Evaluation of Our quiz

Evaluation of live TV shoot

For our live TV shoot we came together as a group to produce a decent production and overall it was well planned and a lot of work went into it.

Our first step in Making this production was to carry out research into similar formats of live TV ,this helped us understand the codes and conventions needed to make a good production.. We were split up into several small groups for the planning stage and each group was designated a role within that group ,technical director(sorting out inserts etc),Content producer(overall production of the groups round and script writing etc) and the art director(mise-en-scene and props).This worked well because it made it easier breaking the group up as communication is easier in smaller groups. Each group had to make up a round for the TV quiz whether it would be a music round or film round etc .And each group produced a good round that aloud the production to flow smoothly .One problem was the technical aspect of some of the inserts when they didn’t work properly but the crew did well to overcome these problems and carry on with the production. Also for the naming and theme of our production everyone was involved with class discussions .For the set planning the art directors got stuck in to design and paint the flats and got other production members to help so that the flats were finished in time. For the rehearsals everyone got a chance to carry out a role they wanted and this showed in the live shoot as the camera and sound and vision mixers were professional and well trained by the director ,this made them much more sharper whereas if they hadn’t had any practice in rehearsals the show would have gone terribly wrong.

The live TV shoot when very smoothly ,the camera operators offered up a variety of good shots and the finished set provided a professional backdrop that followed the codes and conventions of quizzes similar to ours. Our inserts didn’t always work but in general they where worked well and when there was a technical mishap the production did well to recover from the problem. For the sound operator they were faced with a very tough task speaking from being a sound operator in the second half of the shoot ,it is extremely hard to control sound levels .This is purely because human beings are not robots and the talent (contestants and host)voices do not follow the same tone or frequency constantly and although we had the floor manager to brief them on keeping they voice at a constant level they still occasionally changed there voice levels .This meant that sometimes the sound was ear piercing at times or to quiet .Another problem with DVD inserts was that the contestant s would occasionally talk while the inserts were playing a way to combat this problem next time would either to thoroughly brief the talent or to fade the mics down while the insert was playing. The camera work was good and a variety of shots were offered such as :Wide shots,3 shots ,two shots .MCU’s, and over the shoulder shots.

Overall the general feedback we got was positive although some comments were made about the inserts and the sound not working but as I said before next time we would need to thoroughly brief the talent before hand and the sound and DVD operator will need to keep full concentration. The Mise-on -scene was proffesional and cinematography was also good with a variety of shots. And overall for a first time effort I thought we made a very good Multi-camera production.

Evaluation of my role in live TV shoot

For our live TV event I carried out two different roles, for the first fifteen minute rotation I was camera one the right hand side pole camera and for the second fifteen minute rotation I was the assistant sound operator.

First off I will evaluate my role as camera one. For this role I had to first analyse the script and look at the kind of shots the director wanted from me ,my main job was to get a two shot of panellists A and B when they were answering a question but I was also scripted to get other shots such as over shoulder shots of A and B or a MCU of A or a MCU of B. I felt comfortable in this role and felt that I provided a variety of shots to a good standard. I provided all of the scripted shots and experimented with other shots such as three shots of A plus B and the host. One problem I had was quickly switching from one shot to another, as a camera operator you have to always be thinking ahead and at times it was hard to quickly crab right to get the basic much used two shot when you were before getting the over shoulder shot .Sometimes this caused some of my shots to occasionally loose a bit of head room or looking room. But I felt that I was quick enough to cope with this problem and most of my shots were good quality .MCUs of the contestants were also hard to get as you had to be very quick as most of the time by the time you had lined up your shot the host had moved on to the next contestant. I Only occasionally got MCU shots of contestants A and B but I was fairly proud I even managed to get one MCU considering how fast you need to be to capture that shot.

The space was fairly limited for me to track up and down and crab left and right but it was a small studio .I did though have enough space to crab and track and get the variety of shots I needed to get. Another thing I picked up on was you had to be quick to respond to the director and sometimes because of the action going on around the studio floor and nerves you have before the production you have to be told on the odd occasion more than once to respond .Next time I would be fully focused and listening out for the director on the talkback at all times ready to give a immediate response.

Overall I felt comfortable to offer up a variety of shots on camera one and extremely enjoyed operating the camera .I felt I carried out my job to a good standard. I would feel very confident being a camera OP in the future.

