Vision Mixing Workshop
With my role being the producer, I felt as though it was important to gain an understanding of the roles that each of the crew have to undertake, so I had a go at trying to learn to vision mix. Through learning how to vision mix, it also meant that if the vision mixer for this project (Glenn Irvine) was unable to make the live show due to Covid-19 or another reason, I would be able to step into his role with some confidence and experience.
A vision mixer sits in the gallery and follows the directions of the director in order to select what/cut to what the viewers see at home (Screenskills, 2022). As a vision mixer, you are sat next to the director when in the gallery as the director is instructing you as to the shots that need to be cut to. When learning how to vision mix, I was sat next to the director for the show, Anouk Jansen, who instructed me on what cameras she wanted me to cut to.
The sheer amount of buttons on the vision mixing board can initially be quite daunting however, once you understand what buttons you need to press and have some practice on the vision mixer, it becomes easier. For the amount of buttons on the vision mixer, you don’t have to press too many, which helped to make the task of vision mixing simpler. The main buttons that I had to press were the buttons for each camera, the buttons to cue the graphics and the VTs, and the cut button, which displays the live feed that goes out to the public. When vision mixing, you have to be incredibly quick, good at multitasking, and good at remaining calm, amongst other things (Screenskills, 2022). At first, I had difficulty in keeping up with the rapidity of the director’s instructions, but as I became more confident within the role, I was able to keep up and predict what shots she would cut to next. Finger placement also helped me to keep up and feel more comfortable when vision mixing. I placed the four fingers on my left hand on the camera buttons (there were four cameras used for the show), and used my remaining right hand to press the cut, GFX, and VT buttons.
Fig. 1 Vision Mixing Board Displaying different Buttons for the Cameras, GFX, and VTs (2022)
At points, it was hard to hear what the director was instructing myself, as a vision mixer, to do due to the PPE plastic screens that were sat between us. With communication being key between the director and vision mixer, it was important that I could hear what the director was saying. In order to combat the issue of being unable to hear some of the director’s instructions, I spoke to the studio technician, Dave, and got him to set up comms for the future, which would enable the vision mixer to hear the director’s instructions and communicate with them.
By learning how to vision mix, I was able to understand how vision mixing works and the importance of the relationship and communication between the vision mixer and the director.
Sound Workshop
With an interest in sound and one of our key crew members within the sound department being off ill with covid, I took it upon myself, as producer, to step into the role of GRAMS operator. A GRAMS operator was a key part of Cosmic Snatchers as the script contained a multitude of sound effects and BED tracks. In order to gain a greater understanding of what a GRAMS operator is, I took part in a workshop with sound engineer and industry professional Kevin Price. As well as taking part in the workshop with Kevin Price, I also took part in a workshop with and received support from technical tutor, Fergus Moloney.
The software that was used for both the workshop and the live show was SpotOn, which is the industry standard software for audio playback in TV, Radio, Live Events and Theatre (Sigma Broadcast, 2022). Within the workshop, I learnt how to load the sound/GRAMS that had been selected for the show into the SpotOn software, how to the loop the GRAMS (individually), how to adjust the gain of the GRAMS using the audio mixing desk and how to fade the GRAMS in and out using the faders on the mixing desk.
Fig. 2 SpotOn GRAMS Part 1 for Cosmic Snatchers (2022)
Fig. 3 SpotOn GRAMS Part 2 for Cosmic Snatchers (2022)
Throughout the workshop, there were a couple of words/technical language that Kevin used that I was unsure of. In an effort to expand upon my knowledge, I asked Kevin what the acronyms GRAMS and ADR stood for and also researched them further. Through doing this, I learnt that ADR stands for automated dialogue replacement and involves re-recording dialogue in a setting that is more controlled in order to gain a better audio quality or reflect changes within the dialogue (Studiobinder, 2022). GRAMS is the word ‘gramophone’ shortened and involves a GRAMS operator playing in any sound effects or music within a studio show or outside broadcast, following the instructions of the script and the director (Screenskills, 2022).
In addition to learning how to operate GRAMS, I also learnt how to set up lavalier microphones within a studio setting. I had previous experience of setting up lavalier microphones within the context of filming pre-recorded content however, I had not had experience of setting them up within a studio setting. I learnt how to connect them up to the live-feed that ran from the room in which we were filming into the gallery, this involved plugging them into the box that was running the live feed. It is of great importance to ensure that both the mic pack and the receiver for that mic pack are on the same frequency, have the same squelch, the battery levels are maintained at a level where they are not likely to run out, and that the db on each mic pack is set correctly, which in the case of the show was -21db. If this is not done, problems with the audio quality, as well as the live feed, will occur (Moloney, 2022).
Figure. 4 Set-up Lavalier Microphone (2022)
As a result of taking part in the workshops with Kevin Price and Fergus Moloney, I was able to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for how sound works within live television. This aided me in learning how to operate GRAMS within the context of a live show, as well as gave me a greater insight into how sound works. It was also useful as a producer to broaden my knowledge on the different departments within the television industry, particularly within the context of live television. After the workshops and having a go at operating GRAMS and setting up lavalier mics, I have more confidence within the area of operating sound within a studio setting and thoroughly enjoyed the workshops.
