For the second time that I’ve worked with the crew, I was assigned to be the switcher first and then the director. My tutor on switching , Jenny, wasn’t here this time as she’s got an essay to finish so I was completely on my own. It definitely felt a bit strange at the beginning without someone telling me what to do but I took this as a challenge and figured my way out. I gradually got better at switching and the control room people would cheer at me every time I switched at a perfect timing. I gradually lost the tension in my arms and fingers as I got on with the job and started to enjoy it. And I like the vibe in the control room when the light is turned down and the only light sources are the screens and the key boards, it made me feel like someone who’s really important haha.
We took a short break after filming for the first episode of today and I proceeded onto my next job – directing. I was told on the first time of participation that basically a director’s job is to boss people around and give orders. I did not feel so comfortable bossing people around but I tried to do it in my own way. Which is to be very gentle and polite with everyone when I gave orders and instructions. The process of directing is to do the count down with the time keeper together and give instructions to the floor manager of camera operators if necessary. Every recording starts with camera one fixed on the host with him being centered on the frame. As it proceeds to the discussion with the guest, camera 1 is supposed to move to the right a bit to give the host some talking space. But the movement of the camera can only be done when it’s not being programed onto the TV aka when it’s not the one that the audience is watching. So my job was to tell the camera 1 operator to move at a specific time of the show as they wouldn’t know which one is being programed. And as the show goes, I have to keep eyes on all the cameras, making sure they’re focused and the composition is good (heap space, talking space, camera angle, etc). And I also had to keep an eye on the switcher, and tell the switcher when to cut if s/he is not doing it properly. In short, the process of directing requires you to keep an eye on everything at any time, which is very hard to do if you’re not trained or experienced. But it was absolutely fun and worth trying.
With the second time of participating in the producing of a talk show, I definitely gained more skills and experience than last time and felt more comfortable working and doing certain jobs with the crew and using studio terms. And most importantly, I really enjoyed doing it.