Ariel Shepherd-Hall Live-streaming takes more work than what appears to the eye. For our next assignment, we couldn't hang by a pendulum of indecisiveness in hopes that all-goes-well for a doctor’s conference going live to hundreds of fellow doctors around the nation. It took time in advance and deep-thinking prepping for one of our most intensive shoots this summer. In the end, it was worth every painstaking second rehearsing then re-rehearsing to prevent the smallest mishaps, failure was not an option.
As an obsessive sports fanatic, I plan to pursue a live-broadcasting career. The doctor’s shoot gave me insight on how efficient I must be. The day before the live-broadcast, we (April, John, John, Henri, and I) met together to receive instructions and get a quick pep-talk. Then we loaded the cars, trucks, and SUVs with C-stands, sandbags, lights, etc. The process was daunting as we began crossing uncharted territory to a location that was new to all of us. If it was our own studio, then no problem, but we had to do this off-site because of internet bandwidth requirements. The client had the option to use other companies, but choose us overall. Being the chosen ones, we took extra care and it was important to consider all possible obstacles before the shoot. Once we got there, we set-up the connectors to the cameras and stationed them in the correct position, adjusted the lights and tweaked the mics for the perfect volume. Some precautions we took were testing out cables, or practice reading the teleprompter so that it maintained a comfortable speed for the host. The gaffer tape became the producer’s best friend; wires taped to the floor, to the wall, and sometimes to ourselves. All the necessary equipment was carefully positioned and placed in its correct spot before the big day. The whole set-up took Michael Phelp’s arms and Usain Bolt’s legs to rapidly meet the deadline. Wednesday is now over and it went well; it was Thursday that was game day.
Thursday morning I woke-up early, showered and was ready-to-go. Unfortunately, I encountered a mishap, I personally cannot accept, I was late. Yes, that is correct, I got lost in the pit of stop-lights and wrong way streets and even perhaps blew a red-light. I was fifteen minutes late and very concerned. Funny thing however, there was a fire drill in the whole sky scraper ten minutes before I arrived. Technically, I was only five minutes late but still not a good start for the day. Despite the minor run-ins, the shoot ran flawlessly without a problem. After the conference, the doctors were gracious enough to share with Henri and I their research and I was happily intrigued with all the abundant information. Thirty days of preparation and hard-work paid off for a spectacular shoot.
As an obsessive sports fanatic, I plan to pursue a live-broadcasting career. The doctor’s shoot gave me insight on how efficient I must be. The day before the live-broadcast, we (April, John, John, Henri, and I) met together to receive instructions and get a quick pep-talk. Then we loaded the cars, trucks, and SUVs with C-stands, sandbags, lights, etc. The process was daunting as we began crossing uncharted territory to a location that was new to all of us. If it was our own studio, then no problem, but we had to do this off-site because of internet bandwidth requirements. The client had the option to use other companies, but choose us overall. Being the chosen ones, we took extra care and it was important to consider all possible obstacles before the shoot. Once we got there, we set-up the connectors to the cameras and stationed them in the correct position, adjusted the lights and tweaked the mics for the perfect volume. Some precautions we took were testing out cables, or practice reading the teleprompter so that it maintained a comfortable speed for the host. The gaffer tape became the producer’s best friend; wires taped to the floor, to the wall, and sometimes to ourselves. All the necessary equipment was carefully positioned and placed in its correct spot before the big day. The whole set-up took Michael Phelp’s arms and Usain Bolt’s legs to rapidly meet the deadline. Wednesday is now over and it went well; it was Thursday that was game day.
Thursday morning I woke-up early, showered and was ready-to-go. Unfortunately, I encountered a mishap, I personally cannot accept, I was late. Yes, that is correct, I got lost in the pit of stop-lights and wrong way streets and even perhaps blew a red-light. I was fifteen minutes late and very concerned. Funny thing however, there was a fire drill in the whole sky scraper ten minutes before I arrived. Technically, I was only five minutes late but still not a good start for the day. Despite the minor run-ins, the shoot ran flawlessly without a problem. After the conference, the doctors were gracious enough to share with Henri and I their research and I was happily intrigued with all the abundant information. Thirty days of preparation and hard-work paid off for a spectacular shoot.
I took an advanced-level Tetris gamer to carefully place all the equipment back into the trucks. While it took a full day to set-up it miraculously only took two hours to dismantle everything. Everything was successfully loaded and packed and it was time for “a beer!” The set-back was I’m not twenty-one. Yet.
The shoot ran great not only because we had a spectacular crew, but we also worked well as a team. Sometimes orders were flung at me in full force. Left and right the crew tells me, “Put the microphone in the correct position, and tilt the T.V thirty degrees toward the ceiling, go check on the monitor…wait! Don’t forget to take off your microphone!” A single brain cell error could lead to a pile of rubbish in seconds. Next time you go to the movies think about the team and process it took to make you entertained. Those live sports broadcasting shoots took only a few patches of hair from the production assistants and maybe the sanity from the producer, cameraman, and sound-man. Each person has a role and when one is in need, others can chip-in and help. Similar to how a defense player blocks a few shots when the goalie isn't at his post. Our team had everything at the tip of our feet. We all shared the same goal and worked together to achieve the goal of success. Funny thing though… when asked if we would want to do another live shoot again soon, the reply from our producer John Christensen was “Not in a million years!”
Let’s give him some time.
[Ariel studies French at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and will be an exchange student in Paris by the end of Summer. She chose to intern with Christensen Media in the mean time to better her skills in media production.]
The shoot ran great not only because we had a spectacular crew, but we also worked well as a team. Sometimes orders were flung at me in full force. Left and right the crew tells me, “Put the microphone in the correct position, and tilt the T.V thirty degrees toward the ceiling, go check on the monitor…wait! Don’t forget to take off your microphone!” A single brain cell error could lead to a pile of rubbish in seconds. Next time you go to the movies think about the team and process it took to make you entertained. Those live sports broadcasting shoots took only a few patches of hair from the production assistants and maybe the sanity from the producer, cameraman, and sound-man. Each person has a role and when one is in need, others can chip-in and help. Similar to how a defense player blocks a few shots when the goalie isn't at his post. Our team had everything at the tip of our feet. We all shared the same goal and worked together to achieve the goal of success. Funny thing though… when asked if we would want to do another live shoot again soon, the reply from our producer John Christensen was “Not in a million years!”
Let’s give him some time.
[Ariel studies French at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and will be an exchange student in Paris by the end of Summer. She chose to intern with Christensen Media in the mean time to better her skills in media production.]
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