Unfortunately, we’ve come to our second and last episode of Midnight Snack. I was assigned to a much bigger role this week (two in fact!) as a Writer and Auto-Cue Operator. Having experienced the elements of liveness from the previous shows I’ve been in, I already knew what to expect and how to get ready for the show.

I was assigned to Studio C so I wasn’t familiar with the exact layout of the entire control room and set in comparison to Studio A. This is what it looked like:

The control room 

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The set 

In terms of Karin Van Es’ reading on liveness, her claims of liveness to be existing everywhere immediately relates back to our Midnight Snack show – I would like to focus on the connection between Studio A and C and the attachment of liveness. Even as an autocue operator, I had to pay attention and be well aware of when the switch was going to occur. It’s easy to lose focus when you may not have as many responsibilities as the other roles. However, auto cueing did relate to my role as a writer as I knew the pacing of the whole script and of course, our talent’s pacing too after a few rehearsals.

In hindsight, no matter how small a role you are assigned to in the studio, it is important to always keep up with the unpredictability of liveness. Whether you were the one who wrote the script or the is operating the autocue, other roles in the studio could definitely use an extra hand or two when we are live.

During rehearsals, everything seemed to smooth sailing for the first few minutes. Not until we actually rehearsed BEING LIVE. A lot of things that could’ve gone right if more attention was paid, went wrong. For example, scripts weren’t printed out (I’m not sure whose responsibility that is) and I ended up printing most of the script for Studio C, because why not? I am the writer after all. I just felt that I could’ve had less weight on my shoulders if someone offered to help. Also, excuse my language, but getting around the technicalities of EVS and the green was a HUGE pain in the ass. The techs themselves were already intimidating enough and only stressed me out more when my files for the green screen weren’t clear enough. Again, I felt I could’ve had less pressure if someone lent me a hand, but oh well. This is the environment of a live studio and it is something that I’m going to have to be more vocal about in the future.

Now that I’ve gotten the negatives out of the way, I’d like to focus on the positives. By the end of the show, my co-writer, Marcus had been practicing the Bean Boozled Challenged and that is one of the aspects that I tremendously enjoyed during our shooting for Midnight Snack. I also think that communication was perfect for everyone and we all got along with each other. A few laughs here and there but ultimately, a shared team effort from everyone. Acquaintances turned into friendships and connections were established.

Midnight Snack is the first of my many shows that I will be able to be a part of and I am extremely proud of everyone’s hard work! I can’t wait to get more involved in the future.

It’s finally D-DAY, which means that we finally get to Livestream the hard work that my studio class has done over the past weeks. We had a call time of about 6.5 hours, 1:30 PM until we go live that is. Before I delve into what happened into our first day of live streaming, I’d like to about the theories behind our practice just to clear the air about the theories we aim to follow through as a studio.

Let’s begin with Sorensen’s discussion of live TV and its relevance in this day and age. To be exact, I’m discussing it in parallel with my role as a Livestream operator. Afterall, Sorensen does discuss the concept of liveness in a multiplatform context. In relation to Sorensen’s discussions amongst his reading, he focuses particularly on the concept of attracting an audience through the new technology that is social media – of course, it both “complements and complicates” the process of live television. Liveness has always been central to most television programmes, enabling producers to create more quality content and give it a feel of authenticity. As a Livestream operator, Sorensen’s theories line up in conjunction with what the Marketing/Social Media team and I have done in order to attract more audience in real life and on the live stream.

I am only secondary to the marketing team so really, I was just the medium to relay the messages from Twitter to the Livestream. For example, the Marketing team would have their laptop ready just to watch our for live tweets – the software “Livestream’ immediately catches these live tweets and it is my job to make sure that these tweets are projected during the live stream. As Sorensen states, the “uptake of Internet-enabled portable media and devices complicates and complements these developments” – I experienced both sides of complication but also the benefits that came with the involvement of social media in a live setting. In terms of the difficulties that I encountered, it was all about the timing between the segments of the show and whether it was the right time to put up the live tweets. One of the main problems was when I accidentally put a tweet over an important segment. This accidentally covered the graphics that was meant to be read by the audience but luckily I was able to remove it just in time.

I also did encounter some more problems but halfway through the show, I got more into the groove of putting the live tweets in and out at the right time. This proves Sorensen’s statement that this interaction between social media and live streaming complicates the whole process.

