The Director
The Director plays a vital role during production, they make sure everything is correct and running to plan. The Director has to be able to communicate clearly with their crew in order to have a smooth-running production, they need to know of any problems which may occur so they can inform the floor as to how long it will take to solve. Alongside, the director is accompanied by their assistant who takes control of the inserts (length, VT, audio, etc) and informs which cameras are active.
Floor Manager and Floor Manager Assistant
The Floor manager is in control of the studio floor. Their job is to make sure the talent and the crew are comfortable within their roles and take care of any problems which may occur, making sure everything runs according to plan. It is very important for the floor manager to communicate clearly with the director and the assistant in order to run a smooth production. Importantly, the audience must feel comfortable and welcomed during their stay in the studio, the floor manager must carry out health and safety checks to clarify what to do in case of an emergency. Alongside, the floor manager's assistant, helps and supports the duties of their manager.
Camera Operator and Assistant
The camera operator must have understanding on how to operate the camera; one must know to leave breathing and looking room, to know what to capture within the frame and to use their initiative to produce creative shots. The camera operator must concentrate at all times looking through their viewfinder and communicate through their own can to the director. The operator must be aware of the red tally light which will appear meaning they must keep their camera stationary. Alongside the camera operator, is their assistant. The Camera Operator Assistant helps crab the pedestal right or left and ped up and down. Importantly preventing damage against wires.
Sound Operator and Assistant
The sound crew are positioned at the audio desk and proceed their duty throughout the production, they are responsible for controlling all aspects of audio; making sure the inserts play clearly at a reasonable volume and without the host, talent and audience being heard. It is important for them to control the volume of audio produced from the host, talent and audience. Before the show goes to air it is vital that the sound crew give the host and the talent microphones and carry out sound checks. This allows the operators to make any adjustments before going to air, it is also crucial that the microphones are sensibly positioned to the talent/host resulting in clear feedback.
Vision Mixer
The Vision Mixer must respond quickly to the director's demand. The Vision Mixer's job is to switch between camera shots once the director says “cut”.
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Audio and Video signal path
An Audio Mixer has 12 Mic inputs, and 4 Line inputs. A Mic level has a weak signal, whereas a Line level has a strong signal (1 volt). All equipment in the 21st Century is digital. There is a few differences between analogue and digital signals. An analogue signal is tolerate, and can take frequency's louder than it is designed to have (can handle +3, +6, +9). Whereas a digital signal cannot handle this without becoming extremely distorted and ruining the sound quality. This is measured in a VU meter, which measures frequency / volume units of audio. You must not allow the signal to go above 0, as the signal will become distorted, and the meter will turn red to warn you that the signal is peaking.
A line level is always shown when mixing audio into a sound desk. It will be the more stronger signal and there will aslo be a mic level which shows any audio recorded from a microphone. The mic levels come from different sources. The line level will come from the soundtrack in your live footage and the mic level is received through a stob box which is linked to a microphone which captures audio from the talent and host. Both audio clips are put through a sound desk in analogue. The CD is digital but contains a Digital to analogue converter (D.A.C) this makes the sound easier to work with. As the audio is put through the mixing desk, making sure it is at the right levels so ntohing distorts it is then recorded on a HDD in digital which makes the audio recording solid meaning if it is copied the quality will not change. A sound desk is able to have 4 line inpurts and 12 mic inputs giving a chance to record the most complex live videos. The visual side of mixing is easier as on the studio side of the wall we are able to have five different cameras which are then put through the stob box in the wall out the other side and into the vision mixer. This is controlled by the director making sure he is receiving the best visuals needed for the show. Finaly, the visual meets the mixed audia when being recorded in to the HDD (DN300).
VU Meter
A volume units meter (VU) indicates what leven your recording in or how high, low the level is. Sound is measured in decibels (dB). The ideal level for speech when recording is -18dB and -9dB. There are two sides to the VU, this is for the stereo output. Each time you go down a dB the percentage is halved. 0dB is 100% of the recording signal. An analogue can handle volumes above 0dB up to +9dB as soon as the signal hits 0dB the signal is very likely to distort making an unclear sound.
Studio Technical Equipment and Functions
Soft Light / Fill Light: These are the lights that take very little energy to power, that has what are call in the industry barn doors. These "Barn doors" are put on the edges on light, directs the light into the need direction or area.
