Live Show Analyse - QI

QI Analyse

The first ‘Recorded as Live” TV programmes I have decided to analyse is the popular TV Quiz show ‘Quite Interesting’ or QI as it is more commonly known as. QI is an topical show, which is presented in a comical fashion, yet still in an intelligent way. A varied range of intellectual ability is represented in the show, with the shows host Stephen Fry being at the top of the scale, Fry is generally accompanied by different celebrities each week, with the only consistent celebrity contestant being Alan Davies, of Jonathan Creek fame, between them all they make the show a more than ‘Quite Interesting’ show as the title suggests.

The layout to the studio seems fairly simple, with an probable audience of around 150-200 capacity. The desk the pane sit at is in the shape of the letter Q, representing the name of the quiz show, and a buzzer is also assigned to each individual guest, which often include a different amusing noise when pressed, for example, in the Halloween episode, “Gothic” , each buzzer included a ‘scary’ sound effect, though it should be noted for Alan Davies buzzer noise, it was “Arsenal - Nil, Norwich City - 2” and also the buzzer for Jimmy Carr, a guest on this particular show, featured a voice saying “Here’s Jimmy”, these both added some humour to the show and in a sense got the episode started. Behind the two contestants on either side of the host there was also a background which on occasion shoed pictures associated with the questions being asked at the time. The general layout of the set was the same as usual, and was probably non-permanent also, in this one particular Halloween episode, the set was kept the same though gothic props were used and included two comical gargoyles, one of which was picking it’s nose, these were placed to each side of the host which in turn drew attention to them. In addition the props, dark lighting was also used and to begin with were accompanied by night time pictures of trees behind the contestants to create an atmosphere of gothic hues. Any lighting would used would be hooked up to a lighting rig, which was probably quite big but not very complex, as anything you can keep simple in TV Productions, you do.

In this style of television show, many cameras will be used thus giving availability for cameras to be able to get different types of shots, for example in the episode of QI that I watched, I estimate that they probably had around 4-6 cameras, most of which were movable, and perhaps one camera, the host camera, being the only one fixed in place. The type of shots seen in QI were two shots of the guests, medium close ups of the host and individual guests and a wide group shot of the host, and the two guests either side of him. All talent on set will have a microphone, and, as was the case on QI, these microphones will on most occasions be clip-on omni-directional microphones. The audience would also have a microphone hanging down from the ceiling, and this would be an directional microphone.

For any TV production, a crew is needed, all crews vary in how big they are as all productions are different, and less crew is needed for some and more is needed for others, for QI, I would approximate that the crew was quite large and included 30 or 40 plus people. Any crew member, and even the audience members need to be aware that there are many health and safety risks in a studio, such as electricity faults, lights not being rigged up properly etc, therefore must be as safe as possible when on set or in the audience.

The general format of QI is rigid, though it did involve some ad-lib (mostly any humour seen in the show seemed to be ad-lib rather than read from a script).

The audience for QI was likely to be young adults, and adults in general as stereotypically quiz shows of any type are appealing to that age, and especially considering many of them contain humour, this would definitely attract the younger adults to watch as they might be more interested in the humour side than the factual side of quiz shows.

My Diary - Week by Week

Week One
- I was absent throughout this whole week.

Week Two
- This week I filmed the VT Inserts for the round I was assigned to with Reece and Matt, we filmed two different inserts of Shaun dressed up as a character from a film and saying a line from that film. I also attempted to help edit said VT Inserts, and did so the best to my ability.

Week Three
- Throughout this week I helped to paint the set.

Week 4
-This week I helped to create and make the cue-cards for the Live Show taping.

Week 5
- For the first two days of this week, I helped in finishing the cue-cards, and then moved onto my blog work fully. I missed the last two days of this weeks due to illness.

Tech Rehearsals

What are Tech Rehearsals?

Technical reharsals are done to practice testing out all of the equipment and technology that is going to be used in a production, there are two types of technical rehearsal, one being Dry Tech Rehearsals, Dry Tech rehearsal are rehearsals done without the performers needing to be there for them, they usually last multiple hours where each designer or department head runs his or hers parts of the production. It is also a chance for the tech crew who will operate the equipment to become familiar with the flow of the performance. Technical rehearsals however are rehearsals which include the performers that will be featured in the show, these rehearsals run through the whole production in its entirety or cue-to-cue (when the sound and lights are run with certain parts of scenes within the production). These type of rehearsals also focus more on the performers costumes and how they look in the light. These forms of rehearsals can become very repetitive.