Despite the complications, we also encountered the good side of this advancement. It added to the overall aesthetic of the whole show including authenticity and legitimacy as a live television show. During the times I did get the timing right, I felt a sense of accomplishment running the show as a Livestream operator.

The Livestream machine

From the start of call time (which was 1 PM) until we went live, I basically familiarised myself with the overall setting of the set and even the control room. I wanted to remember which studio role my peers took over or were responsible for. When it came to setting up, I moved the cameras in the required manner and also looked out for some OH&S protocols that needed to be double-checked. I do want to address one thing that was a potential hazard that could’ve ended in total disaster. A certain group of people did not really know how to safely behave in the studio – I witnessed running, mishandling of the camera wires, a person placing their foot on the control table. It was honestly a big mess. I was in no position to tell them off because I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation properly. However, they did take the set more seriously once we were going live which was a relief.

Despite that, we had a smooth running live television show and I am overall, impressed with the outcome of our work. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the Graphics – good job to whoever was in charge of creating that. One last complaint though – my name wasn’t in the credits. Boo.

Even though I experienced the negative side of collaborating with different groups of people, I did also go through a new learning experience. I asked people with different studio roles questions what their responsibilities were in order for me to be prepared the next time I take over that particular role. What this whole collaboration has taught me about liveness and a multi-camera production is that:

• there needs to be a whole of pre-production and preparation involved before actually going live
• communication is key in all areas of the studio – whether you are a producer or a camera operator
• mistakes will happen during a live broadcast and all you can do is move on
• in short, the SHOW MUST GO ON!

Here are some photos I took during the bumping in of the set, preparation in the control room and of course, the pizza perk!

Looking forward to our second and final episode of Midnight Snack. Woo! Bring it on!

I arrived just in time for Episode 1 to begin streaming for the first half of tech rehearsals. I was a little nervous because we were actually going to Livestream it but luckily it wasn’t going to be posted anywhere thank goodness.  The part that also made me nervous was not fully knowing how to operate the Livestream machine without the help of Ruth. So of course, I needed another crash course in order to start streaming the rehearsals.

Despite having doubts about this role, the only thing you really have to do is press the ‘Go Live’ button! Of course, I had to constantly monitor the sounds in case there was a mishap of some sort. Other than that, my only main responsibility was to use another device to watch our live stream and also potentially prepare for any crashes or errors just in case.

I didn’t get the chance to take a photo of what I saw on the Livestream screen however, I do have a photo that I’ve taken online; it’s to give you an idea of what kind of software/technicality I have to manage.

(Source) 

As complicated as it may look, everything was already configured for me so I didn’t have to do a whole lot of adjustment in general.

THE REHEARSAL FOR THE SECOND EPISODE 

My role for the second episode is in Studio C as the autocue operator and Writer. As a writer, I don’t really have an active role during a live show, however, a lot of pre-production was involved. The writers and I (along with the producers) all organised our scripts through Google Drive and this is where I frequented the most during the pre-production stages:

As I reflected on the previous blog posts, a lot of confusion was involved so it was hard for us writers to finalise the scripts. A lot of work-in-progress was involved but it was eventually resolved throughout the weeks of working on Midnight Snack. These documents on Google Drive is a testament to the stresses but also the teamwork we all felt as writers and producers. In my opinion, we just need to work on communicating more often and being clear-cut and firm with our decisions. This is an issue I’ve mentioned before but I feel like certain roles need to stay where they’re supposed to stay especially if it’s differing in studios. There was a bit of confusion from Studio A to C and some roles overtook others without giving them a chance to contribute.

This is something we all just lack because I believe that we barely know each other as a team and meeting once a week is not enough to successfully communicate with each other. Despite that, I was satisfied with the final product of Episode 1 but I feel like this should be transferred to Episode 2 (work ethic-wise, effort-wise and attention-wise). In comparison to Episode 1, I feel like Episode 2 has been neglected by the most important roles in the studio which honestly kind of bothers me because as a writer for Episode 2, our work goes unnoticed by everyone.

My role as autocue operator and writer go hand in hand so it was really easy for me to use the autocue tools (plus I’ve also used it before!). Here are some screengrabs and videos of the hilarious mishaps we had during Episode 2:

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I hope we learn from the mistakes we made during rehearsal. I can’t wait to see how Episode 1 unfolds on our first official airing! As I write this, there’s about less than 24 hours to go before we go live! WOO, GO MIDNIGHT SNACK!

