Video Basics 7 Chapter 15

Preproduction: Remote Survey

A field inspection is called a remote survey or site survey. You should do a remote survey even if the field production is relatively simple, such as interviewing someone in a hotel room. Looking at the room beforehand will help you decide where to position the guest and the interviewer and where to place the camera. It will also give you important technical information, such as specific lighting and sound requirements. For complex productions, careful remote surveys are essential. You need to find out what the event is all about, where it is to take place, how to adapt the environment to the medium requirements, and what technical facilities are necessary for video-recording or telecasting the event. For a relatively simple field production, the director and/or the producer usually make up the survey team. For elaborate productions, you need to add a technical expert—the technical director (TD) or the engineering supervisor. If possible, have a contact person at the chosen site accompany you on the initial remote survey.

big remote

A production outside the studio to televise live and/or live-record a large scheduled event that has not been staged specifically for television

Chroma Key

A) The source for this background image is a video frame of the museum exterior from the electronic slide library. B) The studio camera focuses on the actor playing a tourist in front of the green chroma-key backdrop. The lighting must match the environment of the background. C) All green areas are replaced by the background image; the tourist appears to be in front of the museum.

Outdoor Field Production - Background

Always look beyond the main action to avoid odd juxtapositions between foreground and background. You must also be careful to maintain background continuity in postproduction editing. For instance, if you show a prominent tree in the background of shot 1 but not in the following shot with a similar background, the tree will seem to have mysteriously disappeared when the two shots are edited together. A similar problem might occur if you lock down the camera for shot 1 and continue shot 2 from the same camera position. Because the camera will most likely have shifted a little between the two shots, the background tree seems to jump ever so slightly from one position to another. An alert editor will probably rule against editing such shots together. You can easily prevent jump cuts by changing the angle or field of view (how close you show the scene) between the two shots.

remote survey

An inspection of the remote location by key production and engineering personnel so that they can plan for the setup and the use of production equipment. Also called site survey.

News Gathering

As a news videographer, also called a shooter, you are responsible not only for video-recording the story but also for making the decisions on just how to tell it. In a breaking story, you must be able to assess the situation, operate the equipment, and capture the essence of the event—all in a matter of minutes. Be mindful of the audio requirements. Don't have the reporter deliver a report on the windiest corner of the street; find a location that is relatively protected. Small rooms or corridors with bare walls have a tendency to produce unwanted echoes and make reporters sound as though they are speaking from inside a barrel. Take an audio level before each video recording. If you are covering a story with a reporter, the news-gathering process is slightly less hectic. You usually have some flexibility in placing the field reporter for a standup report in a location that tells part of the story (city hall, college campus, county hospital) and in selecting the most effective shots.

General Production Reminders - Safety

As in studio productions, in EFP you need to be constantly aware of safety precautions. Don't be careless with extension cords, especially if you string them outside in damp weather. Tape all connections so that they become waterproof and don't pull apart. If you have to lay cables across corridors or doorways, tape them down with gaffer's tape and put a rug or rubber mat over them. Better yet, try to string them above so that people can walk below them unhindered. Ask the police to assist you when shooting along a freeway or in downtown traffic.

Transmission

As you well know, some big stories have been shot and transmitted to a station or network solely with a smartphone. In such cases the content is more important than the picture and sound quality. You can of course also capture source footage on a laptop and transmit it to the station via the Internet. In normal news operations, however, you use a van with recording and transmission equipment to relay the video and audio signals back to the station and ultimately to the transmitter or satellite.

Indoor Field Production - Lightning

Be especially aware of the lighting requirements. Again, check the available outlets. Be careful when placing lights inside a room. Do not overload the circuits. Turn off the lights whenever you don't need them. Sandbag all light stands and make heat shields with aluminum foil, especially when a lighting instrument is close to curtains, upholstered furniture, books, or other combustible materials. Even on a cloudy or foggy day, the color temperature of the daylight coming through a window is considerably higher than that of indoor light. In this case you must decide whether to boost the color temperature of the indoor light or lower the color temperature of the daylight coming through the window. It is usually simpler to gel the indoor lights (with a light-blue color media) than the window.

