As Live Production: TX Day
Today was the day that Steal The Style went live!!!
With all our presenters, contributors, models, technicians and a Live Studio audience in place we were ready to go. The past few months of planning, rehearsals, and workshops all had to come together. Everyone had to work as one big unit, everything had to be set and any last minute changes finalized ready to go Live.
And thankfully it was a huge success and everything went off without issue.
The day began at 9:00AM, since the set design and lighting team spent the majority of yesterday in the studio setting up the majority of their work was done. This meant we could get on to the floor right away.
The first thing to do was to work with Sonia to get the talkback system set up, since according to authors like Utterback, having an effective communication set up is one of the biggest priorities for the floor manager. 
We made sure that all cameras had a talkback, as well as the assistant floor manager. We had a few spare units, one of which was given to Harvey, the sound assistant (since Amiee had her own talkback since she was now stationed in the gallery so had her own talkback we needed to make sure she could communicate with Harvey who was on the floor). The other talkback units were kept to the side on charge in case the runners needed one, or another unit went down.
Once we had an open line of communication the next most important step was to talk to the director to find out what they could see in the gallery and communicate this to the cameras. Fortunately today we didn't have any issues with the camera feed as they were all worked on yesterday. Although we did need to make sure that all the cameras had the same iris, aperture/exposure and white balance settings. While this was mainly the responsibility of the lead camera op I still had to monitor and report their progress to the gallery.
As Brown says "The Floor Manager is responsible for making sure health and safety procedures are adhered to". So working with each camera assistant and referring to the floor plan and risk assessment I was given the previous day. I helped to tape down and tidy any loose cables in the appropriate places. Using the special panels in the studio to create safe walkways.
While working on this, myself and Sonia were regularly checking in with the Gallery to find out how much time we had left until rehearsal. Then communicate this to the floor. After a quick chat with Del yesterday my confidence with this had improved significantly and I was able to command the attention of the floor so everyone was aware of timings.
The next most important thing to do for me was to introduce myself to the runners we had on set. Since this was my first time meeting them I introduced myself to them (and introduced my co-floor managers) and made sure to make a not of their names so we could communicate more effectively, and they could feel like a part of the team. I explained to them how the show was going to run and what each of there key responsibilities were. I spent the majority of the time talking to my audience runners since they had the most to do. I gave them audience cheer cards and pointed out the parts of the show they needed to be used at. I gave them blocking and direction as to where they should stand and move to in order to be seen by the audience while staying out of the way of the cameras.
My mannequin runner was next in my list, I had to introduce them to Jack and show them where the mannequin and its outfits were kept. Pointing out the places and cue's in the script where the mannequin had to be moved or changed.
In heignseight, it would have been useful if I had prepared spare copies of the script that I could give to the runners so they could make notes of when their cue's were. However I overcame this by handing them paper and pens that they could use to write down notes and cue points they could refer to. I then made sure to introduce the other runners to the presenters and gallery.
Once this had been established the next step was to talk to Jack to find out which of our contributors had arrived. The call sheet asked for all the models and contributors to be in the studio for 9AM, however, unforeseen bad traffic conditions had caused several contributors to be late. After a quick chat with the director, it was decided that since the presenters were in, and we had stand-ins prepared just in case, we would go ahead and get them framed up before starting our rehearsal at 9:30 as scheduled.
I walked the presenters over to the set using this as an opportunity to check up on them and find out if they had any last minute concerns. As floor manager you need to make sure your guests and talent are happy, which they were. We did have minor issues with the IEM's which I informed sound of and this was able to be fixed.
While the presenters were framed up I worked with the runners and other floor managers to double check that we had enough seating for the audience, and liaising with Jemma to check that the reserved seats were all marked out.
Once all this was sorted we ran our first rehearsal. Overall it went quite successfully, it ran to time, and our stand in's knew what they were doing, when, and where, which helped the show run smoothly.
Some issues we encountered were that the runner attempted to bring on the mannequin too early at some points, some camera's irisis were also slightly out. So this needed to be worked on ASAP and as floor manager I took a leading role. In the gap before the next rehearsal I spoke to the camera (camera 2) who's iris was out and helped locate Ferg/Sam to help solve the issue (the main
problem was that this camera was a slightly older model than the others so in order to get the same settings, the ops had to hunt through a series of menus). None the less I made sure they gave regular feedback tot he director. While this was being worked on I spoke to my runners. I used my judgement and let them explain their issues to me, listening rather than just ordering them about, which helped
us come up with a solution and work together more easily.
