Multicamera Production Experience.

During the morning of film three multicamera productions, i fulfilled three separate job roles. The first role I fulfilled was the director. Overall, I think I performed quite well although there are a few things that I could improve upon. Firstly, before cutting to another camera, I need to make the stand by call. By doing this, it allows the vision mixer time to have the change of camera lined up and it also makes the camera operator aware that we are going to be cutting to their camera very soon. Also, I felt as director I could've taken more responsibility in making sure everyone was in their correct positions for the shoot and conducted the sound checks and camera framing more efficiently. Another thing that could be improved is the communication between all of the gallery members to do with timing information which needs to be transfered to the studio via the director to the floor manager. Despite these improvements I could make, I think that I anticipated who was going to speak next well and use the three cameras effectively to make the viewing interesting for the audience.

The next role I fulfilled was the role of floor manger. It was my responsibility to make sure everything within the studio was organised and ready for the shoot. Overall, I think this went quite well, although there was a lack of pre production paperwork such as a running order which would've come in good use to me had there been enough printed off. I felt that I communicated the information from the gallery to the people in the studio well. However, I could've taken more control in the studio during the sound checks.

The final role I fulfilled was featuring in the 10 minute production itself. This was my worst role of the day. Throughout the 10 minutes of filming I wasn't sitting still and for the majority of the shoot looking in the wrong direction. After feedback from the gallery crew, I was told I made it very difficult for them to have me in shot because of my constant movement. Now I have been made aware of this, I now know what to avoid doing whilst in front of the camera and I need to apply a lot of self control to ensure it doesn't happen again. 

I have chosen 4 programmes to analyse which used use multiple cameras to broadcast with. 2 programmes are live, and 2 programmes are studio based, possibly prerecorded before broadcast. The programmes I have chosen are:

• England Vs San Marino - Live
• Match of the Day 2 - Live and Studio
• Jonathon Ross Show - Studio
• Take Me Out - Studio

There are several reasons for use of multiple cameras such as:

• coverage of action
• communicating meaning to the viewer
• visual style
• maintaining viewer interest
• constraints of studio or location environment

World Cup 2014 Qualifiers - England Vs San Marino highlights

Coverage of Action
The coverage of action begins as soon as the players walk out onto the pitch, at Wembley in this case. As this is a highlights programme, there is no broadcast of the players entering the pitch or the national anthems. The first bit of action is a mid shot of 2 San Marino players who will be taking the first kick of the game. The next shot is of the whole pitch from a side view enabling the audience to see the whole action, similar to what the audience in the stadium will be able to see. Live sports events don't really have a particular pattern of shots that it follows, as it is very hard to predict what will be coming next and a shot pattern most probably won't fit with the events in play. However, the director is able to anticipate what will happen next from the direction of a pass and/or movement of a particular player. For example, Oxlaide-Chamberlain has a shot which forces the keeper to make a good save. From the side view we, as the audience, are able to see both the shot and the save. Immediately, the camera cuts to a close up reaction shot of Oxlaide-Chamberlain disappointed about the miss demonstrated in the picture below.

The view of the pitch from the side is effectively the "safety shot" for this broadcast. It shows the basic action of the game allowing people at home to watch the game in full. By the director cutting to a shot of a player running with the ball at the edge of the pitch, it allows the audience to believe that they are watching the game live from pitch side. Dependent on the next phase of play depends on the next shot. Whatever the next phase may be, the camera shot will more than likely be further out  reminding the audience, men primarily, that they are not watching the game in the stadium and the are in fact still at home, in the pub or where ever they may be watching.

http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=326583 (7:50 - 8:25)
This small section of the footage shows several aspects of the coverage I have spoken about including the safety shot, action followed by the players' reaction and both close ups of at least 1 player from each team.


Communicating meaning to the viewer
There are many shots during a football match that can communicate a variety of different meanings during a football game. For example, the picture above showing the reaction of Oxlaide-Chamberlain tells the audience just how close it really was as the player himself is able to see the direct path of the ball better than a camera can capture it. Memorable events such as close shots on goal, dangerous tackles and goals themselves are often replayed to the audience from the best of the angles a variety of different cameras that have caught the action. This reiterates to the viewer the significance of that particular event and how it may end up having a big effect on the tale of the match, whether that be a good chance missed on goal or a player being sent off. Cameras are strategically located in various places around the stadium to maximise the coverage of events to the viewers at home so they are able to see everything that is happening. It is down to the director to select the best shots to broadcast the play.

Visual style
Different broadcasters (Sky, BBC, ITV) all have slightly different visual styles about them, however the visual style of particular genres of TV are similar. By watching this programme, I have found that despite being a British broadcaster, ITV are very unbiased. For example, when England win a corner, they show an England player(s) with a look of slight frustration upon their face. This is usually immediately followed by a San Marino player(s) looking relieved and vice versa. ITV have there own transition from live to replay which is like a red swoosh which goes across the page.

