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This page takes you through the role of a live studio Director...
This page takes you through the role of a live studio Director...
Nikki Parsons (centre) - Director, Strictly Come Dancingwith Vision Mixer (left) and PA (right)
The live studio Director brings a vision of the show to the gallery.
They should have worked out how they want the show to look and to progress BEFORE they get to the studio. Then they can pass on their vision to other members of the team.
This is tricky whilst you are learning how the whole multi-camera studio works, but you should watch the clips here - especially the whole show - so that you know what you are trying to achieve.
The Director is rather like an orchestral conductor; they may know how to operate a camera or the vision mixer (play the violin or trumpet) but they have to let others do those jobs and bring them all together to make something cohesive, bigger and better.
First you need to learn some of the nuts and bolts of what the Director is doing in the gallery.
Watch this clip of how a programme starting on video (VT) titles gets going. The Director has already checked that the cameras are offering the right shots and that the VT operator has the correct video lined up. The start or ‘top’ of a programme is often the most complex bit, with lots happening in a short space of time, so it is rehearsed two or three times so that it goes smoothly and gets the show off to a good start.
So, the Director makes sure everyone and everything is ready, including asking the Floor Manager (FM) that people on the studio floor are ready, and then says “Coming to VT titles in 10…..”. The PA then takes up the count down for “9” to “zero”, which is when the Director says “Run VT”... and the VT operator presses play.
The Director then calls the mix to Camera 3 and Cues the presenter - which the Floor Manager does by dropping their hand close to the camera lens. (In this programme the titles end with a full frame of green which reveals Camera 2 - the Wide Shot - using a chromakey effect, so the Director only has to call the mix to Camera 3.)
Once the Presenters get started the Director calls for the Vision Mixer to add the ‘Super’ with their names on. These graphics across the bottom of the screen which show people’s names can be called ‘Supers’, because they are superimposed on the picture or ‘Lower Thirds’, because they go in the bottom third of the picture. The Director says when they should be added and when they are removed by saying “Super In” and “Super Out”.
At first it can sound strange that the Director has to tell the VT operator to run the video, given that they have a copy of the Running Order and should be in tune with what is happening and be ready to play it in. But the Director is really confirming, all the way through the show, what is about to happen (“Coming to VT “xxxxx” next”, or “Coming to camera 3….”). The Director then calls the action at the point they want it to happen… (“Run VT” etc).
In the next clip you will hear the Director calling camera cuts through an interview. Again there is a need to warn camera operators and the Vision Mixer which shot/camera you want next. This is so the camera operator does not adjust their shot whilst on air….once they hear “Coming to ….” they know to keep the shot steady. And it helps the Vision Mixer get their finger on the right button….and then cut to the desired camera on the Director’s cue; “Coming to 3…… and 3!” or “2 next….. 2”.
Watch how it goes in this clip. In a slight complication, Camera 1 is changing shot between a two-shot (2S) of the guests and medium close-ups (MCUs) of each of them as they speak. The Director is anticipating who is going answer the next question and asking the Camera 1 to change shot, either by saying “Single Left on 1”, meaning they want an MCU of the person on the left, or sometimes just by saying “Change on 1” - i.e. go from an MCU of one person to an MCU of the other person.
The key to directing a live interview, where you may be uncertain who is going to talk next, is to have everything covered by the three cameras. If the guest on the left is talking on an MCU (medium close-up) on Cam 1, and the other guest takes over you can cut to Cam2, who has everyone in shot, while Cam1 changes their shot.
And when the presenters interrupt with a question you know that you have them covered on Cam3.
Let’s move on to the rest of the show.
After the interview, this show has the presenters introducing a video insert. So the director warns everyone what is next - “Cutting to VTA next” - and then says “Run VT” at the right point in the script.
The PA keeps us informed of the duration of the insert and counts down from 10 to zero at the end so we can get back to the presenters cleanly.
There is then a similar operation to get to the VT End Credits
Watch the whole show now concentrating on what the Director is saying and when. The studio exercises we will be doing are based on a similar script to this one, so it’s worth getting the right phrases and commands so you will be ready once you are in ‘the hot seat’ as Director.
We also have a link to a LinkedIn Learning chapter which looks at how a Director communicates:
Written by PS
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