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Module 59 |
Updated: 04/19/2010 |
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StudioProduction
The Role of the Director
But much of the value and respect that people place on directors depends on their ability to stay in control when things don't go as planned and new procedures suddenly have to be improvised. A crew member or on-camera person may get sick, a key person may refuse to continue unless some special accommodation is made, a studio camera may go out, or a mic may suddenly fail. Vacillating, giving mixed signals or not being able to make a decision at a crucial time can result in production paralysis. In large-scale productions everyone is typically working under pressure. Directors must be able to control their own tension and anxiety while being sensitive to the differing abilities and temperaments of talent and crew — not an easy task when they have responsibility for everything. A heavy-handed approach with the wrong person can temporarily destroy that person's effectiveness and turn a bad situation into a disaster. Conversely, a mealy-mouthed approach that elicits no respect or leadership ability can be just as bad. Put another way, a director's job is not to dictate but to clearly and effectively guide.
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As a first step in seeing how studio productions are done we need to take a closer look at the role and responsibilities of the key person in this process -- the director.
The director's main job is to get his or her crew to effectively work together with a common goal in mind.
Any director worth the title can stay on top of things when the crew, talent, and equipment perform exactly as expected. Requisitioning Equipment and Facilities
Not anticipating a need may mean there will be last-minute delays in getting what you want. Worse still, you may even have to do without something you need, especially if someone else has requisitioned the equipment for the same time period. In addition to being used by the studio's Facilities Manager to plan on the necessary talent, crew, facilities, and equipment, the Facilities Request Form is used to anticipate production costs. Studio Sets
The Directing Process
Because production involves the activities of numerous crew members -- the number can range from 6 to more than 60 -- the director's instructions must be clearly and succinctly phrased. Even the word sequence is important. If the director says, "Will you pan to the left and up a little when you 'lose [your tally] light' on camera one," all camera operators must wait until the end of the sentence before they know who the director is talking to; and then they must remember what the instructions were. However, if the director says, "Camera one, when you lose light, pan left and up a little," the first two words indicate who, the next four words tell when, and the last six words indicate what. After the first two words, crew members know that only camera one's operator is being addressed. This will get the attention of the camera one operator, and the rest of the crew members can concentrate on their individual tasks. The "when" in the sentence tells the camera one operator not to immediately pan and tilt, but to prepare for a quick move once the camera tally ("on-air") light is off. This may involve loosening the pan and tilt controls on the camera's pan head and being ready to make the adjustment -- possibly within the brief interval when the director switches to a reaction shot. Even a two- or three-second delay can make the difference between a tight show and one where the production changes lag behind the action.
This production uses two cameras, one of which moves from position A to Since the guests on this show are different each week and will require different opening and closing announcements, only the show's theme music is prerecorded. The opening and closing announcements are read off-camera, live. Before we get to the actual show, let's look at several things that the audience will not see, but that are still important to the production. Color Bars, Slate,Countdown Clock, and Trailer
1 . First on the tape are color bars
These are used to set proper color balance, and audio and video levels for the video playback. (As we've previously noted, with some playback equipment this is adjusted automatically.) The white level (note the white block) and the primary (red, green and blue) and secondary (magenta, cyan and yellow) color bars should register correctly on a TV screen and on a vectorscope. You will recall that we explained how to set up your video monitor |
On this form you will list such things as the production and rehearsal dates and times, studio space needed, personnel required, and the number of cameras, video recorders and mics needed.
position B. In position A the camera gets the establishing (wide) shot. In position B it gets close-ups and over-the-shoulder shots.
for a minimum of 30 seconds accompanied by a reference level audio tone (generally 0dB) on all audio tracks.
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2. After the color bars is the slate (shown on the right) which is
either picked up on a camera or electronically generated.
At this point announcer reads the following program information
This information will vary, depending on the facility and production. The slate shown above shows the time code numbers that are being encoded on the video. Network requirements typically specify a start code of 01:00:00:00 for the first program on a tape. After these, there is typically an electronic countdown clock that starts at 10 seconds and goes to 2 seconds. 3. At this point there should be exactly two seconds of black and silence before the program begins. This precise timing makes it possible to roll a videotape (if you are using videotape) on a particular number and then "punch it up" at the exact moment it's needed. Hard disk recorders and some videotape machines have an instant start capability. This means you can stop and freeze the first second of video on the screen and expect the segment it to instantly start when needed. 4. At the end of the production, network specifications require several minutes of black and silence with continuing time code after the last scene (generally the closing credits) of a production.
During the 30 seconds or so that the interviewer uses to wrap up the show camera one can truck right to the mid-position and zoom back. This shot can be used (possibly with dimmed studio lights) as a background for the closing credits and announce. Even though this example is a bit of old-fashioned in its format, it illustrates all the things the director is concerned with "behind the scenes" (and it represents a good starting assignment for laboratory exercises).
"Standby"
During a production, crew members are normally thinking about or doing several things at once, including listening to two sources of audio: the PL line and the program audio. "Standbys" warn them of upcoming actions.
If a "standby" is given in reasonable time, the director has every right to expect the crew member involved to be prepared for the requested action — or to quickly tell the director about a problem. But if the director simply blurts out, "Take one!" when the cameraperson is not ready, the audience may see a picture being focused, complete with a quick zoom in and out. Since no "standby" warning was given, the director can hardly blame the cameraperson.
Studio Hand Signals
To do this the floor director uses agreed upon hand signals. In order for the talent to be able to easily and quickly see these signals they should be given right next to the talent's camera lens. The talent should never have to conspicuously look around for cues when they are on camera Photos of the various
Shooting Angles
Profile shots (equivalent to shooting the close-ups from camera position A in this case) often hide these important clues. A close-up of the guest from camera position B, as well as a close-up of Dr. Lee from the camera 2 position, provide much stronger shots. These angles also offer more possibilities for shots. You have a strong close-up of the person talking, plus, if you zoom back slightly, an over-the-shoulder shot that can even be used to momentarily cover comments by the person whose back is toward the camera.
The Need to Anticipate
But "react" implies delay. In fact, the total reaction time is equal to the accumulated time involved in recognizing the need for a specific action, communicating that action to crew members, having them respond -- or telling the technical director what you want done and having them respond. That can represent a delay of several seconds. Although that may not seem long, when audiences are used to seeing production responses in sync with on-camera action, it will clearly reveal that the director is lagging behind the action. The solution is for the director to try to anticipate what's going to happen. During an interview a director should be able to sense when the interviewer's question is about to end or when an answer is winding up. By saying "stand by" early and calling for a camera cut a moment before it's needed, a director will be able to cut from one camera to the other almost on the concluding period or question mark of the person's final sentence. Also, by watching the off-air monitor in the control room, as opposed
This is easier to see when the cameras and video sources are grouped together on a single, large, multi-view. flatscreen monitor. (We'll talk more about this in the next module.)
On-Camera Talent Issues
Makeup
Today, makeup is primarily used to cover or diminish facial defects, fill in deep facial chin clefts and "five o'clock shadows" on men, and to take the shine off faces. In the case of women, judiciously applied "street makeup" is generally adequate for limited on-camera exposure. However, when professional talent need to appear at their best under different lighting conditions and for long periods of time, things can get a bit more complicated. For this reason, we cover makeup
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They also protect the director.
to the on-air shot of the person talking, the director will often be able to see when the off-camera person is about to interrupt or visually react to what is being said. Using these clues, a good director can almost appear to have precognitive powers!
can interact with camera scanning and result in a distracting, moving ▲