Unfortunately, I was running extremely late (what’s new?) for Week 9’s studio and did not arrive until 2:30 PM. What I arrived at, however, was a full-running production with all the crew members busily walking from Studio A + C and also the prop room, fulfilling their duties.

For the first half of the studio rehearsals, I was in Studio A learning how to operate the Livestream machine. Before becoming a Livestream Operator or entering a studio, I was completely ignorant to the fact that “Livestreaming” was a separate entity from the production. What I mean by that is that I did know that it was exclusively its own branding. I thought that livestreaming was already a given on social platforms such as Facebook and Youtube and that a third-party software like Livestream would not be necessary to operate with.

There are multiple uses for Livestream and how I can manipulate the production during the broadcast. For example, the Livestream machine can be used to insert graphics. In the meantime, however, my role as a Livestream operator is to solely press “Go Live” and monitor the views that come in during the broadcast for Midnight Snack.

The second part of the rehearsals was in Studio C for me. I was both the writer and the person controlling autocue. To be completely honest, the beginning of the ongoings of Studio C was not smooth sailing. Half of the crew either went home or completely did not turn up so we have to make do with our current situation. This situation was fixed when I got everyone to go in a circle and introducer themselves and what their role was. Crew members from Studio A were also happy to help which was great!

As a writer, my script was responsible for conducting how the directors and producers were going to play their roles for Studio C. We all collaborated really well and everyone seemed to agree with the script that I wrote which took a weight off my shoulders, thank goodness! I was extremely happy to see my work on an actual screen – that’s something I’ve always yearned for and to see it LIVE and in action was extremely satisfying! This makes me excited for future productions and of course the upcoming episodes for Midnight Snack.

By the end of the studio, we managed to practice the first segment of my script except for the Facebook script which was fine because we still had week 10 to polish everything up. We did come across some problems with the Studio A due to some miscommunications and misunderstandings. One of the other producers changed the schedule of Episode 2, when in all honesty, he’s not even supposed to be responsible for Studio C! Pat (Studio C producer) and I (Studio C writer) felt a bit discouraged about this lack of communication and obviously added more stress and pressure onto us because this kind of information shouldn’t be thrown to us in the last minute and especially not be hear from a third-party. We did manage to (hopefully) solve this issue by Brooke (Studio C Director) making a solid schedule for each episode.

These issues are just minor bumps in the road and all part of the learning experience in the studio. Overall, I am glad to have experienced both the positives and the negatives of working in a studio.

Pre-production once again began with the writers and producers in a circle, discussing the content of our show, now called, Midnight Snack. A lot of deliberation was involved, particularly with what the theme of our show was going to be. We were still deciding whether it was going to be a late-night show or a breakfast show (or both with late-night and breakfast themes combined). Ultimately, the producers chose a late-night show style, mainly because they felt more inspired by popular late-night shows such Jimmy Fallon, Colbert and John Oliver.

As a writer, I felt I did not have a lot of contribution mainly because one of the producers were adamant about a particular style of our show. I wasn’t too fussed on this because I was happy to write for any types of concept/genre/theme. However, I do feel that bigger roles such as the producer need to be more informed of their main responsibilities. Because it is such a huge responsibility to take on, they feel they have to take on the burden themselves when that is not the case. This is why other roles in the studio exist such as the Directing role and of course, the Writing role such as myself and several other talented writers!

Despite the few bumps on the road, I enjoyed getting to know the studio a little better and explore areas that I don’t necessarily need to know for this production – EVS, lighting and even being on camera! My lovely peers were able to help me out on getting to know the technical side of the studio :~) I’d say it’s really helpful to reiterate the information they were given to other people keen to learn (such as myself!).

Here’s a few photos to show what went down during Week 8:

A lot of strategy and deliberation on this whiteboard.

Mucking around with my co-writer and producer, Lizzie!

I can’t wait for our first tech rehearsal on Week 9! The upcoming weeks will truly show how we are able to apply a semester’s worth of learning, not to mention the most recent readings of Karin Van Es and Sorensen as well!

