As Live Production: Entertainment Studio Production Analysis

As Live Production: Entertainment Studio Production Analysis

As part of my ongoing research for this unit, I am going to be critically analysing a studio-based entertainment programme. Reviewing the success of all the filming elements that it uses and how it has inspired/informed my work. 

The show I have chosen to look at is "This Morning". Officially re-launching on ITV in 2009 the show is a "breakfast show" that provides Live entertainment for a wide audience. 

The show features two presenters namely Phillip Schofield (who was a personality type that I thought would have worked well for my pitch idea "Teen Talk TV") and Holly Willoughby. Having two presenters like these who have great chemistry and can bounce off of each other, means that they are the primary source of entertainment. They are the recognisable icons that people picture when they think of the show and they generate a warm welcoming atmosphere. 

This was the type of character we wanted when casting hosts for "Steal The Style". And from what I've seen of our presenters, they do have that warm welcoming chemistry which is necessary for the show to successfully draw in an audience. 

The set for this show is also well constructed. It is reasonably large but appears homely/cozy thanks to the use of props and space management. When designing a set for my own pitch I used a 3D room building software to visualize how my set would look, with a large soft area and well-placed lighting and props. 

"This Morning" features both Hard and Soft areas that the presenters can walk to and interact with guests in. This means that scripting/blocking and directing has to be well planned out to keep a constant energy level throughout the show that helps presenters "segway" in to a new topic. 

For "Steal The Style" I look forward to working closely with the directors and presenters to plan out how we can block our scenes. The producers have already taken inspiration from "This Morning" and we plan to have both a hard and soft area. So when floor managing in this show I will be able to guide presenters as to which cameras they should look at and where/when they should move in order to keep a constant flow of energy that maintains audience attention. 

It is also interesting to look at the camera set-up for this show. Unlike some of the other shows, I have looked at "This Morning" regularly uses a standard 2 + 3 interview set up. Although it is such a common occurrence in studio productions, it (along with the blocking between areas I mentioned earlier), allows for a great multi-camera set up. You can have one camera as a wide, one as a mid/close up, two on the guests, and one on the presenters. Allowing for a variety of angles that gives an otherwise static interview more energy, successfully drawing in the viewer. 

For "Steal The Style" we actually have 5 cameras to work with, and we have been practising this interview set up in rehearsals. So hopefully when we have our set come in and a new version of the script we will be able to play around more with this setup to grant an even more immersive viewing experience. 

The show features a variety of guests and contributors that help generate the stories and entertainment value. When pitching my idea I had already thought of some guests I wanted that would make for an interesting story. But since "Steal The Style" was the winning pitch I have been working hard as a researcher to source interesting contributors that have a valuable or entertaining story to tell. In-fact I have been in contact with an Etsy seller who not only fits with the content of our show but can provide a unique and entertaining story that you would find on a show like "This Morning". Unlike some other shows ive seen this one makes good use of VT's to divide up its content and will help us learn how to transition into the VT's we are using in "Steal The Style".

Overall the show features a more traditional set up than some other Live/As-Live shows. But it is probably the closest show to "Steal The Style" in terms of content and technical set up, with its two presenters, hard and soft set, and simple multi-camera layout. But because of that there is so much to learn from it in terms of blocking, scripting, cross shooting, VT's etc.

As Live Production: Factual Studio Production Analysis

As Live Production: Factual Studio Production Analysis

To help me have a greater understanding of how studio productions work, I will be analysing a studio based factual programme. For this I have chosen to look at QI. 

QI first broadcast in 2003 and is still running to this day. Although the shows primary purpose was to educate and inform its audience, contradicting popular misconceptions and beliefs. It was one of the first shows to attract a wider audience by casting celebrities instead of industry experts to deliver this information in an interesting and entertaining way. 

For this reason, it was a big inspiration for my studio pitch (Teen Talk TV) and although it is a panel based show I think it provides useful inspiration for "Steal The Style". 

The show usually lasts for 30min and is filmed "As Live" with minor touch up's in editing before it is broadcast. For that reason, it is a great template to base our studio ideas off of it. 

The show has one main presenter, who is charismatic enough to carry the show by himself. His energy, wit, and amusing interaction with guests draws an audience in and is exactly the feel we wanted for both my pitch (Teen Talk TV), and the winning pitch (Steal The Style). 

The show also features multiple guests/contributors who compete against one another to win points, but also interact with one another to spark debates and discussion. This means that from a technical point of view there needs to be an effective multi-camera set up to deliver a range of angles and shot sizes. 

