Roughly a month ago I began working in the television studio located in the basement of Knutti Hall on campus as part of the first Communications 360, Studio Production class. Coming into the experience I found myself with a bit of anxiety as I had never really done any Television work before. I had worked in Theatre and Film but never in Television before. The first job I took on was Directing. It involved giving commands to Cameras 1 and 2 on which shots to go for whether it be a wide shot of everyone, a two shot of a host and guest, or an up close shot of someone speaking.
I was very nervous taking on this responsibility as it was different than framing a scene in a movie or in a stage play as I had to set up every shot and transition on the go rather than being able to plan it out based on a script that was written. I felt that I did quite bad before being saved by a power outage but cite that nerves got the best of me. The next class however is when I started feeling more "ease" into working in the studio. The next job I took was "Technical Director" calling for me to press the buttons to switch between Cameras 1 and 2 on command from the Director. I found it to be a simplistic job and doing that secondly helped me ease a lot more as I am not very familiar with the fellow students or even working on television as mentioned.
After that I worked as Floor Manager, which required I to make sure that the guests, camera people, lights and equipment were ready for filming. Despite some issue with the volume of the headset I used, I liked the role and had quite an easy time with it. The next job was Camera 1, located on the far side of the studio. Normally a cameraman sets up the white balance, the exposure, and back focus on the camera but it was already set up when I arrived to it. I took directions from the director adjusting each shot based on what they wanted.
I would do the same on Camera 2, my next job. I really do like doing camera work, it allows me to express my artistic side and learning how to use the cameras in the studio are a blessing, they really are top of the line. After working on the camera I took to it to work in the Audio booth. I had never done audio work before, so at first I wasn't very sure what sounded best, until learning of the levels of audio. After doing a Mic test with the host and guests, I was able to figure out what sounded too soft, too loud, and just right.
On the final day of Studio Production, I was able to appear on-camera for the first time. I find the host/guest dynamic to be an interesting one and as the host I had a bit of an issue with not knowing when not to speak. I realized while hosting the best way to go about was to ask questions only and to speak whenever it became warranted such as when it was time to start the show, take a break, change topics, respond to anything the guest had directly for me, and to end the show. The guest tended to be the easiest role opinion when it came to topics I was very knowledgeable on. I felt more at ease in that role likely because I tend to be better with answering questions rather than asking. I feel my overall favorite job working in the studio was as a Host incidentally enough on terms of on-screen work.
I would like to host a show of my own one day on TV or on the radio. I feel that it is a job that I can strive in due to my charisma and communication abilities which I feel are getting better. On terms of off-camera work, in spite of my lack of success, I liked directing the best and would like to try another chance at it. I feel with a couple more tries I can perfect my craft of directing.
No comments:
Post a Comment