What a newscast looks like
My last 4 weeks in pictures. Sort of. I took on a lot of roles, but we only have pictures from the 30-minute newscasts we put together. I could use those pictures to show you the entire process, but some of my colleagues may not appreciate being posted to the internet. So I did my best to use only photos of myself, though its inevitable to include others in some shots. I apologise in advance for any tense-changes in my writing and the amount of brackets I use. It's Saturday. I'm entitled to a day off!
This is the Avid suite, where all the magic takes place (I promise you, the magic is in here, not the studio!). This is where tape stories, features, documentaries, etc. come together. All footage is downloaded to this computer and all editing, sound mixing, and graphic design happens here. Footage that comes in from Reuters (or anywhere, for that matter) is recorded here too, which is what I'm doing in this picture.
For the first 30-minute cast I was the feeds person, meaning I kept an eye on all incoming feeds (Reuters, etc.), recorded them, and shot-listed them, so the writers would have footage to work with. It's more stressful than it sounds, especially when a UN conference bumps back all scheduled programming and the poor writers are diving in and out of my little room, desperate for footage that our wires *say* is there.
Outside of this room, the producers are finding and assigning stories to the writers, who are researching wire copy and making edits to the footage. A line-up editor is tentatively making the order for the newscast. This is a very optimistic job because stories sometime break 10 minutes before air and everything changes... again. Also, two field reporters are running around the city interviewing and filming for local stories.
Once all the pre-work is over (writing, shooting, editing), we theoretically go to air (although all 3 take place up to and throughout the cast, especially if we have a breaking story). So later on in the day I was an anchor for the 'cast. Here, my co-anchor and I meet at the table with the producer, assistant producer (or ass prod, as we lovingly refer to him/her), and the lineup editor to go over the show and pick out any stories we may stumble over while reading. The technical producer also sits in, carefully marking out cues. In this picture is one of our TV profs, Cliff Longsdale. He's a former producer of CBC's The National, and I have a huge amount of respect for him. I've spent the last 4 weeks learning to think like him.
An "aerial" shot of us anchors at the desk.
In front of us: two cameras and camera people, the floor director taking cues from a headset, and someone operating the teleprompter.
Behind them is another room of people who take care of the technical stuff: operating, switching, audio mixing, etc. There's a lot of people behind the scene. If you look closely, you'll see the anchors in the monitors.
For the second 30-minute 'cast I was the field reporter and the switcher. So in the morning a colleague and I hunted down a local story, shot it all around the city, and edited it together for the broadcast (the process took us days last term, now we've trimmed it to just a few hours). There are no pictures of this b/c we were, well, out in the field.
During the broadcast I operated the switcher. The job basically involved pushing buttons at EXACTLY the right time--whenever there's a camera/anchor change on the screen or a tape story rolled, there's a switcher making the switch. It's all about listening to the cues. And having the right cues in the first place. Also in this room is the audio mixer and the operator, who loads the "tape" stories on the computer. Again, it's up to the switcher to switch from the anchors to the rolling tape of a story. The producer is in here too, overseeing things and making decisions right to the end. Dave Mills is our second TV prof and he's in this picture, making the whole show run. Hands down, Dave is the world's most patient man! I'll miss working with him everyday. And by working with him I mean ducking my head into his office saying "Dave I have *another* problem" in what is probably a really whiney voice. I bet he'll miss me too. :)
So that's a brief glimpse at TV. I start the second radio rotation on Monday.
This is the Avid suite, where all the magic takes place (I promise you, the magic is in here, not the studio!). This is where tape stories, features, documentaries, etc. come together. All footage is downloaded to this computer and all editing, sound mixing, and graphic design happens here. Footage that comes in from Reuters (or anywhere, for that matter) is recorded here too, which is what I'm doing in this picture.
For the first 30-minute cast I was the feeds person, meaning I kept an eye on all incoming feeds (Reuters, etc.), recorded them, and shot-listed them, so the writers would have footage to work with. It's more stressful than it sounds, especially when a UN conference bumps back all scheduled programming and the poor writers are diving in and out of my little room, desperate for footage that our wires *say* is there.
Outside of this room, the producers are finding and assigning stories to the writers, who are researching wire copy and making edits to the footage. A line-up editor is tentatively making the order for the newscast. This is a very optimistic job because stories sometime break 10 minutes before air and everything changes... again. Also, two field reporters are running around the city interviewing and filming for local stories.
Once all the pre-work is over (writing, shooting, editing), we theoretically go to air (although all 3 take place up to and throughout the cast, especially if we have a breaking story). So later on in the day I was an anchor for the 'cast. Here, my co-anchor and I meet at the table with the producer, assistant producer (or ass prod, as we lovingly refer to him/her), and the lineup editor to go over the show and pick out any stories we may stumble over while reading. The technical producer also sits in, carefully marking out cues. In this picture is one of our TV profs, Cliff Longsdale. He's a former producer of CBC's The National, and I have a huge amount of respect for him. I've spent the last 4 weeks learning to think like him.
An "aerial" shot of us anchors at the desk.
In front of us: two cameras and camera people, the floor director taking cues from a headset, and someone operating the teleprompter.
Behind them is another room of people who take care of the technical stuff: operating, switching, audio mixing, etc. There's a lot of people behind the scene. If you look closely, you'll see the anchors in the monitors.
For the second 30-minute 'cast I was the field reporter and the switcher. So in the morning a colleague and I hunted down a local story, shot it all around the city, and edited it together for the broadcast (the process took us days last term, now we've trimmed it to just a few hours). There are no pictures of this b/c we were, well, out in the field.
During the broadcast I operated the switcher. The job basically involved pushing buttons at EXACTLY the right time--whenever there's a camera/anchor change on the screen or a tape story rolled, there's a switcher making the switch. It's all about listening to the cues. And having the right cues in the first place. Also in this room is the audio mixer and the operator, who loads the "tape" stories on the computer. Again, it's up to the switcher to switch from the anchors to the rolling tape of a story. The producer is in here too, overseeing things and making decisions right to the end. Dave Mills is our second TV prof and he's in this picture, making the whole show run. Hands down, Dave is the world's most patient man! I'll miss working with him everyday. And by working with him I mean ducking my head into his office saying "Dave I have *another* problem" in what is probably a really whiney voice. I bet he'll miss me too. :)
So that's a brief glimpse at TV. I start the second radio rotation on Monday.
Brianna,
Thanks so much for sharing your "day in the life"!! Your program sounds sooo cool and interesting and challenging!
Jen
Posted by
Jen Weening |
12:21 AM
hammer!!! You sound so professional!!! I think it is absolutely awesome what you are doing!
take it easy!
love,
Karen
Posted by
Karen |
5:18 PM
hammer!!! You sound so professional!!! I think it is absolutely awesome what you are doing!
take it easy!
love,
Karen
Posted by
Karen |
5:18 PM