Notes on Rehearsal Recording | Development ~ SP

Here is the recorded rehearsal from last week:


When watching this rehearsal, I decided to make some notes on factors that I thought needed to be improved or thought on.

My notes:

• Hosts entrance cue is too late.
• Once we mix into the studio on Camera 5, there's a long gap between the cut and the entrance of the host.
• In order to improve this, I will need to cue the presenter in earlier, just after cutting into the studio, so there isn't that dead space at the beginning of the show.
• Entrance music dip is too late.
• I felt like the entrance music at the start is being cut off too late and you almost can't hear the host over the music.
• The order in which I've been cueing everything at that point in the show is "Cue presenter - Dip sound - Cut to 3". In order to have the sound dip earlier I will now cue it in the order of "Dip sound - Cue presenter - Cut to 3".
• This will work better as the presenter will still be talking while the music is fading out and he'll start speaking before we cut to him, which means that you'll be able to hear the presenter well and it will look good on screen. 
• Cameras not focused.
• I noticed at the beginning, camera 3 wasn't focused for the MCU on the host.
• Before we start shooting and before the rehearsals start next week, I will make sure camera 3 has the opportunity to frame his camera with the host in position. This shot is very important and needs to be focused, so I will converse with Troy (camera 3 operator) and Imogen (floor manager) and make sure he gets time to prepare for that shot. 
• Sound effects - audience clapping, cheering, laughing, etc.
• There have been a few mentions of this from other people, and I think it might be useful to get some audience sound effects.
• Obviously, where we don't have a big audience during rehearsals, it's hard to visualise and imagine the clapping and laughing, hence why the thought of sound effects has been introduced.
• I will mention this to Sammi and Josh and see what their opinions on the matter are. I don't want it to sound fake and artificial, but at the same time I would rather we have some response than none at all.
• We could also have cards for the runners to hold up, so the audience know when to clap and cheer and so on.
• Cuts too slow.
• I found, when watching, that the cuts are quite slow and I want them to be faster.
• This is something I will have to work on myself through the standbys and cuts, but I will also talk to Laura about this and make sure that the cuts we make aren't too slow.
• Saying that, Del did say it's better to have a slow cut but really well done show, than a quick cut awful show. I will keep this mind when talking to Laura and making the decision on the length of the cuts.
• Missing the side cameras.
• I knew this before watching the recording, but I kept missing the side cameras that I've put in the script.
• I love the idea of the side cameras and I think they work well with the show, I just keep missing them and in turn that means Camera 2 (who does the side cameras) miss them also.
• I will look through the script and keep remembering the moments where there are side cameras and hopefully this will help me remember them. However, if I do forget then I will have to make a decision as to whether to keep them in or not.
• Round 3 tables are wobbly.
• I noticed that the tables we will be using for Round 3 are quite wobbly, and not very sturdy.
• This does concern me slightly, as it wouldn't be very practical having the tables moving all the time.
• I have spoken to Imogen about this and she told me that Sammi has suggested wrapping some tape around the head of the table. We will do this during the dress rehearsal day and see if that makes much of a difference, and if it doesn't than we will have to think about finding different tables to use.
• Cameras moving while still live.
• One of the biggest things I noticed was that the cameras on singles of the contestants kept moving while they were still live.
• This, unfortunately, is a problem due to the cameras not having tally lights, however the camera operators can listen to me and hear when I'm about to cut to a different shot.
• I will talk to the camera people about this, and tell them to stay on that shot until I cut off it. If this still happens I will cut off that shot as quickly as possible.
• Host looking at iPad too much.
• There have been a few comments, and I have noticed myself, that the Host has been relying on the iPad too much and is always looking down at it. This makes the show quite hard to watch as you're not really getting much eye contact with the host.
• This will be improved by someone, either myself, Josh or Imogen, talking to George about it and asking him not to rely on the iPad too much. He needs to learn the majority of his lines, in order for the show to be better and more enjoyable.
• Also the MCU shots of the host will look better and I can use them more.
• Cut off emoji too late.
• There was a moment in the first round that the emoji was cut off too late.