Small Spot Light: These are the lights that uses a lot of energy unlike the soft light. alongside this these studio lights have an adjustable concentrate. This light is usually used to light the host of a show or talent on screen
Flood Light: These lights are slightly different from the previous explained. Firstly these lights are used to create general light in the studio so it is easy to record. Alongside this these lights do not have barn doors, so it is harder to control this form of lighting.
Dimmer Pack: This useful piece of equipment powers all different types of lighting and equipment within the studio, alongside different voltages and watts. this piece of equipment gives everything the right amount of power.
Lighting panel: This piece of equipment controls the percentage of brightness going out to each light. almost exactly the same as an audio mixing desk, this piece of equipment has fader's and a computer screen to make it piece of hardware much easier to use.
Tally Light: In a Television studio, a tally light is a small red signal lamp on the camera. It is usually located just above the lens or on the "viewfinder" and indicates that the camera is "live" for the benefit of the talent and the cameraman operating.
Stob Box: Once again this is another very interesting piece of equipment that connects camera's and microphones through to the vision mixing panel and audio mixing desk through the wall. rather than tracing loads of wires around the room.
Curtain Track: This is a large metal rail that circles the room in order for a black background curtain to sit around. This gives the studio a simple but professional backdrop without being to expensive.
Floor Monitor: This is simply a large flat screen Television that is linked up to the "Live" camera shot, so that both the talent, the floor manager, and the camera operators are able to see.
Camera pedestal: A camera pedestal is basically a complex tripod with wheels. On industry standard pedestals have an expensive steering system to make the flow of movement smoother.
Audio Desk: The audio desk controlls all levels of sound both mic and line levels and you are able to mix it live. Controlling audio in this maner helps to reduced audio hiss, distortion and unwanted background noise.
Small Spot Light: These are the lights that uses a lot of energy unlike the soft light. alongside this these studio lights have an adjustable concentrate. This light is usually used to light the host of a show or talent on screen
Flood Light: These lights are slightly different from the previous explained. Firstly these lights are used to create general light in the studio so it is easy to record. Alongside this these lights do not have barn doors, so it is harder to control this form of lighting.
Dimmer Pack: This useful piece of equipment powers all different types of lighting and equipment within the studio, alongside different voltages and watts. this piece of equipment gives everything the right amount of power.
Lighting panel: This piece of equipment controls the percentage of brightness going out to each light. almost exactly the same as an audio mixing desk, this piece of equipment has fader's and a computer screen to make it piece of hardware much easier to use.
Tally Light: In a Television studio, a tally light is a small red signal lamp on the camera. It is usually located just above the lens or on the "viewfinder" and indicates that the camera is "live" for the benefit of the talent and the cameraman operating.
Stob Box: Once again this is another very interesting piece of equipment that connects camera's and microphones through to the vision mixing panel and audio mixing desk through the wall. rather than tracing loads of wires around the room.
Curtain Track: This is a large metal rail that circles the room in order for a black background curtain to sit around. This gives the studio a simple but professional backdrop without being to expensive.
Floor Monitor: This is simply a large flat screen Television that is linked up to the "Live" camera shot, so that both the talent, the floor manager, and the camera operators are able to see.
Camera pedestal: A camera pedestal is basically a complex tripod with wheels. On industry standard pedestals have an expensive steering system to make the flow of movement smoother.
Audio Desk: The audio desk controlls all levels of sound both mic and line levels and you are able to mix it live. Controlling audio in this maner helps to reduced audio hiss, distortion and unwanted background noise.
Floor plans, Camera configuration
Key
Mixing Desk
Bold Lines = Cans and Microphones
Exits
Speakers
Talk Back
The diagram shows what a simple live television studio would look like. Six crew are positioned at their stations, 4 of which are operating on cameras and the Floor Manager and their assistant. On the left hand side is the "Audio Control Room", this is where the sound operators are allocated throughout the production. Usually there is two crew operating this station. To the right of the studio is the "Visual Mixing Room". In this room is a Vision Mixer, Director and their Assistant.
If you look closely at the diagram I have purposely coloured the lines green to signify where the doors are. It is important to know how to enter and exit the studio safely. It is also vital that the exits are kept clear at all times in case of any emergency.
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