Efficient rehearsal and recording practice

Recording Practice: What is it and why do we do it?

A recording practice is in basic terms the same as a rehearsal of the show, only in this version, you record it. Doing a recording practice has the same purpose as to why we do rehearsals, only this is also done to test the audio and visuals are recording correctly and in the proper way. After every take, the whole group who are at the practice will watch back the footage and give feedback on the footage and tell any problems they personally think there are and these problems will then be looked and and hopefully be solved. The actual recording for the show needs to be successful, so practices are very important as to how well the actual recording will go.

Efficient Rehearsals

Efficient rehearsals are essential as it gives the production group the feel on who does well in what role and how well the actual equipment is working in general. When it is finally time to record the actual live show, it is easier and more effective to produce the show as best as possible when the roles are sorted out and the best people are in those roles so it could possibly avoid any problems because the rehearsals show that person does good at that role.

Script

What are scripts?

Scripts are word processed pieces of paper, whicch include on them the actions and diaglogue of a production which are taking place at specific set times. There are many different types of scripts that are used for a TV Show.

Multi-Cam Scipts

Multi-Cam scripts are scripts which beside action and dialogue also includes technical information for the crew, this type of script can also be used for the director to write notes on if he or she decides something needs changing after a couple of practice runs take place. When you are producing a Mult-Camera script, the script will require two colums, the first of which will be used for Vision, and the second for Audio, in both the colums, the person whom is producing the script will need to be heard or seen at particular points in the production. Only certain people in the crew of a production will require a Multi-Camera Scipt, these include: The Director, Floor Manager, DVD Operator, Sound Operators and Assistant Director.

Here is an example of an Multi-Cam Script:

Planning and Lighting a set

Three Point Lighting

Three point lighting is an common method used in visual media such as film, video, still photography and computer-generated imagery. The three-point lighting system is made up of:

The Key Light

The Key Light is the light that shines directly onto the subject and is the principal illumninator, the strength colour and angle of the key determines the shots overall lighting design. In indoor shots, the key light is often used as a specialized lamp, or a cameras flash. In the outdoor daytime shots, the Sun is the often served as the key light.

The Fill Light

The fill light, like the key light, also shines onto the subject, only from a side angle relative to the key light. It is often placed at a lower position from the key light, and balances the key light out by illumninating shaded surfaces and lessening or eliminating chiaroscuro effects, such as the shadow cast by a persons nose upon the rest of the face. This light is usually softer and is less bright than the key light.

The Back Light

The back light(or the rim, hair, or shoulder light) is the light which shines on a subject from behind, often(but not always) to one side or the other, this light gives the subject a rim of light, and seperates the subject from the background.

Planning and Designing a set

For the planning and designing of a set, it is generally left to the Art and Design team, who desigb the whole set - from the board on the front of the table to the back boards, it is the Art Designs job. When planning and designing the set for a TV Show, one of the important things to think about is that the set design needs to match the meaning of what the TV Show is about, you couldn't have the design of 'Question Of Sport' be all pink and colourful with no real reference to sport at all. For our live TV Quiz show, we have chosen the theme of a circus, and have designed our set to be like a tent that would be seen at a said circus, including the Show Logo, "Media Circus." Here are some pictures of our set still in-making.

As you can see, we have chosen quite colourful colours on our set to represent a circus theme, although we had to be careful in which colours we chose as one of the important things of designing and planning a set is choosing the right colours, you have to think about what will make the talent stand out, rather than the set, aswell as colours the camera will be able to film, as the cameras may not be able to handle too bright colours, and could end up with a messy and untidy looking set on the final filming.

Talk-backs and their use/protocol

In TV studios talkbacks are often used to enable crew members to be able to communicate to each other if needed, it is especially used by those who are in different rooms to give instructions or ask a question, an example of this is if the sound operator was wanting to peform a mic check and they are in the control room, they just have to speak through the talkbacks and ask the floor manager on the studio floor if he can get the talent with the microphones on to speak.