Maintaining viewing interest
There are a few ways in which viewer interest can be maintained. Firstly, a variety of different shot types make the audience adjust to where they have been placed within the stadium of play giving the audience a variety of different views of the same event. Watching football on TV can be arguably better due to being able to see the whole pitch as well as close up shots of particular sections of the pitch. This becomes even more of an advantage if a controversial event happens to occur e.g. Did the ball cross the line? The primary target audience of males are stereotypically known for becoming bored and uninterested very quickly which the variety of shot types helps to overcome.
As well as this, the game commentary is able to enhance the understanding of what is happening in the game. An event may occur which may be just out of the camera that was being broadcasted at that point. With the commentary, they are able to hear what has happened. During this time, the director has time to line up the replay of what has happened caught on another camera within the stadium.

Constraints of studio or location environment
Filming in a stadium does have a few disadvantages. Firstly, there are usually a lot of people to negotiate around to ensure nobody gets in the way of the camera. There may be a blind spot on the pitch/in the stadium where any of the multiple cameras are able to gain footage from. This could become a problem if a significant event occurs in the blind spot and it is unable to be broadcasted to the viewers.

Match of the Day 2

The second programme I have chosen to analyse is Match of the Day, A weekly programme which shows highlights of the days premiership games, as well as studio analysis from former footballers. Another reason I have chosen to analyse this programme is because it contains both live and studio cameras.

Coverage of Action
The programme starts off with a little introduction to what will happen in the programme. It then swiftly moves on to showing the highlights of the first day. This then leads onto the analysis from the 2 former/present footballers which is the main focus of the show. The main shot used is the long shot which frames the presenter and the 2 analysers - This is the "safety shot" for the programme. There are then 2 cameras either side of the safety shot, one for the main presenter and one to capture the two analysers both together and on their own. By having these two cameras, the director is able to choose which camera and shot he would like to use depending on who is talking. This could be the analysers talking between them, just one answering the presenters question or the presenter just adding a little bit onto what has already been said.

The use of video tape (VT) is very common in the programme. The VT is played to start a new branch of conversation/debate between the three people. The VT is edited by highlighting a particular player(s) whilst Jason Roberts for example, is narrating over the top of the footage.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nbvfm/Match_of_the_Day_2_2012_13_07_10_2012/
(18:09 - 18:16 Rooney is highlighted)
This is one of the advantages of prerecording studio programmes as it allows you to edit together a VT and corresponding narration.


Communicating meaning to the viewer
The main point of the programme is to show the days premier league matches to the audience in the least amount of time and most detail possible. This is done by putting together the VT's and prerecording the 2 analysers talking and editing it all together to make the final programme.
Jason and Mark are trusted by the audience to talk about the games events which is why there is a lot of focus on what they are saying. Without them, the BBC have no show. By mainly using the safety shot and the close up of the 2 individuals, the audience are really able to engage with what they are saying and full understand them. The VT's are used to reiterate what they are saying, as well as visually explain and make the programme more interesting for the audience to watch.

Visual style
The visual style of the programme is quite bright due to the highlights of the games that are played during the day however the studio is slightly darker, perhaps to show that the programme is after the matches later in the day. During the match highlights, to show a large amount of time being missed, a yellow football goes across the screen as a transition to show time passing. This yellow football is recognisable by regular BBC sport viewers. The yellow, black and white writing for the score and sub titles such as talent information e.g. Jason Roberts - Reading when Jason first appears. This is known as brand identity.

Maintaining Viewing interest
As I have already mentioned, there are a variety of different shots from both the studio and in the game highlights. This variety in itself keeps the audience interested as there are many different things to look at.


Constraints of studio or location environment
Match of the day uses both studio and location environments during the programme which gives the programme the best of both worlds to avoid any constraints that may occur. 

  

Take Me Out

Take Me Out is a Saturday evening TV show hosted by Paddy McGuiness where one single man is revealed to 30 single women. The main focus of the show id to set up the single man with 1 of the 03 women.

Coverage of Action
There is a variety of different action to capture within the studio. This is because there are 3, arguably 4 different sections of people in this programme. There is Paddy McGuiness, the 30 single women, the single man and the studio audience, who don't play a big part in the production however their applause/laughter do add realism to the programme. There are several different cameras located around the studio, each having a number of areas to cover. For example, there may be 2 cameras allocated to each side of studio filming 15 girls each. These same cameras may also have to cover if Paddy or the single man enters the area in which they are filming.
The first shot where Paddy introduces the show is a mid shot. This is to establish to the viewers that he is the presenter of the programme. When Paddy introduces the girls, a few shots later it shows them walking down the stairs. In the picture below, you can also see paddy walking in the same direction. This is because when the camera next cuts to Paddy he will be in a different position and the viewers may be confused as to how he got there if it isn't shown him walking in that direction.