It strays away from the traditional 2+3 interview format and gives the director and vision mixer a more varied show. With steal the style we have sections that also break away from the 2+3 format so this show is useful to look at.

Also the show is only loosely scripted (relying on cue cards primarily) so the presenters have to "ad lib" which is something often present in a talk show format and "steal the style will be no exception". 

The show has other technical aspects only found in a live studio format. These include graphics and sound effects that have to be cued on certain lines, meaning effective communication  

Overall i'd say that this show fulfils its brief very well. It delivers a series of facts to an audience in an entertaining way. The set design, lighting plan and scripting is fairly simple, but more technical aspects like graphics, sound, camera angles, vision mixing etc offer a detailed insight that we can use in Steal The Style.

As Live Production: Research Update

As Live Production: Research Update

Following our recent meeting it was agreed that we should replace our 2000's section with a 1960's section. To account for this I have  continued my work as a researcher to find further information and identify the key trends of the 1960's (that have been revived) that we can use in our shoot. Bellow is a summary of my findings.

60’s Trends

Mods and Rockers were a huge part of 60’s fashion. While the “rocker” style was more about standing out from the crowd and making a statement. It is the more reserved and smart “Mod” style that has made a comeback in today’s fashion.

The mod style was all about incorporating smart high brow fashion in to everyday wear. Staples of the “mod” style included smart shirts, chinos, and a suit style jacket.

This hasn’t changed much over time. The only notable thing is that with the expansion of the internet along with high street retailers, it has allowed for more tailoring of outfits for a more personalized fit. And although the 60’s mods did have some range of tones to choose from in outfits, with more colours becoming fashionable and available for cheaper prices over time, modern mods have a greater variety of colours to choose from.

In today's world you can see the mod style being represented by stars like Tom Ford.

When it came to the women of the 60’s Mini Skirts were all the rage. As shorter clothing became more widely accepted women would turn to mini skirts as a staple of their outfits, used to accentuate and show off their figure.

Trends for women also included leopard print clothing e.g. bags, tops, leggings etc.

The 60’s also saw the birth of patterned tights; women were able to further express their own unique style by picking unique tights, which is a trend that has seen a comeback in recent years. And one further popular 60’s trend we see today is knee high boots, since people were able to worry a little less about practicality and more about making a statement; so something practical like boots were adapted and pushed to become fashionable items.

As we’ve seen with knee high boots, the 60’s had the attitude of “The Bigger The Better”. And this trend didn’t just stop with clothes, hair was also big in the 60’s, we see it represented by films like “Hairspray” and brought about by the afro style of the black community. Hair was often kept up and products were used to keep it as big as possible.

Fanny Pack Info

Since we decided to replace roll neck jumpers with Fanny packs I took it upon myself to find a little bit more about them. 

They first became popular in the mid 1980's, the trend was believed to have started in America, favoured by "soccer mums" as a practice way of keeping key items close to hand without the need for a large hand bag. However the trend soon made it across the see to the UK and they became soon became fashionable as well as practical. 

Manufacturers started producing them in a wide variety of colours and patterns to attract a wider market and piggie back on this fashion trend, which helped to increase their popularity. 

Today they are seen as a popular accessory and are frequently paired with an otherwise simple outfit to help make it stand out more.

Today as times and attitudes have changed they have been able to reach a wider market, becoming more evenly spread across both men and women. 

They're modern popularity is partly due to celebrity endorsement  Comedy stars like Demi Lardner, and other famous faces have given the trend a boost. Interestingly the way we wear these bags has also changed over time. Rather than the traditional waist positioning, they have been seen to be worn to the side and even over the shoulder. And while seen more of a fashion option than a practical tool their popularity is bigger than ever.

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As Live Production: Project Update

As Live Production: Project Update

Today we had a meeting in our VT group with Helen and our producers (Mel and Katy). We discussed the progress that we were making and what changes needed to be made. 

They were pleased that I had found an Etsy seller as a contributor and that regular contact had been kept. Helen wanted us to clarify exactly what her VT will entail. We explained that it would be an introduction to her and her shop and would focus on her giving us a tutorial. We had to clarify that we didn't want to give away too much in the VT as we are also going to interview her in the studio. Once Helen understood this she was on board and we began discussing the options for which item she should make for us (at the moment our best option is a summer dress so we can prepare people for the upcoming warmer weather). 

Some changes have been made to our shoot schedule that we have had to adapt to. We couldn't get permission to film I the street again like we originally planned, and as such we have booked out the UCA project space (which was our backup plan anyway) as we can have more control over the shoot there. 