Talk-backs should only be used when needed and no general chat is allowed, people must also be able to keep stuff short and be clear, they need to also state who they are and who they want to talk too or it could cause confusion. One final thing you should never do is talk over the director, as he has the most important role and the things he's saying need to be heard clearly.

Planning audio coverage

Planning camera placement and shots

For any Live TV show, it is important to be able to place cameras in places where they are able to get a varied amount of good camera shots. For our live TV Show, this is how we placed our cameras:

For my groups quiz show, "Media Circus", we decided to have Camera One and Camera Three getting over the shoulder shots, over the shoulder two shots, medium close ups and single shots of the guests, as well as a few other shots also, these cameras are both referred to as the pole cameras. Camera Two is more of the host camera and general stays on a Medium Close Up of the host, as well as the occasional three shots of the host with either A and B or C and D. There is also a fourth camera(not featured in the above diagram) which is on a jib arm, this is there for wide shots as well as panning over the audience.

All of the cameras each have options to be able to CRAB or PED right or left, and Camera One and Three also have the option to Track IN or OUT if the camera operator feels the need to.

Floor Plans

Director & directors calls

In any type of production, a director is needed as he is the main person in charge and will know everything that is going on in the show, and will direct crew members etc in what they need to be doing, generally though the director communicates through the floor manager and the floor manager is the one who will direct the talent, hosts and guests so that the director can concentrate on the camera operators, and make sure that they know what is going on and to also make sure that any shots that the camera operator is thinking of doing look good. The director will generally need to try and keep things short, so uses director calls to explain what he needs from what crew member or talent at any particular time.

Here are some examples of the type of director calls you would generally hear if part of a TV Show production;

DVD Ready

- To ask for the next DVD to be prepared, the director will say to the DVD operator "next DVD" and once this is done DVD operator will respond with"DVD ready" to signal to the director that the clip on the DVD is ready to go.

Floor Ready

- This is the call the director says to F.M to ensure the floor including the crew, talent, etc. is ready to record.

Roll VT

- This is the call the director uses to address both the DVD operator and the vision mixer so that they both know that its time to run the DVD Player and play the VT Insert for that part of the show, the vision mixer should however wait a second or so after hearing this instruction before cutting to the DVD player so it allows time for the DVD operator to hit the play button on the DVD Player.

DVD Operation and Insert requirements

The DVD is one of the most important pieces of the show, it is needed for the show as it contains all VT inserts, stings, opening titles and credits, which all help to make up the show, without them the show would not be a success.

You must ALWAYS make sure when producing the DVD that when recording VT inserts, stings etc, that all of the settings are the exact same so the screen aspect ratio is not different on each clip.

You must also have at least 7 seconds between each of VT's you are using, this is due to the fact that in these 7 seconds you will need three things, the first being one second of black screen so it refrains from cutting straight into the next sequence, the second is 4 seconds worth of VT roll(the count of what VT it is etc, it is also a way of helping to get to the track more quickly. The final thing which you must do in the 7 seconds is have a further second of black screen.

Camera Shots & Moves

In a TV Studio, there are many different camera moves avaliable to you for you to use, examples of these include:

A diagram showing a few examples of camera movements.

Pan

- This is when you move the camera horizontally left or right, it allows you to follow a subject, or show the distance between two objects, and as well as this they can be good for panning across an audience (e.g sometimes in The Jeremy Kyle show they will pan across the audience before going onto him)

Tilt
- A tilt is when you move the camera up or down without actually raising it's position, this like a pan can allow you to follow an object, it can also help to show how high something is or even make something look higher than it is.

Crane or Boom
- This move works and looks similar to the action done by a construction crane, it is usually used for high sweeping shots or to follow the action of your subject.

Crab

- This is when the camera moves(crabs) left or right.

Dollying/Tracking

- This involves the camera itself being moved towards or away from a subject smoothly (contrast with zooming). Tracking in (this is like zooming) draws the viewer into a closer, more intense relationship with the subject; whereas moving away from the subject tends to create emotional distance between the viewer and the subject. Tracking back usually divert attention to the edges of the screen. The speed of tracking can also effect a viewers mood, for example; Rapid tracking (especially tracking in) is exciting; where as tracking back relaxes the viewers interest.