For the second fifteen minute rotation I was a assistant sound Operator. For this role I helped assist the sound Operator with faders and sound levels. The sound Operator was in charge of the talents mics ,controlling there sound levels ,and I was responsible for the DVD sound level and the Audience sound level. I found this job much more challenging as this role acquired fast reactions and communication with the director and Floor Manager at all times .First off the sound Operator carried out sound checks on the talent which after a few tweaks was fine. And after we carried out a sound check on the audience and this was also fine. But as the show started problems started to arise .The talent did a good job and we were thankful for them giving up there free time but they were constantly changing voice levels and were a nightmare for sound. The trouble was it was impossible to predict how loud there voice levels would be as we would turn up there fader when they were quiet and then they would suddenly raise there voice and the sound levels would be extremely high .In particular this problem was with the host and in the Quick fire round the host shouted out the word “GO!” at the start of the round and the sound levels went through the roof. To combat this problem next time the talent must be properly briefed as the floor manager did brief them on keeping the sound levels the same throughout the show but the message obviously didn’t get across .So in the future the floor manager must be told to clearly stress to the talent to keep there voice levels the same. I was mainly in charge of the DVD sound level fader and I was also in charge of the two suspended mics above the audience. The DVD sound was fine and there were no problems apart from one particular incident during a pirates of the Caribbean insert when the contestants started talking while the insert was playing. All you could hear was them talking over the insert. To stop this problem in the future the contestants could have been briefed about this by the floor manager or the contestants faders could have been turned down while the VT insert was playing. The Audience was fine until the end of the show. After the show finished the floor manager was instructed to fire up the audience although this was probably not such a good idea as the sound levels went ridiculously loud even though the faders had been barely moved up at all and went way above zero decibels .This problem could be solved in the future by doing strict sound checks on the audience ,making sure they keep to the same sound level throughout. Another possible solution is to raise the suspended mics so they are not so low and pick up less noise. Another thing to remember for next time is to listen to the talkback at all times as one particular time towards the end of the show the sound Operator accidentally turned the talkback off and the DVD Operator in the sound room with us didn’t role the closing title sequence, as he couldn’t hear the director as the talkback was off. At least one of us in the room should have noticed that the talkback was off.

Overall I felt being a assistant sound operator was a good experience and it gave me a insight into what sound Operators do. I felt I carried out my role to a fairly good standard and it was definitely a experience I will have learned from.

I feel that I fulfilled my roles in this live TV event to a good standard and really enjoyed the production. I feel that overall the production went really well and the whole crew really learned from the experience if as a group we were to do this again I think we would make a extremely good production as we have learned from mistakes made in this production.

10 Specialist words:

1.Eyeline:Where the talent is looking ,there eyeline should always be on the top third applying to the rule of thirds.

2.Faders:Faders are used to control sound levels and can be moved up to increase sound level and moved down to decrease sound level. You have faders for individual mics and DVD inserts etc.

3.MCU:This stands for Medium close-up shot, the shot should be just above the Pecs of the talent and there should be about three fingers head room.

4.2 Shot: This shot should include 2 panellists with about three fingers head room and looking room for the contestants(towards host).

5.Over Shoulder Shot: Looking over the shoulder of one contestant with the opposite contestants in shot. The shot should include the shoulder and head of one contestant and the two other contestants full in shot.

6.Crab:Moving the pedestal left or right.

7.Track:Moving the pedestal Backwards or Forwards

8.Pan:Moving the camera left or right

9.Tilt:Moving the camera up or down.

10.Cans:Wireless Headset system

Multi camera production analasyse

I have chosen to analyse and compare Have I got news for you and Question time for my analysis I will be looking at types of shots used ,lighting used and VT inserts used etc.

