As part of the studio production unit we are working with freelance director/vision mixer Del Brown. In our first masterclass workshop with him we covered all things cameras, and looked at vision mixing to music.
MASTERCLASS 1 WITH DEL BROWN- CAMERAS
Del started the workshop off by showing us how a traditional TV ped camera works. To do this we looked at one that the studios had, and Del pointed out certain controls and what they did. The cameras we are using do not have some of the same features (like tally lights), however they still do what we need them too for the show.
After this we worked as a team to rig the cameras up, which included setting up the camera wheels, camera track & dolly, and the camera jib. For our show we are currently thinking about using all of these items of camera gear, and so it's good that we're practicing rigging them up.
Next we split into groups of three, with two behind the camera, and one in front acting as a stand in. We started by practicing our focus pulling skills whilst following a moving subject, something the camera crew will have to do a lot of. The stand ins would slowly walk towards the camera, and the operators would have to maintain the focus and framing. We did this a few times until everyone was happy with their results. Then we did the same thing, but with the stand ins walking in a zigzag pattern, meaning the operators had to pan to follow their movements. This helped test our abilities to zoom, pull focus, and move the camera all at once.
Then we moved onto testing our abilities to quickly change shot sizes, something the camera operators for the show will have to do a lot. Del called out shots he wanted, which sometimes involved us having to pick up and move the camera, then we had to repo our shots and call out when we were done. We did this a few times until everyone was happy with their results.
I found this part of the workshop really useful as it helped me to begin to understand the difficult job the camera operators for the show have. It's made me think about what can and can't be asked of them, and it's made me appreciate how difficult their jobs are. It's also made me realise how much I enjoy more hands on and technical roles in the show, which as producer I don't really get to do.
VISION MIXING TO MUSIC
For the second half of the workshop we began to look out vision mixing to music, a task that was designed to test our self timing abilities and our hand eye coordination. For the task Del would play a music track and we would have to cut shots to the beat of the music. To do this we had to count beats and cut when the script told us to.
We went around the group, with each person giving the task a try. For some people Del would count beats for them, or use a pencil to help them keep track of where they are in the script. For my turn, I wanted to try it on my own, so I counted the beats in my head and kept track of my own position in the script. As the afternoon went on, Del changed the song to a more challenging one, allowing people to begin to develop the skills they had learnt earlier in the workshop.
By the end of this half of the workshop I had a greater understanding and appreciation for the job that the vision mixer and gallery P.A. have to do. This workshop helped me to gain an understand of what their jobs involved, and how their jobs fit into the production as a whole.
Overall it was a very useful workshop, and it helped me understand some of the other roles on the show better.
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