Studio Production: 2nd Workshop with Del

2nd Workshop with Del

During our second workshop with Del we were split into groups and were asked to try out and troubleshoot the different sections of the studio production. This was a very interesting  experience as I was able to further grasp what is needed for the studio production. 


CAMERAS
My first task was to go on cameras. We had to rig up the cameras unassisted. One of the main tasks for setting up was to use the Grey Scale chart and make sure all cameras looked the same. We were given talkbacks so we were able to communicate with the people in the gallery to know the progress of the screens.

This was a major challenge for me and my team because we all struggled to get the white balance and colour the same. First we white balanced the camera and then we focussed on the grey scale chart to get the colour to match but we weren't able to because for some reason the camera's white balance kept changing. We spent so long going through the settings and choosing the manual option but the white balance kept ranging from 3100k to 3900k. 

SOUND

We then had to switch around and learn about the sound desk and most of it's important features. At first this was tricky for me as there were so many buttons and knobs that it became overwhelming. However, after Del went through the main ones briefly I was able to grasp a better understanding of what the knobs were for and their importance.

I learnt;

• you must raise the "fader" levers to "0" in order to hear the levelling on the chosen channel.
• After raising it to "0", you would ask the subject to talk, alter the "Gain" in order to get the levelling for the microphone
• A good indicator for correct levelling would be the master volume reaching the colour "GREEN" and "ORANGE". RED means it is peaking. 

Whilst Josh and Laura spoke, I had a go at fixing the gain and changing the high frequency and low frequency to make the radio mic match the stick mic. This was a challenge because both Laura and Josh have different tone of voices as well. Laura's needed a bit more altering because it came out slightly more higher pitched. This meant I had to increase low frequency a bit as well as turn down the High frequency. 

The main thing that I learnt is how one subtle change you make with the settings and it can sound completely off. That is why it is important to understand why the voices sound different and to know what you can do to alter them for the better. You also need to make sure you know what channel the microphones are on as well so that you can change the right channel. 

GRAPHICS

During this session with Ferg was quite a lot to take in. Graphics to me can be so overwhelming due to how much technicalities are involved however I was able to get a better grasp on how the studio graphics work. 

We first learnt the importance of an "SDI" which is the Serial Digital Interface and this is a different standard to a HDMI which is what the gallery uses. It locks in useful information that is needed to get graphics to play. 

The main thing I learnt about the graphics is that there are Alpha Channels. This is what the straplines become when they are created. We would also need to know what interlace and progressive pixels meant means if we want to make sure we know the basics about graphics. Progressive meaning that every frame has the information within it and Interlace meaning that the information on it can get tears. Interlace can get tears in the information. 

ATTEMPTING THE GRAPHICS

When attempting to use the graphics computer and it's system, I had a difficult time navigating through the new keys and controls. Because I'm so used to the layout of after effects and premiere pro, I found it quite bizarre but after a little while of playing around with it I became much more familiar with it and it was easier than what I first though but still difficult.

Del told us the career prospects of becoming an entry level graphics operator, he explained it is a good place to start because you'd be right next to all the "important" people who you'd need to network with if you wanted to go on to try new things (Director, Vision Mixer, PA etc) This really opened my eyes to new prospects as I never really saw myself within the graphics field but I guess if you dedicated your time to learning the basics of graphics, you wouldn't really be limiting yourself as you have the greater ability to network. This is something that I will now be considering. 

PANELS IN THE GALLERY

Del went through some of the important things to remember when in front of the panels in the gallery. 

• Our show will be on one channel, so everyone will be able to hear each other
• When trying to communicate with someone, you must start it by saying your job role. "Floor manager to Camera 2" and so on. This eliminates the need to get confused with names and gets straight to the point.
• It is good practice to keep the production talkback on and not "mute" it so everyone can hear at all times. You must not mute it to talk about crew members as that is bad practice
• Remain professional at all times
• There is the ability to select who you can hear which can be handy as the people in the gallery require maximum concentration 

VISION MIXING

During this part of the session Del went through some of the more advanced functions on the vision mixer. 

• On the script, when it says ME it means Mixer Effects
• This is when you'd use the T bar to initiate the mixes and transitions 
• If you start a transition on air and it is wrong, you have to finish it otherwise it is obvious that you have made a mistake to the viewers.

We also learnt what you would say as a director to get the vision mixer to do the moves.

• "standby.." to get the vision mixer to prepare the shot
• "cut to".. this allows the vision mixer to press the correct button to put it on air

I found this very difficult, trying to think of what shots to prepare and air was challenging as well as actually saying the commands. I kept getting mixed up. However, I really enjoyed trying out the vision mixing desk as it really gave me a buzz. That was also challenging because knowing where to correctly place your fingers and keep them that way became difficult when in a rush but after 

What I learnt;

• I learnt how to respect the roles of the director and vision mixer even more
• I learnt about new prospects that I could go into after uni, some that I never thought I could ever do.
• I learnt that for my role as Lead Camera, I need to make sure that I know how to white balance the cameras correctly and make them match because my group and I had a hard time getting this correct. 

Next step; 

• To research how to correctly white balance and grey scale the cameras to avoid them not looking the same