37 Part Two: Live Coverage

Typical field interviews can be lit with as little as one or two lights. If you have one light, place it in the position of the key on the reporter, making sure that the reporter’s shadow does not fall on the subject be- ing interviewed. If you have two lights, place the sec- ond light as a backlight opposite the key light. (See Figure 2.15.)

Outdoor live shots might look easy when being set up, but the sun can move to the wrong place in the sky, such as directly behind the talent or below the ho- rizon. You must always be conscious of what time of day the live shot will go, unless it is spot news. It might be daylight when you are setting up for the high-tide story, but at 5:30 P.M. when the live shot happens, it might be pitch dark because it is no longer Daylight Savings Time. If you have not set up some powerful background lights to show the surf, the live shot location could come off looking like the parking lot at the station.

Live shots should always have backgrounds, and at night this can be very difficult. You cannot light up the great outdoors. A good 1,000-watt focusing spotlight can be used to punch up a detail in the background just enough to be visible over the talent’s shoulder. Most of the time, you want to light the talent at a level where the camera’s lens is wide open to get the most exposure from the background. This offers the best chance to get something in the background to show up at night. Keep in mind the power limits of your generator if you do not have a reliable source of elec- tricity. It is possible to blow an overloaded circuit any- where. If you use battery lights, make sure they are not going to go dead in the middle of your shot.

Cables

The minimum cable to do a live shot is one video and one audio line. Many shooters keep a 100-foot bundle of twin-lead, or Siamese (an audio and video line in one cable), to use whenever they’re in a big hurry. They can simply throw it out on the ground, hook up the camera and mic, and be ready to go. More complex shots make use of the multiline cable, which contains two video lines and four audio lines. This heavy cable, usually stored on a power reel, makes use of the full ca- pabilities in the van. One video line is for the camera signal to the truck, another for an off-air TV signal

from the truck’s antenna to be used for the talent’s monitor. One audio line is for the talent’s mic to the truck, two lines are for IFB to the talent and camera operator being fed from the van, and one spare audio line can be used for a separate guest mic. A good live van should be able to send any audio down the cable from inside the van, including the two-way radio. Al- ways make sure you have a backup cable in case any one of the primary cables fails. It is better to go live from next to the truck than not to go live at all because of a broken cable.

Wireless

Some remote productions are set up to go wireless. This has the obvious advantage of not needing to cable the camera and microphone back to the van. Instead, each has a transmitter that sends its signal via radio frequency (RF) signals to a receiver in the van. This allows for greater portability than cabled systems. The big disadvantage of wireless systems is the same disad- vantage you experience with your cell phone: interfer- ence. The airwaves are filled with wireless communi- cation, from cell phones to garage door openers to tra- ditional broadcast signals. When two signals using the same or nearly the same frequency get close enough to cross paths, static and breakup can occur. Additionally, certain physical elements can interfere with wireless communication, such as buildings with lots of steel in their construction. A great wireless remote broadcast can suddenly go south when the reporter’s audio turns to a staticy truck driver warning others of a speed trap as he drives by with his CB radio at the same fre- quency; or the image suddenly becomes snowy be- cause someone in the adjacent hotel room begins us- ing a hair dryer. For this reason, seasoned television technicians often prefer cabled systems to wireless, even if the reporters prefer the flexibility of wireless over cable.

Batteries

Everything needed to go live should be able to be pow- ered by battery. The rack and transmitter should func- tion off the tech battery in the van for at least an hour without recharge, in case the generator fails. The cam- era will most likely be powered by battery unless the

38 Chapter 2: Part Two: Live Coverage

shot is required for a very long time and AC is available. It can be very embarrassing if your battery fails while you are on the air. Always change to a fresh, fully- charged battery several minutes before the live shot. The off-air TV monitor should also be battery pow- ered, and a battery-powered light should be available in case the power fails for any AC lights you are using.

Live TV is the perfect case for knowing the condi- tion and performance level of each of your batteries. A misjudgment here could cost the station dramatic cov- erage of a big story. Always have a backup battery handy. Some companies make a battery belt that uses two camera batteries in series, allowing one to be taken off the belt and replaced with a fresh one while not dis- rupting power to the camera. This type of battery sys- tem would be a good investment for any live van.

Crowds

Nothing can ruin a live shot faster than the talent being swallowed up by an overly anxious crowd of onlookers. Not only is this bad TV, but it can be dangerous as well. A live shot from an area with large crowds of angry young people can quickly get out of control. It is not unusual for such a group to turn violent, assaulting the reporter and crew. The type of people and the size of the crowd must be taken into consideration when setting up the shot. A nice quiet plaza at 3:00 P.M. might seem like a good place to do a simple live shot, except that at 5:00

P.M. the plaza is jammed with workers heading home. Perhaps you want that look, but sometimes you do not; it can get dangerous without some form of crowd con- trol.

Many stations like to assign St. Patrick’s Day live shots from inside bars. The most dangerous crowds are drunk crowds. Do not let the station’s desire for flashy live shots push you into a situation that can cost you a camera or an injury. If the crowd cannot be controlled to your liking, then find a situation that will protect you. At times this can mean doing the live shot from the roof of the van or from behind a homemade barri- cade. Look at the traffic patterns of the area in which you are setting up. Do not try to do a live shot from the busiest hallway in the building. Leave room for people to walk around you and stand and watch from behind you, the videographer, and not behind the re- porter. Nothing looks worse than some idiot making

faces behind the talent who is talking about what a horrible tragedy has taken place. Sometimes it might be necessary to tape off an area with duct tape to keep people out (some people will walk right between you and the reporter as if you’re not there). If the situation is really bad, like a spring break story, it might even be necessary to have the police there to protect you.

Permission

Another nightmare that is quite common is to set up for a live shot and then find out the owner of the prop- erty is demanding you get out. This can happen at any time you are not on public property if you have not se- cured permission beforehand. In spot news, the situa- tion is usually too chaotic for anyone to care, but if the shot does not come until after things have settled down, you might be in for a fight with an upset prop- erty owner. Police can do the same thing to you. You might set up in an area open to the press only to find that same area closed just before you are to go live. Pleading with them to give you just a few more min- utes sometimes works, but you should not rely on this technique. Be prepared to move and have an alterna- tive site picked out.

Summary

Live coverage involves considerations of how to get the picture out, communicate between the field and the news desk, handle interrupted feedback (IFB), apply appropriate form and style, and anticipate everything that can go wrong. We cannot emphasize enough the fact that you have little control over when your shot will be taken live. Whether it is the satellite time that has been booked or the producer’s sense of flow within the show, it is someone else who will decide, “You’re hot.” If you were hoping for a certain background, it can disappear just as the director comes to you. Unless you have total control of the picture’s contents, you must live with the fact that things change.

The only way to cover yourself is to be flexible. Never totally rely on any one thing to be there. Assume complications and obstacles. A problem can be as sim- ple as a fire truck pulling in behind the reporter and blocking the view of the fire, or as annoying as all of

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