Assignment 4: Part 2

24
Apr
2018

I have been researching both my roles for the past few day and I’ve made some interesting discoveries and observations.

Floor manager

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Apparently, floor manager has more duties than I previously imagined. I was aware before that a floor manager has to serve as a link between the director and the floor and keep him or her informed on the situation in the studio. I knew that a floor manager had to give cues and time counts, organise the crew, keep track of the programme schedule, control the studio, and be aware of everything that happens on the floor. It was a discovery for me, however, that a floor manager is also in charge of the live audience and is required to seat them and explain their role at the set. I was also quite surprised that floor manager is expected to solve technical issues if they arise, although I don’t think that’s the case for me. As students, we are actually forbidden to try and fix faulty equipment and are expected to ask a professional technician for help. Nonetheless, it was interesting to learn that a floor manager is supposed to have basic knowledge of a technical aspect of a production. It was also indicated on almost every source I found that the role is particularly stressing and pressuring, because of many responsibilities that come with the position. I don’t mind that- I find that I thrive under pressure, and I would be far more disappointed with a tedious, monotone role.

To make it easier to keep track of the busy schedule and keep an eye on the time, I plan to print full scripts and a run sheet in multiple copies to distribute to the director, director’s assistant and myself. I am also trying to keep up with the constantly changing scripts to be fully aware of the filming process.

Lighting technician

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I am nervous about taking on a role of a lighting technician. It requires technical know-how and I don’t really have much experience with lighting equipment. I got a chance to play around with a portable lighting kit during my last studio, but I have to admit that I failed epically. That is why I chose this role- I wanted to try it again and better myself, but I am worried about my performance.

The online research didn’t really help: I don’t know what kind of machines RMIT studio has and it is difficult to learn to operate it from a website anyway. I did refresh my knowledge of a three-point lighting, however- I think it will be extremely useful. I also looked at some talk shows and band performances to see what kind of lighting techniques they use. I found two more or less popular morning shows: Breakfast Television (BT) and The Morning Show. They originated in Canada and Australia respectively. Neither of this show displayed some distinctive lighting technique: it is a standard natural-looking light. However, I noticed that these shows are particularly well-lit in terms of brightness, probably to highlight the time of the day.

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As for live band performances, I found quite a lot of them and made several peculiar observations. There is something interesting I noticed: most of the band performances tend to use red, pink and purple lights. The 3 music performances I use as examples below are all songs of different genres: electropop/Indie pop, hip-hop, and alternative rock/grunge respectively, yet all of them were shot in red-ish, purple-ish light. It is an especially interesting finding because of a significant time difference between those videos: the performance of Nirvana took place in 1991, and the Lorde’s and Cardi B’s – in 2017. All 3 videos use very similar lighting nonetheless. I am not sure which week producers are planning to bring a band in, but if it falls on my duty I will definitely operate within the same palette as well.