Production Directors are there to mentor you, teach/help you sharpen your skills, and make sure the weekend goes well from a technical perspective. This may require them to ask things of you while in a higher pressure environment so it may come off terse. Production in general can go through high pressure moments during transitions, run through, etc. We work together as a team, and those terse or tense tones are never meant personally. The PD should be giving you frequent feedback of "good shot," "adjust focus," "watch iris," etc. This is not them being critical of YOU, it's critiquing your shot. You are not your shot.
Make sure you're set up on PCO! If you aren't you won't know when you're scheduled! If you haven't received a welcome to PCO email, contact your Campus Production Director (staff) or your team Production Director (volunteer leader). For more on PCO click here.
Slack is a team communication platform. This is where we share updates, post changes to gear, procedures, etc. It's also where production teams coordinate special events/gatherings. It's a good place to be. For more information on Slack, click here.
Each position has a checklist to complete before run through and after service(s). Right now, camera doesn't have its own computer to use to complete this checklist. So you'll have to share with lighting or PD until a better solution is figured out, sorry! But this checklist includes things like making sure you delete old memory presets, clearing the preset "whiteboard" of last week's shots, turning off the console when you're done, etc. For more on checklists, click here.
We use coms to keep us coordinated. When you come in for the day, go backstage and grab your com pack and headset. When you get to the booth, plug in your pack at the camera station and do a com check with your PD or another team member. At the end of the day, return your pack and headset to the storage location backstage. For more information on coms, click here.
Here on the Abingdon Production Team we want you to keep pushing yourself. Now that you've learned an entry-level position, master it! Get really good at setting up shots quickly. Practice during worship sets when cameras aren't used. Make sure your focus is perfect every time! Then, consider learning graphics, or lighting, or audio. For more info on training, click here.