We have also had to push back the shoot date with our testy seller due to scheduling clashes, however this was agreed with the team and we can use this time to plan out the scripts and clarify which items we will see in our shoots. 

We also talked through the "Old To New" VT. I explained all the trends that we planned to look at. I provided evidence of all the research I had done, and demonstrated that I had provided more than one option for returning trends in each decade. This came in handy as Helen asked us to make a few changes. 

Firstly she didn't think that Roll Neck jumpers were a big enough trend to fill the whole of the 1980's section. She felt that they had been around for longer than that and these jumpers never really died, so therefore can't have come back. Fortunately I had prepared some other backup trends that we could look at, and it was agreed that "Bum Bags"/"Fanny Packs" would make a better option. 

After some further discussion doubt was expressed from both Helen and Katy/Mel about what we should do for the 00's. We couldn't do branded tracksuits as we originally planned since branding could cause copyright issues. They also felt that the other options I had prepared were either, carry overs form the late 90's or not major enough to work with. After some further discussion we agreed that it was perhaps too soon to pick a 00's trend as not enough time has past to give as a clear perspective.

Instead we are going to replace this section with the 1960's. Since plenty of tine has past since then, we have plenty of perspective and trends to pick from. As a researcher I will look in to this further to identify the key trends we can incorporate. 

As Live Production: Ed Sharpe In Depth Role Analysis

As Live Production: Ed Sharpe In Depth Role Analysis

Ed Sharpe is a studio floor manager who has been working in TV for nearly 20 years. He has worked on a mixture of Live and As Live productions, so can offer a valuable insight into the industry.

I will be using his interview with the BBC as well as looking at his commentary on his other work as the basis of my research.

As an experienced floor manager, Ed has stated in interviews that he is very familiar with studio etiquette, making sure that when he works on a show that both he and the crew he is in charge of maintain a "relatively calm" demeanour. This is evident with his work on "Big Friday Wind Up" which had a primarily young studio audience. Ed had to keep a relaxed and calm attitude to counteract the excitement and unfocused energy generated by the young audience.

As floor manager for "Steal The Style," I also intend to maintain a professional appearance and despite the nerves, excitement and rush that comes with Live TV. I have learned through watching examples of Ed that staying calm and collected allows for more effective communication. 

Following on from this Ed is keen to highlight the importance of communication. As a floor manager Ed explains that you need to be in constant contact with the directors and producers so that you know what is going on at all times and can communicate this to others. 

Especially when working with guests as well as presenters Ed uses his listening skills to pick up on everything the Gallary say so that the production can move forward as quickly as possible. 

"As long as everyone communicates clearly and knows what they're doing it can be a really fun environment to work in."– Ed Sharpe
In my work as a floor manager, I hope to follow Ed's example and ensure I communicate effectively not just with the gallery, but with the guest presenters and contributors, we will have on set.

Ed is keen to point out the importance of talkback on any show he works on, especially when working on large-scale productions such as Olympic events. Ed says that every department must be able to talk to one another and understand whats going on; the talkback system is a great tool for that as it means camera op's, lighting, sound etc can all hear the director and raise any concerns they may have. So when he enters a new production setting up a talkback system is one of his highest priorities.

In "Steal The Style" Sonia and I were also put in charge of the talkback units, we have had to work out how many units we had and divide them among the crew in order of importance. This ensures the key departments are all able to talk to one another just as Ed recommends.  

After working at the BBC since the early 2000's it is clear that Ed is familier with many faces in the studio. So one of the other biggest creative methodologies Ed talks about is working as a team. Having highlighted communication as one of his major methods, the other biggest skill Ed says you need as a floor manager is Teamwork. 

Ed has worked on the filming of major stage productions, and Royal wedding coverage. Such large scale productions come with large teams of people. As Floor manager Ed says you need to have a developed understanding of your role and others roles. This way when you have multiple guests and contributors you can communicate with your assistant floor manager and in Ed g's case he gets his AFM to prep and brief the contributors while he runs things through with the presenters. 

"Studios are highly regulated spaces with rules which govern etiquette and behaviour on set. Crews can often consist of 50 people or more so communication and teamwork is key"

-Ed Sharpe

In my work I hope to take this one step further and ensure that my co/assistant floor managers, know how the whole show is going to run so that we can all make sure our guests and contributors are happy; and if the Gallary asks to run a certain scene or to frame up a particular person, the rest of my crew are able to find and guide them if I am engaged with the vast number of other contributors we have on board.

