Cue and Cut: A practical approach to working in multi-camera studios

CUE&

CUT

CUE&

CUT

A practical approach to working in multi-camera studios

Roger Singleton-Turner

Manchester University Press

Manchester

Copyright © Roger Singleton-Turner 2011

The right of Roger Singleton-Turner to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Published by Manchester University Press

Altrincham Street, Manchester Ml 7JA, UK

www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for

ISBN 978 0 7190 8448 5 hardback

ISBN 978 0 7190 8449 2 paperback

The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Basis of the book

Multi-camera content

Notes on exercises

PART I: SAFETY AND GOOD PRACTICE

Safety first

Risk assessment forms

Places of work

TV and film locations and studios

Third-party liability

Conclusion

Fire extinguishers: types, uses and colour codes (applies throughout the UK)

Good practice – good studio discipline

PART II: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDIO

1Basics

The studio

Production control gallery

Lighting gallery

Sound gallery

2Working with cameras

Basic elements – studio cameras

Shot sizes and some common terms

Changing shot (1)

Line-up and its history

3Lenses and shooting conventions

Introduction

Focal length

Horizontal angle of view

Vertical angle of view

The human eye

Properties and quirks of camera lenses

Conventions

Conclusion

4The studio production team

The Producer

The (UK) chain of command

The Director

The Floor Manager

The production support team

5Technical jobs in the studio

The Vision Mixer

Technical Director

Sound Supervisor

Sound Assistant

Camera Operators

Lighting Director

Lighting Assistant

Caption generator and Graphic Designers

Videotape Operator

Tapeless studios

Prompting devices (Autocue, Portaprompt and others)

Technical Resources Manager

Video editing

6Design and sets

Set design and Designers

Studio floor plans

History

Design – other disciplines

7The job of Script Supervisor and multi-camera paperwork

Stand-bys

Timings

Shot calling

Alterations

Continuity

Timecodes when recording

Tapeless recording

On location and post-production

Documents

8Camera scripts, camera cards etc. and creating them in MS word (with a note on Autocue)

The camera script document

Creating a camera script with MS Word

Finished sample of a camera script

Conclusion

9In the studio: communication

Rehearsal

Some useful phrases used between team members

Going for a take

Student recordings

10 Lighting for video cameras: an introduction

Basic concepts

Simple lighting set-ups

Shadows

Lighting balance

Different lighting conditions

Colour temperature

Effects and lighting for effects

Lighting hardware: a reminder

Lighting control desks and consoles

Conclusion

11 Microphones and sound

Warning!

Microphones: a summary

Sounds you want – sounds you don’t

Mounts for microphones – including booms

Basic trouble-shooting (for students)

Buzz tracks and ‘atmos’

Stereo and surround sound

Dubbing

The dub

An argument for division of labour

PART III: CONTENT

12 Interviews, discussion and chat

Introduction – and the need for camera script exercises

Interviews: general points

Recording – and aims

Shooting interviews

1 + 1 interviews

1 + 2 interviews

1 + 3 interviews

History

13 Demonstrations and movement

Format A: Presenter plus guest demonstrator

Shopping channels

Format B: Demonstrations with a single Presenter and no guest

Demonstrations: conclusion

Movement

Give Us a Clue

14 Having ideas

The proposal

The treatment

The next steps

Student projects

Writing

Notes for multi-camera final projects and planning meetings

PART IV: APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES

Introduction

Multimedia formats

‘360-Degree television’

3DTV

15 Getting it all together

Planning

Planning a magazine programme

Shooting and retakes

Metadata and tapeless recording

A brief word about money and budgeting

16 Drama

Episode 1: history

Episode 2: approaching drama

Episode 3: Actors

Episode 4: other kinds of Actor

Episode 5: shooting drama

Episode 6: cameras, sound, VM, PM (or FM) and Script Supervisor

Conclusion

17 Music

Sources of music

Shooting musical performance as live

Conclusion

18 Shooting action

Iso-cameras

Dance and mime

Motion towards the camera

A brief word on sport

Conclusion

Afterword

Appendix I: aspect ratios

History

The Golden Mean, widescreen and the human eye

Mixing formats

Other formats

A word about memory and storage

Summary

Appendix II: continuity – a summary

What it is

Continuity and broadcasting

Continuity television

Select videography

Bibliography and references

Suggested further reading

Index

Illustrations

Unless otherwise indicated, photographs were taken by the author in the TV Studio at the University of Sunderland. Except for Figures 6.1–6.5, sketches and plans were drawn by the author. Some were based on whiteboard drawings and notes used by instructors (including the author) in BBC Television Training in the 1970s and 80s and elsewhere. Colour plates appear between pp. xxxii and 1.

Plates

1University of Sunderland studio showing HD cameras .

2Fresnel 2 kilowatt light with lighting pole .

3Basic professional HD mixer .

4A Standard Definition gallery .

4B The same gallery now equipped for tapeless HD production .

5Two plasma screens set up to show source ‘monitors’ .

6Viewfinder for HD camera .

7Steadicam and Operator, Alan Lifton. Photograph by Chris Williams .

8A Some Technocranes are big! By kind permission of Technocraneeurope .

