We have to watch and analyse two live TV shows. I picked Jeremy Kyle and have I got news for you. I picked these two because I don’t usually watch these particular shows so I thought I’d be able to look at them from a non-bias point of view.
Have I got news for you.
Have I got news for you begins with a VT insert of what seems like a cartoon showing all the hot spots in London and life in general. It shows Big Ben and people doing their washing at a launderette, people shopping. And it also shows cartoons of things that have happened in the news. And the main people in the news, all with a humorous view.
We then see an establishing shot of the studio, both teams and the host are in view, and also the front of the middle, left and right sections of the audience are also in view.
The set at this moment has have I got news for you written on it, as the camera comes in closer to the presenter the boards turn and shows a collage of newspaper clippings.
The camera then cuts to a MCU of the presenter who is already sitting in his place on the set – in between the first team and the second team.
He begins with introducing himself and then reading out some news stories with a funny twist. After reading out each one a VT insert appears of either a video or a picture.
The camera then cuts to the first team. As the host introduces them and gives the audience some small facts about who they are and what they are famous for, this then repeats in exactly the same way with the second team.
Already the amount of cameras used is clear. I believe it is 8. One for the establishing shots. One for the host. And three cameras for each team, one for two-shots, one for individual shots and one for over the shoulder shots.
The teams have microphone clipped on to their eye line, this means that they have their microphone clipped onto the side they will look to the most, for example the team on the left hand side will look to their right at the host so their mic will be clipped on the Mic. The host’s lines are all scripted. You can tell this because of how and what the host says. The things said aren’t really natural. Although the contestants responses are ad-lib.
There are a lot of VT inserts that would appear in the studio and on the TV at home.Each team has to buzz in to answer a question. The host is there to present the show and guide the audience and contestants through the rounds, also a well known host will incise viewers.
This show is basically what we are trying to do.
The Jeremy Kyle Show
The Jeremy Kyle show is a TV filmed as live based on peoples real life experiences, real people go on the show to talk about their real problems in hope to seek help or find an answer to their problems.
This TV show doesn’t have teams like programs such as have I got news for you as it isn’t a quiz show. In a way it’s a bit like a reality TV show. The host (Jeremy Kyle) walks around the set freely, it’s his programme and the programmes about him and how he helps vulnerable people. Small parts such as the introductions and endings to the show are scripted, the rest is ad-libs.
There are six cameras used in this programme.
Four of them are used on to get shots of the guests sides, two on each side (left and right) one is set above and behind the audience to get establishing shots and the last one is the presenters camera which is used mainly for when the host has to talk from a script. Most of the shots used are medium close ups of the guests, and occasionally two or three shots, they are used to capture emotion and reactions – reaction shots. The guests and host wear Omni directional microphones because there is no telling what’s going to happen and where anybody will look in terms of eye line. The director on this show needs to be quick on his feet as anything could happen, sometimes the show can be heated and a lot of action can happen and at other times the show can be calm and emotional. The director needs to know what’s happening at all times and also be able to predict what may happen so he knows where to cut to.
Both shows I have anaylised are recorded 'as-live' which means there is only one take, but there is the chance to cut peices out and edit certain parts just incase anything is done wrong, although on set there will be no time to correct these mistakes. Both show's are completly differnt genre wise although follow the same type of camera layouts by having cameras on the host, establishing shot cameras and the host having their own camera. Jeremy kyle is completly differn't to what we are trying to create but to anaylise this type of programme helps also as we can make sure we don't incorportate the action e.t.c in our Have i got news for you style programme.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Production Diary
Week One:
We recieved the assignment for the multi-cam production and read through what we had to do to complete this assignment. Then we were put into seperate groups of four to pick the rounds for our quiz show. We decided to do a celebrity round.
Our initial idea for our round was to have a 'question of sport' type layout, with 8 boxes, and something behind each box. We decided to have pictures of us dressed up as celebrities for four of the boxes, and questions for the other four.
We also decided what roles we would each have to perform throughout the pre-production stage.
I was incharge of content, which in theory is like the producer. I was incharge of what got put into the celebrity round and I also had to confirm with the other content managers for the other rounds what we were doing to make sure it didn't clash with anyone of them. I also had to check that the answers to the chosen questions were correct. We were also talked about how to use the multi-cam equipment, and we all got a turn on the camera's to help us work our heads around the way in which they worked in and also the differn't types of shots we could use.
Week 2:
The second week was pretty much confirming the rounds and how they were going to work. In the end we had to change our original idea for the celeb round from boxes to standard q&a questions as we believed that our idea would put to much pressure on the dvd operator on the live show. So instead of choosing boxes to reveal the question, the question would be read out. 2 pictures and 2 questions per team.