Finally, Ed says that his experience is one of his most valuable tools. If you are a floor manager who has worked in the industry for some time then ideally you have experienced other roles. 

Ed started off as a stage manager, then when he moved in to TV he started as a technical operator. As a result he understands the responsibilities and requirements of each department, and can talk to each of them with confidence, meaning any issues and queries can be resolved quickly.

I hope to follow this example and make sure I can apply my own experiences as a camera op, sound operator, and director to improve my communication witht the corresponding departments. I have aslo been using the workshops with Del as a chance to learn the roles that I was previously unfamilier with, gaining as much studio experience that, like Ed will become a skill I can use as floor mamanger. 

As Live Production: Workshop 06/03/18

As Live Production: Workshop 06/03/18

Today we had another workshop with Del. Since we had missed a week due to the snow today combined two workshops in to one. 

The day was designed to give us experience and an understanding of all the main roles associated with studio production. If we had the opportunity to learn each role then we would be better prepared for our live-show as we would know what is required from each area and be able to communicate this more effectively. Also it would help us sympathise with whoever is in each role on the shoot day as we have experienced the pressures of that role ourselves and can now work together more effectively as a team. 

This was the first workshop where I got to work as floor manager (the role I will be taking on for the show), and this was also the first workshop where we got to use the talkback systems. 

As floor managers myself and Sonia were tasked with setting up and distributing the talkbacks. This was actually easier than I anticipated, the devices were simple to set up and when it came to distributing I was able to prioritise effectively. Obviously I made sure myself and Sonia had one, the next priority was to make sure all the main camera operators had one (as they could just hand theirs to their assistants at the half way mark) so they could hear what the gallery wanted. There were still a few units left which I gave to sound (since although I could have handled communications between sound and gallery, and sound should know what they are doing anyway; it would save time if there were any problems). The remaining spare units I gave to a few camera assistants and our assistant floor manager.

We began the workshop by setting up a 2+3 interview situation. This  would give as practice at managing cameras and floor around a scenario that would be similar to the set up of our real show. Del suggested we start the show in our assigned roles for the actual production (starting with group A then group B) and after we had run  this for a few takes we could begin to switch things up.

Those who didn't have a key role to fulfil would fill in as the "talent"/"guests". 

Floor Manager

Since I had been learning the hand signals for my role as floor manager I felt somewhat prepared, although I hadn't had a chance to practice several of them yet. Since this was my first workshop as a floor manager I found this to be a useful learning experience and a good opportunity to break in my skills. 

In the beginning I found myself at a bit of a loss as to where I should stand, but after some time I found it effective to stand by the main camera or in the centre of the room, this way if the director asks me a question or there is a problem, I would be in a good place to get around quickly or see what is being spoken about.

One problem I encountered was that other people weren't aware of what my hand signals meant. The main ones I was using were to mark time left e.g. 30 seconds, but the talent/guests couldn't recognise this and as such would not wrap up a section in time. To overcome this I communicated what the signals meant to everyone else before we went on air. 

For next week I need to work on memorising all of my hand signals, and Del said that it is important to brief our talent and guests so that they know what is going on.

Camera Op

As the day went on I got the opportunity to experience the other roles involved in studio production. The first of these was as a camera operator. 

For this role I had to be quite on the ball and make sure I listened carefully to the director. As a camera Op you need to know the ins and outs of your camera. You must make sure that you have set your white balance and exposure/iris to match all the other cameras in the studio (unless there is a good reason why yours is different). 

You need to ensure your camera is in a good position and you need to be ready to move it as your director requests. 

I found this role to be a little bit dull since we were still in the early days of our rehearsals and the director didn't get us to move/adjust our cameras all that often.

I also struggled when they asked me to adjust some of the technical aspects of my camera since I haven't used the studio cameras a whole bunch, and as such I was unsure how to adjust things like my iris.

None the less it was useful to understand the responsibilities of a camera operator, and understand that they have to be just as alert as the floor manager.

Sound

The next role I got to experience was as the sound operator. This was something I had very little experience in but was eager to understand.

I found that like floor managing there are some unspoken rules that you must be aware of. For example you fade up the sound once the countdown reaches 3 so that you are prepared if the presenters start talking early.

As sound op I learned how to adjust mic sensitivities and how to mix sound levels as the tone of peoples voices change throughout the show. I learned the importance of sound-checks and that getting peoples levels to match is not as easy as you first think. 