8B Character generator showing a name super .

9Welcome to ’orty-Fou’ 1st Floor. Carlton Television Staff Photographer. Reproduced by courtesy of ITV .

10 Model, Caroline Morrison, about to be transformed .

11 Early in the procedure, a bald cap allows the hairline, in this case, to be altered .

12 The complete Elizabeth I make-up, designed by Shauna Harrison and Jilly Hagger. (Plates 10, 11 and 12, photographs by Robert Shackleton, by kind permission of the Greasepaint School of Film, Television, Theatre and Fashion Makeup at www.greasepaint.co.uk.)

13 Ingest station in a student tapeless studio .

14A The key light gives only hard shadows .

14B Here the light is from the fill, only .

14C This shows the effect of a back or rim-light .

14D Key light plus fill .

14E All three lights working together – three-point lighting .

15 The living-room set from Welcome to ’orty-Fou’ . Carlton Television Staff Photographer. Reproduced by courtesy of ITV .

16A Demonstration of simple retro-reflective system .

16B The blue LED lights around the camera lens.

Both images by courtesy of BBC Research and Development.

17 Strand Galaxy desk. Photograph by Paul Holroyd, reproduced by courtesy of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

18 BBC sound control gallery. Photograph by Paul Holroyd, reproduced by courtesy of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

19A The Surround-Sound Decca Tree microphone array, developed by Ron Streicher. Courtesy of Ron Streicher (for details, see text and URLs: stereosoundbook and Wes Dooley ). The Surround-Sound Decca Tree microphone assembly, reproduced from the article ‘The Decca Tree – It’s Not Just for Stereo Anymore’ by Ron Streicher, published by Audio Engineering Associates: www.ribbonmics.com/pdf/Surround_Sound_Decca_Tree-urtext.pdf.

For a more complete description of this array and a history of the Decca Tree, refer to The New Stereo Soundbook, Third Edition by Ron Streicher and F. Alton Everest, www.stereosoundbook.com.

19B Holophone H2-PRO-5.1 microphone. Courtesy of Rising Sun Productions Ltd .

19C Core Sound TetraMic. Courtesy of Core Sound, LLC .

20 BBC’s studio TC1. Photograph by Paul Holroyd, reproduced courtesy of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

Figures

1.1 Floor plan of BBC studio TC2. Reproduced by kind permission of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

1.2 Fisher Model 7 Boom .

1.3A Tilt mechanism .

1.3B Operation of tilt mechanism .

1.3C Operation of tilt mechanism.

All three pictures by kind permission of J.L. Fisher Inc.

1.4 Sony MVS8000G HD vision mixer (switcher) at BBC TV Centre. Photograph by Paul Holroyd, reproduced by courtesy of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

1.5 Set of camera control units and vectorscope .

1.6 Student sound control .

2.1A Focus control .

2.1B Zoom control rocker switch .

2.1C At the BBC, the focus control is often via a capstan. Photograph by Paul Holroyd, reproduced by courtesy of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

2.2A The side of a typical studio camera head…

2.2B …this shows the back .

2.3 HD camera and prompter .

2.4 1960s BBC monochrome camera with four lenses. Photographer and © 1967 Joe Farrugia. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright owner and anyone claiming copyright should get in touch with the author .

3.1 Focal length .

3.2 Horizontal angle of view .

3.3 Iris with small and large apertures. Image © Tom Harris. ‘How Cameras Work’ 21 March 2001. HowStuffWorks.com: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera.htm (accessed on 08 January 2010) .

3.4A Looking-room .

3.4B Head-room .

3.5A 16 : 9 aspect ratio .

3.5B 4 : 3 aspect ratio .

3.6 Crossing the line or optical barrier .

3.7 Optical barriers with four people round a table .

3.8 Typical set-up for four people, which avoids crossing the line .

3.9 Crossing the line and movement .

5.1 Basic single channel from mixer shown in Figure 1.6 .

5.2 Single channel of Studer Vista 8 mixing desk. By kind permission of Soundcraft & Studer .

5.3 Studer Vista 8 wraparound surround-sound capable mixer. By kind permission of Soundcraft & Studer .

5.4A Autocue head .

5.4B Autocue Operator with handset.

The plans featured in figures 6.1 to 6.5 were designed by Alex Clarke for the Carlton Television series Welcome to ’orty-Fou’ for CITV, written by Jean Buchanan, produced and directed by Roger Singleton-Turner. They are reproduced by courtesy of ITV.

6.1 Detail of plan for composite set .

6.2 Elevation of same section of plan ‘E to E’ .

6.3 Elevations glued to card and turned into a model. Photo © Alex Clarke .

6.4 Section of camera plan .

6.5 BBC camera protractor .

6.6 A4 paper cut into angles as described .

6.7 Working out what you can see when you vary the horizontal angle of view .

6.8 The effect of trying to match 2-shots with different angles of view .

8.1 Basic MS Word table .

8.2 Basic table adjusted and ready for typing .

8.3 Creating a camera script – first stage .

8.4 Script after selecting whole document and ‘Hide Gridlines’ .

8.5 Camera script with camera details .

8.6 Camera script with camera details and shot lines .

8.7 Sample camera card layout .

8.8 Creating camera cards where there are no card holders .

8.9 Sample finished camera script .

8.10 Sample running order .

8.11 Layout of chroma-key shots – side by side .

8.12 Layout of chroma-key shots – layered .

8.13 Layout of chroma-key shots – multi-layered .

10.1 Layout for the traditional three-point lighting set-up used in Plates 14A–E .

10.2 Cross-lighting diagram .

10.3 Howard Dell adjusting a 1970s quadruplex VT machine. Photograph by Geoff Hawkes, reproduced by kind permission of BBC Studios and Post-Production .