I clarified their cue's and we agreed that where possible I would shout nice and loud to direct them when the mannequin should be moved.
As the second rehearsal was about to start our models all arrived. I made sure to introduce myself
to them (as some of them were new) explaining who would be cueing them and when, making sure they were happy and had no issues.
The second rehearsal once again went very smoothly, there were a few delayed cues but nothing major, and my runners seemed to get they're timings a lot better. Our models acted confidently and made an effective contribution. We also had our official audience contributors brought in early so we could practice interviewing them, (pairing this with the use of the new handheld mic and audience layout).
After the second rehearsal, my biggest concern was that the models were not wearing the outfits being described by the presenters. I spoke to Jack to make sure they were prepared and dressed for the final rehearsal to ensure they didn't need any last minute altering. I took this opportunity to also speak with the models, as well as Bonnie and Connor/Saphire (who up until now I had little dealings with). This was key as they raised a small issue with me. Some of them were confused when I was directing them to stay put and Sonia was signalling for them to move. After a quick chat with the models in Sonia this was resolved as it was agreed that since I had the most practice and notes with this section, I would take charge of the models in the first half and Sonia would take them for the second (making sure neither of us overshadowed the other during their section).
Before the final rehearsal I made sure to check with each department to see if there were last-minute issues. The cameras commented that Saphire could be seen walking behind the set. To solve this I spoke to jack and we agreed to change the path contributors take when walking on so that it is more hidden (they would now walk behind the curtain, which we moved slightly to make sure there were no trip hazards). I made sure Harvey/Amie had met Saphire and that they were able to get her miced up without issue. I also made sure all the mic swaps went ahead without issue.
I spoke to all other contributors who told me they were all happy and knew what they were doing. As well as the presenters and directors who asked me to keep cueing them just in case there was an issue with the IEM's.
The final rehearsal went flawlessly, Sonia and I worked together to command the floor effectively as a team while staying out of each others way. Before we wrapped for lunch I made sure that all cameras put their batteries on charge and had a spare prepared.
With less than an hour to go before transmission, my next big responsibility was to organise the preparation for the audience. I briefed my audience runners as to where they needed to be and made sure they had each had a guest list (to keep track of numbers) and a talkback (so they could inform us when audience arrive). I introduced my runners to Danny who would also be assisting them. I got Jacks attention over talkback to make sure the warm up act was ready and in position.
One issue we had with this was that the ticket info told audience members to arrive half an hour later than originally planned. This meant that they were arriving slower than expected and gave us less time to get them seated, briefed and prepared for the show. To overcome this issue we decided to keep one runner outside longer than planned in case anyone showed up late.
I used this extra time to talk to Jemma and go over a few last minute safety points. I had prepared a list of safety points the audience needed to be briefed about, but Jemma had a few things to add. We had a small issue when the audience contributors who were supposed to be seated early, were still in the audience holding hut. Fortunately the talkback units I ran out to Danny and the Runners earlier meant we could quickly get in touch with them and get someone to run the two contributors in.
Once all the audience had arrived and were seated it was time for me to give my Health And Safety Briefing. I used a loud and active voice to gain the audience's attention then put the communication skills I had picked up over the last few weeks to good use. I went over the fire safety procedures and explained how the Live show was going to work (going over the usual points of getting phones turned off and food/drink put away). I also used this opportunity to introduce the concept of audience runners and cheer cards to the audience, getting them to practice cheering a few times to warm them up. Overall considering I hadn't really practised this briefing it went very well and my clear and loud dictation communicated all the necessary information.
With this out of the way it was now just a waiting game until we could go live. I used the last few minutes to check with all cameras and sound as well as my runners to make sure everyone was ready. As I began the countdown to the start of the show I made sure to be extra loud so the entire audience could hear.
The show started on time and the presenters hit their cue perfectly considering they had a lot of cheering to cut through. The first half of the show was Sonias to shout and block through, while I kept my focus on guiding the models, meaning they entered and exited the catwalk at exactly the right time.
The model's costumes were all correct and looked great. Once their job was done I made sure Jack cleared them off of the studio floor to allow for mic changes and make room for other contributors.
I ensured that the handheld mic es gave to the presenter at the right time and was turned on and working. Then I used my spacial awareness skills to stay out of shot in a safe place when the cameras turn to the audience.
