After watching for about 6 minutes, I've now realized how much this is more of an art than just an occupation. Timing, using the right transitioning, keeping a watch over the cameras for the right view for aesthetically pleasing scenes, etc. Epic stuff, Jaime!
Great job Love this video of a live concert situation. You guys get lucky you get tech rehearsals. I'm in the convention trade show industry, we rehearse the main speakers maybe if we are lucky. And most closing ceremonies which involve musical talent we never get this luxury. Great work!!
The main focus of this video is not the actual concert itself, but what actually goes on behind the scenes in the TV Truck. I'm glad you enjoyed it though.
That goes without saying, and my AD put my notes on the score which is how he cued me. Prior to rehearsals I listened to the symphony literally dozens of times.
Each sport provides a different set of challenges for a director. But without question, the best and most fun is baseball. It's a sport that isn't played in a rectangle. In fact, every stadium has its quirks outside of the standard 90 feet between the bases. And a director has lots to choose from when trying to visually tell the story of a bottom of the 9th inning with the home team trailing by a run with two men on and their best hitter going against he opposing team's closer. No dissolves h
Great job looks fun... I actually am starting a job working at a high school doing stuff for the jumbo-tron and using the switcher is one of he parts of it hopefully I don't die from the rush of information coming to me wish me luck :)
Directing live television, especially sports looks stressful and complicated, but it's not really. The key is preparation. Try directing a live performance of a 90+ piece orchestra performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony with only one or if your lucky two rehearsals.
Not sure what concert this was from but it was 3 years ago. During rehearsals, the director and AD make notes when the camera switches are going to be made. They time each song and usually, based on what the artist did during rehearsal, they know exactly what camera they will be on at what time, but there is always room for improvisation. As far as the audio quality goes, you have to realize I was recording this on my cell phone in a TV truck where there is a lot of other ambient noise.
I've only done TD work a few times at my school's studio, but I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. How much experience would you recommend I have before I actually apply for that position? I'm debating whether or not to take a technical-intensive course next semester or to just go do more field reporting.
Great directing and this must be from the "Jay-Z Answers The Call" concert, but I thought u would have to know the performer's intentions for camera switches; and to be honest this concert looked gloomy and the sound quality wasn't the best and the camera wasn't on him sometimes when it should have , I did, however enjoy the whole show as Jay-Z is my favorite artist....just a thought.
That's a really tough question to answer Andrea. Usually TDs earn their way there by having lots of experience being camera operators, tape operators or some other technical position before they become a TD. It involves much more than pushing colored buttons. You need knowledge of all the technical aspects that go on during a broadcast.At least that's what I have experience where I work at a major network. On that note, I would say try applying at local TV stations or check LinkedIn. I wish you luck and success in your career.
Jamie thank you so much for the information I've taken broadcasting classes at the University and I'm looking for local news job now thank you for answering back.
Great video! However, I was wondering how the technical director is operating the vision mixer exactly... In the first part of your video, whenever the director calls for a certain shot, the left hand of the TD isn't moving but the lights on the vision mixer can be seen to change. Both the program and preview monitors are displaying the image of the camera that is current at that moment. Later on in your video, I see what I would call normal operation (as I thought is the way it works), the TD is selecting the camera on the preview bus to be ready for the next take (which can be seen on the preview monitor on the right) and when he takes the shot the image will also appear on the program monitor. Is he using his right hand to switch camera's directly in the first part? Or is there something that I am missing? I'd like to know how the technology works.
I'm glad you like the video. Music is fun to direct. In the first part of the video, he is selecting the cameras with his right hand. He has a keypad at his disposal where he can instantly take the camera without having to select it on one of the buses with his left hand. Of course he could have taken the camera directly with his left hand but this was easier for him to do. In the later video, because there were many dissolves, he had to select the camera on the preview bus then with his right hand us the transition key for the dissolve to that camera. What a lot of TDs do is select the next camera they are going to on the preview bus, then with their right hand either press the "take" key or "dissolve" depending what the director tells them to do. Usually a good director will tell you "ready 3" in enough time for you to preset it. They might even tell you "ready dissolve to 3" or "ready to take 3" which is even better. Hope that explains it. Feel free to ask if you need more clarification.
Thanks, but I know what you mean. At least the bottle cap was on. I never take canned drinks into the control room. It must be a bottle that you can twist the cap on.
After watching for about 6 minutes, I've now realized how much this is more of an art than just an occupation. Timing, using the right transitioning, keeping a watch over the cameras for the right view for aesthetically pleasing scenes, etc. Epic stuff, Jaime!
Glad you enjoyed it. Behind every good director is a great AD :) Fun show to work on.
Great job Love this video of a live concert situation. You guys get lucky you get tech rehearsals. I'm in the convention trade show industry, we rehearse the main speakers maybe if we are lucky. And most closing ceremonies which involve musical talent we never get this luxury. Great work!!
I'm learning about this in my studio production class and it seems really interesting :D
Wishing you the best of luck. I'm sure you will have fun learning and experiencing it.
