Television Production

Television Directing is a creative career like few others. If travel and high-paced action sound like something you can live with, then this is the career for you. This 'How to' eBook is the perfect read for someone wanting to understand the television business from an insider's perspective. The electrifying charge you get when you're in the midst of directing a live show is like no other, with your mind so clear you can see and react to twenty different things at once. _____ "A unique and comprehensive overview of the responsibilities and challenges faced by a TV director. A valuable read for anyone interested in pursuing a career in the 'controlled chaos' that is live television sports!" Curtis Saville Producer, Rogers Sportsnet _____ [Excerpt from Chapter 4] A script assistant provides a countdown to the top of the clock. "On air in 60, ...30, ...10 seconds to air". The director gives the standby to roll VTR gold and track tape. The script assistant continues, "In 5, 4, 3, 2..." The director gives the "roll gold" and "track gold" cue and the pre-recorded show tease and opening animation rolls to air. As the pre-taped opening ends the director provides crew instructions, "ready to go to camera 2, with graphics hot", meaning the graphics are in standby mode. "open their mics", "Pan 2", camera 2 begins a panoramic pan of the inside of the arena, "dissolve 2, fly the graphics" the technical director dissolves the sources and the graphics operator triggers the titles to fly onto the screen. The director cues the announcers to welcome the audience. You're ON THE AIR! The director opens a switch to speak to the announcers, "ready on camera", then to the rest of the crew "Ready Camera 6 on a 2-shot with a slight zoom - Zoom 6 - dissolve camera 6". The announcers introduce themselves to the audience and begin to provide details as to what will unfold over the course of the show. As the commentators make reference to key players, the director cuts between cameras which have been instructed to locate and provide images of these athletes. During the hour before the game, camera operators provided shots of various players warming up. These images were recorded by the videotape operators. A short edited montage or "bumper" was created to end this segment of the show. This is used to lead the audience to the first commercial break. The on-air talent is given the cue to wrap up their thoughts. The director continues with crew instructions, "ready to go to bumper from VTR blue with graphics hot for a blind reveal, ready to sneak in your music" the audio cue given to the A1. "Music in - roll blue and dissolve blue" to the technical director who mixes the sources. The graphic operator activates the lower third graphic revealing the names of the two teams. The announcers look at their court side TV monitor and add a voice-over to accompany the images being shown, "...and we'll be right back with the opening line-ups after this short break..." _____ The feeling you receive from directing is akin to playing sports at a high level. When you're in the zone or when you're truly ON you feel like you're unstoppable. Your entire production crew will feel it too and feed off your enthusiasm. The buzz, the high, is a total rush that keeps you coming back for more. In the following pages you will learn the finer points of this exciting and challenging career path. You will discover your next steps to fulfill your desire to become a television director. Along the way, I'll also give you solid overview of the many broadcast job roles that the TV director manages, what they do and other potential career opportunities . _____ "Rick's concise and informative overview is written with the same enthusiasm that Rick brings to the director's chair on location. A great read for anyone considering a career in television production." Bruce McConnell Technical Producer