10.4 Fresnel 2K with barn-doors, showing pantograph .

10.5 Lighting control board .

10.6 Blank lighting plan for BBC’s studio TC2. Reproduced by kind permission of BBC Studios and Post-Production Ltd .

12.1 If you intercut these two shots, the monitor would ‘jump frame’ .

12.2 1 + 1 interview shot with two cameras .

12.3 1 + 1 interview shot with three cameras .

12.4A Seating plan for Presenter and two guests .

12.4B Alternative seating plan for Presenter and two guests .

12.5 Shooting Presenter and two guests with two cameras .

12.6 Shooting three contributors with three cameras .

12.7 Alternative plan for shooting two guests and three cameras .

12.8A Suggested running order for interview exercise .

12.8B Alternative items for exercise running order .

12.8C Alternative items for exercise running order .

12.9 Conventional floor plan for 1 + 3 interview .

12.10 An alternative plan for 1+ 3 interview .

13.1 Demonstration with Presenter and guest .

13.2 Plan for demonstration with a single presenter .

13.3 Simulation of top-shot with mirror: A hands shot from front and above; B hands shot as though through suspended mirror; C second image flipped left to right .

13.4 Profile of a 2-4-6 .

13.5 Plan for The Call .

13.6 Camera script for The Call .

13.7 Studio layout for Give Us a Clue .

15.1 Wall box 1 (UoS) .

15.2 Sketch of floor plan for Imaginary Programme .

16.1 On the Senate set of I, Claudius . © BBC Photo Library

16.2 Puppet operation, Muppet style (After the style of HowStuffWorks. com: Freeman, Shanna. ‘How Muppets Work’.)

17.1 Example of a song set out for a camera script. Script layout reproduced by the kind permission of Yvonne Craven. Original song Losing Time , by Les Payne, reproduced by kind permission .

17.2 Sample camera script for a lyric .

A1.1 The Golden Mean .

A1.2 Domestic cut-off .

A1.3 A 4 : 3 framing within a 16 : 9 frame .

A1.4 The same picture as in Figure A1.3 filling the width of the screen .

A1.5 The circle and the twelve squares from Figure A1.3, stretched .

A1.6 A true circle in a 16 : 9 frame .

A1.7 Figure 6’s circle squashed as it would be in a 4 : 3 frame .

A1.8 ‘Letterbox’ framing of a 16 : 9 picture in a 4 : 3 frame .

A1.9 Appearance of a 16 : 9 picture converted for showing as 14 : 9 on a 4 : 3 frame .

A1.10 The relationship between 16 : 9 aspect ratio and Super-16 film .

Tables

1.1 Fire extinguishers

2.1 Shot sizes

2.2 Group shots

7.1 Sample running order for timing exercise

14.1A Non-exclusive checklist pre-production/production

14.1B Non-exclusive checklist pre-production/post-production

15.1 Welcome to ’orty-Fou’ , Series 2, two directors: production and post-production schedule

15.2 Explanation of terms used in Table 15.1

15.3 Running order for Imaginary Programme

15.4 Extract from a sample budget

Preface

This book stems, on the one hand, from my experience of working in British Television for forty years at various levels ending as a Producer–Director and beginning as a clerk (in Graphics, Visual or Special Effects, Design and so on) and progressing through studio floor jobs. I have also worked in different capacities on film productions and outside broadcasts. On the other hand, the content of the book is based on my experience of teaching trainee Directors in Great Britain for the BBC and, since 1998, students on University, HND and other media courses at various establishments in the UK (and Thailand). As a Director and Producer– Director, I spent most of my time working on Children’s Drama, including Jackanory, Grange Hill and The Demon Headmaster.

I have tried to cover as much ground as possible in television production. The material is derived from my own observations, experiences and practice taught or passed on orally. Specific primary sources are credited, but a great deal is based on dozens of conversations with many people – television professionals – over the years. Secondary sources are credited in the usual way. The information about design, cameras, sound, lighting and so on is built on what students of production need as a minimum. There are full-length books and courses for those needing more.

For this reprint, Manchester University Press has enabled me to correct the three factual errors of which I am aware and to comment on some of the changes since 2011 in the Industry, particularly in British Television. These include the following.

The sale of BBC Television Centre, which is alluded to throughout the book, and the move of a great deal of production to Salford. The Corporation will retain the use of three of TV Centre’s refurbished studios including TC 1 (Plate 20), TC 2 (Figures 1.1 and 10.6) and TC3, the first studio to be completed there in 1960.

