Talkback
Communication between the control rooms and the studio floor is through production talkback (PTB). Some studios have separate talkback systems for lighting and sound, but many have just the one system. Everyone involved with technical operations needs to be able to hear talkback clearly.
Production talkback
The microphone in front of the director is left open. It is assumed that directors (and production assistants who sit next to them) have so much to say that there is no point in switching it off.
An immediate caveat to new directors: assume that talkback is always live, and someone is always listening. Even if a studio is completely empty with the lights switched off, talkback also goes to other parts of the building (e.g. the transmission suites, central apparatus rooms etc.). If you have a personal phone call in front of the director’s microphone, it won’t be personal.
Microphone technique
The microphone level will have been set so that if you speak normally everyone can hear you clearly. Do not put your mouth right next to the microphone - that will distort the signal. Do not grab the microphone. Do not under any circumstances tap the microphone with your pen – it comes out as a loud thud to everyone on headphones.
Do not sing or whistle. !t may sound wonderful to you, but the chances are it will annoy people on the receiving end, who will switch it off. This makes it somewhat harder for you to contact them.
Other people using PTB
Most other people can talk on the talkback circuit, but they have to switch their microphones on temporarily. Don’t allow unnecessary chatter over talkback – it has been put there for the sole intention of making television programmes, not to assist social bookings.
Presenters talkback
Presenters listen to production talkback. It’s either ‘open’, in which case they hear it the whole time, or it’s ‘switched’, where the director has to press a button for the duration they want the presenters to hear. Find out which type of talkback your presenters prefer before starting your rehearsals, and make sure your production assistant is aware which system you are using for passing on programme timings.
The talkback panel at the back of this control room lets the news producer talk to any of the incoming sources (normally a reporter at a live location). There are Individual volume controls for each incoming source, and the headphones prevent too much disturbance to the rest of the control room.
The producer can also speak to any of the presenters, who are each on separate circuits. This means he can speak to one without disturbing another who may be presenting at the time.
The panel in front of the programme director is virtually identical, except that the microphone is permanently turned on and connected to the production talkback (PTB) circuit, so that technical operators can always hear the director’s instructions.