#cci live

[callumolearytv]

Freelancing for Team Green's CCi Live show.

Role: Floor Manager

Above: Working as the Floor Manager in the CCi Studio for Team Green.

On both the15/01/2015 and 16/01/2015 I worked as a floor manager for Team Green,whom asked me to step in as a Floor Manager for their CCi Live show. During my role, I worked closely with the production team looked after a new presenter for the channel.

This was the first time I worked as a Floor Manager, and found the experience varied and challenging. Initial difficulties included distinguishing when the Director was speaking to me but after a while this was something I got used to by keeping a close ear on what was happening in the gallery whilst I was in the CCi Studio. Another skill I learned was keeping the presenter aware of what was going on at all times and making him more relaxed ahead of the show.

Above: The TalkBack system I used. This connected to mains electricity via a 5-pin XLR cable. To talk to my Director- who was the only other member linked to the system- I just pressed the “Talk” button. I also used a headpiece, which connected to via a 3.5mm jack. The TalkBack system fitted to the director’s box via a 3-pin XLR cable. I enjoyed using this and found it easy to use and set-up.

Above: The MC1 Headphones that come with the Talkback system. I find closed-cup headphones are probably better over a long period of time- they're more comfy!

This was a good experience and I built better communication skills by learning hand signals that Floor Managers traditionally use alongside, talking clearly and efficiently with my Director.

[callumolearytv]

Freelancing for Team Green's CCI Live Show

Role: TriCaster Operator

On both 13/11/2014 and 14/11/2014, I worked as a TriCaster Operator for another production group, who asked me to step in for their show, which was to be broadcasted on 14th November. Working with the TriCaster system is a job I had not yet experienced, but I was worried but excited as I had never worked on the visual side of mixing a show before. Therefore, I wanted to pick up some new live production skills.

The NewTek TriCaster 860 multi-standard vision mixer is a brilliant product. It brings that edge to a live programme but really simplifies production too. For the show, I ingested footage ready for playout, created straps and stings. Specifically, my role within the show was to create name straps and VTs matched the running order, so they could be cued for the Vision Mixer to play when the show was broadcast. It was also my responsibility to make sure that the show was recorded for archive and on demand purposes and the titles were mixed correctly into the Green Screen for the start of the show. I felt I dealt with this competently.

Above: Ingesting footage through the TriCaster’s ingesting agent. I saved the footage into a date-based folder, which assured all files were organised in the right order, at the right date, for the right show.

Here, I learned how to organise media for live broadcasts- from VT features to name straps and prepare and archive recordings for YouTube services, which was a skill I did not have previously. Working as a Tri-Caster operator was a successful experience, as I did not make any errors when the show went live. In addition, the show was a success and I gained a new skill in Tri-Caster operating having not used it before.

Above: An example of one of the straps I prepared for the show through the TriCaster system. These were title-safe and used the branding for CCI Live, which can be seen on the left.

[rjandertontvb-blog]

Support Group.

24th October 2014

This week was our groups turn to support the live show, we were given our roles by the other groups producer and I got to floor-manage, which is something I've wanted to do for a while.

The role of a floor-manager is to make sure that sets, props and technical equipment are safe, ready to use and in the right position prior to filming. A floor manager acts as the link between the director and the many people involved in a production. It is the floor manager's responsibility to pass on cues to presenters and guests to ensure timings are met and the broadcast goes smoothly as well as getting any audience to engage in the production and supervise any camera movements between different set-up areas. 

I was placed upstairs in the CCI Studio with today's presenter; Melina, who was slightly nervous. Knowing what it's like to tackle nerves as a presenter on the day of a live show, I was able to give some advice. My key tip was to slow down and take a breath when you can feel yourself about to stumble on your sentence. This advice went down a treat and not only gave Melina some confidence but also built the relationship and trust in order for me to floor-manage to the highest standard.  

Luckily I already knew most of the signals from previous years so it was just a case of putting them into practice.

Today I learnt that trust is a big factor of getting people to listen and do what you want them to. As the presenter trusted me, it made it a lot easier for her to follow my signals and not second doubt me when counting down or signalling for her to slow down or wrap up.

