My expectations for the assignment were that good pre-planning would allow a fairly straightforward production for these game shows.

That wasn’t strictly true, nor was it totally false.

I think my group’s preparation meant we knew what we wanted on screen and when we wanted it. Our problem was a lack of rehearsal that meant how each component segued into the next was, at best, sketchy.

We weren’t given a lot of rehearsal time, as we were the third group. This proved to be an immense challenge as the first group ran through several rehearsal runs, where we were only able to have a singular one.

Speaking of the first group, as a camera operator in that show, listening into a lot of the control room communications, the show appeared very hectic and unprepared. I am not sure if that was due to lack of experience or lack of planning, but it made me anxious listening to it, and I wanted to try my best to communicate clearly and prevent that for the group that I was directing.

When it came around to being our go, with limited time and people in roles they weren’t familiar with, I wanted to try and get everyone on the same page about my direction and what was going to occur, which I believe I did quite a good job of. However, what I think I could have improved significantly was organising the rehearsal in a manner where everyone got to test their transitions and abilities. I think we did well considering the time we had, and the lack of a proper rehearsal, but I definitely could have done better. Also, maybe streamline the process between the director and the director’s assistant, because I think Matt and I probably could have worked a bit closer in tandem with my ideas and the execution of them, because while we had good communication, him being a bit more privy to my specific vision of the show may have allowed some easier communication workflows.

My primary takeaway from this assignment was that it’s important that all roles get to have a basic run-through of their components, and practice segues between segments so transitions are seamless and un-jarring. A secondary takeaway was that pre-planning reduces significant amounts of prior stresses in the early stages of production, but mid-shoot still requires a few practice runs of its own.