A large part of this book has been taken up with studio production. A great deal of what has been said about the roles of the various teams, and the equipment they use to do their job, is directly transferable to single camera production. To avoid repetition, we will now only concentrate on the differences between studio and single camera production, assuming you will go back if you need more explanation.
Whereas a studio production uses a multi-camera set up, with any necessary video inserts, and chooses the images to be recorded using the vision mixer to produce a linear programme, single camera production takes a totally different approach.
The most obvious difference is that, whereas a studio is an enclosed, controllable space, if only one camera is being used it becomes highly portable. Often single camera production is shortened to PSC, or portable single camera. Because the camera can go practically anywhere, special skills will be needed by all the team members. To go ‘on location’ could mean anything from shooting in an office to shooting under the sea.
Without the back-up of the studio engineering team, the fixed environment and, often, mains electricity, the lighting and sound teams, particularly, need to rethink their whole strategy. There are three basic stages to go through. The first is the acquisition stage, where all the shots, inserts, captions and graphics needed for the programme are collected together onto many tapes. The order that these are collected in is one of convenience, not one of a linear nature. The second stage is the editing stage where the whole programme is cut together into its linear order and any special effects transitions are added. The third stage is the audio post-production stage where any additional audio, music, effects or voiceover, are added.
The process is entirely different from studio production and requires a different type of planning. The programme will only be a success if you plan to ‘shoot to edit’. This involves considerable continuity skills as well as involving the PA in keeping track of not only where we are in the script, but also, more importantly, where we are in relation to what went before and what follows.
Before we look at the specific roles of the teams, and their equipment, we will break the stages down. Acquisition is the word we use for gathering together all the elements of the programme. Whatever recorded format we will eventually end up with is irrelevant at this stage, what is important is to get the very best quality of picture and sound recorded onto something. For small-scale production this will normally mean recording onto Hi8 or S-VHS format. Increasingly one of the high-end domestic or the semi-professional digital formats is becoming popular as the cost falls and the range increases. The DV format is one such example which has been derived from the professional DVCAM system. The main difference lies in a limited audio capability and the omission of an in-camera editing system whereby the first frame of each shot is stored in memory to make for easier access at the editing stage.
Increasingly there is an overlap between the consumer (domestic) market and the low-budget corporate market. Modern Hi8 camcorders will offer shooting in either 4 x 3 or wide screen format and the DV format ensures the highest possible quality with minimal loss of quality when copied.
For larger scale, more expensive, acquisition film or the much more expensive professional, digital formats are used because of their superior picture quality.
If the acquisition is on video, the equipment used to get the various shots, regardless of the format used, will be one of three types. The most common is a camcorder. This is a camera and recorder, all in one case, and with a microphone fitted to it. This is a sort of ‘one person shooting kit’. It is often possible to plug in a separate microphone, so the on-camera microphone does not have to be used if it is deemed unsuitable for a particular shot. It is also possible to output a signal to a monitor, and maybe to clip a small light onto the camera hotshoe.
A second type has a separate camera and video recorder. The advantage with this arrangement is that, as well as finding it lighter, the camera person can get on with the job of a camera operator without having to look after videotape operation and sound. The disadvantage is that leads are needed to connect the camera and the microphone to the videotape recorder, resulting in a team of two or three people having to move about together as if in a three-legged race!
The third option, and one that is becoming more popular, is to have a ‘dockable’ recorder. This involves the same set-up as the second option (a separate camera and video recorder), but with the added advantage that, whilst they are two separate pieces of equipment, the recorder can be plugged directly into the back of the camera. Depending on the shot that is required, the system can be operated as a camcorder or as a separate recorder and camera. This gives the director a great deal of flexibility.
Because of the problem of shooting out of sequence, it is not possible to judge exactly what will finally cut to what. No matter how carefully the shots have been planned there will always be an awkward moment at the edit stage when we need something in between two shots to make the transition more acceptable.
For this reason it is essential that as many different ‘cut-aways’ as possible are recorded at each location. These could be anything from a close up, a crowd scene, a general traffic scene to a long shot of the area. Anything that could be used, later, to help get from one shot to another without it being obvious to the viewer.
To help with the sound transitions, and to create the general atmosphere of where the action is taking place, it is equally important that the sound team collect as much background sound as possible. This should be recorded separately from any dialogue, onto a different tape if possible, so that it can be mixed with the programme sound at the edit or post-production stage. This extra sound is known as ‘Buzz Track’ or ‘Atmos’.
The dialogue sound is normally recorded onto one or more of the audio tracks of the video recorder to maintain synchronization with the pictures. Increasingly these days timecode will be recorded at the same time. The full use of timecode will be dealt with when we look at the editing and post production stages but, for the moment, it is sufficient to say that this is a code which records a unique identification number onto each frame as it is shot. This gives the possibility of finding any frame accurately, each and every time, at a later stage.
If film is used for acquisition, or if the sound is to be recorded separately, for instance onto a DAT recorder, then timecode must be recorded.
Normally at the acquisition stage, but sometimes during post production, any graphics or captions will be made and collected onto a computer disc. At the acquisition stage the PA will be kept very busy logging (writing down) each and every take of each shot with notes detailing whether the sound, picture, or both are useable. This log should be such that, at a later stage, any useable shot can be found quickly, together with its running time. If timecode is being used this becomes a fairly easy job, if not, several stopwatches will be needed.
Once all the shots have been gathered together, it is possible to assemble them into the correct order and complete the programme. This is done at the editing stage. Film editing involves actually cutting the film and sticking the bits together to form a finished product. With video this is no longer done (although it was in the very early days of video production).
