As part of the Multi-Cam and working to a brief units, the year 13 BTEC Media class organised

and live broadcasted the Thomas Tallis Film & Media showcase, an award show recognising
the hard work of the film and media students between years 9 to 13. There were six categories
for the different genres of work as well as a special award. As part of the production team, on
the night I operated the vision mixer alongside the director. In preparation for the show Bercem
and I held auditions to find the main host for the show as well as helping to set up the hall on the
day. We were given a brief for this show which described what the show as about as well as
ruling out what our job was, explaining that we were responsible for the visual elements or the
show as well as filming and broadcasting it live. It also explained that we needed to make
moving graphics to go along with the nominated work clips. This wasn't included in the brief but
we were also in charge of designing the stage design, finding presenters as well as promoting
the showcase around school. The brief type we were given was formal in the way that it gives a
clear explanation of what our client wanted but it allowed room for some negotiation on the
decisions made. Also seeing as this was in a school environment it does not cover any serious
legal issues. However in the industry, in a production like this a client would use a contractual
brief simply where they rule out in great detail what is required of the production team. They
would also sign a contract so they follow the strict guidelines set, but if these guidelines and
rules are broken, legal action would be taken. Contractual briefs are also a lot more complex
than formal briefs. As part of the production I worked in close collaboration with Mr MacDonnell
in creating an opening video for the award show which would be similar to the opening of the
film La La Land which tracks dancers over a bridge. For our video we planned to track dancers
through the school making their way to the main hall where the showcase would be taking
place.

I learnt how to use the vision mixer last year when my class prepared to film and live broadcast
the school production of We Will Rock You. We did practice sessions in the broadcast studio
where we all learnt how to set up the cameras properly, how to connect them to the vision mixer
and how to use the vision mixer, as well as learning how to use the talkback system and how to
overcome any technical issues that occurred. The vision mixer is used in multi-camera setups to
cut between the cameras. There are 4 or more screens showing what each camera is picking
up as well as a screen for the camera thats live. To cut between shots all you have to do is
press buttons corresponding to the number of the camera. There is an identical set of buttons
under this set which allows you to cue the camera that's about to go live. Camera operators
become aware of this when the tally light turns orange on the top of their cameras, and then red
when theyre live. As much as this is an easy piece of equipment to use, the person using it has
to be very quick thinking and be able to follow instructions from the director instantly because if
there is a delay, a shot could be missed. We did several practice sessions as a class to get to
know the equipment whilst preparing for We Will Rock You so by the time the showcase came
around almost a year later, we were very familiar with what we were doing. I knew how to work
the vision mixer well and I also got to know the slight faults with it and how to overcome them.
The button for camera B doesn't always respond first time so sometimes it needs to be pressed
twice or needs a forceful press for it to change in time. A BNC cable into the video port is used
to connect the camera to the vision mixer. During the practice sessions the camera would
disconnect from the vision mixer often so wed lose the feed. This was because there was a
loose connection between the composite cable and the camera, the weight of the lead would
pull it out of the camera which made the connection even weaker and wed usually overcome
this by simply taping the composite cable in place.

In order to plan for the showcase we held a series of production meetings and we alternated the
chair of the meeting each time. In the first meeting we ruled out what needed to do in order to
plan for the show creating sort of checklist. We then decided who would be responsible for the
different parts of pre production as well as deciding other roles like who would audition the
presenters, who would design the set and who would find from teachers the nominations for
each category. For the first meeting everyone was there so the decisions were made fairly, it
was quite organised and everyone evenly contributed so we effectively met the meeting
requirements in the way that everyone had an opportunity to speak and everyone had a fair say
in the meeting. For the second production meeting we basically all updated everyone on how far
we got with out assigned jobs or discussed if we hadn't started them yet to make sure we were
all achieving the agreed outcomes, however two people were absent from this meeting meaning
we didn't know how far they got with their jobs. It also wasn't as well organised as the first
meeting. We didn't have many more meetings after those two, we just updated everyone on
how we were doing during lessons. The last meeting we had was a brief meeting deciding on
what role everyone would be on the night of the show. I chaired this meeting and I feel as if I
held it well and everyone fairly participated. I first went around the group asking what their ideal
roles would be and noted them down. The roles all fell into place for lighting, sound, director,
vision mixer, floor manager and the three camera operators. There were no arguments over the
roles and everyone knew what they were best at and what everyone else in the group was best
at. From this I learnt and picked up that the roles were sorted easily as everyone had a fair say
an opinion. I learnt that if everyone participates fairly in a group discussion or meeting, we can
quickly come to a fair agreement that everyone is happy with. I also picked up some leadership
skills seeing that with the tone I was using and the way I spoke to my peers, that everyone
listened and joined in the fair discussion. If I was to do this again I would either re use the
method I did before by asking for everyone's ideal roles then letting everyone fairly negotiate or I
would personally say what I think every person is best at as see if everyone agrees, I would
make fair assumptions based on the fact Ive worked with my peers for nearly 2 years so Ive
seen what equipment they work best with and know what everyone prefers.