Zoom

- In zooming, the camera does not move, the lens is focussed down from a long-shot to a close-up whilst the picture is still being shown. When using zooming, it makes the subject , and attention is concentrated on details previously invisible as the shot tightens (contrast tracking), it may sometimes be used to in a sense 'surprise' the viewer. Zooming out reveals more of the scene (where a character is etc) as the shot widens.

In a TV Show production there are also many shots available for you to use, these include;

Extreme Long Shot (ELS)

- In an ELS, the camera is at its furthest distance from the subject, in turn putting emphasis on the background.

Long shot (LS)

-A long shot is when it shows all or most of a some-what large subject (e.g a person), as well as this long shots usually also include alot of the surroundings around that subject.

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

- A medium long shot is usually when the lower frame line cuts off the subject, which in most cases would be an actress or actors feet and ankles.

Establishing Shot

- This is the shot that is usually used for the opening shot or sequence of a production, it is also the shot that helps to set the scene.

POV(Point of view shot)

- This is a shot where it shows what the character is looking at (represented through the camera). It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of the character looking at something and a shot showing the character reaction. (see shot reverse shot.)

Shot Reverse Shot

- This show is where one character is shown looking at another character (who is often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other.

Establishing shot

- This is the usually the shot used for the opening shot or sequence, it is used to help set the scene of a production

CU (Close Up)

- A close-up tightly frames a person or an object, they are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots. Close-ups have the ability display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene. Moving in to a close-up or away from a close-up is a common type of zooming

MCU (Medium Close Up)

- This shot is half-way between a mid shot and a close-up, and it usually covers the subject's head and shoulders.

ECU (Extreme Close Up)

- The shot is so tight that only a fraction of the focus of attention, such as someone's eyes, can be seen.

Signal flow (both video & audio) and the Technical Rig

Audio Signal Flow;
The audio goes into the STOB box, and from the STOB box the audio travels through WIFI into the technical rack, altogether there are 7 mics, so technically all of the 7 mic feeds can go into the audio desk which has faders to let you control the sound levels (Sound Mixing Panel). Next, you choose the output(line out/programme out) and it records in HDD. There is also a VU meter which can show you the sound levels of each individual microphone, in addition to the the overall output. It is very important that the the peak sound level does not go over + 9 or below - 12 on the VU meter, as this could either cause the sound to distort(if too loud) or if the sound is too quiet, it would mean having the volume on really loud so you could hear the speech, which inst really useful to have to have done.

Video Signal Flow;
First off, the light goes in front of the camera and is then concentrated by a lens, the signal then goes to the converter box and converts into a different signal called Serial Digital Interface(SDI), a cable is also plugged into a STOB box and goes into a technical rack, from there the signal then distributes into the CCU ad from there it goes into the VX(vision mixing panel) and the output is selected(again, either line out or programme out) and is recorded into the HDD.

Studio Protocol and Practice

In any TV Studio, there is a strict protocol in which any one who is in the studio must follow;

- There must be no food or drink inside the studio, as these could be spilt and could cause damage to equipment (cameras, microphones etc) and this could in turn cause risk of electrocution, tripping(over the drinks bottles) etc.

- Only people who really need to be in the studio, should be in the studio, as there is a limited amount of room in the studio and it is more important to have the people who actually need in the studio, in the studio, rather than having extra bodies.

- You are not allowed to run in the studio, as the cameras all have long cables which hang onto the floor, and anyone running could trip over and hurt themselves.

- You cannot mess around on the headsets(cans), and must only talk if it is needed. (As mentioned in the previous blog about talk-backs and their protocol.)

Crew roles and responsibilities

With any TV Show a crew is generally required to help put the show together, here is an example of the type of crew members you may see if you were on set of a TV Show.

Director
- The director is the main person in charge, without them there would be no show, they direct everything involved in the television show, they are also responsible for supervising camera postitions, lighting elements, microphones and props, as any of these could cause issues if not correct. They must also have the ability to remain cool underfire and mantain order of the other crew members in the control room, on the set or elsewhere, there is usually no room for error when directing a TV Show.