• I have decided that once the contestants buzz in for their answer, I will immediately cut to a single of that contestant which will then capture him saying his answer.
• If the cut is still too late, or the single isn't on the right contestant at the right time, then I will cut to a LS which will be on camera 3.
• Buzzers too loud?
• I felt like the buzzers were quite loud, so this is something that I will need to mention to Sammi.
• Graphics animate too late.
• I think this is mainly due to the fact that I was saying the scores to George and cueing the animation of the graphics, but there was a lot of dead space between George talking and the animation of the scores being put on screen.
• During the live show, this should run a lot smoother and on time as Josh will be the one saying the scores to George, but I will still work on getting that animation up on time.
• Host should be talking to the camera not the contestants during intro to Round 2.
• During the intro of Round 2, I felt like the Host should mainly be talking to the camera rather than the contestants, as the dialogue is more directed to the audience.
• This is something I will mention to George during rehearsals.
• The Host should be saying "Roll Tape" not "Roll VT".
• I noticed that George, instead of saying "Roll Tape", which was in his script, he was saying "Roll VT" which is what I say.
• I realise this is probably from him hearing me say 'standby VT' and him getting confused and muddled up, but this is something that I think is quite important.
• I will also mention this to George, but hopefully it shouldn't be too much of a problem as it is just a small mistake.
• Microphones need to be down during the VT's.
• During the VT's you can still hear everything on the studio floor.
• Due to Paul being the one who fades the mixers, and not Sammi, this shouldn't be a problem when it comes to the live record, but I will flag this up with him just in case.
• Round sting too late.
• When I said "Go music sting" it wasn't played on my direct cue, and it was actually quite late.
• I will talk to Sammi about this, usually it's not a problem, but she just needs to make sure she is on time with that sting cause it's quite a major part of the rounds.
• Camera 2 needs to be ready for the side camera, so does the host.
• Going on from one of my previous points about the side cameras, there are a lot of people that need to be prepared for them.
• I have decided that before the side camera comes up, I will prepare Cheyenne (camera 2 operator) and the host, so all three of us are prepared for it.
• I think this will be quite useful as it gives Cheyenne time to frame the shot, it gives the host time to remember to turn to his right for it, and it gives me time to standby the shot and cut it when it needs to be cut.
• CU of the cream in Round 3?
• During Round 3, I felt like there should a CU of the cream being reset on the game, and since Cheyenne is already on a CU of the spinner, I think it would be worth her getting that shot.
• I will mention this to her before hand, but during the game I will ask her to get the shot just in case she forgets.
• Faster reset needed - the whipped cream.
• The reset of the whipped cream took quite a long time, so this needs to be faster.
• This is something Imogen can mention to the host, and George can work on it.
• Cameras 1 & 4 need to move with the contestants.
• Also during Round 3, the cameras 1 & 4 (Ellie and Saskia) need to move with the contestants as they may stand up or jolt upwards or lean downwards, and we can't chop half of their faces off.
• VT sting and Music sting are different things.
• There are two different types of stings within this show, a VT sting and a music sting.
• I need to make sure I say which sting it will be and the VT operator, the vision mixer and the sound operator need to make sure they are listening. 
• There was a mix up of the VT sting and the music sting during this rehearsal, but I will make sure to be clearer in order for all three of those roles to know what kind of sting it will be.
• Better colour Red on the line of the split screen.
• Laura added a colour red on the split screen, and I thought this was actually a really good idea, but I did think it was a bit too orange.
• This isn't a big deal, and we can change this during dress rehearsals.
• Camera 5 needs to be ready for the moves at the beginning of the round.
• I think Josh (camera 5 operator) will be ready for the beginning of the round moves, but I need to make sure that he stays up on his shot for some of the other parts of the show in order to get audience shots.
• I will mention this to him and find a solution to let him know to stay up on his shot or if he can move.

These are a lot of negative notes about the show, but I think they are all fairly important - some more than others. Even though I have made these notes, I still think the show looks really good and there are parts of the show that work really well and look good.

I'm pleased with what we have achieved so far, and I think after rehearsals on Wednesday, everyone will feel a lot better and more confident with the show.