10th April Live Production Rehearsals

 Today was our final full day of rehearsing for our live production next Thursday.

It was probably the most important day of the unit so far as we finally had all the VT's and graphics to use as well as the majority of the contributors present. The only thing that was missing was the set which is frustrating as a camera operator as we may encounter issues on the day of shooting because of the unknowns of the set.

This was also the first time in a few weeks that myself and Cailan were on a camera together as he had been ill before. It was good to be able to share the camera and tell Cailan all I had learned over the previous weeks.

As Cailan had missed some on-camera time we had to decide between us who should take which "side" of the show. After some discussion, I decided it would be best for me to take the second half of the show as it seemed more complex from the script - giving Cailan less to learn in his short-hands on time before we go live.

I feel from our camera position today went really well. As the day went on we did have changes to the script meaning our camera position was moved from where we expected, but not drastically.

I had discussions with Gavin throughout the day and he mentioned that our camera was always set up properly and always in focus. It was great to hear this as we worked hard to make sure our shots were on time but also not sacrificing the normal checks of exposure and proper focus.

Gavin also explained that the second half of the show would be mainly done on the camera I was operating which was nice but sadly for me there was not much of a challenge as I hold the same 2-shot of the presenters for the majority of it.

Even though I always want to challenge myself, in this environment I had to understand this is a massive team game and the other cameras are getting the other shots as need-be. This meant that even though I would be holding the same shot for the majority of the show, I did not need to worry as all the other angles I was thinking of would be covered.

 Right now we are still having issues with the handheld camera, especially with it's transition to the audience segment. It is a hard situation for everyone involved as there does not seem to be an easy fix, as at some point the other camera operators will be seen with the camera rotating 180 degrees on air.

I don't think a sting would particularly work in this instance so we will have to work on that issue more next week as right now that is the only real problem with the camera operators side.

We have raised questions throughout about the audience being too close to the cameras and in the way - Today the directors and producers decided to move the chairs backwards. Unfortunately, as we cannot have a raised seating area it will always mean that some of the audience are obstructed by the crews on the cameras.

We are now confident as a group that we have got this production to a very good stage and with hopefully 5/6 more run-throughs in the early stages of next week, we should be able to nail it when it comes to the actual production.

 I was nervous at how this project would all come together as everyone has been focusing on their roles, but it has worked really well. Everyone has put in a proper amount of effort and it means that as a group we are not as worried about the live shoot day as we were all probably expecting.

Del has been a massive help through this production, Cailan and I would always try our best to ask if this or that was right Del was nearby - This was a way of just checking that we were doing a proper job on the cameras.

I now have some nervous anticipation for the actual live production now. I am sure with a live audience and with directors who want to make sure that this will be perfect, there will be raised nerves come next Thursday.

However, in reality, we have done a great job as a team, in coming together and helping each other through the project. In the previous year, we had been told there were issues with people clashing and falling out, thankfully has not happened!

[EDIT: Here is the recording from today's shoot - I am happy with how my camera maintains focus throughout my time operating it]