We then got started on creating the physical content, the stuff that was going to be seen. Tim helped us by taking pictures of me as Lady Gaga, Ana as Amy Winehouse, Josh as Jack Sparrow and we also went and brought a Mr Potato Head stripped the parts and took pictures of that.
We had too bring in ten questions on what we had learnt the week before to begin rehearsals. Everyone had a differn't role on the practical, some were sitting in for audience members, some where on the panel and there were also camera people, audio, vision mixing e.t.c This week I did audio assistant, which involved telling the FM through talk back about how things were going in the sound room and also calling for soundchecks.
We also came up for a name for the show, and called it Media Circus.
We also painted 7 boards magnolia. We used 7 boards because we wanted to create a 'circus tent'.
Week 3:
We managed to This week was mainly everyone chipping in and helping painting because we had seven boards to do we needed all the help we could get otherwise our set wouldn't be finished in time. Some people were off creating the VT inserts for their round and others just painted, watched it dry and painted it some more. I spent my time checking on Josh who was doing the VT inserts to check he was Ok and didn't need any help, and also by painting the set.
We kept rehearsing the practical side of the project all rotating roles so we got the hang of each differn't role, so in theory on the day of the live show we could be chucked anywhere and know what to do and how to handle any problems.
Week 4:
We had pretty much finished the set, there was just 2 boards left to paint and a few to touch up.
The script was still in the process of being written so we couldn't do any proper rehearsals. So we carried on as we had done before.
Week 5:
This was the last week, we managed to finish the set on the tuesday and the script was finally finished and in the right layout. We managed to grab a few rehearsals before the big show.
We also got to have a look at our Buzzers that had been made by Chris.
Then we recorded our show, amazingly after alot of faffing around editing the script and cue cards that morning we actually got stuck in and made a good show. For the first half of the live show I was the assistant director, which meant I had to tell the director what audio or VT inserts were coming up and how long before they did so.
In the second half I was the Audio Assistant, which in the second half of the show meant not doing much, but just keeping an eye on the levels of the contestants, buzzers and audience.
We recieved the assignment for the multi-cam production and read through what we had to do to complete this assignment. Then we were put into seperate groups of four to pick the rounds for our quiz show. We decided to do a celebrity round.
Our initial idea for our round was to have a 'question of sport' type layout, with 8 boxes, and something behind each box. We decided to have pictures of us dressed up as celebrities for four of the boxes, and questions for the other four.
We also decided what roles we would each have to perform throughout the pre-production stage.
I was incharge of content, which in theory is like the producer. I was incharge of what got put into the celebrity round and I also had to confirm with the other content managers for the other rounds what we were doing to make sure it didn't clash with anyone of them. I also had to check that the answers to the chosen questions were correct. We were also talked about how to use the multi-cam equipment, and we all got a turn on the camera's to help us work our heads around the way in which they worked in and also the differn't types of shots we could use.
Week 2:
The second week was pretty much confirming the rounds and how they were going to work. In the end we had to change our original idea for the celeb round from boxes to standard q&a questions as we believed that our idea would put to much pressure on the dvd operator on the live show. So instead of choosing boxes to reveal the question, the question would be read out. 2 pictures and 2 questions per team.
We then got started on creating the physical content, the stuff that was going to be seen. Tim helped us by taking pictures of me as Lady Gaga, Ana as Amy Winehouse, Josh as Jack Sparrow and we also went and brought a Mr Potato Head stripped the parts and took pictures of that.
We had too bring in ten questions on what we had learnt the week before to begin rehearsals. Everyone had a differn't role on the practical, some were sitting in for audience members, some where on the panel and there were also camera people, audio, vision mixing e.t.c This week I did audio assistant, which involved telling the FM through talk back about how things were going in the sound room and also calling for soundchecks.
We also came up for a name for the show, and called it Media Circus.
We also painted 7 boards magnolia. We used 7 boards because we wanted to create a 'circus tent'.
Week 3:
We managed to This week was mainly everyone chipping in and helping painting because we had seven boards to do we needed all the help we could get otherwise our set wouldn't be finished in time. Some people were off creating the VT inserts for their round and others just painted, watched it dry and painted it some more. I spent my time checking on Josh who was doing the VT inserts to check he was Ok and didn't need any help, and also by painting the set.
We kept rehearsing the practical side of the project all rotating roles so we got the hang of each differn't role, so in theory on the day of the live show we could be chucked anywhere and know what to do and how to handle any problems.
Week 4:
We had pretty much finished the set, there was just 2 boards left to paint and a few to touch up.
