Advert Filming, Camera Workshop, Organising Sunday's Shoot

On Tuesday we were filming the advert for our commissioned show, ‘The Manual’. This was mainly organised by Gareth Allen and Adam Whittingham, as they both had the vision for the advert. I went along to the filming for a short time, so that I could meet Rachel Bonnici, who I had been in contact with, as well as bring ‘The Manual’ book for the filming. I oversaw some of this filming for around three-quarters of an hour before I left, as I didn’t want to be around for too long and get in the way because there was already quite a few people there.

On Friday I had a workshop on how to operate a selection of the cameras, such as the Sony PMW-EX1, PMW-EX3, and HVR-Z7. I only got hands-on with the EX3 for a short period of time and tried to make the use of the focus and depth of field.

The PMW-EX3 HD compact camcorder is the ideal solution for a wide range of customers from broadcasters through to independent videographers and film makers who want exceptional HD picture quality and state-of-the-art workflow from an affordable semi-shoulder camcorder. 

XDCAM EX - New Generation HD Recording System. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2012, from http://www.sony.nl/pro/lang/en/nl/product/xdcamcamcorders/pmw-ex3/overview

Sony PMW-EX3

I didn’t see too much of the setting up of the camera, however there is a handout that I will try and print out and go through when I have time. I would really like to increase my knowledge of setting up and operating the cameras because it is a skill that I am currently not overly confident with.

After this workshop, I met with the members of my group who were involved in Sunday’s film shoot for ‘The Manual’. In this meeting we discussed the schedule for the day and how the shoot will be organised in terms of all the equipment and the format of the challenge. Michael Parsons was very organised for this filming and had created a document and diagrams of how everything will work and be planned out. We then had to pick up the reasonably large amount of equipment we would need from the storeroom and the CCi studio.

Filming 'The Manual' Intro

Later in the day on Monday, we filmed the intro for our commissioned show, ‘The Manual’, in the CCi studio. For this filming, we mainly used the 3 male presenters, Charlie, Dom and Umby, because we wanted them to get to know each other more and start to get into the role.

For the intro, we wanted to film men doing various ‘man tasks’ and silhouette them for a nice ‘arty’ look. The green screen within the studio was therefore the best place to film this, as we did not want anything in the background.

For this filming, I brought many props that we would use to show these ‘man tasks’ and examples of games they will take part in during the show, such as a dumbbell, a steering wheel cut-out, a hammer and ‘The Manual’ book. Rather than book a camera out to film this, we decided to use the studio camera record directly onto Avid in the edit room within the CCi office. To relay instructions between the studio and edit room, we used the walkie-talkies, which was a lot easier and quicker.

To make it easier for us in the studio to see how it would look as a silhouette, we turned on the monitor in the studio and I adjusted the key settings on the Tricaster. However we had to revert back to the normal key whenever we wanted to record otherwise the silhouettes wouldn’t look very good. We went through most of the shots that I had listed, but some we left out because they were not very recognisable or couldn’t be achieved very well.

At the end of the day, Michael and myself booked out equipment for our filming on December 5th and 6th. These shoots will also require a fair amount of equipment as there is a lot going on and we want to make it look as good as possible. After that we decided to have a quick look upstairs in the room that we would be filming the DIY assembly challenge. This room seemed quite noisy due to the air conditioning, which we will look into to see if we can turn it off. We may turn all the lights off in this room and solely use our own lights to give the room a better look.

Tricaster Workshop

On Monday I had a workshop with Lou and Allen on how to operate the Tricaster. I believed it was important to have this workshop because I have not used the Tricaster properly before and I wanted to make sure I understood how to use it before I finished this course. In this workshop I learnt many of the Tricaster’s functions as well as the basic process of broadcasting the live show.

Firstly I learnt how to import various forms of media such as videos and photos, into the Tricaster. This is important because you need to have all your media on the Tricaster for the show, and you need to be able to find where it is and know how to open it up in the project.

Then I was given an overview of the layout of the live show screen and shown how it is essentially divided into 4 quarters, each with a different purpose. After that I was shown how to key out the green screen in the background to make use of the virtual set. There were several adjustments that you can make to ensure the presenter looks as life-like within the set as possible. I was also shown how to adjust the positioning of the presenter in the set without moving them directly as well as adjusting the framing of the camera without touching the camera.

Then I was shown how to select the various forms of media such as pictures, videos and straps, and how to play them fully or on a virtual television within the set, such as during the news. I was shown how to play the intro of CCi Live, whilst making use of the transparent layer at the top of the ‘I’ to go into the studio. Lastly, I was shown how to open up the credits through the network so that they play out of the Tricaster at the same time that they are played on the live text machine.

This workshop was very helpful and I learnt a lot from it. I hope to further my knowledge of operating the Tricaster and use it under more pressure such as during a live show. Here is an extract from the manual of the Tricaster TCXD300:

Traditionally, producing live high definition television has been very costly, requiring very expensive equipment and a large crew. TriCaster TCXD300 (like its standard definition siblings) changes all that. In one lightweight, portable system (small enough to fit in a backpack) you have a complete tool set to create, broadcast, web stream and project your HD production. TriCaster TCXD300 even includes NewTek’s revolutionary LiveSet system to provide you with network quality virtual sets, for ‘bigger than life’ production capabilities. 

TriCaster thus sets a new benchmark for “portable live production”. It is the most complete, reliable and efficient system available for live production and web streaming. Its small footprint makes it possible to broadcast from almost anywhere, and it requires just one person to operate. No matter what your live broadcast ambitions are, TriCaster can help you fulfill them. 

With TriCaster you can produce and distribute live video programs (in both Standard and High Definition) from diverse sources and materials – use multiple cameras, recorded digital video, PowerPoint presentations on networked laptops, live web pages, digital photos and graphics, and much more. Your presentations can be simultaneously displayed by video projectors, television monitors and streamed in high quality on the Internet. 

Tricaster TCXD300. (2010). Retrieved November 26, 2012, from ftp://ftp.newtek.com/pub/TriCaster/TCXD_300_Manual_02.10.10.pdf

Tricaster TCXD300 Unit

Tricaster TCXD300 Interface