control so we had to record with the plug sockets viewable.

Before we started filming we had an issue with the talkback system, which we also had in the morning, it was my job to get the sound operator (Fred) to fix this problem. It was our first day of filming so we couldn’t expect the sound operator, or any student to amend this issue, so we left it to Colin and Peter (staff members) to solve our problem. After the talkback was fixed I tried my best to get the crew back into the mood for filming because we had just come back from break and we had to wait longer for the talkback system to be set up. As a floor manager you must speak with authority to get things done quickly and at the same time you also need to give directions in detail so that who ever you speak to understands what you are saying.

Overall I was very happy with my performance as floor manager bearing in mind that it was my first time, Although at times I think I could have sped things up a little as it seemed that on occasions nothing practical was being done and I think I was to blame for that.

Day Two

We had already decided the week before on which job roles we were all going to be given so when we came in this week we had already started setting up our own equipment and also helped others with their equipment. Although this time one performer would do two acts so that everyone gets to do two jobs and not be an assistant first. My first job was to be a camera assistant for camera two and then I would take over the job for the second act. Camera two was on a dolly so it needed an assistant to handle the cables and make sure that the shots looked smooth and also as a safety measure for the camera operator.

A major problem we had while setting up cameras was that we had two different types of lighting. We had light from outside coming in and also we had studio lights, which were being used. This made our jobs very difficult when it came to having the same type of colour in each image because depending on what angle the camera is set resulted in different amounts of light coming in from outside. This resulted in each camera being set at different aperture levels but it still didn’t help us.

Before we started filming we had a problem with the talkback again with a camera operator not being able to speak to director, although I didn’t think it was a big problem because I don’t think he needed to. The director tells the camera operator if he is live or not and when the camera operator wants to offer the director a different shot he will wait for when he isn’t live and then offer the shot. If the director agrees he will cut to that shot and if he isn’t then he will ask the camera operator to offer a different shot.

For the performers second act I took up my job as camera operator and I received some good advice from Peter on how to use the dolly. When I’m not live then I should position the dolly wheels in the direction of which the camera will be moving to ensure that the shots I provide are smooth and there isn’t weird wobbling motion at the beginning of each shot. I would say that I had a few problems while operating camera two. My biggest issue was moving the dolly while keeping the camera stationed on the act. I found that when I was moving the dolly I wasn’t turning the camera, which led to the act almost disappearing from the shot. Apart from that I think I did well with the overall performance as I did what the director (Danny) asked for as well as offering some shots of my own but I will need more practice using the dolly.

When the second performer arrived we all swapped roles again and this time I would start as an assistant director, which in essence is the floor manager, so instead, I helped out other people with their job roles if they needed me. When it came to the performance I stayed in the gallery and watched over the director (Joe). I think I learn best by doing things but I think it helps to watch what others are doing and try to learn from their mistakes as well as pick up on the things they do correctly.

When it came to me being the director the first thing I did was speak to the camera operators (Andrew G, Danny and Andrew T). I explained what I wanted from them and for them to listen when I was telling them who was live, so when they weren’t it would give them a chance to offer me other shots. Watching the other director I did learn some stuff but when you’re in that role its very different and I, on a couple of occasions forgot to tell the camera operators that they were live. I think the reason I did those things is because there were just too many screens to look at which confused me but I believe I will get better with practice. I spoke clearly and direct instructions to everyone so it helped move along the process smoothly.

Day Three

When we arrived in the morning the equipment in the gallery was already set up so we didn’t have to do anything in there and just focused on the cameras, tripods and microphones. We set up within an hour and were ready to start filming the first performer. Again this week there would be two acts and both acts would perform twice to give everyone a chance to take on a job role. My first job role was sound mixer so I set up the boom microphones, one on each side of the performer but not in-sight of the cameras. We didn’t face many problems on set up today and everything ran smoothly and began shooting in the morning.

Sound mixing for me isn’t the most difficult job although it can get very confusing with all the different buttons and switches on there. To make it an easy task you can use the master faders, but that wouldn’t work in interviews because some people are louder than others and it would make the job very difficult. I instead opted to use the two separate levellers to try and make the sound as equal as possible. To ensure I got the best sound possible I found out where the artist was standing, I put the microphones parallel to him and pointed both microphones towards him as well. During the performance I had to make sure that the sound did not peak into the red zone because then it would cause the sound to distort. Also I had to keep an ear out for any swearing because if someone swears I have to inform the person in charge of the online stream so they could either mute or end the live stream as there was a delay in the live performance and stream.

For the next two performances I had no job role so I helped out with anyone having trouble setting up and helped with health and safety issues such as wires/cables across the floor which had to be dealt with by putting mats over the cables or taping them to the floor. I had to wait until the final performance before I could get another job role.