3D television has not taken off as I thought it might, perhaps because the most accessible systems currently need special glasses.

Updating page 322: Ultra HD formats seem to be settling down. 2K HDTV is a format that seems to have had limited application for cinema projection purposes. It allowed full HD vertical resolution and a little more width than 16:9 video, better for widescreen film formats.

4K UHDTV is good for cinematic releases and other large screens, giving 8.3 megapixels over 2160 lines. (Standard HD delivers about 2.1 megapixels on 1080 lines.) 4K kit is planned for the refurbished BBC TV Centre Studios and is now commercially available for home use. Appropriate cameras and edit facilities are becoming available in UK teaching institutions.

8K UHDTV rivals IMAX films and can deliver 33.2 megapixels per frame of picture information.

Budgets are still being squeezed. Multitasking seems to be increasingly common, so role titles will vary more and more. The actual tasks described in the text, though, still need to be performed if a TV studio is to function efficiently. One consequence of the squeeze is that building a career in the UK is likely to remain a challenge.

There have been changes in the politics of television and the relationship between Politics and television broadcasters. These relationships will continue to evolve, requiring responsibility, tolerance and understanding.

The process labelled ‘dumbing down’ of content seems to continue. For example, some programmes give too much time to trailing what the viewer will see or to recapping what the viewer has already seen. There is also a tendency to break stories up into bite-sized chunks and intersperse them through other content. Such practice is not treating the adult viewer with respect and would certainly be frowned on by my former colleagues in Children’s Programmes.

Streaming material to portable devices has caught on and is on the increase.

Though any of these changes might affect content and how it is delivered as well as what an individual might be expected to do in a studio, none of them actually affect what a multi-camera television studio is or how it can be used creatively, so I believe the text of Cue & cut retains its relevance.

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without conversation and interaction with the following, whom I wish to thank:

All the Executive Producers, especially Anna Home¹ and Angela Beeching, Producers, fellow Directors; Set, Visual Effects, Costume and Make-up Designers, Lighting Directors, Technical Resources Managers, Sound Supervisors and crews, camera crews, Vision Mixers, Film and VT Editors, Video Effects Designers, Dubbing Mixers, Scene Crews, Engineers, outside broadcast teams, Directors of Photography (especially Martin Graham), Production and Floor Managers, Location Managers, Researchers, AFMs, Floor Assistants, actors, writers, musicians and Production Assistants (now usually called Script Supervisors).

Television programmes really do need teamwork!

I’d also like to thank my training colleagues including Gordon Croton, Robin Gwyn, Brian Phillips, Harris Watts and, especially for his thoughts on Drama, Andrew Higgs. Special thanks go to Trevor Hearing (now Senior Lecturer in Film and Media at Bournemouth University) for encouraging my work as a teacher and in starting this book.

At the University of Sunderland, as well as those listed above, I should also like to thank Colin Young for his help in setting up the studio with me for some of the photographs.

Finally many thanks to the team at Manchester University Press, who have made this book happen and to my Copyeditor, Sara Peacock, who smoothed out a lot of the bumps!

Contributors

My grateful thanks go to all those who have contributed directly to the book, with information about current production practices: Jo Bunting, Yvonne Craven, Nerys Evans, Malcolm Johnson, Andy King, Stuart McDonald, Danny Popkin, Pennant Roberts, Daniel Shaw, Paul Tyler and Paul Wheeler;

For providing pictures and permissions, thanks to:

Alex Clarke (Welcome to ‘orty-Fou’ stills and designs in chapter 6)

Jonathan Godfrey (Holophone)

Geoff Hawkes

Georgie Hollett and Paul Thackray (BBC Studios and Post-Production Ltd)

Frank Kay (J.L. Fisher Inc.)

Len Moskowitz (Core Sound LLC)

Dave Neal (Harman Pro Group)

Ron Streicher (Pacific Audio-Visual Enterprises)

Graham Thomas (BBC Research and Development).

For granting permission to print the lyric of his song, Losing Time, thanks also to Les Payne At the University of Sunderland I should also like to thank: the former and current Deans of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, Flavia Swann and Graeme Thompson; Alan Lifton for his US perspective and for his pictures; Chris Williams; students Nick Dudman, Maria Ferrie, Adam Gerber, Fay Kelly and Chloë Narine, who posed for illustrations; and the University for permission to quote from the Sunderland Studio document.

Extracts from The Salmon of Doubt (posthumously edited collection of writings by Douglas Adams, 2003), reproduced by kind permission of Pan Macmillan, London.

Extract from The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett, 1998, reproduced by kind permission of Random House Group Ltd.

Notes

¹ Though she went on to be Head of all sorts of things, Anna was the Executive Producer who took me on to adapt and direct on Jackanory.

Abbreviations

Introduction

Cue and Cut is about producing video content with a multi-camera set-up. The principles apply whatever the form of distribution: digital network, Internet, mobile phone or ‘other’. It is intended to be used alongside practical courses or modules, both in teaching institutions and in professional training environments.

Part I centres on Health and Safety in TV studios, which are potentially dangerous places. This is a primary concern and that is why it is given so much space early in this handbook.