We began with the pitches in our class, particularly about Assignment 3. We reflected how we felt in our roles and used Google Slides to discuss and reflect on our performance with the assignment –

We also received good feedback from the panel but of course, some constructive criticism was given to us. We were aware of these criticisms and ensured ourselves and the panel that we would make sure to improve on our errors.

– AFTER THE PANEL, WE MOVED TO THE NEW STUDIOS – 

We had the safety briefing with one of the Studio Techs, Luke. I have been to several of these briefings and can almost memorise Luke’s punchlines. However, it is important to always be reminded of the safety hazards in any workplace, even in the most inconspicuous places of danger like the studio.

The producers, writers and directors gathered into a circle (including myself) and discussed the potential route our show was going to go to:

• Late-night TV shows
• A parody of the breakfast shows
• Skits like the ones from SNL
• Cooking segments (pre-recorded)
• Vox pops (pre-recorded)
• Interview
• And of course, the live performance from the band!

Everything was set in motion for our plans and ideas – in terms of communication, we had set up several group chats, a Facebook page and an official Facebook page for the public.

As a Livestream operator, I also had a tour in the control room of the studio. We played around for a bit in between the floor and the control room:

Overall, I really enjoyed this lengthier and more in-depth introduction to the studio. I got to see more aspects of the control room as I familiarised myself. I’m looking forward to the next pre-production session on Week 8!

On the day of the production, I, unfortunately, was running an HOUR late which is a disgrace, especially as a Floor Manager. So I felt that I did not start on the right note but eventually got the hang of it as soon as we began shooting. Let’s elaborate on that!

How do you think you went in your role? 

As Floor Manager, I had the preconceived notions and expectations of what my roles and responsibilities were. As a Floor Manager, you are in charge of keeping the talents and camera operators in check and basically the other roles that are on the floor with you. I would say that the Floor Manager is 3rd in charge, right after the Director’s Assistant. The Floor Manager is the person that relays the message from the control room to the floor and also in charge of keeping everyone conscious of the time management. Here is a visual of what I witnessed during the preparation of set, rehearsal and eventually the live show:

(Taken by me on the 12th of April) 

As you are able to see, the talents and the camera operators are all present in the set which means that I am able to lay out my duties as a Floor Manager to the other roles in the studio. These duties consist of:

• Ensuring the set is A-OKAY, no weird props hanging about but also potentially looking out for anything hazardous
• The other studio roles know what it is they have to do (getting the talents in the set on time, ensuring the setting up is done in an efficient yet safe manner)
• Keeping everyone in schedule – this can be done through hand signals and counting down to 10 seconds before going on live

As my own experience as a Floor Manager, I felt that I had to ask Ruth for advice on how I should communicate to the other studio roles. Ruth taught me the universal signal of time-checking. This is done through hand signals where one spins their hand in a circle, either slowly or swiftly, letting everyone be aware of the time remaining. For example, if there is a minute left, you would spin your hand slowly. Once it reaches to 30 seconds, you would start picking up the pace and move your hand faster.

I felt that I operated quite effectively as a Floor Manager because I follow the procedures that any experienced Floor Manager would. I let the talent know of my hand signals and what they meant and I relayed the messages that control room wanted the floor crew to know about. Some realisations I had about this role is that you have to be really clear and concise about relaying your message from the control room to the studio. There were definitely some confusions in the time management – for example, the DA/Director would tell me that there is a minute left until we shoot but then it gets delayed to another minute and so on. These delays are bound to happen and you have to let the crew know in the studio about these delays while remaining calm and stress-free.

Overall, it was an enjoyable position to be in and I have learnt a lot just from this one session in the studio. I definitely see myself doing this role in the future as I gain more experience over time.

What were the successes of the production/How did this lead to a successful production? 

I would say that the successes overall was the cooperation with everyone. We all managed to work together despite only preparing everything through the group chat. Some of my favourite aspects of our productions were the graphics:

(Screengrabbed on the 15th of April) 

The graphics suited really well to the aesthetics we wanted, which was a show that was 90s-themed. Everything in the 90s was bright and loud and the visual example from above proves how the graphics stuck to the brief.

Our ideas were also well-executed from the questions written by our wonderful writer, Lizzie. A mix of pop culture, film and music, it was relatable to most of the class members and was easy for our talents to digest and answer (they were part of the class, after all). Our host also did a wonderful job of catering to our guests and was clear and concise in the delivery of the questions. She was also quick to adapt to any changes that happened whether it was planned or unplanned.

