The TV Production crew started live streaming the Boys and Girls Basketball games in the Fossil Ridge High School main gym to give students, staff, and parents the chance to watch the games if they are not able to go to the actual event. Ridge TV provides a link for to the livestream so people can watch it online.
To start a live stream a huge crew is necessary. At the beginning, the whole crew starts setting up. The equipment needs to be carried from the TV room into the gym. Not everybody knows how to set it up, but the Sabercat crew loves helping and teaching how to set up different things. The cameras need to be connected to the computer and the sound system needs setup. Those are just the two major parts. TV members have to make sure that the cords are taped to the ground so that visitors don’t trip over them.
One important crew member is the producer. The main job is to “coordinate the event, make sure that all the equipment is there and the crew is prepared and know what they have to do,” said McKayla Earley, a Senior at Fossil. Katie Reed added, “It is important to stay organized, to solve problems, and to have always a plan.” People think a producer organizes everything, but that is not true. Kathleen Bugarin mentioned that the tech producer is in charge of the technique, as the name says. A tech producer makes sure everything technical is set up and solves problems that arrive with tech. A lot of knowledge is necessary and predicting problems is a big challenge.
It seems like a camera man hasn’t a hard job. “A lot of people think it is just filming, but it’s more than just that,” said Earley. Fossil has between three to four cameras on the court . “The weight of the camera smashes your shoulders and hurts your back after a certain time. I still have to capture good movements from the events and stay stabilized that the audience is able to follow the game easily”, said Earley.
The best friend of the camera man is the assistant (AC). The Assistant Camera makes sure that the cord of the camera is long enough and the camera person is free to move. After half time the assistant cameraman switches with the camera man and the assistant takes the film part. The switcher, “changes the camera angles that are getting projected on the live stream and communicates with the cameraman,”said Ignacy Boryszewski.
“Get a middle job of player 33 cam 1,” is a common sentence for a director. The director is responsible for the communication with the camera person. He instructs the camera person over a headphone and tells them where they need to be and what they should be filming. The director also coordinates the switcher and tells him when to change the projected camera on the live stream. “One of the hardest parts is having a good constantly communication with the camera and switcher,” said Daniel Stubbs.
The audience is now able to watch the live stream, but one crew group is still missing. The Color Communicator (AC) and the Play-by-Play (PbP). Those two people are in charge of commentating the game. Joseph Potkanowicz explained that a PbP has to announce what’s going on. “It is really important to stay unbiased. For me personally is that the hardest part. I would love to cheer for Fossil but I am not allowed to.” The Color Communicator (AC) and the Play by Play talk to each other. However, the AC is responsible for making sure that the conversation continues and there won’t be an awkward silence. Both of them discuss the placer and the game. “It is really hard to stay relevant. It is also really important to be prepared and have some knowledge about the game.” The crew member in charge of the sound balances the level of the sound.
It is a lot of work. “I love the adrenaline rush and the energy in the live streams,” said Stubbs. Bugarin added, ”It is a different type of production, it happens more at the moment and more stress at one point but I’m still loving it.” Reed loves seeing the actual results immediately.
[socialpoll id=”2338719″]