I enjoyed floor-managing today and will take on the role in future shows.

To see their show, visit the link below;

[rjandertontvb-blog]

3..2..1..Days until we go live.

7th October- 9th October

Over the past few days I had found new, more suitable performers for the show; Beth New and Jess Buttery, a duo, both students at the university and both excited and willing to participate.

Thankfully the duo had an array of their own songs to perform as for copyright reasons, covers are banned. On the 7th of October I had finalised the running order with two songs from the performers, one at the beginning and one at the end of the show included alongside the interview, as one VT (Jack New) had been scrapped we had extra time to fill.

The 8th of October was a very stressful day. The Mind VT was not broadcast standard without a lot more work. As we hadn’t yet had a full run-through this was my priority, so the editors were sent to start fixing the problems; working off the feedback and the rest of the team went for a run-through.

This run-through was the first chance that the presenters would get to rehearse their script and the first chance for us to practice our in-studio roles. As a director it was up to me to queue name-straps, VT’s, Stings and Camera changes as-well as checking the camera shots and managing everyone in the upstairs studio. Half of our show was going to take place in the downstairs studio ‘The Hub.’ This meant downstairs would have their own director and it was my job to direct the upstairs gallery and studio. After adding camera changes to the script and finalising name-straps and links, it was time for a full run-through (minus VT’s.) A couple of words needed changing in the script but aside from that, I felt confident with the live aspect of the show.

After a show rehearsal it was up to me and the editor to get the VT’s fixed. A few hours of work on shot changes, some last minute cutaways and some help with sound correction and it was good to go.

The 9th October was our last chance to rehearse. So for 4 hours the entire team got on with their roles and we managed to have several full run-throughs, playing out our finalised VT’s, the stress was high and there was a lot of tension between group members. However, the run-throughs went well and we are now ready and prepared for our live show.

[rjandertontvb-blog]

Risk it or fix it.

2nd October 2014

On Thursday I checked on the Jack New VT and read through the feedback from the lectures. As I feared, the VT wouldn’t be suitable and there were growing concerns about the suitability of the performer. It was time to make a big decision, did we risk it or did we fix it?

I realise the obvious choice would be to fix it, but when you’ve worked so hard on something the decision to simply scrap it, is a very difficult one.

However, after careful consideration I came to the professional decision that the performer would be changed and the VT would be scrapped leaving time to fill in the show and an unanswered question… 'who is going to perform?'

But todays priority was now to do the running order and check over the script after the script-writer uploads it to google drive, alongside scripting questions for tomorrows shoot with the channel managers and course leader.

Running order done, script changed and questions prepared, I am ready for tomorrow.

The question of a new performer was then held to the group to see if anyone knew of a more suitable singer/performer that would be willing to perform live and take part in an interview.

[rjandertontvb-blog]

Group blue film Jack New.

31st October- 1st September 2014

On the 31st of October our group was filming a short intro VT for our performer, Jack New. This took place in one of the rooms above the Student Union. After getting to the union and setting up there was an issue with the mix-pre, one of the wires was causing a constant crackling sound and after our last shoot and the nature of this shoot (a music performance) the sound was our number one priority.

This was resolved by my decision of getting rid of the mix pre and plugging a tie-mic and the boom mic straight in to the camera. Although not ideal, it did work as we only needed two channels and was far better than having distorted sound.

After sincerely apologising to the performer for the delay we began the shoot. The style was relatively dark due to the style of the performer so I wanted the edit to reflect the same theme but at the same time keeping within the guidelines for live, daytime, family TV. We used a basic 3-point lighting technique to light the performer. The VT was filmed over a 40 minute period and included wide angle shots of the performer, close up of the performers expressions whilst playing the music (which was done to portray his passions for music), extreme close ups of the performers hands whilst playing the guitar and a talking head style interview, which will be used in the edit as a voice over to showcase his musical achievements and act as a teaser for the main interview which will take place live, in the studio, on the day of our show.

The edit then started the next day, October 1st. After stating what I wanted from the VT and supervising the blocking of the edit, I left the editors to get on with the online versions of both Mind and Jack New. A few hours later I came to check on the VT’s to make sure they conformed to my visual ideas.