First off, I am going to analyse Have I got news for you ,a comedic quiz show based on world affairs ,with 4 panellists and a guest host Have I got news for you is made in a big TV studio with plenty of space for the audience , the seating is raked and separated into three sections positioned around the set. The set is designed to look edgy and different with “cartoon like” writing and newspaper collages this goes along with the laid back feel of the quiz. The set does allow flexible camera angles to a certain extent but only about 3 to 5 different types of shots are used throughout the whole show. I would say 3 cameras were used ,two of them moving pole cameras with pedestals and another fixed camera used for capturing the host. Sound wise each contestant and the host had a small barely visible clip mic,with the sound levels of these mics controlled by the sound operator by fading each mic up and down with individual faders making sure none of the talent become too loud or making sure there is no interference from other mics.The mise-en-scene is simple but striking with a vibrant red used for the panel desk and a collage of newspaper headlines used for the background of the set. Have I got news for you relies heavily on graphics because of the amount of Inserts and VTs they use, around about 50 to be exact. So the art director has to make them look good and most of the graphics stick with the newspaper theme of the show with quotes and headlines delivered as newspaper headlines upon a powerful red background with miniature black newspaper headlines again. The art director has a big job as the show is trying to make news ,a generally boring topic for most people ,look fun and creative without going over the top and making the graphics look unprofessional .The Lighting rig is fairly simple with soft lights and flood lights providing light to the set and spot lights used to focus on each of the talent .The lighting levels are fixed throughout the show although when the show starts and finishes the lights fade up and fade down. The crew was around about the standard size with about 4 camera ops and assistants ,about 2 vision mixers and sound ops ,a floor manager and a lighting op with the director sitting in with the vision mixers. The shot types were extremely simple with long shots at the opening titles and the closing credits .MCU shots of the Host and other contestants were used ,and 2 shots of Team A and Team B were used .These shots were repeated throughout the show with the rare appearance of a over shoulder shot once or twice. As you can tell by the lack of variation in the shot types, the show sticks to a very rigid format with almost none of the action ad lib .The show itself is not heavily scripted as questions are asked and answered in a flexible manner although there is only some ad lib as directed action. The role and tone of the host on have I got news for you is extremely sarcastic and not at all serious and this fits in well with the laid back style of the show. The introduction sequence of the show is extremely up beat and the funny cartoon graphics and the catchy fast paced theme tune fit in well with shows fast pacing. For the theme tune and sound effects ,the theme tune is played in the opening sequence and the closing sequence and the sound effect of people clapping is also used to open and close the show. As I have already mentioned before the noticeable narrative for the show is most definitely sarcasm as this is used throughout show for example one punch line went after a VT of David Milliband:Is that the work experience foreign secretary? The shows format is not original as it has a strange muddled up scoring system with contestants joking and laughing about world affairs so Have I got news for you is variation on a well used theme. Finally the health and safety issues of making this show are fairly minimal but when the set is being put up you must be careful and the same if you were fixing on lights. I feel the audience for Have got news for you is for everyone with a sense of humour from age 12 onwards as world affairs is something everyone knows about and the younger audience would be interested because of the funny side of the show although only to a certain extent as if you are aged 10 downwards you might not understand what they are talking about so won’t get any of the jokes.

I am now going to compare Have I got news for you with Question time , a questions and answers show with 4 panellists and a regular host discussing world affairs questions asked by the audience. The location used for the particular Question time I analysed was a large hall with plenty of seating ,the seating itself was raked and the hall already had several chandeliers that were used to help light the location. The set of Question time is made to look simple and professional and it would not take a lot of setting and striking time as it is a simple set designed so that it can be easily moved from one location to the next and the set isn’t permanent the set is does allow for flexible camera angles though and several different shots are used ,there are even small pockets of around 4 people separated from the main audience so that the pole cameras can get good quality over shoulder shots. I would say about 6 cameras were used in question time with 3 to 4 moving pole cameras on pedestals and 2 to 3 fixed cameras amongst the audience. For the types of mics used the talent had clip mics and there were around 2 booms in the audience ready to lean over there mic when a member of the audience had a question. The mise-en-scene the set and the graphics were blue ,the art director used this colour as it sets a calm and relaxing theme .Apart from the opening and closing title sequences the show had no VT inserts and only displayed graphics to show the name and occupation of the talent when they first make a contribution to the discussion and occasionally graphics are displayed to show the dates ,times and locations for future shows and also various telephone numbers to contact them on. The flats that make up the background of the set are again extremely simple with a mainly blue background with a small taint of red to it .The lighting rig is fairly big although not extremely complex as spot lights were mainly used to light up the audience and the talent and soft lights were used to add fill light to the set .Small tiny lights beneath each of the talent also helped with the lighting. Lighting is mainly fixed throughout although when a member of the audience is speaking spot lights are focused upon them. The crew is fairly large with around 5 to 6 camera ops and assistants ,2 vision mixers and sound ops ,a lighting op,2 booms ,assistant floor manager and floor manager and the director sitting in with the vision mixers. The production is not made in a TV studio so it does command the use of an OB truck to transport the set and equipment. There were lots of different shots used in Question time there were wide shots of the panel provided by one of the fixed cameras amongst the audience there was also an MCU of the host from the host camera. The cameras that provided the variety of shots were the pole cameras, these cameras were used extremely effectively by the director, the types of shots included over shoulder shots from the separated piece of audience, over shoulder shots from a member of the talent looking towards the other panellists ,two shots of panellists in discussion MCUs, of the panellists and angled shots that showed the whole panel looking past the shoulder of another panellist is shows the skill of the director as most of the action in Question time is ad lib, and the show is not heavily scripted as it is a discussion show on questions not known beforehand by the panellists(as mentioned by the host before the start of the show)so the action is very much ad lib as directed. The role and tone of the host is serious and very professional the hosts main job is to pick when new questions come in and to keep order among the panellists and also to decide when to cut a discussion short to keep within the time schedule .The title and induction sequence is simple with a big Q spinning around changing colour before stopping to read out Question time. The music used in the title sequence and closing sequence is a slow paced rhythm that sets the scene for the rather calm ,serious and slow paced show. Audience clapping is the only noticeable sound effect is the audience clapping in the opening and closing title sequences. The show doesn’t particularly have any noticeable narrative but the panellists are always serious and there is no joking about as they discuss pressing issues. Question time is very much a original format of question and answers with a discussion about them. Apart from setting and striking the set there are no real health and safety issues involved in Question time setting and striking the set is a health and safety issue as flats and other properties of the set are heavy and could cause damage if they land on someone and also when putting up lighting grids you have to be careful because if you fall you could break something or even worse than that.