For the last act I was on camera one and this was not going to be on a dolly which was disappointing because I think I could do with more practice on there. This did however mean that I wasn’t the safety shot and I had the option to offer more creative shots such as the performers instrument or close ups of their face etc. Before recording I had to check the white balance, aperture, manual focus and gain. Everything on the camera must be set to manual and if need be I could use peaking to make assist me with my focus and a frame to ensure that I was 4:3 safe. I enjoy working on the camera because I think from all the roles apart from the director it gives me more freedom to be creative.

Evaluation

I would say I enjoyed every job role and I had at least one issue with every job but if I was to pick a favourite it would be floor manager because I believe the floor manager is the key link in a production team. If the floor manager is having a bad day it affects everyone, as it is his/her responsibility to make sure everyone, including the performers is happy. The floor manager is the link between the director and the rest of the production team. I believe I would need more practice as a camera operator because that is a role I find enjoyable and would like to improve on so I can be a valuable team member. Also it would give me the opportunity to be more creative.

Being a director I think is the most stressful job as sometimes your directions can be misinterpreted and you find yourself having to stand in front of someone and physically explaining what you mean. That is probably why it is the most rewarding role because the director must interpret what he sees and hears and then project that onto screen in a fashion that would captivate an audience. I would say that sound on this occasion was a relatively easy job but it is very important and without it, there would be no use of a music video. I think sound would be very challenging on a higher scale such as, X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent documentaries etc.

Overall I think the experience I received was great and was very helpful to me not only to know how to do certain job roles but also to understand the importance of team work and how each role is linked with another to ensure that the end product is something worth watching or listening to. It will be very helpful when it comes to being assessed because I have had enough practice and I’m confident that when the time comes I will be able to work as part of a team and cope well under the pressure of creating a live show. 

10th January Assessment

Tuesday 10th January was our first day that we were assessed on our performances during a music video shoot. We all arrived onto the location on time and not long after the equipment had arrived as well. After unloading the van and putting all the kit in the studio we began to set up the cameras, track and all the equipment which had to go into the gallery. It took us around an hour to set up the equipment including the tri-caster and audio mixer and after that we waited on the sound operators for the music students to arrive. During that time we ran through some rehearsals with the presenters and had some of the crew jump in and act as the music students.

I was on sound for the first act so it was up to me to initially set up the audio mixer for the rest of the day. Before the acts began we all went on a dinner break and at that time i had the sound working fine. After lunch when I returned I had to work with the music students in order to ensure that the audio was running from their mixer into our audio mixer. After they had completed their set up I was having some issues because I couldn't hear any music and I was having difficulties solving the problem. The problem took a while solving but after that we began to go through the set up and solved the issue.

After the first act had finished they were escorted downstairs to do their interview. It took longer than it should have to take the performers downstairs or their interviews and we were waiting a while on the vision and audio mixers. After the first act I muted the microphones upstairs and waited for the interview while the graphics played on the screen. Once the performers got into the interview room I turned up the microphone volume and began mixing the interview. After the interview we faded to black, turned down the volume and began setting up for the next act.

I didn't have a job for the next two act so my role was to help others set up and also help the presenters in the other room for their introductions and interviews. After the initial set up we were very quick on getting ready, filming and interviewing. It's confusing how everything works when you use it but then the very next day you have issues using the equipment.

For the next act I was on camera one which was stationed to the left. It was a little different to when we were at Fielden campus because the stage was a couple of feet above the ground. We had to compensate by lifting the cameras higher than usual and we worked in darkness for the sake of the music video.

As a camera operator I worked closely with the director (Nyasha). It's important to listen to the director and try to give him what he wants. He asked us to offer him shots which is good for a camera operator to hear because it helped me be creative. Also because our microphones on the headsets didn't work we had to communicate with the director through the floor manager when the director was downstairs.

On the last shoot I had no job role so I once again decided to help out downstairs in the interview room either being a floor manager or filming the interview. I wanted to have it handheld but the director decided to have it on a tripod which I believe didn't give it a backstage feeling.

Pitch

PITCH

For our news package show we first decided to put together a short video about a Paralympic hopeful from the Manchester College called Emily Rawlins. After a few failed attempts to get in touch with her and get her to ring us back we decided to change our story to someone/something that we would be able to get in touch with and interview. When we first decided to the news package about Emily I had a feeling that we would have trouble getting in touch with her because she wasn’t in the same campus as us, which is also the reason why we didn’t do a news piece about the principle of the college.

Our new idea is to make a news package about the work being done between the music, and media students at the Manchester College. I think it is a good idea because it would help people understand a little bit about how it works when an artist is performing and being filmed. E.g. people may wonder how shows like X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent work. Although this may not be on a scale as large as those shows it gives the audience a little taste of what its like. Our target audience will me males and females between the age of 16 and 25 because I believe this is the age range of people that would be interested in how it all works.

The news show will be approximately one minute long. There won’t be a presenter or voice-overs, instead we will use questions posed on screen. It will include an interview with 2 students and a presenter about what both students expected and if there expectations were met. The package will also include performances from the music students and some footage of the media students when they are setting up and filming the performances.