The script was still in the process of being written so we couldn't do any proper rehearsals. So we carried on as we had done before.
Week 5:
This was the last week, we managed to finish the set on the tuesday and the script was finally finished and in the right layout. We managed to grab a few rehearsals before the big show.
We also got to have a look at our Buzzers that had been made by Chris.
Then we recorded our show, amazingly after alot of faffing around editing the script and cue cards that morning we actually got stuck in and made a good show. For the first half of the live show I was the assistant director, which meant I had to tell the director what audio or VT inserts were coming up and how long before they did so.
In the second half I was the Audio Assistant, which in the second half of the show meant not doing much, but just keeping an eye on the levels of the contestants, buzzers and audience.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Studio equipment, it's functions and operation
Cameras & Pedestals: The cameras are used for getting the shot's you will need during the show. You will be told by the director what shots that he wants - however it will not hurt to anticipate what the director wants - as if this is right it will save a small space of time. The studio camera's are rather easy to operate however the pedestals make this a bit more complicated - The pedestals can be best operated by a camera assistant, meaning that the camera operator concentrates on the framing of a shot and the camera assistant will move the pedestal into to posistion that is needed in order to get the best take of the shot. The pedestals move left to right on their wheels, up and down and also pan or tilt the camera.
There is also a tally light on the camera, when this light is red it means the director has selected you to go on air - it is important that when the tally light is red not to move the camera in any way unless instructed to do so.
Lighting Rigs: Lighting is one of the main elements in setting up a live TV show. If the lighting is not right then the whole production can look under or over exposed through the cameras - enabling the production to look ametuer and tacky.
The main reasons lighting is used is for;
Illumination; This is the ability to see what is happening on stage. Any lighting designs will be ineffective if an audience cannot see what is going on.
Relevation of form; This helps the props and talent on stage stand out more. Depending on where and how you place the lights will determine if they look 3D through the camera. Having a 3D effect on screen will make the shots and whole production look more realistic.
Focus; Lighting also helps in focus. The more a particular area is lit the more the audience will focus on it.
Mood; Lighting helps set the mood. Theoretically the darker the lighting the lower the mood, the brighter the lighting the happier the mood. This helps the audience interact with the feel of the show. Mood lighting is primarilly used in TV Dramas.
Microphones: Microphones are also very important in Live TV and Multicamera productions. As without them the audience may not be able to hear what the talent are saying. Also video camera's may have mic's but they are most likely not with high quality sound and also may not pic sound up in the direction you want - or from the distance you would like.
We will use two differnt microphones in our production.
Directional and Omni-directional.
The directional microphone will be used on the talent and will also be clip on microphones. Because they only take in sound waves from one direction they will need to be placed in a place that co-ordinates to the talents eye line. For example if contestant A was being miked up and their eyeline was too the left, their microphone would be placed on the left. However because the host's eyeline will be left and right the best place for their microphone will be in the middle. That way the sound of their voice should come through evenly throughout filming.
Omni-directional microphones will be used for the audience. Omni directional microphones will pick up sound from all around.
Video Monitors: Video monitors are used both on the floor and off the floor to show what is being recorded, this allows the audience to see what is going out 'on air' and also the people in the vision mixing and audio rooms - these are also often to show the talent any VT inserts that may be shown.
Vision Mixer: The vision mixer is a vital peice of equipent in multi camera productions as each camera will have a differn't shot lined up. The vision mixer is used to switch between camera shots - lighting up the tally lights on the camera's.
For example if the vision mixer is on camera two and camera three has a shot lined up, the vision switcher will press a button that changes the tally light being on camera two and will them be on camera three.
Audio Desk: The audio desk is used for keeping the sound waves at the right level. The right levels for multi-camera production is between -6 and +9. Each mic will need a mic check carried out so that the audio operator can adjust the levels. Each microphone will have it's own fader in order to do this. However in some cases during the actual recording of the show talents voices may change if this happens all you have to do is change the level of that person. However if at one point every body is talking and the levels are peeking above +9 all you would have to do is fade the master fader down a little and that way the levels will stay at the same level throughout the show.
DVD Player: The DVD Player is used to play VT Inserts. The VT inserts will be placed onto a DVD and an operator will play the tracks when they are needed. Nowadays alot of VT inserts are placed onto a hard drive. But the same principle of stopping, pausing and playing VT inserts remain.
There is also a tally light on the camera, when this light is red it means the director has selected you to go on air - it is important that when the tally light is red not to move the camera in any way unless instructed to do so.
Lighting Rigs: Lighting is one of the main elements in setting up a live TV show. If the lighting is not right then the whole production can look under or over exposed through the cameras - enabling the production to look ametuer and tacky.