Part II gives a lot of key information about television studios and the people who work in them.

Part III focuses on exercises to practise some basic principles and shows how to build on these and develop proposals and projects.

Part IV goes into more detail on Drama, Music and Action, both in the context of student projects and in the professional world.

The appendices explain:

detail of television aspect ratios; and

a little about the meanings of Continuity.

Since many multi-camera video productions use inserts shot on single camera, there are several references to single-camera shooting.

I do not go into detail about methods of distribution of content, nor do I attempt to explain in much detail sports coverage or major live events; to tackle these you’d need another course and other books – and some professional experience.

I have tried to give a flavour of work in a professional environment and how it’s evolved; much of this information is in the paragraphs labelled ‘History’.

TV studios are potentially dangerous places. Health and Safety is vitally important and so is the first thing I address. I have integrated my own notes here with thoughts selected from a document issued by the University of Sunderland called Television Studio Operations.

Basis of the book

The book is my view of multi-camera methods as I’ve lived them and as they have been taught at the British Broadcasting Corporation. This teaching was the distillation of years of experience of many people working not just at the BBC, but around the world.

There is a bias in the terms I use as a Producer-Director towards BBC systems, but I have also worked on series for the late Carlton Television Ltd and for Granada Television (ITV). The principal techniques and terminologies are widely used in the UK, though I have attempted to indicate other usages. There are many variations – television in the twenty-first century is not about ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ methods (so long as the methods meet Health and Safety requirements), but about what works efficiently and cost-effectively on your production.

Communicating and teamwork

A lot of this book is about communication, not only with the audience but also with your colleagues: everyone else in the studio!

At one level in television there are no rules – if it works, do it; at another level, if you break any of the rules, your programmes may look and feel clumsy.

Anyone, any individual, with a video camera and the right computer software can shoot and edit a programme. Some material made like this will attract an audience. Some won’t. Studio TV is different. You can’t make a multi-camera show on your own – you need a team. In fact, most of the best content (as it’s now called) on television, whether single or multi-camera, depends on the skills, expertise and judgement of many individuals. Reliability, self-motivation and the ability to work within a team are essential for surviving in this field.

Despite television’s changing surface, I believe that most of what is written here will continue to be relevant. This is precisely because a multi-camera studio does need a team to communicate their thoughts and ideas quickly, clearly and effectively. As long as there are multi-camera studios, this must continue to be true. In a conversation with Stuart McDonald, one of the UK’s most experienced Event Directors, he kept returning to the importance to him of teamwork, of knowing the strengths of the people working around him and then of ‘letting people do their jobs’.

Multi-camera content

So, what kinds of show need a multi-camera environment? Well, anything ‘live’ from the News and Current Affairs to The Lottery Live; Entertainment shows like Big Brother and its siblings, So You Think You Can Dance, The X Factor; a host of children’s shows; and relatively low-cost, fast turn-round dramas (‘soap-operas’) like the UK’s Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Eastenders or General Hospital in the USA. Most of the current top twenty shows in the UK rely, in whole or in part, on multi-camera shoots.

It is possible to generate complete sequences or whole programmes in a single pass. This is not the same as recording sequences on two or more cameras running independently and then editing the recordings in post-production; the level of co-ordination is different. The necessary elements in multi-camera production are:

A vision mixer (switcher) for selecting the images to be recorded or transmitted. There is usually one person (Vision Mixer or Switcher) actually doing the picture selection, though sometimes the Director also vision-mixes and there can be two VMs for complex content.

A Director co-ordinating the content. This means deciding which camera is ‘on-shot’ (recording or transmitting), which is about to be on-shot and what any other cameras should be doing to prepare for their next shots. Sequences might be fully camera-scripted and rehearsed or they might be as directed. Either system needs to be organised.

An assistant to keep track of timings and where the Director is in the script.

A Camera Operator for each camera, with a tally-light to show when the particular camera is on-shot.

Multi-camera studios are expensive to set up and to crew, but they can turn out a great deal of material in one day. This just takes good planning and clear thinking.

A good grasp of what works in a multi-camera studio is also, in my experience, a brilliant foundation for working with a single camera. You can see options and cutting points laid out before you as you go!

Also, of course, any outside broadcast will work on similar principles, though the environments will be more varied and the number of cameras can be very large.

Change, formats, standards and kit

Television is always changing and adapting. This applies to the making of content with new standards of kit coming onto the market, for both programme makers and viewers, and with the increase in numbers of available channels and distribution platforms. Also, the technology for 3D transmissions through HD systems is spreading. Since programmes are already being made in this way, it must be the next big thing. All we’ll need is an ‘HD 3D ready TV’ (Pennington, Broadcast, 24 July 2009).

‘Common practice’ had meaning when there were only four terrestrial channels in the UK. Now, perhaps, it means less. What I have tried to do is to set out information that anyone working in a multi-camera studio will find useful for making content in the twenty-first century, whatever the means of distribution. The methods do work!

Technical standards and engineering

This book is far more about delivering content than it is about engineering or the technical, though without either there could be, simply, no television. However, formats, standards and kit change with time, sometimes rapidly. These changes bring about changes in practice. Some of these, such as the move to tapeless recording, I discuss here. Most I do not, and this section explains why.