Checklist: Field Production Equipment

Camcorders - How many do you need? If a spare camera is available, take it along, even if it is of lower quality. In case of emergency, a properly lighted interview shot with a digital consumer camcorder will certainly be better than having no camcorder at all. Camera mounts - Always take along a tripod, even if you intend to work the camera from your shoulder. Do you need special camera mounts, such as tripod dollies, jib arms, or beanbags? Recording media - Do you have the proper media for the camcorders and additional video recorders (VRs)? Note that not all camcorders accept the same memory cards. Do you have enough media for extended recording periods? Do you need an additional external VR? When using a DSLR camera for the shoot, you should always back up your recording with an external VR. Power supply - How will you power the camcorder? Are the batteries fully charged? If you use an AC/DC power supply, do you have enough AC extension cords to reach the AC outlet? You also need extension cords for portable lighting instruments and a field monitor. If the monitor or external light is battery-powered, do you have the right battery? Is it fully charged? Do you have a spare battery and its appropriate charger? Audio - In addition to lavalier microphones, bring at least one shotgun mic and one hand mic. For a more ambitious EFP, you need to match the mics to the acoustics of the location. Are the mic cables long enough to reach the camcorders or audio mixer? If you intend to use wireless mics, do the transmitter and receivers work properly? All remote mics, including lavaliers, need windscreens. Shotgun mics need additional windsocks. Test mics before leaving for the remote location and again before the video recording. Do you need mounting equipment, such as clamps, stands, or fishpoles? Do you need a mixer or an additional audio recorder? Do you need an XLR pad? Don't forget earphones for the fishpole operator and the audio-recording technician. Cables and connectors - Do you have the appropriate cables and connectors? Most professional equipment operates with BNC connectors for the video coaxial cables and XLR connectors for balanced audio cables (see figures 4.23 and 7.26). Some camcorders use RCA phono and mini connectors instead of XLR connectors (also shown in figure 7.26). Bring along some adapters for video and audio cables. Double-check all connectors and adapters. If you need to connect the camera to an RCU (remote control unit), you also need an external monitor. Do you have enough camera cables with the proper connectors? Monitor and test equipment - Be sure to take along a monitor for playback. If you do a multicamera EFP with a switcher, each camera input needs a separate preview monitor unless you have a portable switcher unit with a flat-panel multiscreen preview. If a narrator is describing the action, you must provide a separate monitor for him or her. In field productions that require high-quality pictures, you need test equipment, such as a waveform monitor and a vector scope. Ordinarily, the technical crew chief (usually the TD) is responsible for such items, but you should still see to it that they are part of the equipment package. Lighting - More often than not, you will need at least one or two portable lighting kits, each containing several lighting instruments, barn doors, diffusers, color gels, light stands, and spare bulbs. If you use a minimum of lighting instruments for a simple production such as an interview, use floodlights (softlights) rather than spots. All spotlights in a lighting kit need diffusion tents and umbrellas. Do the spare bulbs actually fit the lighting instruments? Do they burn with the desired color temperature (3,200K or 5,600K)? Use light-blue and amber gels on the lighting instruments if you need to raise or lower the color temperature, unless the lights come with color temperature filters. White diffusion material is always needed to soften key lights. Reflectors (white cards, foam core, aluminum foil, or professional collapsible reflectors) are essential for outdoor productions and are extremely helpful for indoor lighting. Reflectors are often much easier to manipulate than additional instruments. The lighting package should also include a piece of muslin to cover an off-camera window; a piece of black cloth to cut down on unwanted reflections; diffusion umbrellas; a light meter; extra light stands; and clamps and sandbags for securing the light stands. Unless you have access to expandable battens, take along some 1 × 3 lumber for constructing supports for small lighting instruments. Pack a roll of aluminum foil for making reflectors, heat shields, or makeshift barn doors. You will also need a few wooden clothespins to attach the diffusion material or gels to the barn doors of the lighting instruments. Take enough AC extension cords and adapters that fit household outlets. Intercom - In small field productions, you do not need elaborate intercom setups, but you should always leave a telephone number at home base where you can be reached in case of an emergency. A smartphone is a must if you do primarily EFP, but do not use it near a wireless mic—the phone's transmitter might add a high-pitched tone to your recorded audio. For larger field productions, you need a small power megaphone or walkie-talkies to reach a dispersed crew. If you use a multicamera and switcher system, you need to set up a regular PL intercom. Miscellaneous - Here is what you should also take along on every EFP: extra scripts and time lines to be posted; field VR log forms; a slate or clapboard; several large rain umbrellas and "raincoats" (plastic covers) to protect equipment and crew in case of rain; a white card for white-balancing; a large newsprint pad and markers for writing cue cards or other information for the talent while on the air or recording; if necessary, a remote teleprompter with batteries and cables; several rolls of gaffer's tape and masking tape; white chalk; wooden clothespins to hold things in place, even if you don't use any lighting instruments; a makeup kit; a large bottle of water; a small plastic bowl; paper towels; a broom and trash bags; and plenty of sandbags.

Computer-Controlled Environments

Computer-aided design (CAD) programs can produce from a floor plan an actual scenic environment. Once the virtual scenery is set up, you can try out a number of color schemes and textures for the walls, doors, windows, and floor. For example, you can try out a blue rug, change it to red or beige, and take it out again—all with the click of a mouse. You can also put virtual furniture into the set and dress it with properties of your choice. You use the mouse to select the items from a menu and drag them into the desired positions. If you don't like what you selected, simply delete the images and try new ones. Finally, you can have a virtual camera move through this virtual space to show you what shots you can get from various angles and lens settings. Some sophisticated programs let you generate virtual performers and move them through the synthetic space. Even if you do not use the virtual sets as the "actual" environment for your production, such interactive displays of setups, colors, and camera and talent positions are an invaluable preproduction aid. When combined with live action, virtual environments can yield startling effects.