Communicating meaning to the viewer
With this genre of TV programme, communicating to the viewer is very important. The director has to try and show potential chemistry between at least one of the girls with the single man. This is what makes the whole programme interesting to the target audience in the first place. Failure to communicate with the audience could lead to the viewer becoming bored and turning off.
As well as this, Paddy as the "middle man" has to try and put a couple together. To do this, he has to side with both the girls and the single man. This is subtly shown to the audience by regularly framing Paddy in the same shot with at lease one girl, as well as being in the same shot as the single man. This is only allowed to happen because of Paddy's movement around the studio.


Visual style
The studio contains a lot of blues, a cold colour and red, a warm colour and the colour of love. This emphasises the two possible outcomes for each man - He either gets himself a date (warm, red) or he goes home alone (cold, blue).


Maintaining Viewing interest
The usage of multiple cameras is a great help when it comes to keeping the audience interested. With the target audience being a mixture or genders aged 16-25, the views of both sides need to be shown. The males of the target audience want to see what the 30 women look like as well as what they think on the single man in front of them. The females of the target audience want to know what the man in the middle looks like and if they can relate to the 30 girls with their opinion of the single man. This even balance is shown by Paddy asking different girls each time about what they think. This is usually followed by a reaction shot of the man to what one of the girls has just said and how he replies.


Constraints of studio or location environment
For this type of show I don't think that there are many, if any, constraints of the studio. The only thing that may be a problem is that if you want to capture the studio audiences body language to what has just happened, then the cameras may be too close to the front of them to turn around. However, the viewers at home know what they audience think from the sound, whether they are applauding, "ooh-ing" at something controversial that may be said or laughing.

  

The Jonathan Ross Show

Coverage of Action 
As this is a chat show, there is really very little to capture. This is because there is usually only Jonathan Ross on one side as the guest(s) on the other. This could only require 2 cameras (one on each person) and to be a multi camera production. However, a mid shot on each person would become very boring and repetitive to watch which is why there are more cameras. On feature of this show is that they have all of the guests that will be appearing all sat in a green room together. In the green room alone there are 2 cameras - 1 to do mid shots of each individual guest and another to shoot the guests all together in the green room. Dependent on what Jonathan is talking about depends on which camera is used. This is made easier for the director as he has a script of what is going to happen, unlike with the football match which is very unpredictable. During the interview of each person, the director cuts to the reaction of the guest to Jonathan's questions, and Jonathan's reactions to the guests answer. There is also a shot of them both talking to each other which is used as the "safety shot" during this programme.


Communicating meaning to the viewer
To find out information about this show, I had to watch it. I watched a small section about David Walliams and his new autobiography. During the interview there is a section about a difficult part of David's life. During this section the close up on David is used a lot. This is to show the audience that it is difficult for David to talk about it. This camera shot helps as the audience is able to look into David's eyes and feel the emotion the he is feeling.


Visual style
The colours of the studio are a variety of shades of brown and the view of a city at night in the background. The colour brown is neutral and can be related to many different emotions of the interviews whether they be quite emotional, in David's case for example or just very general as the interview with Ed Sheeran was. Also, as this show is broadcasted quite late at night, the neutral colours help the audience to relax and enjoy the programme as their day comes to an end.

Maintaining Viewing interest
The main thing the target audience want to know about is the celebrity being interviewed. They want to know how they feel about particular subject, recent events in their life and just be nosey in general. The switch of cameras between the people talking gives the audience something different to look at. Each interview usually includes reference to another celebrity in the green room which adds another element to the programme rather than an interview which can become boring. As well as this, each show usually has a musician feature who perform at the end of the show. The show needs to have enough elements included to keep the cameras moving and the audience entertained, but still an easy watch due to the time of broadcast. Furthermore, the regular change of shot that is presented to the audience maintains the viewers interest. For the Johnathon Ross Show, there is a fairly regular pattern in which the director uses when choosing the shots as is as follows:

1. Shot of host and guest
2. Shot of host
3. Shot Of guest
4. Shot of host a guest – different angle
5. Reaction shot (audience/green room)
6. Shot of host and guest

This is a conventional "formula" for chat shows as a TV programme genre which keeps the audience entertained throughout the programme. However, there may be some unexpected shot changes based on an unexpected reaction from someone/ group of people who are in the camera line which will cause the director to go against this conventional "formula" if they feel it is necessary.

Constraints of studio or location environment
The studio in which the Jonathan Ross show is filmed is very wide. There may become a blind spot somewhere in the middle where none of the cameras can gain a good shot if there aren't enough cameras. To avoid this, producers could make the guests aware of this problem and tell them to avoid the area.