For our second show, the sub-teams rotated, meaning I was in the VT Team. I decided, fresh out of Producing, that I would take less of a major role in this show. However, as I soon discovered, my time in these roles was not to be as plain sailing as I had first expected.
First let me say, I never expected any roles to be easy or stress free, nor did I want them to be (I am not someone to shy away from work). I have, as I had then, a wealth of understanding of what work goes into the Live Television Productions that we on Television and Broadcasting create, and know of the responsibilities that each person takes on when they assume their roles. With this in mind, I settled on the roles of Editor (pre-show), and Vision Mixer & Tricaster Operator in the second Gallery on the day of TX.
Playing into this strength of mine was also a factor which played into the decision making process. Before choosing these roles, I already had a lot of experience in that of the Editor. As challenging as I find Avid Media Composer, with each time I launch the software I learn something new. I owe this in part to Steve Bellinger, who is to Media Composer what ‘The Ancient One’ is to the Mystic Arts in the film Doctor Strange.
“The language of the mystic arts is as old as civilization. The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language spells. But if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a program, the source code that shapes reality.”
– The Ancient One, Doctor Strange
However, the role of the Vision Mixer/Tricaster Operator was completely new to me. I had an understanding of the basic principles, I’d seen people use the various desks in the past in the various studios we use, such as the Ross Carbonite switcher in the White Swan Studio Gallery, The Datavideo MS2800B in the Eldon Hub Studio, and the NewTek Tricaster 860 in the CCI Studio Gallery. This is the Switcher I’d be using, but my knowledge went as far as Push button A to preview an input, Push button B to take. I therefore concluded it would pay to visit Mike Parsons, CCI Television Studios Technician. This was a decision that would prove to be wise.
Up until this point, I had not considered the importance of this role in the show. My knowing how to operate the desk properly and efficiently was crucial to the show, as the operator of the desk is directly in control of what goes out live, to be seen by the audience. Although a boost to my ego, the responsibility meant that if I were to make a single mistake, there would be no backups, no safeties. My mistake would be live for all to see, and I would be at the mercy of the viewer.
Mike talked me through the many aspects of the setup, showing me the different buttons on the desk, used to preview, queue, cut, play, and switch between sources. He explained the Inputs, and the uses of the Digital Disk Recorder (DDR) and it’s importance when playing back pre recorded material. He also showed me the function to add name straps and overlays. Although I felt much more assured in my ability to command the desk, I was made further aware of the different aspects under my control, and the level of difficulty involved in carrying it all out. I was nervous.
Whilst waiting for the VT’s to be shot, I volunteered to create what we referred to as the Map Overlays. These were a series of maps, one of the world, and a number of others of different continents. The presenters would use this map to explore the different teaching styles employed in different countries. I also created the Star Trek Holodeck inspired virtual classroom set in collaboration with another team member, using Adobe Illustrator.
When it came to editing the footage that had been shot for the show’s VT’s a few days later, I was presented with a challenge. The interview was full of brilliant information, however I can only imagine the camera was left on auto-focus, which kept switching between the subject and the background. This meant that much of the visuals were unusable. The cutaways however, were in focus, although largely irrelevant to the subject the interviewee was talking about. After speaking with the VT Director, he explained the difficulties they faced on the shoot, and to use the best of the cutaways to cover any jump cuts or out of focus parts of the interview. I believe with the material I had to work with the VT’s were successful in communicating the important and relevant information. I did a pretty good job.
Later that week, I accompanied the Producer and a few other team members to another VT shoot at the Forest School in Portsmouth. As I was the camera operator for the day, I essentially directed myself, obtaining many cutaways of various parts of the school life, as well as setting up the interview shot. On my return to university at the end of the day, I edited the footage into another VT. This VT turned out to be much easier to edit, as all of the cutaways were relevant and the interview was in-focus, and it came out much better. My only issue with the final cut is the music towards the end is too quiet – a silly mistake.
The day soon came when it was time to put into practise what I had learned from Mike earlier in the week. The show was ambitious and ran well, and can be seen below. I enjoyed my time as Vision Mixer & Tricaster Operator as much as I enjoy any of the roles, and I believe I did a good job as nothing major went wrong. However, not all was perfect, and I was to blame. Neither I nor the CCI Studio Director had checked the script, meaning we were both unaware of the Website links that were intended to be overlayed onto the live feed whilst the presenters spoke. Although it can be said that the Director should have been aware, if I had read the script I could have taken the initiative to play the overlays at the appropriate time. It is worth adding that the video below is an edited version of the show, in which the overlays have been added.
Tom Pennock 