Production Design

NOTE: Nothing in front of the camera is accidental.

When designing a set these are the thing that have to be taken into consideration.

1. Brood Strokes

- Tonal Palette

- Visual Motifs

2. Concept Art

- All design adds to theme

- It cannot distract attention

3. Lockdown

- Scene Breakdown

- Prop Breakdown

- Action Props

- Dressing Props

4. The Team

- Production Designer

- Art Director

- Props Master

- Construction Manager

5. The Product

- How much room do we have

- Are there any specific needs

- Textures and Finishes

- Build it

- Decorate it

- Erect it

- Light it

They are the five steps that are normally followed to create a set, whether it be a film or a TV programme.

Diary for TV Quiz Show Production

3^rd – 5^th Nov – I was briefed the group assignment, to produce a Live TV Quiz Show. I was shown how to use the TV Studio equipment, the technical terms used in a TV Studio and analyse opening titles and closing titles for other shows similar to the one we as a group were going to make.

9^th – 12^th Nov – The group were put into smaller groups for different round; mine was the quickfire round, with Sharni, Amy, Reece, Alex and myself. We had to come up with questions for that round that were based around music, film, TV and internet. Even though I was technical producer in my group, I help design the set. I was shown how multi camera productions work and help to find inserts and pictures for our round.

16^th – 19^th Nov- We finalized the questions we were going to use for our round and our rounds running order done. I also helped getting the flats painted. I got to practice on cameras on Wednesday and helped editing the content for our round.

23^rd – 26^th Nov- We went off and done our rounds script on Monday. I help paint the set that week, also got to practice shots and had a go at directing on Wednesday and started to make cue cards on Thursday

30^th Nov – 3^rd Dec – I help finish paint the set and continued to make the cue cards, once the set was finished being painted we put it all together to see how it would look.

7^th – 10^th Dec – We put the set all together and started to rehearse with it in place until Wednesday when we recorded our TV show and then watched it back to comment on it. I also helped get the script done in time for Wednesday.

My role as technical producer went well, as I told our quickfire group what we could and could not do. Although there was not much to do as technical producer, I helped in other areas that needed my help to get the show running. When we were recording our show “Media Meltdown”, for the first half I was Assistant Director, this involved me telling the director what type of Inserts were coming next and timing the how long they were.

Studio and Audio Terms

Cameras

Working the cameras: Terminology

When lining up for shots it is important that the eyes remain on the upper third and that there is looking room, so whichever direction that the talent is looking that there is some space in the direction that they are looking. Also it is good if the camera person can line the talent in one of the two vertical line, this makes it look more professional than putting the person right in the middle. There are also many things that a camera person can do to make the show professional i.e. like having an over the shoulder shot, this will give more depth of the studio and this will show items in the foreground, middleground and, if the person isn't straight up on against the wall, some background. Also crabing left/right and peding up/down on a wide shot will give more sense of the space in a studio. Although giving something in the foreground, middleground and background gives the audience a sense of space, the director will use a shot with only two of the three things on the ground i.e. so they would still use a shot with something in the middleground and background.

Studio Crew

Here is the basic roles of a TV Studio. You have :

Director: Is in charge of the studio. Some of the traits that they must have is to be able to make decisions quickly, be able to solve problems, be certain of themselves, what shots they want, and many more. Also they have to be calm because if they are all stressed then that can cause the other crew to be stressed and this can make the show not to be produced to professional standers.

Assistant Director: Makes sure that the crew is prepared so they have to be alert at all times for what the director wants them to do and to be prepared.

Vision Mixer: Switches shots according to script and as directed. They have to be prepared for what the director wants them to do. Watch the monitors at all times and to be focus.

Lighting: Controls the lights according to script and as directed

Sound Operator: Controls sound levels and makes sure all microphones are working. They have to make sure that there are no other sources of sound and to make sure that there isn't any interference. They have to have good hearing and know the equipment that they are working with. Also they need to be quick on the faders and to watch the levels of the dB.

Floor Manager: Relays what the director wants on the studio floor and over sees problems that the director doesn't have to handle. They never leave the studio floor. They have to be bossy because they have to have control over the studio, they can't have people running wild in there. They also have to be a good listener and listen to what the director wants from them.

Assistant Floor Manager: Gets things from outside the studio floor. Helps problems.

Camera Operator: Controls the camera, gives shot that the director wants along with giving shots that they think could be used for the programme. They have to be imaginative and give the director a choose of different shots and they have to be aware of the space around them. Always know what the director wants and pay attention to the tally light, when they are online, and the space in the viewfinder.

Assistant Camera Operator: Keeps wires from damage, helps moves the pedestal around. They also have to be aware of the space around them to be able to move the camera

All roles have to understand all of the technical lingo otherwise the crew isn't going to function well and all roles have to have good communication and a good attention span because if they don't pay attention and communicate it can make the show incredibly hard to shot for the director and if they don't communicate problems then the director won't know what's going on, which can ruin the show.

Audio and Vision Pathway

The pathway from cameras and microphones to the one show

They triangle symbols all the cameras that are displayed on the vision mixer and the circles symbols all the microphones that are on the audio desk. On our audio desk you can have up to twelve microphone imputs and you can have up to four line imputs. Both the Vision Mixer and the Audio Desk can be linked to the HDDR (Hard Disk Drive Recorder) or DVD Recorder or VT Recorder or all three depending on the format that is wanted for them. In most audio desks you will find that line imputs tend to have a stronger signal than microphone imputs so when operating the sound desk you would have to be aware to get the levels right.