Covering Live Event For The First Time

A

Andrew Sisnett

Member
Hello there. I am experienced on short films, music videos, features and documentaries but am relatively new to the event coverage scene. I've recently come across a job opportunity in this field and am at a bit of a loss as to what rugged/cost effective equipment might be used for such a thing.


Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!


Project details are as follows:


Cultural Event with performances on a stage in downtown city square.


The Client requests specifically:



Crew:
4 cam op
1 tape op
1 engineer
1 audio op



Min. equip:
4 cameras
1 switcher
3 decks (or recording devices)
1 mixer

This will be transmited live on big screens placed on the square and possibly also used for a later broadcast.






Any thoughts and/or advice what to use for reliable cams/decks/mixer/switcher? Client would want 1080p



Cheers!!!
 
This isn't the kind of thing for a first-timer to leap into. You should apprentice on a few of these first and learn the ropes. Live events are pretty much nothing like filmmaking, there's a whole syntax and lingo and way of doing things that everyone who works these understands, and if you don't yet, I doubt it will go well.
 
Barry_Green said:
This isn't the kind of thing for a first-timer to leap into. You should apprentice on a few of these first and learn the ropes. Live events are pretty much nothing like filmmaking, there's a whole syntax and lingo and way of doing things that everyone who works these understands, and if you don't yet, I doubt it will go well.
Click to expand...

I'll second this advice.

In Live production there is no Take 2. And that's not just for the production, but for client relationships, etc... One screw up and you (and even your client) can be through. You must be able to deliver. - Basically everything becomes "mission critical", and you have to have backups for everything too.

I recommend contacting local production companies and seeing if any are interested in the gig and having you on as an assistant or other crew position (camera op is a traditional starting place - you can't screw too much up [not that you would, but they don't know that - and either do you]).


Live production is a whole new game to learn. *Everything* is different to film making. I love doing it; but it's taken a long time of sitting on coms listening, watching, and learning. And I'm still weary before and during every single event I do, as soon as I'm not, that's when it all goes to hell rather quickly.

- Mikko
 
Barry and Mikko are both bang on the money. Live is a whole other world where Murphy's Law rules: If anything can go wrong, it will. If nothing can go wrong, it will anyway.

I prefer live for that very reason: it weeds out the pretenders VERY quickly. But unless you enjoy suffering extreme stress and looking like an ass - in public - you'd be wise to start smaller and get some experience.

If you're doing any kind of musical production, it really helps to have crew members who understand music. Just like it helps with sports coverage to have a crew familiar with the game. Otherwise you end up chasing rather than anticipating the action.

But as Mark Twain said, there's things you can learn holding a cat by the tail that you can't learn any other way.

Cheers,
George
 
What they all said. Please don't jump right into it like this, it's not the way, and you'll probably end up with no payment and the invoices from the rental equipment.

However, say that you were going to take the job.. 1080p live production... That's gonna cost alot. The HD switchers and decks are very expensive. If the clients got a lot of money, ok.. But it doesn't sound like they do, considering they want to hire someone who has no experience with live production.
 
This gonna be in Dundas Square (just assuming because you're located in Toronto)? It's easy to get caught up and lose track of what's happening when shooting there, ESPECIALLY live. Like all these guys have said, its a tough gig and mixing/switching on the fly is not an easy task.

Perhaps there is a flip side to this coin - do the people you're hiring have experience shooting live events like this? If so, that can make things run a little smoother. I understand the need to want to break into live production with a bang - do it right and you'll get lots of other jobs...do it wrong and you're sunk. Word will get around, VERY fast.

Best of luck,

Kegan
 
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