Computer-Generated Set

Despite all the skills you may have acquired in adapting a real environment to your video needs, the computer offers novel alternatives. Outdoor landscapes can be computer-generated, which you have seen many times in fantasy landscapes. But even highly realistic settings are often easier to compose with the computer than to build in the studio. A )The green areas of this chroma-key set, including the armrest, will be keyed out and replaced with the computer-generated image of a lighthouse. B) The finished effect places the actor in a convincingly realistic location. If all of this is possible, couldn't we have actors move about in front of a chroma-key backdrop and then key them into the lighthouse platform? Yes, that is certainly possible. There is, however, the problem of a changing perspective when the real foreground figures (the actors) move against the static background, although sophisticated computer programs can compensate for such a perspective shift. The real problem with such a setup is not technical but human: it is extremely difficult for even experienced actors to operate in a horizonless, undefined space. You can easily get disoriented simply by stepping into such a limitless green-screen or blue-screen environment.

General Production Reminders - Logging

During the shoot keep an accurate field log of all takes, good and bad. Label all recording media and boxes and put them in a container used solely for transporting the video-recorded material. After the recording, activate the protection devices (the little sliding tab on the side of the card) so that the source media cannot be accidentally erased. Keep the memory cards away from strong magnetic fields.

Production: In and Outdoors

Each field production has its own requirements and challenges. Although your careful preproduction survey should have eliminated most of the potential problems, here are a few considerations that are not part of the remote survey: equipment checklist, outdoor field production, indoor field production, and general production reminders.

Indoor Field Production - Audio

Except for simple interviews, obtaining good audio always seems to be a bigger problem than acquiring good video. This is because the microphones are often placed at the last minute without adequate consideration of the room's acoustics or the specific sound pickup requirements. You should include a brief audio rehearsal in the EFP time line so that you can listen to the sound pickup before beginning the video recording. If you have brought along several types of mics, you can choose the one that sounds best in that environment. As you recall, it is better to record the principal sounds and the ambient sounds on separate tracks rather than mix them in the field. You may find, however, that this separation is difficult, if not impossible, in most EFP situations. In this case try to record a good portion of the background sounds without the principal sounds after the scenes have been recorded. If necessary, you can then mix the background sounds into the scene during postproduction. If careful mixing between foreground and background sounds is required, you can do it much better in the postproduction studio. If you mix the sounds in the field, you pretty much eliminate the option of further adjustment in postproduction.

ENG Van

For ENG and routine productions, a large car or sport utility vehicle can serve as a production van. If the signal must be relayed to the station for live transmission or video recording, a vehicle that contains video-recording equipment, generators, and microwave transmission equipment is used. The signal can be sent from the camera to the van by ordinary camera cable or via a small microwave transmitter attached to the camera. A more reliable way is to connect the camera to a tripod-mounted transmitter.

General Production Reminders - Strike and Cleanup

Put everything back the way you found it. Consult your documentation of where things were before you rearranged them. When you are finished, verify that everything is back as it was. Remove all gaffer's tape that you may have used to secure cables; pick up all extension cords, sandbags, and especially empty soft drink cans, other lunch remnants, and trash. An EFP team that had finally gained access to an old and venerable family ranch after weeks of pleading by the show's producer was invited back with a smile for the follow-up show because one of the production people had brought along a broom and swept the area clean.

Small Microwave Transmission

Small microwave transmitters are used when cable runs prove too unwieldy to connect a camera to the remote truck. This tripodsupported transmitter has a reach of about 1,600 feet (500 meters).

Computer-Generated Enviornments

Some screen environments are entirely computer-generated. With the proper computer software, you can, for example, change the peaceful scene of vacationers traveling happily along a sun-drenched road into a frightening event by replacing the fluffy white clouds with a huge black tornedo. You can also generate people and animals fleeing the oncoming disaster or show the twister taking the roof off a house.

Postproduction: Wrap-up

The first order of business is to make protection copies of all source material, especially if you can't perform the capture by the editing system right away. Check whether all source footage displays a time code. If not, you need to add one. You now need to review the copies of the source footage and prepare an accurate VR log. Recall that such a log must list all shots by in- and out-numbers, identify good and bad takes, indicate predominant vectors, and list the principal audio for each shot. Unless you are also doing the editing, it is up to the postproduction people to put it all together into a comprehensive message that ideally will convey the program objective.

Satellite Uplink Truck

The satellite uplink truck is a portable station that sends the video and audio signals to a specific satellite.