The main reasons lighting is used is for;
Illumination; This is the ability to see what is happening on stage. Any lighting designs will be ineffective if an audience cannot see what is going on.
Relevation of form; This helps the props and talent on stage stand out more. Depending on where and how you place the lights will determine if they look 3D through the camera. Having a 3D effect on screen will make the shots and whole production look more realistic.
Focus; Lighting also helps in focus. The more a particular area is lit the more the audience will focus on it.
Mood; Lighting helps set the mood. Theoretically the darker the lighting the lower the mood, the brighter the lighting the happier the mood. This helps the audience interact with the feel of the show. Mood lighting is primarilly used in TV Dramas.
Microphones: Microphones are also very important in Live TV and Multicamera productions. As without them the audience may not be able to hear what the talent are saying. Also video camera's may have mic's but they are most likely not with high quality sound and also may not pic sound up in the direction you want - or from the distance you would like.
We will use two differnt microphones in our production.
Directional and Omni-directional.
The directional microphone will be used on the talent and will also be clip on microphones. Because they only take in sound waves from one direction they will need to be placed in a place that co-ordinates to the talents eye line. For example if contestant A was being miked up and their eyeline was too the left, their microphone would be placed on the left. However because the host's eyeline will be left and right the best place for their microphone will be in the middle. That way the sound of their voice should come through evenly throughout filming.
Omni-directional microphones will be used for the audience. Omni directional microphones will pick up sound from all around.
Video Monitors: Video monitors are used both on the floor and off the floor to show what is being recorded, this allows the audience to see what is going out 'on air' and also the people in the vision mixing and audio rooms - these are also often to show the talent any VT inserts that may be shown.
Vision Mixer: The vision mixer is a vital peice of equipent in multi camera productions as each camera will have a differn't shot lined up. The vision mixer is used to switch between camera shots - lighting up the tally lights on the camera's.
For example if the vision mixer is on camera two and camera three has a shot lined up, the vision switcher will press a button that changes the tally light being on camera two and will them be on camera three.
Audio Desk: The audio desk is used for keeping the sound waves at the right level. The right levels for multi-camera production is between -6 and +9. Each mic will need a mic check carried out so that the audio operator can adjust the levels. Each microphone will have it's own fader in order to do this. However in some cases during the actual recording of the show talents voices may change if this happens all you have to do is change the level of that person. However if at one point every body is talking and the levels are peeking above +9 all you would have to do is fade the master fader down a little and that way the levels will stay at the same level throughout the show.
DVD Player: The DVD Player is used to play VT Inserts. The VT inserts will be placed onto a DVD and an operator will play the tracks when they are needed. Nowadays alot of VT inserts are placed onto a hard drive. But the same principle of stopping, pausing and playing VT inserts remain.
Crew roles and responsibilites
Director;
The director is in charge of what happens during the production. To be able to work as this role you need to be able to think on your feet, be good under pressure and also be clear in what you want to see on screen. The director would also primarily stay by the vision-mixing desk.
Assistant Director;
The assistant director in a way shadows the director. They would help the director out when he/she needs help and will also show disipline throughout the production.
Producer;
The producer is incharge of any content that is needed for the production. They are in control of the budget also. This means that anyone who needs anything to help make the production happen would have to run it by the producer first. For example: if the set design people have drawn up their ideas for the set and want to go out and buy any paint they would have to run their design by the producer and then if he/she approves it she will give them a budget to buy all their materials with.
Camera Person;
On a multi-camera production there will be more than on camera person. They are in charge of giving the shots that the director wants to see. To do this job you need to be creative.
Camera Assistant;
The camera assistant would help the camera person get the shots needed. He/she will hold the camera cable so that the camera person doesn't run over any cable, and also help get any shots in which the camera op needs to push the camera down.
Talent;
The talent are the stars of the show. It is important for talent to be confident infront of the camera and are quite bubbly and fun, and also talk with expression in their voice. Otherwise you may end up with dull people on your show - and this could ruin the hard effort that has been put in.
Floor Manager (FM);
The floor manager is the 'directors voice on the floor' The floor manager will work closely with the director on the day of the shoot and will pass on any information to the crew and the audience that they will need to know, the floor manager will also help to sort out any problems on the floor, this way the director can stay in the vision-mixing room througout the whole shoot.
Assistant floor manager (AFM);
The assistant floor manager will help out when needed. So if the FM has alot of technical difficulties to sort out and the audience are getting bored the AFM can explain whats going on to the audience and also help get them back in an energetic mood.
Sound Operator;
The sound operator will mic up all of the talent and also run sound checks, they are also in charge of what levels are going out on air.