The graphics and the content overall was what I considered the successes of our production, but most importantly, our teamwork is what made this production run smoothly with minimal stress. If one of us were to absent from the day of shooting, it would not have gone as well as it would have. Our communication between each other was spot on and avoided confusions as much as we could. I am thoroughly content with our work!

What needed improvement for next time? 

The essence of technology is nothing technological – it tells us about ourselves, about who we are and what we are. (Scanell, 2013)

I feel that our main point of improvement is technology and cueing. In order to get better at cueing, we need to familiarise ourselves with learning and using the technology in the studio. The quote above is from Week 5’s reading by Scanell. In relation to my group’s studio experience, we let ourselves be known through technology. Being unable to fully use the studio’s tool means that we are not able to reveal our true identity – who we are and what we are. Therefore, improvement in the use of technology ensures that cueing never gets delayed and we are able to show our full capacity as media makers.

In order for this to be improved, more practice and rehearsals are required so that we are able to utilise technology in the way that we want it to operate.

How did you observe the different roles interacting and collaborating?

1. Floor Manager to the rest of the crew on the floor
   As mentioned before, it is my responsibility as a Floor Manager to relay the message between the control room and studio. Therefore, I had to initiate several interactions and collaborations, mainly with the people on the floor. These roles were the Talents, the Camera Operators and the Producer (Alex was on the floor). My observation of these roles collaborating with each other is just the constant communication and time check with everyone, especially as a Floor Manager. This also included the reassurance of what our roles were supposed to do. We also wanted to make sure that not just the production crew were ready but also the audiences that were part of the show.
2. Floor Manager –> D.A. and Director
   My interaction and collaboration between these two roles was the constant confirmation of the time and also the use of technology in the studio as a whole (including the control room). As audio and graphics were used for our production, I had to make sure that the talent and camera operators were aware whenever an audio was put on for a question. It was prompted in the questions itself but for reassurance, I communicated with the Director whether it was heard in the studio.

Between myself and the other studio roles, this is how we communicated as a group – I would like to say that it was a successful interaction and collaboration which is why our show ran smoothly without any massive mishaps.

For Week 5 of “Ready, Camera One”, we discussed the role of Graphics behind the whole production team of a studio. These are the results of our group discussion:

Taken by me during Week 5’s class 

If you look closely, we discussed where the person in charge of Graphics would usually be located (in the Control Room) and what their roles and responsibilities consist of. Graphics would have to prepare the required Graphics for the show – this usually meant that they would have to make their own template via Photoshop, Lightroom or even from a quick online search.

Graphics’ interaction with the other roles of the studio would mainly be between the Director and Vision Mixer, whilst it also requires interactions with the Audio Director and EVS but not as heavy of an interaction in comparison to the Director or the Vision Mixer. In relation to the Vision Mixer, these two roles would usually have a discussion of when the graphics should go on and therefore, the person in charge of Graphics will need to know when to prepare the upcoming templates. As for the Director, he would usually give directions for the role of the Graphics, when and where they should place the graphics on the live screen and how long it should stay on. Finally, the role of EVS and Sound’s interaction are usually limited to the Graphics role – they would only be required to heavily interact if EVS or the Sound required graphics. Finally, it is the D.A.’s responsibility to kindly remind the Graphics person to get ready in preparation for the Director’s cue.

I mainly discussed the role of Graphics’ and its interaction between other roles in the control room, rather than the roles on the floor. For further information about the roles of Graphics and other floor roles, it is all written in the photo above!

The Pre-Production Stage 

Before we were all assigned to groups, the class was shown videos from the previous year in regards to Assignment 3. As we assembled into groups, we discussed the successes and errors that occurred in the video and they were the following:

• The characters were ‘built up’ well, such as the host
• The underlying racism – in one of the quiz shows, a joke about race was mentioned. Our aim as a group is to try and avoid this issue.
• Good sound effects but there were some issues with the audio
• It would be better to have more general questions for the quiz rather than specific ones – we all agreed to this in order to avoid long and awkward silences

As we were brainstorming, naturally, we expressed the roles we wanted to fulfil. For this assignment, I initially decided to take on the role of Props/Set and also the Host but I decided to swap with Ella to the role of the Floor Manager. As I have fulfilled multiple roles in and outside of the Ready, Camera One, I have never been a Floor Manager before, so it was exciting to see how I would operate along with the floor staff. My expectations as a Floor Manager would be double checking the setup of the set/props, ensuring the talents knew what they had to do and of course, relaying the message from the control room to the floor production. It wasn’t until the date of the production that I would realise that there is more to the role of a Floor Manager than I thought there would be. 