As the second half of the show started control over shouting and directing the presenters was handed over to me. Upon the exit of each VT I made sure to communicate to the floor which camera we would be starting on (as sometimes the director would stray from the one listed in the script) and I would stand next to this camera so the presenters knew where to look.
I made sure to stand in a visible spot at all times so I could command the attention of the presenters. Keeping my voice raised was key and i pulled this off well. Also even though the presenters had IEM's i still used hand signals to communicate how much time was left and when they needed to wrap up, in case they were distracted by the interviews.
At all times I remained calm and followed studio protocol when talking to people like Jack over talkback, to ensure models were in position. The second half of the show ran without any issues and overall the show was a huge success. It ran exactly to time and no one messed up at any point.
I would have liked my runners to be more enthusiastic since we had been so positive with our communication, and I did drop my script during the drag performance which may have been picked up on a mic. However, overall I don't think I could be more pleased with how the show went.
To conclude the day everyone came out on to the floor so Simon could introduce us to the audience and add some closing thoughts. After this, we had a little bit of time for photos before de-rigging and de-briefing which was done swiftly and efficiently. Talking to Simon, Del and other observers they said I was incredibly confident and effective as a floor manager, which I was so happy to hear, and showed my hard work, research and practice had paid off.
While working on this, myself and Sonia were regularly checking in with the Gallery to find out how much time we had left until rehearsal. Then communicate this to the floor. After a quick chat with Del yesterday my confidence with this had improved significantly and I was able to command the attention of the floor so everyone was aware of timings.
The next most important thing to do for me was to introduce myself to the runners we had on set. Since this was my first time meeting them I introduced myself to them (and introduced my co-floor managers) and made sure to make a not of their names so we could communicate more effectively, and they could feel like a part of the team. I explained to them how the show was going to run and what each of there key responsibilities were. I spent the majority of the time talking to my audience runners since they had the most to do. I gave them audience cheer cards and pointed out the parts of the show they needed to be used at. I gave them blocking and direction as to where they should stand and move to in order to be seen by the audience while staying out of the way of the cameras.
My mannequin runner was next in my list, I had to introduce them to Jack and show them where the mannequin and its outfits were kept. Pointing out the places and cue's in the script where the mannequin had to be moved or changed.
In heignseight, it would have been useful if I had prepared spare copies of the script that I could give to the runners so they could make notes of when their cue's were. However I overcame this by handing them paper and pens that they could use to write down notes and cue points they could refer to. I then made sure to introduce the other runners to the presenters and gallery.
Once this had been established the next step was to talk to Jack to find out which of our contributors had arrived. The call sheet asked for all the models and contributors to be in the studio for 9AM, however, unforeseen bad traffic conditions had caused several contributors to be late. After a quick chat with the director, it was decided that since the presenters were in, and we had stand-ins prepared just in case, we would go ahead and get them framed up before starting our rehearsal at 9:30 as scheduled.
While the presenters were framed up I worked with the runners and other floor managers to double check that we had enough seating for the audience, and liaising with Jemma to check that the reserved seats were all marked out.
Once all this was sorted we ran our first rehearsal. Overall it went quite successfully, it ran to time, and our stand in's knew what they were doing, when, and where, which helped the show run smoothly.
Some issues we encountered were that the runner attempted to bring on the mannequin too early at some points, some camera's irisis were also slightly out. So this needed to be worked on ASAP and as floor manager I took a leading role. In the gap before the next rehearsal I spoke to the camera (camera 2) who's iris was out and helped locate Ferg/Sam to help solve the issue (the main
I clarified their cue's and we agreed that where possible I would shout nice and loud to direct them when the mannequin should be moved.
As the second rehearsal was about to start our models all arrived. I made sure to introduce myself
The second rehearsal once again went very smoothly, there were a few delayed cues but nothing major, and my runners seemed to get they're timings a lot better. Our models acted confidently and made an effective contribution. We also had our official audience contributors brought in early so we could practice interviewing them, (pairing this with the use of the new handheld mic and audience layout).
After the second rehearsal, my biggest concern was that the models were not wearing the outfits being described by the presenters. I spoke to Jack to make sure they were prepared and dressed for the final rehearsal to ensure they didn't need any last minute altering. I took this opportunity to also speak with the models, as well as Bonnie and Connor/Saphire (who up until now I had little dealings with). This was key as they raised a small issue with me. Some of them were confused when I was directing them to stay put and Sonia was signalling for them to move. After a quick chat with the models in Sonia this was resolved as it was agreed that since I had the most practice and notes with this section, I would take charge of the models in the first half and Sonia would take them for the second (making sure neither of us overshadowed the other during their section).
