Ready Camera One – A1 Blog Post 3

After a week of preparation, the week three assessment for Ready Camera One was upon us and my group was ready to produce a talk show called “Sessions with Sam”. In our segment, two collaborating artists joined our host in a game of “who’s more likely?” to promote their new album.

The people I got to work with, Emman, Alice, Mia, and Liz were all lovely passionate and creative people. I felt our strength was our idea and concept for the piece. Our vision was well established and (I hope it was) well communicated during the preparation stages. Even though much of our group’s chemistry was luck and is not something that is manufactured (so maybe something not too worthwhile reflecting on), it was an essential part of the final production and it greatly impacted our ability to work effectively under strict time constraints.

Initially, our rehearsal was rough. We cued our host while the title screen was still on screen, our lower third graphics were large and played too early and there was a gentle panic throughout all of the cast and crew. To resolve this issue by the final take, It was essential that we made note of the differing concrete times for our initial countdown, the opening graphics countdown to the host’s cue, and then the questions which followed. A finely structured timeline focussing on not just talent but their interactions with graphics was key to creating a more polished final cut. Whilst we did initially achieve this goal, some mis-clicks saw the graphics appear at the wrong time in the final cut, however this was an accident and not a planning error. So I still count the improvement as a success!

We chose to put the questions for the talent on cue cards for the host to hold for a more conversationalist feel to the show, as seen on late night TV. I feel positively towards this decision as it provided something for the host (Sabrina) to do with her hands, and somewhere else to look with her eyes which I felt made Sabrina more comfortable. Rewatching the segment, I am pleased with the outcome of this decision.

If I was to approach this task differently in future, I would honestly just relax and stick to the scheduled time as I think the quiet panicking made the stress of production worse (not matter how fun the rush and adrenaline can be!). Moreover, looking back on the final cut, the lighting was far too dark and I would consider spending more time on the lighting before a shoot in the future.

Overall, assignment one was very enjoyable and I am excited to see what is next!

Check out the rehearsal here!

And check out the final cut here!

Ready Camera One – A1 Blog Post 2

Week two of Ready Camera One provided insight into the relevance, importance and success of the multi-camera television studio, specifically related to the television content I have consumed in my personal life.

In week one, the “I Love Lucy” reading provided a background to the multi-camera television studio, yet despite acknowledging its success, I maintained my opinion that the studio style was out of fashion and widely favoured in today’s day and age.

However, Jones’ article ‘I Want My Talk TV: Network Talk Shows in a Digital Universe’ in week two highlights the ways in which daytime and late night television has survived in the digital age. Jones asserts that the structure of talk TV provides avenues for the material to be posted online in short segments, seeing the success of the show in long form on air and in short form on Youtube (as stated by the 2009 article) (Jones 2009) and in what I personally have observed on TikTok in recent years.

As the article outlined the adaptability of the talk show, I was reminded of how talk shows are deeply embedded in my life and how the stereotype of what a talk show ‘is’ is so entrenched in my mind that I disregarded how important they are. It was eye opening. Routinely, each few months or so, I end up on a big 2 week long Dr Phil binge where I watch his short clips from the program’s Youtube channel into the late hours of the night. Due to the nature and platform of viewing and in essence, its modernity, I had removed the show from the “talk show” status in my mind!

Moreover, the article continues to discuss how talk show TV becomes part of a routine. My monthly ritual (whilst a more sparse ritual than the article describes to usually be weekly) means that I stay loyal to Dr Phil. And the program has utilised these factors to benefit the show greatly, often bringing on previous guests that I, an active viewer, would recognise and care to see the development of their treatment or development over time.

The persistent development of an old media to fit the new technologies to ensure its survival through generations is something I find inspiring. It gives me hope for my beloved and somewhat outdated media such as print news and radio. Nonetheless, for all of these mediums, especially talk shows, the audience interaction and loyalty across platforms is of the utmost importance for relevance, and something I would prioritise in my own media making in the future. 

In addition, the article also highlighted that for my own practice, especially in this studio, I need to change my mind set to ensure that I do not creatively hold myself back as I subconsciously believed that ‘the talk show’ was outdated. I need to bring to the forefront of my mind that new technology has allowed the medium to continue and there are many creative possibilities for the talk to interact with viewers online through gimmicks such as live tweeting to program segments and online comment sections. This week’s reading taught me to keep the talk show relevant in online spaces and to modernise what I believe to be The Talk Show.

But also, this week has taught me just how much I love Dr Phil x

 

References: 

Jones, J 2009, ‘I Want My Talk TV: Network Talk Shows in a Digital Universe’, in Amanda Lotz (ed.), Beyond Prime Time: Television Programming in the Post-Network Era, Routledge, New York, pp. 14-35.

Ready Camera One – A1 Blog Post 1

The introduction to this week’s studio was a very important first class of the semester for me. This year, being in my second year, I had decided to take classes that are completely out of my comfort zone and which totally removed from my prior media knowledge. In doing so, I was concerned that I was allocated a studio with a narrow focus as I feared that multi camera studios were solely for daytime television, which I was not well versed in or exactly passionate about. However, I was very excited to learn some new technical skills which (in my eyes) Ready Camera One provided a rare opportunity to learn.

I was so pleasantly surprised as the introduction to the studio truly broadened my eyes to the diverse use of the multi camera television studio! Even though I do not study journalism, I am deeply passionate about news coverage and late night TV whilst I find great comfort in reality TV. Hence it was amazing to see the range of creative possibilities I would have in the studio forthcoming.

The possibility to collaborate was also a very attractive quality of the studio as read from the class description and experienced in the first two classes. The nature of the studio (in which every student is provided a role each class to fulfill each week) excited me greatly as the range of people and ideas I would be surrounded by would deeply enrich my learning after isolated study for so long. The buzz of others who felt the same was electric

I honestly balloted the course with no major goals as I was unsure as to how a multi camera studio would manifest. Nevertheless, after the introductory class, I knew I felt strongly towards the set design, the framing of the studio space and the transformation the blank canvas of the studio could undergo to become a program with a professional glow. I truly felt that disguising the set as best as possible would polish any project we make within the studio enough to elevate the quality of the work… even if our acting and camera movements were less than perfect! Despite being provided with an extensive prop closet, I knew after watching some RMITV shows in class, that I would need to source some of my own props to differentiate any shows we make from the others that came before us.

Moreover, the first class was my first introduction to any of the roles required for the multi camera studio to run. Many roles such as the Vision Switcher and EVS were totally new and thus, I felt determined to try every role on set to find the one I enjoyed the most. I would ensure that I try each role over the coming weeks and try working with a range of people in the class to see where my pre established love for editing, polishing finished work, interpersonal communication and the preliminary planning of any project would work best in regards to the rest of the group and the nature of the projects in the upcoming weeks.

After one week, I am very excited to participate in Ready Camera One.