Nice work! Love the AD in there too. Great job all around.
The main focus of this video is not the actual concert itself, but what actually goes on behind the scenes in the TV Truck. I'm glad you enjoyed it though.
That goes without saying, and my AD put my notes on the score which is how he cued me. Prior to rehearsals I listened to the symphony literally dozens of times.
This is my dream job right here. Great job!
Each sport provides a different set of challenges for a director. But without question, the best and most fun is baseball. It's a sport that isn't played in a rectangle. In fact, every stadium has its quirks outside of the standard 90 feet between the bases. And a director has lots to choose from when trying to visually tell the story of a bottom of the 9th inning with the home team trailing by a run with two men on and their best hitter going against he opposing team's closer. No dissolves h
Awesome!!! but a little detail... a bottle of water near a switcher?? in my station not a chance jajajaja. Great Job!!
Glad you liked it Jose.
Great job looks fun... I actually am starting a job working at a high school doing stuff for the jumbo-tron and using the switcher is one of he parts of it hopefully I don't die from the rush of information coming to me wish me luck :)
Wishing you the best of luck Richard. Doing live TV is a great adrenaline rush and lots of fun!
awesome!!!! but a little detail... A bottle of water near of switcher?? mmm in my station not a chance jajajaja... Great job!!
Directing live television, especially sports looks stressful and complicated, but it's not really. The key is preparation. Try directing a live performance of a 90+ piece orchestra performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony with only one or if your lucky two rehearsals.
Not sure what concert this was from but it was 3 years ago. During rehearsals, the director and AD make notes when the camera switches are going to be made. They time each song and usually, based on what the artist did during rehearsal, they know exactly what camera they will be on at what time, but there is always room for improvisation. As far as the audio quality goes, you have to realize I was recording this on my cell phone in a TV truck where there is a lot of other ambient noise.
I've only done TD work a few times at my school's studio, but I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. How much experience would you recommend I have before I actually apply for that position? I'm debating whether or not to take a technical-intensive course next semester or to just go do more field reporting.
Great directing and this must be from the "Jay-Z Answers The Call" concert, but I thought u would have to know the performer's intentions for camera switches; and to be honest this concert looked gloomy and the sound quality wasn't the best and the camera wasn't on him sometimes when it should have , I did, however enjoy the whole show as Jay-Z is my favorite artist....just a thought.
Hello Jaime good video my question is how should one fresh out of college start applying for a TD position?
That's a really tough question to answer Andrea. Usually TDs earn their way there by having lots of experience being camera operators, tape operators or some other technical position before they become a TD. It involves much more than pushing colored buttons. You need knowledge of all the technical aspects that go on during a broadcast.At least that's what I have experience where I work at a major network.
On that note, I would say try applying at local TV stations or check LinkedIn. I wish you luck and success in your career.
Jamie thank you so much for the information I've taken broadcasting classes at the University and I'm looking for local news job now thank you for answering back.
@jaimebravo I'm sure. This is the fun stuff. I love this stuff, I would love to be doing this in a few years. Great job btw.
Directing camera at this level must be the closest to thing cocaine available.
Great video! However, I was wondering how the technical director is operating the vision mixer exactly... In the first part of your video, whenever the director calls for a certain shot, the left hand of the TD isn't moving but the lights on the vision mixer can be seen to change. Both the program and preview monitors are displaying the image of the camera that is current at that moment. Later on in your video, I see what I would call normal operation (as I thought is the way it works), the TD is selecting the camera on the preview bus to be ready for the next take (which can be seen on the preview monitor on the right) and when he takes the shot the image will also appear on the program monitor.
Is he using his right hand to switch camera's directly in the first part? Or is there something that I am missing? I'd like to know how the technology works.
I'm glad you like the video. Music is fun to direct. In the first part of the video, he is selecting the cameras with his right hand. He has a keypad at his disposal where he can instantly take the camera without having to select it on one of the buses with his left hand. Of course he could have taken the camera directly with his left hand but this was easier for him to do.
In the later video, because there were many dissolves, he had to select the camera on the preview bus then with his right hand us the transition key for the dissolve to that camera.
What a lot of TDs do is select the next camera they are going to on the preview bus, then with their right hand either press the "take" key or "dissolve" depending what the director tells them to do. Usually a good director will tell you "ready 3" in enough time for you to preset it. They might even tell you "ready dissolve to 3" or "ready to take 3" which is even better.
Hope that explains it. Feel free to ask if you need more clarification.
Jaime Bravo
Hi Jaime, thanks for your reply. Perfectly clear now! :)
Phwew! Crazy. No time to think. Looks like fun though.
Thanks Eric! You do all your thinking during rehearsals and preparation. At this point, you can only react. It is fun and challenging!
Thanks, but I know what you mean. At least the bottle cap was on. I never take canned drinks into the control room. It must be a bottle that you can twist the cap on.
was this an NEP truck?
HaHa! So very true. Try sports sometimes where you always have to expect the unexpected. Quite the natural high.
It is always this stressful??
lots of eyes :p