Mind: Complete. After not having enough cutaways for the mind VT, I took some screen grabs of their website using events spoken about and donation pages for the charity. This turned out to be a life-saver and made the VT broadcast standard. Mind was ready to export and add to the tri-caster.

Jack New: Still not finished but not far off, the VT stuck to the style and was in my opinion, very good. From a directors view I was happy with this VT but I had concerns it wouldn’t be appropriate for the show, alongside the performer, so it was exported as an offline copy and awaited feedback from the channels managers before the online process began.

[laurenoconnelltv]

Director for my teams Live Show - 'CCI Live' - 16th January 2015.

Role: Director

Before the Christmas holidays, my group were told that we had ‘CCI Live’ once again for our Live show on Friday 16th January 2015. We decided to have a meeting to discuss roles and what we could possibly do for our show because there have already been CCI Live shows this year and so we did not want to have a repetition of anything that was previously broadcasted. I decided to say that I wished to be a Director for this show as it was a role I had previously done but not to the full extent, and because I enjoyed it I wanted to enhance my skills. The ideas we came up with were to interview some third year fashion students about their skills and work, and to also ask if we could have them to do a live performance, exhibiting pieces of their work they had made themselves. We also talked about interviewing the animation students and lecturer and decided to try and contact them. As we have to now include a live music performance we discussed how we could ask a music technology student or students to perform Live on our broadcast day. As we had a lecture about doing a Masters degree, this was also another idea we wished to pursue as many third year students at University have to consider whether or not they wish to do a Masters degree, and so we thought we could interview someone Live and then get the Live audience involved by getting them to ask any questions they have about doing a Masters degree.

Once we had the meeting we started to email all of these courses so that we could maybe film something before we broke up for the Christmas holidays. I was able to receive the email address for the animation course leader, and so emailed her to see if she could email around to ask if any students wished to get involved. The fashion students and lecturer replied quite quickly and we were able to have a shoot on Wednesday 10th December 2014. For this shoot only three members were available, which was good as I got to experience two roles, which were Camera Operator (which was my main role) and Sound Operator (which I helped out with) and then one member of the group was the interviewee. There were some technical issues with the Mix-Pre that we were given but luckily we sorted it to the best of our knowledge and filmed the interview with the two fashion students.

After we returned back to University, my group decided to have a production meeting to discuss what we have received back via emails and to see what we have done so far. Unfortunately animation did not reply to us and so we discussed the option of interviewing television and film production students about what work and roles they have experienced, in which I contacted two people I know, who were willing to be interviewed. Fashion had also kept us up to date saying they are still interested in doing a Live performance on our show. Another problem faced was that the lecturers who teach the Masters degrees within the Creative Technologies were not available, and so my group decided that we will continue trying to find someone as it would be interesting content for our show.

On the 8th January 2015, me and two members of my group went to film the interview with the two television and film production third year students. The roles I took on this shoot were Director and Lighting Operator. With the space we had and because of sun exposure, setting up the lighting equipment was a task as I needed to make sure that the Dedo Lights were not too bright or too dim. Overall, I feel that it was not as successful as other interviews we had done previously because the only room we could have, had bright sunlight streaming in, so we had to shut the blinds, turn the lights on and use the Dedo Lights to try and make it work. This ended up working and an interview particularly with one of the third year students went well as they were very good at giving long answers with the questions that were given.

My group were told by our lecturer that a television and film production student had recreated a scene from ‘Back to the Future’ and so we wanted to interview him live on our show and play his recreation, in which he was happy to do. We also found out that he is in a band and was willing to do a solo acoustic performance in our show. Unfortunately, when producing shows, sometimes things do not go to plan. Our lecturer did not like the VT involving the two television and film production students that was filmed because it needed to have a different approach in regards to the questions, but my team and I worked together to try and see how we could fill the gap. Another event that occurred was that fashion stopped replying to emails so we had to restructure the show and script. Academic Skills Plus is a university student support place for students to go to in times of struggle in regards to essay writing. We felt that this would be a good feature, and luckily even though it was last minute, a member of staff accepted to be interviewed live on the show.