Going into the future, I would like to further expand my knowledge and confidence within the sound department by continuing with GRAMS operating whilst also trying out different areas within sound, such as foley.
Camera
During a couple of the days in which we were able to switch and try out different roles within the production, I had a go at operating both the handheld camera, and the studio camera sat on a tripod.
The cameras that we used for the show were Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2s.
Fig. 5 Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 (2022)
Previously, I haven’t enjoyed a lot of the camera work we have done and have found that I prefer photography or shooting on DSLRs and GoPros than the bigger, industry standard cameras however, after using the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2s I found a liking for camera operating. I feel as though my previous dislike of camera operating was due to the lack of practical experience on the cameras as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and consequentially, meant that I had a lack of confidence when operating cameras. Through switching roles, I was able to build up my confidence and experience on the cameras.
Fig. 6 Elsie Potter Operating a Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 (2022)
Another factor that I liked when camera operating that differed from previous experience, was the fact that as the role was a studio camera operator, it meant that you were mainly focused on the shots taken from the angle that your camera was positioned rather than having to move it. With multi-camera productions, they are more cost-effective, it’s easier to capture a multitude of coverage, and in some aspects, it’s easier to write the script (Miyamoto, 2021).
Fig. 7 Elsie Potter On Set and Operating a Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 (2022)
Attached to the camera’s tripod, there were two handles, one in which you use to focus the shot and the other to tighten or loosen the shot. Through having the handles on the tripod, it made it much easier to adjust the shot and to focus the camera rather than having to reach around the camera and do it. The monitor that sat above the camera was also incredibly useful in terms of allowing myself, as a camera operator, to quickly adjust the shot and settings on the camera without having to look into the eye piece. The focus peaking, which helps to aid focusing (Adobe, 2022), was made much easier with the monitor due to the screen being of a bigger nature and clearer to see.
Fig. 8 Photograph of the back of a BlackMagic URSA Broadcast G2 and its monitor (2022)
On top of trying out the BlackMagic URSA Broadcast G2s on the tripod, I also tried the handheld camera. As there was no camera operator at one point for the handheld camera, I stepped in. During my time as a handheld camera operator, I discovered how hard it was to keep the camera stable. I tried my best to try and maintain a sense of steadiness when operating the camera however, there was still quite a bit of camera shake, even with camera stabilisation on. Upon stepping into this role, I now have much more appreciation for handheld camera operators. The role is incredibly physically demanding and you have to have a very steady hand (and arms).
Through the opportunity of trying out the different roles, I was able to gain a greater sense of empathy and understanding as a producer as to what goes into each role. Hereafter, I will try and have a go at camera operating when working on future projects.
Bibliography:
Adobe. (2022) What is Focus Peaking?: How Focus Peaking Can Aid Your Shoots. At: https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/photography/discover/focus-peaking.html#:~:text=If%20the%20lack%20of%20autofocus,colour%20overlay%20in%20your%20viewfinder. (Accessed 12/04/2022).
Fig. 1 Jansen, A. (2022) Vision Mixing Board Displaying different Buttons for the Cameras, GFX, and VTs. [Photograph] In Possession of: Anouk Jansen: Maidstone.
Fig. 2 Potter, E. (2022) SpotOn GRAMS Part 1 for Cosmic Snatchers. [Photograph] In Possession of: the author: Maidstone.
Fig. 3 Potter, E. (2022) SpotOn GRAMS Part 2 for Cosmic Snatchers. [Photograph] In Possession of: the author: Maidstone.
Fig. 4 Potter, E. (2022) Set-up Lavalier Microphone. [Photograph] In Possession of: the author: Maidstone.
Fig. 5 Blackmagic Design (2022) Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2. At: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products (Accessed 12/04/2022)
Fig. 6 Potter, E. (2022) Elsie Potter Operating a Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2. [Photograph] In Possession of: the author: Maidstone.
Fig. 7 Potter, E. (2022) Elsie Potter On Set and Operating a Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2. [Photograph] In Possession of: the author: Maidstone.
Fig. 8 Potter, E. (2022) Photograph of the back of a BlackMagic URSA Broadcast G2 and its monitor. [Photograph] In Possession of: the author: Maidstone.
Miyamoto, K. (2021) Single-Camera VS. Multi-Camera Sitcom Scripts: What’s the Difference?. At: https://screencraft.org/blog/differences-single-camera-multi-camera-tv-pilot-scripts/#:~:text=Because%20the%20multi%2Dcamera%20format,in%20our%20TV%20formatting%20post. (Accessed 12/04/2022)
Moloney, F. (2022) As Live Sound Workshop. [Kent: University for Creative Arts 28/03/2022].
Screenskills. (2022) Unscripted TV: GRAMS Operator. At: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/sound/grams-operator/ (Accessed 10/04/2022)
Screenskills. (2022) Unscripted TV: Vision Mixer. At: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/unscripted-tv/editorial/vision-mixer/ (Accessed 21/03/2022)
Sigma Broadcast. (2022) SpotOn Software. At: http://www.sigmabroadcast.com/spoton.html (Accessed 09/04/2022)
Studiobinder. (2022) ADR Meaning in Film. At: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-adr-in-film/ (Accessed 10/04/2022)
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