Before the final rehearsal I made sure to check with each department to see if there were last-minute issues. The cameras commented that Saphire could be seen walking behind the set. To solve this I spoke to jack and we agreed to change the path contributors take when walking on so that it is more hidden (they would now walk behind the curtain, which we moved slightly to make sure there were no trip hazards). I made sure Harvey/Amie had met Saphire and that they were able to get her miced up without issue. I also made sure all the mic swaps went ahead without issue.
I spoke to all other contributors who told me they were all happy and knew what they were doing. As well as the presenters and directors who asked me to keep cueing them just in case there was an issue with the IEM's.
The final rehearsal went flawlessly, Sonia and I worked together to command the floor effectively as a team while staying out of each others way. Before we wrapped for lunch I made sure that all cameras put their batteries on charge and had a spare prepared.
With less than an hour to go before transmission, my next big responsibility was to organise the preparation for the audience. I briefed my audience runners as to where they needed to be and made sure they had each had a guest list (to keep track of numbers) and a talkback (so they could inform us when audience arrive). I introduced my runners to Danny who would also be assisting them. I got Jacks attention over talkback to make sure the warm up act was ready and in position.
One issue we had with this was that the ticket info told audience members to arrive half an hour later than originally planned. This meant that they were arriving slower than expected and gave us less time to get them seated, briefed and prepared for the show. To overcome this issue we decided to keep one runner outside longer than planned in case anyone showed up late.
I used this extra time to talk to Jemma and go over a few last minute safety points. I had prepared a list of safety points the audience needed to be briefed about, but Jemma had a few things to add. We had a small issue when the audience contributors who were supposed to be seated early, were still in the audience holding hut. Fortunately the talkback units I ran out to Danny and the Runners earlier meant we could quickly get in touch with them and get someone to run the two contributors in.
Once all the audience had arrived and were seated it was time for me to give my Health And Safety Briefing. I used a loud and active voice to gain the audience's attention then put the communication skills I had picked up over the last few weeks to good use. I went over the fire safety procedures and explained how the Live show was going to work (going over the usual points of getting phones turned off and food/drink put away). I also used this opportunity to introduce the concept of audience runners and cheer cards to the audience, getting them to practice cheering a few times to warm them up. Overall considering I hadn't really practised this briefing it went very well and my clear and loud dictation communicated all the necessary information.
With this out of the way it was now just a waiting game until we could go live. I used the last few minutes to check with all cameras and sound as well as my runners to make sure everyone was ready. As I began the countdown to the start of the show I made sure to be extra loud so the entire audience could hear.
The show started on time and the presenters hit their cue perfectly considering they had a lot of cheering to cut through. The first half of the show was Sonias to shout and block through, while I kept my focus on guiding the models, meaning they entered and exited the catwalk at exactly the right time.
The model's costumes were all correct and looked great. Once their job was done I made sure Jack cleared them off of the studio floor to allow for mic changes and make room for other contributors.
I ensured that the handheld mic es gave to the presenter at the right time and was turned on and working. Then I used my spacial awareness skills to stay out of shot in a safe place when the cameras turn to the audience.
As the second half of the show started control over shouting and directing the presenters was handed over to me. Upon the exit of each VT I made sure to communicate to the floor which camera we would be starting on (as sometimes the director would stray from the one listed in the script) and I would stand next to this camera so the presenters knew where to look.
I made sure to stand in a visible spot at all times so I could command the attention of the presenters. Keeping my voice raised was key and i pulled this off well. Also even though the presenters had IEM's i still used hand signals to communicate how much time was left and when they needed to wrap up, in case they were distracted by the interviews. At all times I remained calm and followed studio protocol when talking to people like Jack over talkback, to ensure models were in position. The second half of the show ran without any issues and overall the show was a huge success. It ran exactly to time and no one messed up at any point.
I would have liked my runners to be more enthusiastic since we had been so positive with our communication, and I did drop my script during the drag performance which may have been picked up on a mic. However, overall I don't think I could be more pleased with how the show went.
To conclude the day everyone came out on to the floor so Simon could introduce us to the audience and add some closing thoughts. After this, we had a little bit of time for photos before de-rigging and de-briefing which was done swiftly and efficiently. Talking to Simon, Del and other observers they said I was incredibly confident and effective as a floor manager, which I was so happy to hear, and showed my hard work, research and practice had paid off.
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