It’s finally D-DAY, which means that we finally get to Livestream the hard work that my studio class has done over the past weeks. We had a call time of about 6.5 hours, 1:30 PM until we go live that is. Before I delve into what happened into our first day of live streaming, I’d like to about the theories behind our practice just to clear the air about the theories we aim to follow through as a studio.

Let’s begin with Sorensen’s discussion of live TV and its relevance in this day and age. To be exact, I’m discussing it in parallel with my role as a Livestream operator. Afterall, Sorensen does discuss the concept of liveness in a multiplatform context. In relation to Sorensen’s discussions amongst his reading, he focuses particularly on the concept of attracting an audience through the new technology that is social media – of course, it both “complements and complicates” the process of live television. Liveness has always been central to most television programmes, enabling producers to create more quality content and give it a feel of authenticity. As a Livestream operator, Sorensen’s theories line up in conjunction with what the Marketing/Social Media team and I have done in order to attract more audience in real life and on the live stream.

I am only secondary to the marketing team so really, I was just the medium to relay the messages from Twitter to the Livestream. For example, the Marketing team would have their laptop ready just to watch our for live tweets – the software “Livestream’ immediately catches these live tweets and it is my job to make sure that these tweets are projected during the live stream. As Sorensen states, the “uptake of Internet-enabled portable media and devices complicates and complements these developments” – I experienced both sides of complication but also the benefits that came with the involvement of social media in a live setting. In terms of the difficulties that I encountered, it was all about the timing between the segments of the show and whether it was the right time to put up the live tweets. One of the main problems was when I accidentally put a tweet over an important segment. This accidentally covered the graphics that was meant to be read by the audience but luckily I was able to remove it just in time.

I also did encounter some more problems but halfway through the show, I got more into the groove of putting the live tweets in and out at the right time. This proves Sorensen’s statement that this interaction between social media and live streaming complicates the whole process.

Despite the complications, we also encountered the good side of this advancement. It added to the overall aesthetic of the whole show including authenticity and legitimacy as a live television show. During the times I did get the timing right, I felt a sense of accomplishment running the show as a Livestream operator.

The Livestream machine

From the start of call time (which was 1 PM) until we went live, I basically familiarised myself with the overall setting of the set and even the control room. I wanted to remember which studio role my peers took over or were responsible for. When it came to setting up, I moved the cameras in the required manner and also looked out for some OH&S protocols that needed to be double-checked. I do want to address one thing that was a potential hazard that could’ve ended in total disaster. A certain group of people did not really know how to safely behave in the studio – I witnessed running, mishandling of the camera wires, a person placing their foot on the control table. It was honestly a big mess. I was in no position to tell them off because I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation properly. However, they did take the set more seriously once we were going live which was a relief.

Despite that, we had a smooth running live television show and I am overall, impressed with the outcome of our work. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the Graphics – good job to whoever was in charge of creating that. One last complaint though – my name wasn’t in the credits. Boo.

Even though I experienced the negative side of collaborating with different groups of people, I did also go through a new learning experience. I asked people with different studio roles questions what their responsibilities were in order for me to be prepared the next time I take over that particular role. What this whole collaboration has taught me about liveness and a multi-camera production is that:

• there needs to be a whole of pre-production and preparation involved before actually going live
• communication is key in all areas of the studio – whether you are a producer or a camera operator
• mistakes will happen during a live broadcast and all you can do is move on
• in short, the SHOW MUST GO ON!

Here are some photos I took during the bumping in of the set, preparation in the control room and of course, the pizza perk!

Looking forward to our second and final episode of Midnight Snack. Woo! Bring it on!

I arrived just in time for Episode 1 to begin streaming for the first half of tech rehearsals. I was a little nervous because we were actually going to Livestream it but luckily it wasn’t going to be posted anywhere thank goodness.  The part that also made me nervous was not fully knowing how to operate the Livestream machine without the help of Ruth. So of course, I needed another crash course in order to start streaming the rehearsals.

Despite having doubts about this role, the only thing you really have to do is press the ‘Go Live’ button! Of course, I had to constantly monitor the sounds in case there was a mishap of some sort. Other than that, my only main responsibility was to use another device to watch our live stream and also potentially prepare for any crashes or errors just in case.

I didn’t get the chance to take a photo of what I saw on the Livestream screen however, I do have a photo that I’ve taken online; it’s to give you an idea of what kind of software/technicality I have to manage.