Editing involves either copying the relevant shots, in a linear order, from the original tapes onto a new tape to make the finished product, or loading the original tape into a computer and manipulating the images in a non linear fashion: cutting, pasting and changing sections before finally putting it all in the right order and then copying it back to tape.
Editing is looked at in much more depth later. Here we are only concerned with an overview. The stages that need to be gone through are to make sure that all the shots are logged. This should have been done by the PA during the shooting, but if the logs are incomplete they must be completed now. It helps to start with a paper edit, this involves referring back to the storyboard and ensuring that all the shots actually do exist and that they will cut together. It is here that the need for cutaways will become obvious.
The next stage involves what is known as ‘off line’ editing. This will normally be done by copying the original tapes onto a lower format and using a cheaper editing suite to make a rough cut edit. If timecode was used in the original shoot, this is copied at the same time, but burnt into the picture so that it can be seen. This ‘burnt in timecode’ is talked about in edit suites as BITC.
Cheaper formats are used because this ‘off line’ stage takes the longest, and we don’t need to spend hours in an expensive edit suite trying edits and producing a rough cut.
Once we are happy with the rough cut edit, the timecode numbers and the original tapes can go to an ‘on line’ edit suite where the actual edit will take place. The resulting copy will be produced on a high quality format (often digital), to preserve the quality needed to produce the final copies.
Often this on line edit can be done automatically, because the timecode numbers can be put into a form known as an edit decision list (EDL) which are fed into a computer that runs the machines. This process is known as auto-conforming.
Finally the master tape may go to a post-production suite where the audio can be finished, and any computer generated graphics or animation can be fitted into gaps that were left in the tape earlier.
Shooting on location brings a whole new set of problems on the Health and Safety front. A great deal of what was discussed earlier when we looked at Health and Safety in the studio is directly transferable to location shooting, but there are new areas to be considered.
However much planning is done and however careful people are, accidents can happen. For this reason whenever location shooting takes place insurance is a vital requirement.
By law all companies must have Public Liability Insurance to cover any accident caused to the public. Most clients will require even freelance operators to provide insurance for at least one million pounds of public liability.
For simplicity we will consider location shooting in two categories. One is indoors, the other is outdoors.
Indoor shooting can best be described as working in a temporary single camera studio. The main consideration comes from the fact that this studio is a temporary affair and has to be constructed for the shoot and then dismantled. Often the working space will be very small and the need for care when moving around cannot be over emphasized.
Power requirements will all come from the existing, often domestic, mains supply. If a 1 kW lamp is used it will take nearly 5 amps from a 230 volt supply. More than two cannot be sensibly plugged into the supply in one room. To do so risks, at best, blowing fuses and at worst the possibility of an electrical fire.
The lights themselves will necessarily have long trailing cables and will normally be mounted on flimsy, lightweight, stands mounted on the floor. This gives rise to an obvious safety hazard. You should be aware of the high heat output from these lights and remember that these lights will be operating in confined spaces at low level. It is a very wise precaution to have a suitable fire extinguisher close to the shooting and particularly important to know where the electrical isolator is sited.
Because portable shooting crews consist of a very few people there will not be a floor manager. For this reason someone needs to be delegated to look after the safety of performers and to make sure that they do not go near trailing cables or lights.
Applicable to both studio and indoor operations, but left until now because of the larger consideration of outdoor shooting, are the legal requirements under an EC Directive on Health and Safety at Work.
Employers are required to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work. Similarly they are required to make an assessment of the risks to people not employed by them, i.e. the general public or performers that may be used or connected with the programme. Similar regulations apply to the self employed.
There are many things that could constitute a hazard to health and safety, but the most common are: electricity, lighting, fire, contact with hot surfaces, falling objects and, particularly on location, confined spaces, adverse weather, excavations and moving vehicles.
When the location crews move out into the street whole new problems arise. The safety of the public becomes even more important. Inevitably a television crew attracts attention, the general public become curious and must be expected to come and watch. Apart from the fact that the crew are responsible for their safety, there is a risk of falling foul of the law by causing an obstruction.
Apart from the law concerning Health and Safety Regulations, all local authorities will have their own laws which will affect what can and cannot be done. Permission is normally required to film in any public place, including parks. Individual police forces, too, will have regulations regarding the use of pseudo emergency vehicles, emergency service clothing, the use of firearms, the positioning and use of lights and anything that might endanger the public.
You should never assume that you can shoot anything you want anywhere. Examples of the most often forgotten need for permission include the fact that most churches will not automatically allow any filming inside. Even if it is allowed there have been cases where production companies have fallen foul of the law because of the neglected clearance of copyright for the organ music. The London Underground have very strict rules concerning shooting on their property or trains, a cost is normally involved as well as specific written permission. So called ‘public’ parks do not carry an automatic right to shoot, some will not allow the erection of a tripod even with permission to shoot.
In the case of street interviews, you will have to contend with people who are completely ignorant of the television process and you must ensure their safety.
The crew may also require some safety protection. For example, a common requirement is for a camera operator to follow a performer up (or down) steps - certainly a hazardous procedure, and maybe a potential accident. Something as simple as another crew member physically holding on to the camera person to guide them may make this less dangerous. Often inventiveness and ingenuity can provide simple answers to apparently lethal situations! It should be an integral part of the initial recce for a shoot to assess any possible danger, and plan to avoid it.
Remember as well that environmental considerations come into play in this area. What looks like a great shot - the dramatically blazing oil tanker - could be completely unacceptable (and maybe even seriously illegal) from the pollution point of view. It is probably a good idea to seek specialist safety and ecological advice for such programmes.