On the 14/01/15, we had our first rehearsal using the upstairs studio. This was our chance to make sure the correct script and footage had been uploaded and to make sure all straps were ready for the show. Unfortunately our support group did not turn up to this rehearsal, meaning I had to find other students to help out for it as otherwise we could not practice. Luckily, there were people who were willing to help, and overall it was a successful rehearsal for the team and the presenter.

Above: Image of me being a Director in Rehearsals.

The next day (15/01/15), my group practiced with the downstairs studio, so that both presenters and everyone who has a role downstairs could practice also. Today, only two of the five members of the support group showed up, so I put these two on Camera Operation as it played a huge part in our show as we had a few camera changes that needed to be practiced to reach the time limit we had to move them. The rest of the team and I filled the roles that needed to and so we had a few run throughs to make the Presenter and Camera Operators more confident about the Live Show tomorrow.

 On Live Show day (16/01/15), I was in the CCI Studio upstairs and ended up setting this up on my own. This for me was a good thing as it meant I learnt how to set up a studio on my own giving me more knowledge and understanding of how the equipment works. I made sure the TriCaster, Vision Mixer, Sound, AutoCue, Credits, Directors Box, Studio Lights and Cameras were turned on and set up. I put the final script onto the system and then noticed some changes that hadn’t been deleted and changed. Therefore, I rang the Second Unit Director for the Eldon Broadcast Hub downstairs to tell him about the changes that have been made so they can change it on the AutoCue downstairs and tell the presenter. Luckily we were able to have four run throughs, twice with the whole show using both studios and twice with just the upstairs studio segments. As the support group were late, for three of the four run throughs, I had the task of being Director, Sound Operator and AutoCue Operator. This was a huge task as I had to direct everyone in the studio and the Floor Manager in the Green Screen Studio. I felt proud of myself for being able to do multiple roles at one time on my own as it put my skills to the limit, and gave me the chance to learn new equipment. Before we went Live, I made sure everyone was in position and feeling good about what was about to happen.

Overall, I feel even though there were some mishaps in the studio with regards to the Presenters not saying what was on the script meaning, we had to re-film the segment after the show had ended, to make sure we have the correct information on the YouTube upload and a few camera jolts, the show was very successful and I am proud to have been a Director and achieved skills from it. I was also proud that I took the situation upon myself to get out of a hard task, and take on three roles so that everyone was able to practice their roles. As John Smith a Multi-Camera Director at the BBC states ‘ It’s a learning process. You must be able to listen and learn, there’s many a cul-de-sac I’ve ended up thinking to myself how I am going to get out of this, and you do get out of it by drawing on previous experience’.

Above: The view from the Presenters side in the CCI Studio

Above: The mics I had to set up when my support group did not turn up on time. I hadn't used these previously, so for me it was a gain as I learnt a new skill.

Above:The Sound Mixing Desk and AutoCue Operator desk, which I took charge of during the practices because I wanted everyone to feel calm about the Live show, and that everyone should get a practice on their equipment even if everyone was not there.

Above: Close-Up (CU) of the Sound Mixing Board used. I had to move the channels up at certain points during the practices so that it was heard within the studio, so everyone knew where we was on the script, so me and my peers knew what we had to do next.

Above: The dial for the AutoCue I also had to control within the practice. Having to do this whilst also being a Director and controlling the sound levels was a huge task, but I am proud of my successes.

Above: The Director Desk, in which I was in charge of. I had to make sure I had my headset on at all time so I could guide the Floor Manager and the roles within the gallery.

Above: The two switches, which turn on the red warning lights to inform people near the gallery to be silent so we do not pick up any unwanted sound from outside the gallery and studio.

Above: This is one of the switches for turning on the studio lights.

Above: XLR cables to connect the Cameras and Talkback to the gallery via the wall.

Above: Images of me being the Director on the Live Broadcast Day.

Here is my groups show :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qWnJdNh_y8 

Above: CCI Live Logo

[laurenoconnelltv]

Freelancing for Orange Team's Live Show - 'CCI Live' - 28th November 2014.