The director is in charge of what happens during the production. To be able to work as this role you need to be able to think on your feet, be good under pressure and also be clear in what you want to see on screen. The director would also primarily stay by the vision-mixing desk.
Assistant Director;
The assistant director in a way shadows the director. They would help the director out when he/she needs help and will also show disipline throughout the production.
Producer;
The producer is incharge of any content that is needed for the production. They are in control of the budget also. This means that anyone who needs anything to help make the production happen would have to run it by the producer first. For example: if the set design people have drawn up their ideas for the set and want to go out and buy any paint they would have to run their design by the producer and then if he/she approves it she will give them a budget to buy all their materials with.
Camera Person;
On a multi-camera production there will be more than on camera person. They are in charge of giving the shots that the director wants to see. To do this job you need to be creative.
Camera Assistant;
The camera assistant would help the camera person get the shots needed. He/she will hold the camera cable so that the camera person doesn't run over any cable, and also help get any shots in which the camera op needs to push the camera down.
Talent;
The talent are the stars of the show. It is important for talent to be confident infront of the camera and are quite bubbly and fun, and also talk with expression in their voice. Otherwise you may end up with dull people on your show - and this could ruin the hard effort that has been put in.
Floor Manager (FM);
The floor manager is the 'directors voice on the floor' The floor manager will work closely with the director on the day of the shoot and will pass on any information to the crew and the audience that they will need to know, the floor manager will also help to sort out any problems on the floor, this way the director can stay in the vision-mixing room througout the whole shoot.
Assistant floor manager (AFM);
The assistant floor manager will help out when needed. So if the FM has alot of technical difficulties to sort out and the audience are getting bored the AFM can explain whats going on to the audience and also help get them back in an energetic mood.
Sound Operator;
The sound operator will mic up all of the talent and also run sound checks, they are also in charge of what levels are going out on air.
Multi-cam production terms
A Multi Camera Production is where more than one camera is used to create a peice of work. In our case it is when more than one (4) camera's are used to make a Live TV Show.
Panning: This is where you move the camera on a pedestal or tripod left or right through it's axis.
Tilting: This is where you move the camera on a pedestal or tripod up and down through it's axis.
If you find that you cannot pan or tilt then check that the pedestal/tripod is not locked by trying to unlock it. Not by forcing the arms on the tripod/pedestal.
Crabbing is when you move the camera by its wheels left and right. This gives a sense of movement and shows the audience that the camera is 'going somewhere.'
Roll DVD: This is what the director will call through on talkback to the DVD operator, to check that the DVD is ready to be played.
DVD Ready: DVD Ready is what the DVD operator will reply once the DVD is ready to go on DVD.
Floor ready: This will be directed to the floor manager by the director to check that the crew and talent are all ready to do what they need to - makign sure that no body has any problems. Once the floor manager nows that everybody is ready to go he/she will reply back the the director the same phrase.
PED UP or DOWN: This is when you higher or lower the angle of a camera shot. Also this is what the director will call through to a certain camera if he feels that the angle of the shot needs to be changed. For example if the angle needs to be higher for a MCU on camera two the director will call through: Camera two PED up.
Track Left or Right: This follows the same example as above the difference being that it is used if the director wants the shot moved more to the left or right, if this is the case the camera operator/Assistant will move the wheels and pedestal in the direction that the camera asks.
Panning: This is where you move the camera on a pedestal or tripod left or right through it's axis.
Tilting: This is where you move the camera on a pedestal or tripod up and down through it's axis.
If you find that you cannot pan or tilt then check that the pedestal/tripod is not locked by trying to unlock it. Not by forcing the arms on the tripod/pedestal.
Crabbing is when you move the camera by its wheels left and right. This gives a sense of movement and shows the audience that the camera is 'going somewhere.'
Roll DVD: This is what the director will call through on talkback to the DVD operator, to check that the DVD is ready to be played.
DVD Ready: DVD Ready is what the DVD operator will reply once the DVD is ready to go on DVD.
Floor ready: This will be directed to the floor manager by the director to check that the crew and talent are all ready to do what they need to - makign sure that no body has any problems. Once the floor manager nows that everybody is ready to go he/she will reply back the the director the same phrase.
PED UP or DOWN: This is when you higher or lower the angle of a camera shot. Also this is what the director will call through to a certain camera if he feels that the angle of the shot needs to be changed. For example if the angle needs to be higher for a MCU on camera two the director will call through: Camera two PED up.
Track Left or Right: This follows the same example as above the difference being that it is used if the director wants the shot moved more to the left or right, if this is the case the camera operator/Assistant will move the wheels and pedestal in the direction that the camera asks.
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