We all decided as a group that we would do a quiz show about the 90s to the early 2000s – it is because the majority of us could relate to the era’s pop culture and music, and of course the rest of the class too. We organised a group chat where we could freely discuss our ideas and which role we would take on. It was an easier way to communicate considering we only had this class once every week.

(Screengrabbed at 4:51 PM, 14/04) 

Overall, I’m feeling pretty confident about the week of the production. It should run smoothly according to our plans. I feel that I am also paired with an organised group of people and that we are all able to work interdependently in the upcoming production of our 90s-2000s show.

(Source)

Bring on the 90s baby!

This week, we were provided with two readings – one covering the ongoings of a live television show, whilst the other discusses the concept of liveness and control for a broadcast interview. Let’s break these two readings down in order to fully understand the intentions of the authors!

Reading #1: Doing it Live! (The MacDonell Reading) 

Macdonell breaks down the procedure of what it was like going into a live television show – she broke it down to twelve sections, explaining each and every step of how they accomplished to broadcast The Bill TV show live. Since it was a live television show (no, not a game show, not an interview but a SOAP OPERA), pre-production was heavily required in order for the production crew to successfully film it live. Therefore, planning began six months in advance and this was, therefore, considered as a long pre-production for a single-camera show with two episodes. I do believe this was necessary because it gave enough time for the producers to carefully pre-plan everything and layout the possibilities that occur whilst filming LIVE. MacDonell further discusses the techniques they have used in order to adapt to the live situation – for example, she found herself using more theatrical techniques. This meant that she had taken extensive notes during rehearsals and from the blocking of each scene. As for the actors and actresses, it became a one-hour play for them rather following the method of recording it non-sequentially and one at a time.

Skipping ahead to the final part of filming The Bill television show, MacDonell discusses the few setbacks involved such as the car scene – because it was not able to be flipped over, the Director, Camera Ops, Vision Mixers and Actor/Actresses had to quickly think on their feet and improvise. The message that I have gained from this reading is that no matter how much preparation is involved for live TV, there is always going to be that one tiny detail that changes the whole dynamic of the show but in order to counter that, the best you can do as a production crew is to accept that change and have a “the show must go on” mentality.

Reading #2: The Design and Scripting of ‘Unscripted Talk’. Liveness VS Control in a TV broadcast Interview (The Lundell Reading) 

In this reading, Lundell discusses the struggle between professional standards versus the need to attract audiences. This is made visible in the communicative choices that media professionals use in order to format, script and perform for a broadcast interview. There are two concepts that Lundell has introduced for us in the reading:

• Orientation to liveness in the sense that they desire to please the audience by engaging with them in a spontaneous, informal and unscripted manner.
• OR the choices are equally oriented to scripted, institutional control to meet demands of objectivity and balance

As my own personal opinion, it is important to have both of these aspects in order to achieve the perfect balance for live television. As it is proven for most situations, too much of one thing can be disastrous and leave unwanted results. Therefore, if these two elements were to be achieved, not only will the production team be successful in the creation of the show but also in the attempt of entertaining the audience.

In this day and age, it is important to be updated with the times, especially if it means changing the format of a live television show. Despite losing the conventionality of a live show, the elements of entertainment will oversee the other aspects. Despite it being a traditional or a spontaneous show, the liveness still remains to be the overarching component of a live show, no matter the type of technique media professionals aim to go for.

Collaboration in the studio 

How do you feel you went in your role? 

I was assigned to two different types of roles, the second one being a last minute decision in order to help a group out that lacked group members. My first role of the day was the Vision Mixer! For those unfamiliar with what a vision mixer does, you could also call me an Editor. What my role composes of is basically the switching of screens – what the audience saw on the live screen but also the point of view of all three cameras. This gives myself and the director the opportunity to correct any potential errors and get the desired shot that we want. My performance in this role was somewhat subpar, only because I was not used to the various stimuli going on around me. I realised I had to focus on three things at a time – both the screen, script and audio. I totally underestimated the expectations and roles of a vision mixer. Nonetheless, it was still a good learning experience and I was able to soak in a lot of information, especially as a Vision Mixer.