Role: Camera Operator

On the 28/11/14, I was the support group for the Orange Team. My group were asked what role we would like to have, in which I asked if I could be a Camera Operator as it was a role I had not entailed in a show for third year, apart from in my groups shoots, in which I used a Sony EX1 or Sony EX3, whereas in the Eldon Broadcast Hub the cameras are Canon XLH1. Being a Camera Operator was a role I wanted as I have the pressure of being in charge of setting up one of the Camera shots that the Director wanted, whilst making sure the camera is in focus at all times. I wanted to make sure that the shots had enough talk space, as otherwise it would make the shot incorrect, as I wanted the audience to know which direction the person they are speaking to is sitting at, even if you couldn’t see them. The Show was ‘CCI Live’ which is a magazine TV programme on the Creative and Cultural Industries and went live at 12pm on Friday 28th November 2014.

Being a Camera Operator gave me the chance to learn how to set up the Canon XLH1 with a talkback system. The Canon XLH1 is able to have many frame rates, but for this broadcast I used 25fps because it works with Broadcasted TV and is the most commonly used frame rate in the United Kingdom. As a Camera Operator I know I am in charge of making sure the Camera I am in control of is rigged and set up correctly. Therefore, I connected the talkback system to the Directors Box via a 5 pin XLR cable and attached the headphones with a 6mm headphone jack to the talkback. The talkback system I used was a DataVideo ITC-100SL-A2. I hadn’t used any of this equipment before so it was another learning development for me as I got to learn about how to set up part of the studio correctly, as I also had to make sure that the camera itself was connected correctly so that the Vision Mixer and TriCaster Operator could see my shots on their screen. This also meant I learnt this along with how to set up the Sony XLH1 Camera, which I hadn’t previously used, which also had a reflective glass mirror attached to it for the AutoCue for the presenters to read from.

Above: Image of the 5 pin XLR cable used to attach the Talkback System to the Directors Box.

Above: Images of the Talkback System used - DataVideo ITC-100SL-A2.

The Orange Group asked if I could come in for a rehearsal on the 27/11/14, so that we could all practice our roles. As one Camera Operator did not show up, I was trusted to be in charge of two cameras, in which I was happy to help as it would give me more experience with the cameras, but this scared me as I had to balance my time and be on full attention at all points in order to fill out these complex tasks. As Skillset states a Camera Operator ‘must be able to multi-task, and be able to watch, listen and think on their feet while carrying out complex technical tasks.’ I feel that I achieved this, as being a Camera Operator; I had to deal with two Cameras at one time. One of the cameras I was in charge of was a Wide Shot (WS), which was chosen to give the audience a view of the set, the presenter (s) and the guest (s). This Camera did not need to be moved throughout the whole show which meant that I could set it up and then just keep an eye on it whilst dealing with the other camera. I was told by the Director that my camera would need moving during the show and told me via the talkback system when to do so. This meant that when it happened, me and the other Camera Operator at the rehearsal had to move the cameras and cables carefully and set up our next shots, which for me was a Close-Up (CU) of the guest because it shows their facial expressions and lets the audience engage with the programme more. Luckily, we were able to have a couple of run throughs so I felt confident with what I had to do and as we had quite a lot of time for the move there wasn’t a lot of pressure built on me.

On the day of the live show (28/11/14), I was asked to come in early to help set up the cameras. The Orange Groups Director and Producer were organised and got an extra person to go on the wide shot camera so they did not have to panic over moving the cameras. This was good for me as it meant that I could concentrate on just one camera and what I needed to do for it. Overall, the show went well and I feel that I improved on my Camera Operation skills as I had not entailed this role this year, and so for me to be able to get the Cameras set up, focused and moved promptly but safely, all whilst listening to the Director on talkback and not make one mistake is an achievement for me, and also shows I have the skill of multi-tasking. After this show going well, Camera Operation was something I enjoyed and would pursue again.

Above: Me setting up the Canon XLH1 camera and My name in the Credits.

Here is the Orange Team’s ‘CCI Live’ show :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54O_G5nc_Us 

Above: CCI Live Logo