The audience for Question time is a middle aged and upwards audience or anyone seriously interested in the news. As the show is not funny or exiting for the younger audience but more interesting and serious.

Overall all I think although question time and Have I got news for you are based on the same topic, world affairs ,they are totally different shows with different formats. Have I got news for you is a fun ,sarcastic ,fast paced quiz show on the news with a vibrant set design and lots of graphics but does not offer up a variety of shot types . However Question time has a simple set design with calm blue colours used and only has a few simple graphics when needed, it is a very slow paced ,serious show on the news and mainly focuses on shot types, with a big variety of shots including a pan of the audience and set ,and several different over the shoulder shots of audience and panel members this is because most of the action in Question Time is “ad lib”, unlike Have I Got News For You. Have I got news for you is also different as it uses a TV studio were as Question time demands the use of an OB truck as it travels to different locations. The music and whole feel of Have I Got News For You is much more upbeat than the seriousness of Question Time. The lighting for each show is similar with Question time having a slightly bigger variety of lights, including “Cat eye” like lights underneath each panellists. The audience for Question time is a middle aged upwards audience who are interested in the news, where as Have I got news for you has a much larger audience as it mixes news ,and comedy together capturing the younger audience(13 to 30) and the older audience as long as they aren’t to ignorant to the current news.

Floor plan

Health and Safety

There are minor health and safety issues when making a multi-camera production.Some health and safety issues are :

Hot Lights
Camera wires
Heavy flats

Hot lights are a risk as you could burn yourself upon touch,however the likley-hood of you doing o is unlikely unless you have floor lights aswell as lights on the lighting rig.

Camera wires are a health and safety hazard as you could trip on the wires and injure yourself,but as long as you are careful and warey of the wires you shouldn't trip over them.

When lifting up flats you must make sure you can carry the weight and should have around 2 people on each flat as if the flat was to fall on someone then it could do somes seriuos damage.

Studio Terminology

2 Shot: This shot should include 2 panellists with about three fingers head room and looking room for the contestants(towards host).

Cans:Wireless Headset system

Crab:Moving the pedestal left or right.

CU:(Close up)This shot should show the tips of the talents shoulders with about three fingers head room.

Eyeline:Where the talent is looking ,there eyeline should always be on the top third applying to the rule of thirds.

Faders:Faders are used to control sound levels and can be moved up to increase sound level and moved down to decrease sound level. You have faders for individual mics and DVD inserts etc.

FM:Floor Manager

MCU:This stands for Medium close-up shot, the shot should be just above the Pecs of the talent and there should be about three fingers head room.

Mic:Microphone

Pan:Moving the camera left or right

Over Shoulder Shot: Looking over the shoulder of one contestant with the opposite contestants in shot. The shot should include the shoulder and head of one contestant and the two other contestants full in shot.

STOB:Studio Termination outlet box

Tilt:Moving the camera up or down.

Track:Moving the pedestal Backwards or Forwards

WS:(Wide Shot) This shot should include all of the talent and most of the set and sometimes could include pole cameras depending on the directors call.

VX panel:Vision mixing panel

Camera Operation

When you are a camera OP you always have to be thinking ahead to offer up a variety of shots to the director .Here are a few different shots :

MCU:(Medium close up)This shot should be just above the Pecs of the talent and there should be about three fingers head room.

Over shoulder Shot:Looking over the shoulder of one contestant with the opposite contestants in shot. The shot should include the shoulder and head of one contestant and the two other contestants full in shot.

2 shot:This shot should include 2 panellists with about three fingers head room and looking room for the contestants(towards host).

CU:(Close up)This shot should show the tips of the talents shoulders with about three fingers head room.

WS:(Wide Shot) This shot should include all of the talent and most of the set and sometimes could include pole cameras depending on the directors call.

The camera Operator is not static when getting these shots and here are some of the technical terms for moving around to get the right shots:

Crab:Moving the pedestal left or right.

Track:Moving the pedestal Backwards or Forwards

Pan:Moving the camera left or right

Tilt:Moving the camera up or down.

Depending on what camera you are on your shot types will change for example pole cameras get over shoulder shots and two shots,and the cameras at the back of the studio get wide shots ,three shots MCUs of the host and a Pan of the audience and set.