There are dozens of different video formats from VHS to HD, which itself includes a range of format options. Each of these works to a different technical standard. Varying degrees of adjustment have to take place to convert one format into another, involving more kit, some of which can be complex and expensive.

Professionally, for most of my life, I have worked with Phase Alternating Line (PAL) kit. This works on 625 lines and 25 frames per second, each frame having two interlaced fields (see below). I do remember working on 405-line programmes, too, again working at 50 fields per second. Mains power in the UK is supplied as alternating current operating at 50 Hz. Early television sets used this to provide the timing for the 50 fields.

The US AC power supply was delivered at 60 Hz and the National Television System Committee (NTSC) system works on 525 lines and 30 frames a second. The system is used principally in the USA and parts of South America and Asia.

The séquentiel couleur à mémoire (SECAM) system, used chiefly in France, the former Soviet Union and parts of Africa, is different again.

Digital Video (DV) systems can be set to work with any of these standards.

True High Definition (HD) works on 1080 lines of picture. HD signals can be interlaced, that is they can work with 50 or 60 alternating fields, with odd and even lines scanned alternately. They may work at 24 frames per second (the principle film frame-rate), 25 or 30 fps with the picture built up over 1/24, 1/25 or 1/30 of a second progressively, line by successive line. Which method is in use will be indicated by an ‘i’ or ‘p’ after the frame rate. This is further complicated by the development of systems where there might be 1080 lines and 50 or 60 full frames per second and some cameras, which can work at up to 300 fps, allowing for true slow motion in a video camera. These are particularly useful in sports replays.

Simply, interlaced pictures work well for still frames and progressive work better for motion. Everything else, including conversion from one to the other is incredibly technical and outside the scope of this book.

Then there’s HDV and its variants, generally working to 700+ lines per frame, Blu-Ray, Super HD – and the rest.

This book will be used most often alongside some kind of practical studio course. Rather than reading here about kit working to a standard you might never see, you will do far better getting to grips with the kit in the studio you’re using. Learn to understand that and then look at television journals, the technical press and the Internet to keep up to date with the latest developments. You will discover more through your reading after you gain understanding through using and handling almost any real equipment.

There are precise – some might say over-precise – suggestions or instructions about how to perform some elements of multi-camera work and exercises. I hope you will look on these simply as a scaffolding to help you build your own expertise and experience. Once these are established, the scaffolding, having served its purpose, may be discarded or built into future practice!

As the Director Andrew Higgs says, ‘It isn’t rocket science!’

Notes on exercises

At the end of each chapter, there are exercises. Although some would best be carried out by groups, most are aimed at raising awareness of how programmes content actually works, at getting you to look afresh at that most familiar of the media, television.

I suggest that you keep a note of the material you watch (title, source and, where relevant, date and time of transmission) and the techniques the examples demonstrate, plus a subjective note on how well the methods work in the context. This will help in understanding and remembering the examples and could be useful for citations in written work for other purposes.

Some students find that they stop enjoying the output as they become conscious of all that is going on. This will pass and enjoyment will return – but with additional understanding.

PART I

SAFETY AND GOOD PRACTICE

Safety first

What follows are some general points about safety in TV studios, whether student or professional. In the professional world, you will find regulations covering all these topics – and more – affecting every production unit in the UK. YOU MUST ALSO MAKE YOURSELF FAMILIAR WITH YOUR CENTRE’S HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES. These pages are intended to complement those. Other countries will have their own laws and regulations, but the general principles apply everywhere!

There are some points here about safety on location because it is sometimes necessary to include one or more single-camera sequences in a predominantly studio-based project.

There are two aspects to safety:

your own protection; and

your responsibility to others.

There are laws about both; if these laws are broken, someone – and it could be you – could end up in prison or you could be at the receiving end of a nasty court case and a huge fine. As a student, this is not likely to happen to you, but it does happen to production staff!

Risk assessment forms

In almost all circumstances, whether on location or in a stage or studio, a production will have to generate a risk assessment form. This will indicate the level of risk associated with the production and the precautions that have been taken. Many of the following points would have to be taken into account! Blank forms should be available at any professional or student centre, tailored for that centre’s needs. Otherwise, a search on the Internet for ‘production risk assessment form’ should locate something suitable.

Places of work

Each building and organisation will have specific regulations relating to the principal activities there. Here are some general points:

Always note where your nearest fire exit and fire assembly points are. If there is a fire drill – or a real fire – go straight to the nearest fire exit and make your way to the correct assembly point. Fire drills may often occur at inconvenient moments – but take them seriously, they could save your life and those of your colleagues!¹

If you, as a student, are separated from the rest of your group, get to a place of safety, then, as soon as it is possible and safe to do so, go to your proper assembly point.

Never block fire exits Your life and the lives of others may depend on these doors operating correctly.

Do not smoke except in designated areas – if there are any. Smoking in enclosed public spaces is now illegal throughout the UK and elsewhere, but a carelessly disposed of match or cigarette can still cause devastation. Cigarette smoke has been known to set off fire alarms, resulting in the evacuation of buildings, and sprinkler systems, causing inconvenience and material loss to everyone else.