I think I did well in the setup and the rehearsals. I feel as if I contributed quite a lot to the setup
of the hall and the filming equipment before the show. When we first put the cameras up I went
between the three cameras quite a few times fixing the problems and connecting the composite
cables, BNC cables and the 5 pin XLR cables to the vision mixer, as well as fixing some cables
to the floor with hazard tape so guests and crew wouldn't trip on them. I assisted others to
quickly overcome problems during the setup when they weren't sure what to do. Because I
knew what I was doing and because I was able to help others, the setup didn't take too long and
everything was in place within about an hour. Although I feel like not everyone participated as
much as others, that the work was put on some individuals whilst others did not contribute as
much to the set up. The rehearsals the day before and on the day of the show went quite well.
There were some points where the camera operators weren't listening to the director which
became frustrating but everyone worked together well in the end. I worked closely with my
classmate Bercem throughout these rehearsals as she was the director and she would sit with
me at the vision mixer so she could see the screens and the live feed. As we went through the
script together we devised a pattern of the shots we needed to get and when I need to cut
between the cameras. In a way be both helped each other because I suggested shot types that
she could do and when to ask for them as well as suggesting when I could cut between them.

I feel like my overall performance in the show went well and that I operated the vision mixer well.
I used the pattern Bercem and I decided on to take some of the pressure off of her so she could
focus on the camera shots during the dance scene. There were a few times where I cut to the
wrong camera simply where I misheard Bercem or where I just pressed the wrong button. But I
quickly overcame this by going to the camera Bercem originally asked me to go to. A mistake
like this is quite noticeable on the recorded version of it so I kept as focused as possible to avoid
this happening. Although there were some other issues with getting the cameras to focus. When
the lights went down we couldn't see anything on the screens but once the lights came back up
it took the cameras a while to focus again which meant all our live shots were extremely out of
focus. We tried to overcome this problem prior to the show by asking the lighting crew to bring
the lights up a lot quicker or to not go to complete blackout but this didn't exactly work. If we
were to do this again I feel like we should suggest to the people operating the lights to bring the
lights up straight away or a little while before they're originally meant to, for the sake of the
cameras and the director because neither I or Bercem could see what the cameras were picking
up meaning Bercem couldnt ask the camera operators what to do. This means we got quite a lot
of dark footage and If this was for television, it wouldn't be legally allowed to be used because
the black would be too high for the vector scope so if this was for television we could have to
keep some lights on all the time to avoid going into blackout. We also had underage dancers in
the showcase meaning again if this was for TV, we would legally have to get consent from their
parents to perform in the show.

I was pleased with my overall performance and with everyone elses performance. I feel like we
successfully planned, put together, filmed and broadcasted the show well with what we learnt
from previous experiences. I feel as if we all widened our communication skills from this
experience as nearly everyone was connected via talk back. Compared to We Will Rock You we
overcame our problems quicker as we all communicated a lot more this time round. We knew
how to quickly overcome the problems that occur during a show with the equipment from
working on We Will Rock You. We also knew how to sufficiently complete pre production work
from previously doing that paperwork when we created adverts and idents. We learnt a lot from
this experience as there was a lot more pressure on us seeing as we put this production
together rather just being there to film it like we did for the school production. Two major
technical difficulties occurred during the show, one at the very beginning where the audio
wouldn't play for the opening video, which was overcome easily by simply restarting the video a
few times. There was another towards the end of the show when the last nomination video was
being played and the visuals wouldn't play with the audio. The programme feeding the visuals to
the projector crashed and took a while to reload. Mr MacDonnell improvised and went on stage
to distract the audience from what was happening. If there was a next time I wouldn't do
anything differently apart from re-starting the programme that feeds the visuals just before the
show starts giving is less of chance of it crashing during the show and would make sure the
lights were always up even if they were dim, so both the director and myself could see what the
cameras were picking up.