The second role I got was in charge of Audio! You could say that I was an audio mixer (lol?), however, it did not hold as many responsibilities as it did in comparison to the role of a vision mixer. My main responsibilities were ensuring the talents’ microphones were working and that the right microphones were given to the right person. A fun fact that I’ve learnt on set today was that there were certain microphones assigned to each of the talents (in this case to the two of them), depending on their positioning. I was then showed the complexities of the audio mixer and how each dial is connected to a certain part of the machine to the next. It’s easier to explain in real life, I swear. Other than that, I found operating on the audio fairly easy and manageable. Having already been in the studio beforehand with the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt skit, I got the gist of the studio operations for my second try as a sound operator.

What were the differences to other media productions you’ve crewed on? 

(Screengrab taken on 24th of March)

I have only crewed in one studio show and that is the production of In Pit Lane, under RMITV Studios. Located in Building 10, the show goes live every Tuesdays at 9 PM. Most of the crew members are well-seasoned veterans and are fully knowledgeable about what goes on during the live television – the show has been airing for over twenty-two years! The difference between this studio class and the In Pit Lane production that I’ve crewed on is that everyone is a beginner in this class whilst everyone in the professional studio is well, a professional.

In this studio class, it was a less stressful environment and was, therefore, a more comfortable environment to make mistakes – as a first-time vision mixer, I definitely made a mistake or two (or even more). For In Pit Lane, I was assigned as the camera operator and will continue to be my role for the remainder of the show. Despite it being officially live, I definitely felt the pressure as a camera operator but was also a good experience because everyone around me was extremely helpful. All in all, the ultimate difference was that in this studio, we were at the beginning of our studio journey whilst the people around me in In Pit Lane were already experienced.

Do the different crew roles interact and collaborate? 

Definitely. From the control room to the actual studio itself, we all communicated to one another. Some examples of the roles that required constant communication was the role of the Director to the Vision Mixer. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that both Lizzie (the director) and I required the most interaction and communication with one another, especially when she was instructing me when to switch the camera whilst following the script. Essentially, the director has communication with all the roles within the studio, communicating with the roles in the control room and on the floor.

I would say that the second most important roles are the Director’s Assistant and the Floor Manager – they are both the leading roles that keep the Director in check, whilst also managing the various roles that form the studio altogether. Without these leadership positions, communication would be hard to come by, especially in a studio where the directors, talents, camera operators, etc aren’t together in one room.

So in essence, the different crew roles do interact one way or another, even if some of these roles are unrelated. I was privileged enough to be paired with a group that were lovely to work with, some of them being my friends from my first year of my media course.

What was it like watching as an audience member? 

From the readings of Giotta and Gadassik, it heavily discusses the importance of the response from the audience. Giotta mentions the that the presence of a live audience became integral to live television, only because it helped home viewers interpret the content on television. As an audience member for the other groups, I felt all of us had a role to play as an audience – to spectate and react. Even though none of the talents were professional actors/actresses, the lines of the script still ignited laughter from the audience, giving the crew members a sign that we were on the right track.

I also pondered about Gadassik’s reading and how the audience is always looking for something controversial or natural to happen. As an audience member, it would have been definitely interesting for something amusing to happen but having also experienced crewing, I did not want anything wrong to happen. However, there is still that nature in me to think of the worst no matter what experience I have had through media. Overall, I had a great time seeing the different styles of crewing and was a knowledgeable experience to be part of.

What were the differences in shooting these scenes for multi-camera vs. single camera? 

If we were to shoot this on a single camera, it would have been a much longer process to complete in comparison to the multi-camera method that we did during Thursday’s studio assignment. Roles that exist in a multi-camera studio would have definitely been eliminated if we were operating on a single camera. These roles are the vision mixer and the two other camera operators. If we also used one camera, this would make the camera operator’s job harder, forcing them to move around more and potentially getting a messier and slower footage.

It is much more convenient to be operating under a multi-camera studio, especially if it were a live program – more roles are able to assist one another and it would be a more efficient and easier process.