Danny Hewitt's Television Production Blog

If the sound on a live production is not perfect, then people will pick up on it. My mentor, Paul Brice, who has been a sound assistant for years on Sky Sports, drummed this kind of information into me. Paul made it clear to me how important timing and levels are to producing perfect sound. Paul had set up all the studio mics prior to the show, however it was my job on the day to set up the clip mics with the presenter and panelists. I did my research beforehand so I knew exactly where to place the mics to get the best quality sound possible.

 Unfortunately one of the panelists had a dress on, so I struggled to find a place to clip the mic on without it being too far away from her mouth. With the help of Paul, we managed to compromise and all the checks came in loud and clear.

 I only had two days in the sound gallery to learn all the details I needed as well as practicing the transitions between VT’s and the studio. The main aspect I learnt from Paul was the use of levels and how they affect the quality of the sound when being transmitted. I learnt that turning down the people who weren’t talking, gave the person who was talking a much cleaner output that meant the voices were a lot clearer. This meant having a great deal of concentration as the panelists, as well as the presenter, would talk at any point meaning I had to change the levels quickly in a controlled manner. I felt quite confident prior to the live show as I managed to perfect the transitions in the rehearsals beforehand; however as soon as the show started, the nerves and adrenaline kicked in, as I knew that it only took one small mistake on my part that could affect the whole show.

During the show, the nerves settled as I was performing like I was in the rehearsals, with all the levels being spot on, and the transitions working great. I ended up finishing the show with no mistakes, and Paul was very complimentary about my performance afterwards. I learnt a lot about sound after this production, mainly appreciating how difficult it is, and how vital it is to a successful show. When I work on projects in the future, I will make sure I carry out multiple checks to see if the levels are right, and whether the microphones are placed in the best position.

After finding out my job had changed to sound, I was very nervous but also intrigued as to what this role involved. I’ve worked on sound before for previous shoots, but that has always involved one type of mic (usually boom or clip mic) and with no sound mixer to control while filming. As there wasn’t long until the shoot day, I had to learn how to use all the sound equipment in a matter of days, with having only a couple of rehearsals to practice my role. The first real eye opener for me was how important sound is for a live production, and the amount of mics you have to think about at the same time.

The Politics VT shoot arrived and I felt very organised due to the preparation leading up to it. We organised the travel and times of where we were going to meet Dave the presenter, and got there early enough to set up and brief everyone. As I was the director, I took responsibility of leading everyone to the relevant locations, as well as boosting the team morale throughout the day. The shoot went great; apart from we struggled with a vox pops section due to not being able to find any young people in the pub we chose prior to the shoot. This meant we had to film that section another day in a more controlled environment. Shooting vox pops was very difficult as it meant relying on the public on the day, and the sound wasn’t great due to not being in a controlled environment. I have definitely learnt how to tackle these situations now due to this shoot, and I know that next time I shoot a vox-pops segment, I will choose a controlled location to ask them questions, and make sure my target audience is in the place I want them to be. Margate is an interesting setting, so I made sure that we got plenty of cutaway shots. These shots are always vital as it gives the editor shots to cut to, as well as helping the audience understand where the video is taking place. Dave the presenter was very good and professional, and he was very helpful as he agreed to film the same scenes multiple times as I wanted plenty of coverage.

Made a list of times and roles so my team know exactly what is going on prior to the shoot:

Shot list for domestic violence:

INT; PAN of “waiting room”

L/S Various clips, from the hidden cameras, of the innocent “victims” walking in and being shown to the “waiting room”

Go PROs - hidden cameras inside the “waiting room” where the “victims” sit in their designated seat

L/S of actor/actress walking in from the audition…

M/S of the other actor/actress hanging up the phone abruptly

C/U of “victims” reactions

M/S of phone being smacked out of users hand

L/S of actor/actress pushing/slapping

L/S of abuser walking out