COMM 3650 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Loudspeaker, Continuity Equation, 180-Degree Rule
9 May 2018
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Directing
Directors should be familiar with the equipment in the studio, at least the underlying principles
so that they can communicate effectively with the crew members who operate it.
The Directors Guild of America is the professional organization for directors of theatrical,
industrial, education, and documentary films and television, as well as videos and commercials.
The “Manager” Role
A director is part manager, part artist, and part psychologist. Directors give instructions to the
cast and crew, make sure the production is aesthetically pleasing, and handle the production as
a whole. This includes blocking the production, marking the script, other preparation,
conducting rehearsals, and calling shots. The AD plans and executes the timing procedures for
the show.
Blocking
Blocking - the placement of talent and cameras and figuring out how and where they are going
to move during the program. This is also referred to as staging, and is more complex for
dramas and comedies than it is for news and public affairs programs, but everything needs
some form of blocking. Staging involves the relationships of the talent with each other and with
the cameras. Not about moving the cameras, but moving the people to be in a good position for
the camera to get!! Not like live recording concerts where you have no control over what people
do.
Directors often draw blocking diagrams to help them visualize the shots ahead of time. One
useful technique is to start planning shots in the center of the program. Pick the most
crucial/difficult part of the production first and plan that camera pattern, then work backwards.
Make sure cameras are not visible in shots.
Marking the Script
Putting in the commands of blocking, which cameras will be used for which shots, what
instructions the tech director and camera operators will need, audio cues, talent cues, and so
on. Directors develop their own shorthand for this, but there are some commonly used script-
marking symbols.
● < or F.I. - fade in
● (3) - camera number 3 (circled)
● KEY or K - key
● T - take
● <> or D - dissolve
● W - wipe
● > or F.O. - fade out
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● Q - cue
● ______| - at this point, cut, dissolve, or cue
● D.I. - Dolly in
● D.B. or D.O. - dolly back or dolly out
● [READY (2)] - prepare camera 2
● [(3) TO ____] - camera 3, get ready for….
● 2S - shot of 2 people
● 3S - shot of 3 people
● O/S - over-the-shoulder shot
● CU - close-up shot
● MS - medium shot
● LS - long shot
● ECU or XCU - extreme close up
● MLS - medium long shot
● MCU - medium close up
As a beginning director, the more marks will make you feel more in control and more
comfortable. As you gain experience, you can cut down markings (ex: drop using “T” for cutting
to different takes, as it’s just assumed)
Take - quick cut from one shot to another
You might wish to storyboard certain complicated parts of the script, or you might make a floor
plan of the entire studio setup that will help you with blocking and also enable you to keep the
overall environment in mind as you think through the show. Some directors prepare shot
sheets for camera ops - which are abbreviated descriptions of every shot that each camera has
to get. This is compact enough to be attached to the rear of the camera, where the op can
quickly refer to it. Valuable for complex, fully scripted programs, but not for interview shows
where shots are called on the fly.
Conducting Rehearsals
You don’t want to over-rehearse so the material becomes stale to both talent and crew. Limited
budget might = limited time w/ talent.
Three different kinds of rehearsals
● Pre-studio
● Floor
● Control room
Pre-studio rehearsals
Since studio time is precious, rehearse essentials in a chill spot beforehand - like a living room
or empty studio or rehearsal hall, to work on blocking and line readings.
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Dry-run session is where the director and talent can’t work together on the basic staging of the
program. Business is what people do while they are talking, such as cutting up tomatoes or
mopping the floor, and often it is the most complicated part of the show.
Studio floor rehearsals
This is rehearsal at the studio and includes the director and production crew working as well.
The main rehearsal you conduct from the studio floor is a walk-through. This might be either a
talent walk-through, if they are not certain of their positions and movements, or a technical walk-
through (aka a technical rehearsal) to explain major camera moves, audio placement, and
scene changes. The walk-through most of the time is a combination, taking both the talent and
crew through an abbreviated version of the production. During this time, it’s beneficial to have a
monitor in the studio that simultaneously displays all camera outputs (e.g., with a quad split),
helping actors/crew visualize how the shots interrelate.
Control room rehearsals
More complete rehearsals are conducted with the director calling shots from the control room.
The first rehearsal may be a start-and-stop rehearsal - where you interrupt the rehearsal every
time there is a major problem, correct it, and continue. Another approach is uniterrupted run-
through, where you take notes during the production on the flaws and plow through the
rehearsal regardless of what happens. Finally, there’s a dress rehearsal which is theoretically
the final rehearsal, a complete full-scale run-through after all the problems are straightened out.
This is rarely true though in practice.
In an abbreviated rehearsal, make sure to get through the rough spots in the production,
rehearse the open and close and cruicial transitions that call for coordination of several kinds of
movement. Pick your priorities and don’t get hung up over small details at this stage.
Communication Devices
PL (private line) or Clear Com - the most common brand name interm. The intercom is a
closed-circuit audio network that connects all primary production personnel by headsets with
microphones. Director does most of the talking on these, but anyone can theoretically talk.
During setup, directors or others use the studio address (SA) or public address (PA) system to
communicate with talent/crew. Loudspeaker in the studio with a talkback microphone in the
control room, so everyone can hear each other.
Be careful of feedback with this though. To prevent this, have the singer use
headphones if they need to hear the music. If they can’t, have the speaker as far away from the
talent as possible, and point it away from the talent to reduce the sound waves reaching the
mics. Then have the microphones they use have a very short pick-up range.
During the production, the director can talk to the talent with an interrupted feedback (IFB)
system (aka a telas) - small earpiece in talent’s ear.
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