Do not leave litter about. It can fuel a fire and turn a minor incident into a tragedy. It can also get in the way or cause trips, slips and falls.

If you see a liquid spillage on the floor, do something about it – clear it up, if this is appropriate, or warn whoever is responsible, like the Floor Manager in a TV studio, or a member of staff in a supermarket etc.

All this, and more, applies in virtually any place of work but TV studios and locations have their own potential hazards.

TV and film locations and studios

These will have a lot of electrical equipment. Often this can be high voltage: most studio lights run off 415 volts; the domestic AC supply, which can be lethal, is lower and in the range 110–240 volts, depending on the territory. For this reason, as well as to avoid spillage and consequent slips, do not bring drinks into TV Studios.²

Film and TV studios and locations are notorious for cables snaking across the floor. Watch your step, don’t run and don’t trip. Ensure cables are not stretched or likely either to cause someone to trip or to cause equipment to be accidentally pulled over.

Most studios have a fire lane, which may extend all around the studio. Play your part in keeping this clear of obstructions at all times. Ramps or cable-covers are often available to cover cables crossing such a fire lane.

Bags, coats and files left lying around are another hazard. Keep your own stuff tidy and in a safe place.

Equipment

You must learn safe procedures for each piece of equipment you use.

Sound

Before moving microphones, be sure they are faded down on the sound desk.

With any voltage, there is a danger of shock. This – and any possible damage to equipment – is made worse by contact with water. Even a personal mike may work off 12 volts. Spilling water on, say, a lapel mike could therefore cause a nasty, if not life-threatening, shock.

Loud and prolonged sound can cause pain and can damage your hearing. Working close to powerful loudspeakers, with high levels in headphones or where howl-round is accidentally fed into headphones can be particularly dangerous. Working close to other loud sound-sources like jet engines and some industrial equipment causes the same range of problems. Appropriate ear-protection must be worn whenever appropriate – otherwise you could go deaf! (This warning is repeated under ‘Microphones & sound’).

Lighting

Avoid plunging the studio into total darkness – this can be very dangerous.

When adjusting a light or its filters, remember that they heat up quickly. Use appropriate gloves! Also, check that safety chains for lights and filters are properly secured.

Check that safety gauzes are in place whenever it is appropriate. (These ensure that, if a bulb does explode, the studio is not showered with shards of red-hot glass.)

Ensure that no cable is left dangling against a light (it could burn through) and that, in rotating a light, cables are not stretched (also see next section).

General

No smoking, no food, no drink is allowed in any TV studio, unless it is an essential part of the action.

Never stand on cables. Never place anything on cables. Camera cables in particular are fragile and expensive to replace.

Take great care not to run camera pedestals or other mounts over any cables.

Anything electrical carries its own hazards. A lot of equipment may get hot or very hot. Burning can be a real danger.

Do not cover electrical items or dump things on them. Vent holes might become covered and the heat might build up and cause a fire. Be especially aware that items like lights are remotely controlled: a light might appear to be inactive now, but may be faded up later. If it is contact with anything else, the consequences could be catastrophic!

When moving items of electrical equipment, switch them off and disconnect them from the mains. Before you power them up, make sure they are safe and stable. If in doubt about moving any item of equipment, powering it up or operating it, don’t until you’ve asked for advice.

Use circuit breakers wherever appropriate.

Never let any cable become stretched, tangled or tight. If you have to move a camera without the assistance of a ‘cable basher’ (that is, someone who moves your cable for you), carry a loop of cable, perhaps over your shoulder, and try to ensure that the cable runs flat and straight across the floor. Take care with lights: ensure there is enough cable to allow for rotation or other moves especially for those in the lighting grid.

Do not adjust, fiddle or play with, poke or press anything that you are not using, that you do not understand or that is not your responsibility. The production could lose a lot of time whilst a fault is traced!

Glass and sharp items

Shards of glass (and pottery) are incredibly sharp.

As mentioned in the section on lighting, glass from shattered lanterns may be sharp and red-hot.

Use safety gauzes.

Don’t pick up broken glass etc. with your bare hands.

Do ensure it is safely disposed of – if it is not hot, wrapping the pieces in several sheets of newspaper might be a good method of disposal.

Don’t leave broken glass lying around. Even tiny pieces are dangerous.

Avoid using glass where this is possible and reasonable.

Lifting

Film and TV equipment can be heavy or very heavy. Learn good lifting techniques and do not be shy about asking for help:

Keep your back straight and use the power in your legs for lifting.

If in any doubt at all, get assistance with lifting or use appropriate lifting gear, trolleys, etc.

Fire extinguishers

Whilst the use of fire extinguishers is not recommended unless you’ve been trained, it is useful to familiarise yourself with different types of fire extinguisher and their applications. Using the wrong type of extinguisher in the wrong place can increase danger – lethally. For example, a water-based extinguisher can be deadly if used on an electrical fire or burning fat. See Table I.1 on page 11.