(Source) 

As complicated as it may look, everything was already configured for me so I didn’t have to do a whole lot of adjustment in general.

THE REHEARSAL FOR THE SECOND EPISODE 

My role for the second episode is in Studio C as the autocue operator and Writer. As a writer, I don’t really have an active role during a live show, however, a lot of pre-production was involved. The writers and I (along with the producers) all organised our scripts through Google Drive and this is where I frequented the most during the pre-production stages:

As I reflected on the previous blog posts, a lot of confusion was involved so it was hard for us writers to finalise the scripts. A lot of work-in-progress was involved but it was eventually resolved throughout the weeks of working on Midnight Snack. These documents on Google Drive is a testament to the stresses but also the teamwork we all felt as writers and producers. In my opinion, we just need to work on communicating more often and being clear-cut and firm with our decisions. This is an issue I’ve mentioned before but I feel like certain roles need to stay where they’re supposed to stay especially if it’s differing in studios. There was a bit of confusion from Studio A to C and some roles overtook others without giving them a chance to contribute.

This is something we all just lack because I believe that we barely know each other as a team and meeting once a week is not enough to successfully communicate with each other. Despite that, I was satisfied with the final product of Episode 1 but I feel like this should be transferred to Episode 2 (work ethic-wise, effort-wise and attention-wise). In comparison to Episode 1, I feel like Episode 2 has been neglected by the most important roles in the studio which honestly kind of bothers me because as a writer for Episode 2, our work goes unnoticed by everyone.

My role as autocue operator and writer go hand in hand so it was really easy for me to use the autocue tools (plus I’ve also used it before!). Here are some screengrabs and videos of the hilarious mishaps we had during Episode 2:

sstg-39D8CFB1-F6F0-4A0C-A2E5-A01D2D34D308-ybhl06

I hope we learn from the mistakes we made during rehearsal. I can’t wait to see how Episode 1 unfolds on our first official airing! As I write this, there’s about less than 24 hours to go before we go live! WOO, GO MIDNIGHT SNACK!

Unfortunately, I was running extremely late (what’s new?) for Week 9’s studio and did not arrive until 2:30 PM. What I arrived at, however, was a full-running production with all the crew members busily walking from Studio A + C and also the prop room, fulfilling their duties.

For the first half of the studio rehearsals, I was in Studio A learning how to operate the Livestream machine. Before becoming a Livestream Operator or entering a studio, I was completely ignorant to the fact that “Livestreaming” was a separate entity from the production. What I mean by that is that I did know that it was exclusively its own branding. I thought that livestreaming was already a given on social platforms such as Facebook and Youtube and that a third-party software like Livestream would not be necessary to operate with.

There are multiple uses for Livestream and how I can manipulate the production during the broadcast. For example, the Livestream machine can be used to insert graphics. In the meantime, however, my role as a Livestream operator is to solely press “Go Live” and monitor the views that come in during the broadcast for Midnight Snack.

The second part of the rehearsals was in Studio C for me. I was both the writer and the person controlling autocue. To be completely honest, the beginning of the ongoings of Studio C was not smooth sailing. Half of the crew either went home or completely did not turn up so we have to make do with our current situation. This situation was fixed when I got everyone to go in a circle and introducer themselves and what their role was. Crew members from Studio A were also happy to help which was great!

As a writer, my script was responsible for conducting how the directors and producers were going to play their roles for Studio C. We all collaborated really well and everyone seemed to agree with the script that I wrote which took a weight off my shoulders, thank goodness! I was extremely happy to see my work on an actual screen – that’s something I’ve always yearned for and to see it LIVE and in action was extremely satisfying! This makes me excited for future productions and of course the upcoming episodes for Midnight Snack.

By the end of the studio, we managed to practice the first segment of my script except for the Facebook script which was fine because we still had week 10 to polish everything up. We did come across some problems with the Studio A due to some miscommunications and misunderstandings. One of the other producers changed the schedule of Episode 2, when in all honesty, he’s not even supposed to be responsible for Studio C! Pat (Studio C producer) and I (Studio C writer) felt a bit discouraged about this lack of communication and obviously added more stress and pressure onto us because this kind of information shouldn’t be thrown to us in the last minute and especially not be hear from a third-party. We did manage to (hopefully) solve this issue by Brooke (Studio C Director) making a solid schedule for each episode.

These issues are just minor bumps in the road and all part of the learning experience in the studio. Overall, I am glad to have experienced both the positives and the negatives of working in a studio.