As sound you must also be aware of who has what mic and be able to keep track of any changes. I also found that sound is quite an independent role as the director will often rely on you to organise and sort out all sound related tasks and issues yourself, and not check for updates very often. I found this quite a new experience as floor managers and camera ops are in constant communication with the gallery, and I had to use my own initiative to fix my mistakes and find out why some mics weren't being picked up.

Talant

Although none of us will be in front of the camera in our actual show, it was still good to learn what it is like to be a talent/presenter/guest.

In this role you rely heavily on the floor manager to tell you what camera you should be looking at and to find out how you should adjust your pacing to account for the time left in the show. 

Since I have done this kind of thing before I didn't find it too difficult. However I dod find it difficult when I had to keep a conversation going in order to fill time. 

I also found it strange and a little difficult not having any communication with the gallery. 

Gallery PA

Gallery PA was a very interesting and high pressure role that I had not experienced before. 

As gallery PA I was responsible for keeping the show on time. I had to prep countdowns before the start of each segment and ensure I had the exact timings of each VT and show segment so that I could let both the floor and gallery know how much time they had to left to prep or round up a section.

Making sure I had exact countdowns prepared at all times wasn't easy but I think I did it quite well, I just need to be more confident and remember that the gallery talkback is always on so try not to speak over others.

VT/Graphics Operator

The VT/Graphics operator was probably the easiest but least interesting role. All I really did in this role was make sure that the correct graphic and or VT was queued up ready to go, then listen to the director to make sure to press play at the right time. That was as high pressured as it gets, as you don't need to make any visual changes like you would as vision mixer, you just let the VT play. Never the less it was a valuable experience and will help me understand the 

responsibility of some of my peers in the live show.

Vision Mixer

Since we had a vision mixing master class last time I was feeling quite confident. I followed the words of my director carefully making sure to keep my eye line and hands in the correct place. 

This meant that I was able to respond to directions quickly and efficiently, remaining calm and adapting if the director changed their mind or decided to mix straight to transmission without preparing the shot first. 

Overall I enjoyed vision mixing and did it efficiently.

Director

Although I have done directing before, I have never directed a Live broadcast in a studio environment with this many cameras, so it was a new experience.

To begin with I followed Del's advice as to which camera angles I should pick. However once I got a feel for the scene we were shooting and gained more confidence Del took a step back. 

I had to use my own judgement to decide what camera angles we should  use, while also thinking ahead to decide what shots to queue up. I did this reasonably well, occasionally cutting to a shot that wasn't queued up in order to keep up with the action on the floor. I did find myself playing it safe now and then by picking shots that looked quite similar. In future I need to be more varied with my shot choices.

Communication is key as the director, especially with the floor manager so you can ensure cameras are re-positioned how you want them and that the floor is prepared or aware of any issues. This was a good learning experience and has taught me how stressful directing can be and that as floor manager I should keep an open but patient line of communication with my director.

2nd Half

For the second half of the show after everyone had been given a chance to experience all the roles, we changed the studio floor to form a presenter led demonstration scenario. Similar to something you would see on a show like Blue Peter. 

For this part I went back to working cameras and floor managing so I could learn how to manage this kind of set up. It was important to listen to the director so you were aware of what part of the action they wanted to follow. 

You must be able to act quickly in this scenario as you can't really predict what the presenters will say and how they will interact with  their objects. Since we have guests like an Etsy seller on our show, who will be bringing in items to show off/talk about, this was a great experience for us. It helped us learn how to react and follow the action at a different pace, and thanks to getting a feel for for our role in the morning, we were all able to perform efficiently.

Overall today was a fantastic learning experience which will help me understand and sympathise with everyones roll during our live show and improve our communication skills.

As Live Production: Mock Up VT Fine Cut

As Live Production: Mock Up VT Fine Cut

Above is the finished mock up VT my group filmed for the "Old To New" segment of Steal The Style. 

I'm really pleased with how its turned out, my research in to style trends, and how fashion broadcasts are shot is evident throughout. 

The camera angles and mine en scene are really impressive considering we didn't have the greatest lighting conditions or space to work with. I think we really made the most of our location and used it to improve the stylistic qualities and overall look of the shoot. 

The camera angles are just what you would expect to see in this kind of content and having our editor on set helped us leave room for the impressive graphics you see used. 

I'm also really impressed with the editing of this shoot. Although I'm not the editor for this project, much of this is how I would have pictured it if I was the editor and they have also made some bold choices in the shot transitions which I think really paid off and make for a gripping viewing experience.