As Live Production: Rehearsal 20/03/18
Today we had our first rehursal with our actual presenters and proper stand in's. We were all put inner production rolls and returned to our assigned positions (e.g. specific camera numbers) that were arranged last week. In the case of myself and Sonia it was agreed that our role would not be split in to two halves, instead we would work in tandem with Jack as our assistant. Although there was some initial confusion with others over this I have to say it worked really well.
Entering the studios we had to set up the cameras and talkback as usual, since everyone knew where they were assigned this was easier than last week, however we had encountered several technical difficulties with one of the cameras. For unknown reasons it was not producing a visual output. As floor manager I had to communicate frequently with the director and the camera op to establish that everyone was aware of the issue and make sure it was being worked on.
As we had our real presenters in the studio for this rehearsal and floor managers have a huge connection with he talent I knew it was important to introduce myself. I made sure that the presenters knew who I was and who the other floor manager/assistant floor manger was. Then having learned from last week, I gave them a quick briefing as to what some of my hand signals meant, so that they wouldn't be confused. I ran them through the basic/most important ones and made sure to make them clear and regular to help them remember them and learn new ones.
Another advantage of today was that our set was placed/oriented where it would be in the actual show, and everyone had the same version of the script, meaning everyone was more prepared and had a clear idea of what would be required of them.
Since we had focussed a lot on the introduction of the show last week, the directors felt that we should rehearse a different section of the script. The advantage of this was that we had some mock up/rough cut VT's prepared ao we knew exactly how long we had between segments and the gallery/VT operators could practice the running of these clips.
As the day went on we discovered that although we all had the same script the camera blocking on it was a little rushed and a lot of it needed re-working. Whilst the director would often talk to the cameras directly through talkback (or occasionally come out on to the studio floor), I was still responsible for making sure the cameras were appropriately spaced, were aware of where they needed to be at all times.
We aslo had our actual mannequin in the studio and could block the scene around it. The difficult faced with his however is that in this scene, and the one directly following it there were a number of stage directions that were listed for the presenters to follow. When rehearsing the scene for the first time the presenters were unsure weather or not to follow them, and although I asked the director they didn't pick up one this until the second take. This was when Del informed us that if the script says we should do something, then usually it is best we follow it without waiting for the director to cue it, otherwise It could hold up the
Throughout the day I had to deal with a number of questions and issues from both talent and crew. As floor manager I made sure to regularly check in on the presenters and make sure they were happy and most importantly knew what was going on at all times. At the start of each new scene I made sure to ask the director which camera each presenter should be looking at, then communicate this with them and annotate it on scripts. One thing I did mess up on was cuing talent next to starting cameras.
As a floor manager I leaned from last week that the talent need to be able too see me at all times. But on top of this at the start of each scene I should be cuing talent next to their starting camera, not in notes centre of the floor. This not only saves time and running around, but makes sure there eye line is in the correct place. This is something I learned today and was sure to pick up on as rehearsals went on.
The next scene we rehearsed was the finale. This was the section that took the longest. Since we had to get all of our contributors on to the stage, move our cameras with a fast turn around, and still guide the presenters, it was quite the challenge. This is where I was particularly glad for the help of Sonia and Jack. While myself and Sonia took charge of the presenters and guests on set, jack stood behind the set ready to cue on the models.
This scene had not been blocked or rehearsed before and as such it took multiple different attempts to get it right. At first the director wanted all the models/guests to stand one the catwalk. However it was decided that there was not enough time and space for the talent that was sat not the sofa, to get up and make their way back stage. The next issue was that having all the models on the catwalk and our other talent standing in 
To resolve this I suggested that we have two models walk down at a time, then the first two can stand bellow/beside the catwalk, and the other two can stand on it, leaving just enough space for the remaining contributor to walk
down and stand in the centre of the catwalk, whilst the drag act remained in the soft area with the presenters. After a few attempts this seemed to work quite well. I did have to update the models on their positioning every time the director changed their mind. Also initially the presenters were asked to stand (which I would have to cue), but this messed with the framing so I asked them to remain seated.
At one point the presenters venture over to the catwalk and in to the audience, but they do so one at a time. To save me trying to be in two places at once Sonia and I each took charge of a presenter. She would follow one and guide them, while I followed the other, guiding them when to stand, where to move too, and which camera to look at, ensuring no one ever felt lost. Throughout the day I also had to deal with the requests and concerns of the crew. For example cameras were concerned about how they would fit around the audience and that they would be seen in one or two shots. Since today was mostly about blocking I had to use my communication skills to talk to the director then reassure the camera ops that they were being listened to and we were aware of their points but the director was not overly concerned about the minor issues they had raised at this point, however they would anted to them in a later rehearsal.
Overall today was a great day for developing my communication skills as floor manager. I dealt with a number of requests from both crew and talent, learned how we should block out our scenes and what needed to happen during VT's/SOT. I managed to halt presenters at each stings and work around our audience camera. Whilst today had its fair share of problems, we were able to overcome most of them working as a team with both crew and other floor managers to create a successful rehearsal The next step will be to do a full run through of the show.
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