Journal Week Four - Fourth time in studio - Newsreader

Number four saw me become the Newsreader/Interviewer. I was talent! I loved doing the Interview, it was good fun, especailly snapping the pencil and swearing. Reading the news got a bit tedious after go number 4, but Rod putting in Paris Hilton and Anthony Mundine into the teleprompter brightened things up. A lot of television production students don't seem to enjoy being in front of the camera, but I know a couple, myself included, who love the chance to be on the other side of a camera for once. The only issues I think you could have being in front of the camera is if there is a problem with the Teleprompter, or if you can't read a word or something. The lights can also make things a bit hot sometimes, and also make it hard for you to tell if the red light on the camera in front of you is on or not, but just keep going and she'll be right. Watching myself on the screen afterwards, I noted these things...

1. Don't wear a hat when you read the news
2. Unless you have a makeup team, get more than 4 hours of sleep before reading the news or you will look like crap
3. Snapping pencils is still as fun as it was in kindergarten
4. My back really hurt.

Loved it.

Journal Week Three - Third time in studio - Vision Mixer

Third time lucky = Vision Mixer or VM. I loved this job. Vision mixing is basically choosing which camera or VTR goes to air, but the Director makes the decision, not the VM. You have buttons to preview cameras, or ready a camera to be the next to go to air, after which you press the cut button, which puts it to air, and you can also use buttons which immediatley cut and put the corresponding source to air. It can get pretty hectic your first couple of tries, especially in ad lib sections of a program because you have to be as alert and accurate as possible, but overall, it was awesome fun. Bruce clicking and swearing at me, I love it. Nah seriously my all time favourite job. It was fun to be in the 'control room' and be able to hear and see everything thats going on, and sit down at the same time. I really enjoyed it and I don't think I made a single mistake in the record run through. Bruce thought I did, but as it turned out, he said sorry, he was in the wrong etc.... it touched me. Does he owe me a beer?

note - I did make a few mistakes until the record

I think it was a really really good episode of 'Hello Riverina' for us, I think there was one minor hiccup, but it was schweet.

Journal Week Two - Second time in Studio - Teleprompter

My second time in the studio was as the Teleprompter dude. TP? TPD? Teleprompter probably isn't the most exciting job in the studio, because all you have to do is make sure the script has been typed out correctly, and keep up with whoever is reading off one of the teleprompter monitors. The only hassles you can really have is if the script isn't there, or if something goes wrong with the computer, or if the newsreader or someone can't read a word, and then you have to slow down, or they get nervous and start speaking faster, so you have to speed up etc etc..... Anyway, it was good fun, there's just something about making naughty words and funny phrases pop up on the screen of the teleprompters and having the talent read them. Oh yes, good times... So yeah, I felt that it went really well, I had fun, and I think that was a pretty good episode of 'Hello Riverina'.

Journal Week One - First time in Studio - Camera

My first real crack at studio work was as a camera operator, or CAM. I was pretty nervous as it was my first time in the studio for 'Hello Riverina', and I found steering the massive vinten tripod around pretty difficult. I know you're meant to take total responsibility for any hassles, difficulties, mistakes etc you make, but I do have a back injury that did add to the difficulty of moving the tripod. Also, I think the monitors on the top of the cameras make it hard to tell if theres any bad shadows from booms or cameras, and also checking to see if you have perfect contrast, due to the stark black and white contrast of the monitors themselves. The rehersals went ok, when it came to the record though, things started getting hectic. In my haste to get to the next shot, I broke away from my previous shot, saw there were cable bashers behind me, and in my attempt to get around them, I hit Mikah, one of the other CAM's in the side of the head with the teleprompter on my camera. It was a complete accident, and I felt really bad all day. I blame Osama Bin Laden. All in all though, it was a good learning experience, and I had fun.