Equipment Checklist

The success of the field production depends a great deal on thorough preproduction and how well you have prepared the time line. Contrary to the studio, where all major installations and equipment are readily available, you need to transport every single piece of equipment to the EFP site. Prepare a checklist that includes all the equipment and verify every item that is loaded onto the EFP vehicle. Use the same list when reloading the equipment for the return trip. The type and amount of equipment you need depends on the production requirements and, specifically, the preproduction survey. Check the following list of equipment items you need to consider for an EFP.

electronic news gathering (ENG)

The use of portable camcorders, lights, and sound equipment for the production of mostly unscheduled daily news events. ENG is usually done for live transmission or immediate postproduction.

uplink truck

The vehicle that sends video and audio signals to a satellite.

electronic field production (EFP)

Video production done outside the studio that is usually shot for postproduction (not live). It includes all out-of-studio productions except news and the big remotes that more resemble multicamera studio productions than single-camera field productions. Documentaries, magazine news stories, investigative reports, travel shows, and exercise programs that are shot outdoors—all are EFPs. Because all field productions are planned, you can prepare for them in the preproduction phase. The more preproduction that goes into an EFP, the more likely it is to succeed. In fact, EFP needs the most careful preparation. Unlike in the studio, where most of the equipment is already installed, in EFP you must take every single piece of equipment to the shoot. A wrong or missing cable can delay the production for hours or even cause its cancellation.

General Production Reminders - Loading the Equipment

When loading the equipment onto the remote vehicle after the shoot, pull out the checklist again. Check off every item that is loaded up for the return trip. Look for missing items right away; it is usually easier to find them right after the production than days or weeks later. Check that all recording media are properly labeled and that the field logs match the labels. Keep them close to you until you return to home base.

Outdoor Field Production - Weather

When outdoors you are at the mercy of the elements. Always be prepared for bad weather. As mentioned, take raincoats along for the cameras (a plastic tarp will do in a pinch) and rain gear for yourself and the crew. As old-fashioned as it may seem, a large umbrella is still one of the most effective means of keeping rain off people and equipment. If you move from a chilly outside location to indoors, let the camcorder warm up a bit. The extreme temperature change could cause condensation in the recording section, shutting down its operation automatically. Such a shutdown will certainly put a crimp in the shooting schedule. In extremely cold weather, even the zoom and focus mechanisms of lenses may stick if not kept warm from time to time. Keep the camera in a vehicle and run the camcorder for a while when it is exposed to the cold temperature to prevent the lens mechanisms from sticking. Most importantly, watch the weather for shot continuity. If video-recording a brief scene of two people talking to each other requires several takes that stretch over an hour or so, you may have a cloudless sky as the background for the first few takes and a cloudy one for the last takes.

General Production Reminders - Respecting Property

Whenever you are on someone else's property, be mindful that you are a guest and are actually intruding with your video gear and production people. Working in video does not give you license to invade people's homes, upset their routines, and make unreasonable demands on them.

Outdoor Field Production - Foreground

With a prominent foreground piece in the shot—a tree, fencepost, mailbox, or traffic sign—you can dramatically improve the scene, make the composition more dynamic, and give it depth. If there is no natural foreground piece, you can often plant one. Instead of looking for a convenient foreground tree, you can simply handhold and dip a tree branch into the shot. The viewer's mind will fill in the rest and perceive the whole tree.

contact person

a person who is familiar with, and can facilitate access to, the remote location and the key people. The contact person, or contact, is someone familiar with the remote location who can help you adapt the environment to the production requirements. For the hotel room interview, for example, the contact person should not be the guest you are about to interview but rather someone who has the knowledge and authority to get certain things done in the hotel. If you overload a circuit with the lighting instruments, the contact should be able to call the hotel engineering or maintenance department immediately and have the circuit breaker reset. To prevent the telephone from ringing during the interview, the contact should be able to have the hotel operator hold all calls to the particular room phone or a maintenance person disconnect the phone line temporarily. The contact might even find you an empty hotel room that is better suited for video-recording the interview than the one the guest actually occupies.

location sketch

a rough, hand drawn map of the locale for a remote telecast. The location sketch should show the major streets and structures of the outdoor production environment as well as the main features of the indoor production space, such as hallways, doors, windows, and principal furnishings. Even if the field production happens in an actual field, make a sketch that indicates the approximate size of the production area, the major crossroads, and the location of the sun. Include such details as parking areas, location of the EFP vehicle or remote truck, and the closest toilet facilities.

synthetic environment

electronically generated settings, either through chroma key or computer

field production

production activities that take place away from the studio or outside of it. It includes documentaries that are shot on-location as well as elaborate remotes for sporting events and the Thanksgiving Day parade.

remote truck

the vehicle that carries the production and engineering personnel so that they can plan for the setup and use of production equipment