For the final recording process, I was tasked to be a producer in the Parks & Rec group and a floor manager for the Rosehaven group- this was because there was a shortage of crew members in the class.

With the Parks&Rec crew, I felt more prepared going into class because we had already did some blocking on the script prior to coming into class. We were the first to go and the set-up took us awhile, and we were slow to pick up momentum but once Ella ( FM ) got her groove, everything started running. As a producer, I was unsure where I fit during the set-up and filming process. A producer, by definition, “a person responsible for the financial and managerial aspects of the making of a film or broadcast.. ” ( Dictionary.com ) While there were no financial aspects with regards to our assignment, I still felt like I met my requirements by liaising with Ruth and making sure everything was generally running smoothly. It was a good opportunity for me to observe what everyone else was doing to prepare me for my second crew role as a floor manager for the Rosehaven group.

With the Rosehaven crew, because I had prior practice/observation with Parks&Rec, it was a less daunting process. As floor manager, I was basically the director’s voice on set and had to ensure that all equipment was running as well as talents were suitably prepared. In saying that, I felt in control of what was going on. The groups all had some sort of momentum coming into their recording slot so we found very little hiccups. What was interesting was because we were one of the groups that were formed quite late in the process, we all sat at the back of the room trying to figure out where to put our cameras, when to switch to what cameras etc which was something i never really realised needed to be planned until we were given a multi-camera exercise like this. We had trouble deciding where to place our cameras, and where our talents should walk into and around the set. Ultimately, we decided on having the cameras spread out on each side of the stage and the talents walking in from the right side. On of our camera setting plans that didn’t make the cut was having two cameras on the left side of the stage and one in the middle. We decided that that option was unfeasible because it didn’t follow the 180degrees rule. According to Broth M ( 2009 ), there is a rule in TV production that all cameras should be orientated on the same side of an imagined 180 degrees line.

All in all it was an exciting first step on what to expect in the following weeks to come! Multi-cam recording definitely  requires more pre-planning than single cam, in terms of where to place which camera and at what point do you switch to different camera perspectives. Excited for whats to come!

References:

Broth M, 2009, ” Seeing through screens, hearing through speakers: Managing distant studio space in television control room interaction”, Journal of Pragmatics, vol 41(10) pg 1998-2016.