Studio - Post

I was not supposed to do post production, but it so happened that because the editing was a rush job, it wasn't done right. The editor had to leave so I had no choice but to do the editing myself. I did learn alot.
First, the audio must be normalized or level. Your best bet is to keep them averaging -12 db and peaking at -6db max.
Sometimes the audio is recorded too low. There are many ways to fix that. First and most known way is to duplicate the audio tracks. The problem with that is you get a ridiculous amount of audio tracks, making edits hell. On FCP, another way is turn on audio overlays and drag the level line up or press ( control + ] ). The problem with that is if you made any pen tool edits, doing this will mess them up, and the max gain you get is 12 db. A much better way is to go to Effects>Audio Filters>FCP filters> Gain. Gain allows you to boost the audio up to 96db. Now becareful cause that brings out the static and room tone, and any other noises in the room.
Sometimes a piece of audio might be too loud, you can do the gain filter, pen tool, or you can highlight it an press (control + [ ).
Other things, snapping is (n). Linking is I believe ( option + L). Stereo pairs can be created or removed by going to Modify> Stero Pair, or pressing (control + L). Mastering is ( control + M). To create a duplicate clip, click and hold the clip then press (option). To select one specific track (option click it). If a piece of audio and video get out of sync, (the red numbers show up on the clip) take off linking, and select the audio or video and line them up. The one way slip tool will allow you to make a clip smaller while dragging everything behind it along. For need specific rendering, make an in or out point around it, or just highlight the clip and press (cmd + R).

When mastering or capturing a tape, check the settings on the deck itself with the menu button. Also for mastering, select automatically start recording.

Studio - Production

For any position, the most important piece of advice I can give is to do a tech run prior to the show and make sure you do it early so you have enough time to fix any potential problems. Check all the equipment and make sure you record, because somethings are only visible on tape.

For production I was the Producer, under the exec of course, and a Broadcast engineer. My advice, make sure the Director and AD have a copy of the script, storyboard and set design early, even if they are going to be changed. Anyway the roles of producer is just to make sure the show happens. You work mainly with talent, making them comfortable and prepping them for the show: get them water, make up, paper towel, etc. In my case I had to make sure the DJ knew what talent we were on as well.

As Broadcast Engineer, I operated the CCUs that determined how the cameras looked. I am proud of myself, because I learned it in 15 minutes and figured out things that even the studio manager couldn't figure out. The detail softens the image making it look better. Mostly you ride the controls, brightening or darkening the cameras to make them look good. You can also change the exposure, set WB and many other things.

Studio - Preproduction

I just finished studio class this semester and it was one hell of a ride. We did two exercises: The Juggling Pug and our own show mine called ZOO York, before we did the real production. The name of this production is called Life| Exposed. I will post pics later. Life| Exposed interviews Ct 101 students with good documentaries, exposing their lives and the lives of their subjects to you.

I played many roles in the creation of this show but the greatest was that of Producer. The first and most important role of advice I can give a fellow or potential Producer is DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. Once you fall behind it is difficult to impossible to catch back up to where you need to be. To be a good producer, you must be able to control the scene while being a cool friendly person that people enjoy being with. Crack jokes every now and then, keep smiling, and mess with the women sometimes, but keep it professional. Also it is important that you always keep the talent feeling special. Also it is very important to get back ups, because someone is almost guaranteed to duck out on you at the last minute.

As script writer the hardest part is dedicating the time to crank out a polished script. You can start from any part at any time, but once you have certain things you had better be working on it. Those things are: total run time (TRT), atleast tentative talent, a title, and subject matter. It depends on the show you are doing. In Life | Exposed, I had to preinterview the guests, so I could structure some interesting questions. Start off with a generic question, then just start talking with them about their current life and their life at the time of filming, then what has changed between now and then. Don't worry about sensitive material. The talent will always tell you if they don't want to talk about a subject on the air, or they just won't tell you anything on it. Now the show opening and closing have to be made, you are scripting what the host will say. We then got the actual times for the videos of each of the talents and put them in. It is important to have the talent read the dialogue twice to make get an idea of how long that will take. Now you script the pitch to the talent and formulate the questions. Finally you calculate the show time based on the graphics, videos, and dialogue, then you split the time accordingly for each of the guests. Now you have the times for everything and a finished rough. Keep polishing

Hi there

On this blog I am going to be sharing my experiences in production and tips and tricks that I have learned. Enjoy