Assistant Director
- The job of the assistant director is, as the title suggests, to assist the director, this person helps to make sure everything goes smoothly and must be able to feed director information if the director stumbles at any part of the show. They also must be able to stay cool underfire.

Floor Manager
- The floor manager is the person who is responsible for managing the studio floor(this is where the camera's, sets and talent operate). They are the link between the studio and control room, and therefore need to always be on "the ball" and be able to ancipate what the director wants, they have to be in control and need to speak clearly otherwise communication could break down and end up with mistakes being made.

Assistant Floor Manager
- This person is the assistant to the floor manager and needs to be able to ensure they are there if the floor manager asks them to do a job. As well as this, the assistant floor manager would also be in charge of adding up the scores for the host to read, though this of course is only if it's a Quiz Show that is taking place.

Camera Operators
- The camera operator is the person who will film the whole of the TV show, along with other camera operators; they are responsible for physically operating the camera and maintaining composition throughout the show, they also must be able to frame shots correctly or the shot could end up looking bad once filmed.

Assistant Camera Operators
- The assistant camera operator is basically the person who, as the title suggests, assists the camera operator in any way possible, whether that be preparing equipment or holding the camera wires, they are just there to help the main camera operator out.

Sound Operator
- The sound operator is the person who is responsible for the overall and total execution of all sound-related aspects of the show. The sound operators also adjust the sound using the sound panel and make sure that none of the sound coming from the studio or any of the audio played from the control rooms are too loud or too quiet, they also are the ones who mic-up the talent.

Vision Switcher
- The vision switcher is the person who is placed at the vision mixer to select between different video sources, for example, in a TV Show they may want to alternative between different camera shots and the vision switcher is the one who makes that happen, as well as this they are also responsible for switching between the camera angles and the different inserts that may be used during the show. They must be very clear and listen to the director.

Studio Equipment, it's functions and operation.

For any TV show, equipment is an essential part, without it there is no show. These are the types of equipment you would see being used on many different sorts of TV Shows e.g QI, The One Show etc.

Cool Lights (Florescent tubes) and Tungstun Lights (Spot Lights)

- These light up the studio, and any backgrounds, they also light the talent who will be seen on screen, any lights can be added too or removed from the lighting grid, which is the place where all the lights connect too, the wires from each of the lights are carried across the lighting grid and then connect too a dimmer pack.

Microphones

- Microphones are needed because without them there would be no way of hearing the people that are featured in the TV show you were filming, for example if you were filming a quiz show, you would need them for the host and the contestants so they were able to be heard, otherwise the whole show wouldn't actually go very far, most TV shows use clip-on omni-directional(picks up sound from all around) as they are easier and gives the person more ability to move around and use there hands where as a standard microphone may prove difficult to use. As well as omni-directional microphones for the host and anyone else, a directional microphone is also usually used to pick up audience reactions e.g clapping, cheering etc.

Cameras

- In any production, the amount of cameras used will vary, for example, the TV Show 'Have I got news for you' uses six different cameras, for our live TV show however, we will only be using four different cameras; two which will be the "pole cameras" - meaning they are have the ability to move around and get different shots, as well as this there will also be the "host camera" this is the camera that will stay on the host for the majority of the live TV show, and in most cases does not move. The final camera we will be using will be a camera that is attached to a "gib arm", this allows the camera to move up and down as well as pan across the audience and zoom into the talent on set. Out of all the equipment, the Camera is one of the most important things there as without that there is no vision therefore there is no TV show.

Lighting Desk

- The lighting desk is there so that you can control the light and the light intensity going into the studio and also gives you the ability to chose which lights you want to use via the dimmer pack.

Vision Mixing Desk

- The vision mixing desk is needed as it gives you the ability to control as to which camera feed you want showing on the Television monitor, it is also useful as the director and the vision mixer can see all the shots being made by every camera at any given time.

Sound Desk

- The sound desk is where all volume levels are controlled, it allows you to adjust the volume of any of the talent in studio if they are being too loud or being too quiet, and with this you can prevent sound distortion when filming.

DVD Player

- This is an essential part of the show, it is used to play all the inserts that are in the show.