Once the shooting script of the shots used in the pencil exercise is set, shot sheets need to be made for the cameras. These cards or tear sheets are mounted on each camera and indicate each camera’s shots. Figures 6.16, 6.17, and 6.18 show examples of the shots used in the pencil exercises.
During the running of the program, the AD calls out every “stand by” for the talent and effects
Figure 6.18 A shot sheet for the pencil exercise for camera 3. It shows only camera 3’s shots. While the shot is supposed to be a shoulder shot, what’s provided is wider than a shoulder shot in order to include the important pencil, and it would be acceptable. Figure 6.15 Shot #7, the final shot in the piece. It’s
“the curtain,” in which we see the boy reacting to the revelation about his pencil.
Figure 6.17 A shot sheet for the pencil exercise for camera 2. It shows only camera 2’s shots.
Figure 6.16 A shot sheet for the pencil exercise for camera 1. It shows only camera 1’s shots.
and “readies” the shots. The AD will say something like “Stand by to cue the boy. Ready to fade up camera 3—shot 1.” The director will then say “Cue the boy,” and when the director sees that the boy has begun to move, the director will continue by saying, “Fade up 3.” Once the shot is on the air, the AD readies the next shot: “Ready 1, shot 2”; “Stand by the snow effect”; and so on. The AD readies a shot or action only after the director has “taken” the prior readied shot or action. Too many “readies’” or “readies” that are given too early, only lead to confusion. The camera and shot num- ber are the key elements in the “readies.” Note, however, that in the first example the AD asks for a “fade up”; otherwise a “take” is assumed. That information is also indicated in the readying. At some stations and on some occasions, the AD defines the shot as well as gives the shot number (“Ready to fade up camera 3—shot 1, the boy at waist. It will become a cross two-shot”), but that makes for a lot of chatter on the intercom. The pre- dominant style of readying shots uses nothing more than the camera number and the shot number. On some programs, only the shot number is readied. The director may either snap his or her fingers to take the shot or call out the camera number . . . not the shot number.
The assumption is that the camera operator will have the shot set before the director calls for it. The AD serves as a backup, making sure that each camera operator is ready with the next shot to be called. In the unlikely event that an operator is unprepared, it’s the AD’s responsibility to alert the cameraperson.
Experienced camera operators understand shooting conventions as well as the director does, and they know what shot will be called for. Often the shots in a scene are the same. That is, there will be matched close-ups on cameras 1 and 3. At other times, specific shots have to be filed in short-term memory because they really are different. For exam- ple, camera 1 might spend most of a scene on just the same “held” chest shot of the heroine. These might be alternated with chest shot “holds” of the
hero on camera 3. Then, for just one shot, camera 1 is responsible for getting a close-up of something that’s mentioned in the dialogue—perhaps a gun in a drawer or a wedding ring on an end table. At such times, the shot number is a handy device to remind the camera operator of the upcoming “odd” shot.
On a daytime drama, the crew usually comes in at 7 A.M. and each writes out his or her own shot
sheets. The AD meets with the crew in the control room and reads the shots from the director’s shoot- ing script. The AD will call out the shot number, the camera, and the shot directions—for example, “Shot 1 camera 3, boy waist becomes a cross two. Shot 2 camera 1, a cross two. Shot 3 camera 2, a two-shot that holds the boy.”
Meanwhile, the director is on the floor, going over the blocking with the actors. During the camera blocking rehearsal, there will probably be additions and deletions to the shots. Additions are handled by inserting the shot at the right place on the script and adding a letter to the shot.
Let us say, for example, that we want to insert a look that passes between the girl and boy prior to her first line. In actual production this would be far too busy a scene if all this were done in the first few shots; it is simply an example of how the shots would be inserted. We would indicate it as shown in Pencil Exercise IX.
The shots would be added before shot #3 and called 2a and 2b. Usually when an “a” shot is added, a “b” is almost always added, too. It takes us back to where we were before the cutaway was inserted. The girl says her line, and the scene proceeds. In the con- trol room, the director will have to be in tune with the actors and their rhythm in order to call for the shots at the right pace. In this case, holding the first cutaway on the line for too long means that the girl will start to speak while the shot is on the boy; if it is too fast, we’ll wonder why the girl doesn’t speak. Because these shots come together so quickly, the AD would ready this flurry of shots in one burst by saying, “Ready shots 2 a, b and 3—cameras 3, 1, and 2.”
When we delete a shot, the number is simply dropped from the script. If we decide to delete cam- era 1’s first shot (SHOT #2) because camera 2 already has a two-shot, we would simply erase rather than cross out shot 2 on camera 1. We erase the shot instead of crossing it out because everything will be shot in real time. Neatness makes it easier to find one’s place. It would look like Pencil Exercise X. The AD would first ready shot #1 and then ready shot #3.