Lasers, fire-arms, swords, sharp implements and explosives

There are specific regulations affecting the use of lasers (which occur in DVD and CD players and supermarket checkouts, as well as in more intense forms), fire-arms (including dummies), swords, sharp implements, explosives, pyrotechnics (including commercially available fireworks), etc. If these are ever needed in any of your productions, ensure you understand the regulations and do your bit in following them.

All the usual warnings about needles, scissors and knives apply. Students should consult a tutor before using any hazardous item.

Locations and vehicles

Vehicles are heavy and they move.They cannot see where they are going – the driver might not be in a position to see you – and they take time to stop. Always regard them as a hazard. Keep equipment well clear of moving vehicles at all times – this includes all cars, motor or pedal bikes, lorries (trucks), buses, boats, trains, planes, etc. Helicopters have their own additional hazards, too.

For shots inside a moving vehicle, ensure that the camera is safely secured. Injuries have resulted from sudden stops or jolts with handheld cameras.

It is highly dangerous to place people or camera, sound or lighting equipment for any reason in a road carriageway. So don’t.

To control or stop traffic in the UK, a professional crew would hire police officers because civilians, including students, do not have any legal right to do so. So don’t try!

Professional crews often use a low-loader for car interiors. This is a low trailer on which the prop car is loaded, along with the camera crew and the cast. The camera points at the actors and the trailer’s movement, plus appropriate dubbed engine noise, give the illusion the car is being driven. The whole rig is easy to hire, but at a price beyond most student productions. The actor–driver can concentrate on performance (including pretending to drive) but does not have to worry about the car’s actual road safety. Although low-loaders are expensive and a bit cumbersome, they provide a relatively controlled and safe environment for travelling shots.

Personal safety

If you are peering down the viewfinder of a camera, it is easy to miss things happening outside the frame. Stay aware of the rest of the world!

Do not endanger yourself, your team or your equipment for a shot.

Many locations can expose you to danger. Always seek advice. Never just turn up expecting everything to be OK.

Seek permissions for shooting. Find out who is responsible for the property and ask them. It might mean phoning a landowner, a shopping mall management company or the local council. For every piece of land in the country there is somebody who is responsible!

Make yourself aware of hazards. Always ensure at least one team member has recce’d (reconnoitred).

If you are shooting in a public area, it is worth talking to the local police. This may simply be a matter of letting them know what you plan so that, if a member of the public calls in asking what is going on, you are not delayed by lengthy explanations to a police officer on the day. Your training establishment should be able to advise you on the local arrangements (if any).

Clothing. Wear appropriate clothing: exterior locations are often colder – or wetter – than you expect; people quickly become soaked or chilled. Also, avoid floaty items and things that may jangle or rustle. For exterior shoots, at least, always check the weather forecast! If you have a query about this paragraph, speak to a member of staff.

Wear comfortable shoes (or boots on wet locations) with good non-slip soles. Soft-soled shoes are particularly important in a TV studio so you can move silently and without slipping.

Stiletto heels damage floors, feet, ankles and backs and must not be worn in TV studios – certainly not by the crew!

Heights

Professional crews may have access to cranes, scaffolding and climbing or other safety gear. Quite a lot of this comes with expert operators, trained in the safe use of that equipment. Don’t attempt to use elevated viewpoints that are unfenced or otherwise insecure. If you have access to an apparently safe balcony, for example, you have a duty of care to ensure that you do not drop anything over the edge. Even a coin can cause an injury if dropped from a great height. A camera dropped from a height could kill.

Water hazards

Shooting on or near seas, rivers, lakes or ponds exposes you to a number of hazards:

Danger of drowning – carry safety equipment and hire appropriate safety boats, if necessary.

Electric shock, especially from lighting equipment, might occur if cables and cable joints get wet.

Water dripping or falling (as in snow or rain) onto a lamp may crack filter glasses or even cause the ‘bubble’ (slang term used in the UK) or bulb to explode, showering glass everywhere within range, so always use safety gauzes.

Most fresh-water systems in the UK are contaminated by rat urine. Rats carry Weil’s disease, which can easily infect humans. It is not usually fatal, but it is difficult to treat and unpleasant while it lasts. It can enter the body through orifices and unprotected cuts.

Blue-green algae develop as the summer progresses; they can infect through the same means as Weil’s disease and can also cause symptoms that are unpleasant and difficult to treat.

People

People can be aggressive. They can also be on the lookout for stuff they can steal. Avoid situations where you might have equipment stolen – never leave it unattended.

Unless there is a good reason and you have approval from your centre, do not take centre equipment off the premises on your own – it’s always a good idea to have someone to help and to watch out for your and the equipment’s safety!

Stunts and fights

These can present real dangers and should only be undertaken with help from experienced professionals. Sometimes, careful planning and shooting can safely give the illusion of a stunt without endangering anyone. If time and money are short, it could be worth changing the script!

Third-party liability

If you do something stupid and hurt yourself, that is unfortunate, but you have a liability or obligation to do nothing that will endanger your colleagues or members of the public. Production staff may be prosecuted and fined or imprisoned for negligence or recklessness on these issues.

It is advisable that professionals should each have their own public liability insurance. The employing company should, of course, have such coverage.

Table 1.1   Fire extinguishers