PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENT; RESEARCHING INTO THE KIT

Whilst still completing my placement, i have been introduced to a number of different pieces of equipment that i had not used/heard of before and therefore wanted to look into more.

1) Audio and Vision Mixers - this was something i had heard of before, but haven't ever used. Originally and simply i thought that these just edited the audio and vision together, but i found out on my placement that this was not the case. An audio mixer can amplify incoming signals which allows the volume to be switched up or down and most importantly, it allows for multiple audio signals to be layered together correctly enabling for a smooth sound. For example when a piece of music is layered with the audio of someone speaking. A vision mixer is a piece of equipment that is used to select between a range of different video sources; for example this is most important with any form of live event that a multi-camera set up is being used. Within the event i was at with Sound Credit; they were webcasting a presentation event for a french banking company, therefore they were using about 3 cameras in order to cover the entire stage that the presentation was set on. Within this the mixer would be useful as it would allow the director to move between cameras as the people on stage move around, allowing for the best coverage.


2) Speakon Cables - this was a term that i hadn't ever heard of before, I first heard it when i was at my first event with Sound Credit and then when i was back helping in their warehouse for a few days i asked a few questions about what is was. A speakon cable is used to connect a power amplifier to a loudspeaker, because of this they are most commonly paired with XLR cables, for example XLR cables may be plugged into the piece of equipment that will be recording the sound and going into the mixer, and the speakon cable will be used to amplify the sound to be heard through a loudspeaker. Most commonly used for live events with many speakers being used, a speakon cable comes with 2 main advantages of use over any other type of audio cable. Firstly, a speakon cable can take a very high current and therefore be used for a lot more high voltage events with lots of big speakers etc, secondly most of the cable comes with what is called a 'twist and lock' connection by which you secure the cable into the amplifier/speaker by locking it in, therefore the chance of disconnection is very low.



3) PPU; Portable Production Unit - In essence this is the main component of a live studio production, its portable and designed to easily fit into the back of a van to allow for quick movement from production to production. Standards PPU's can run up to 12 cameras; using a digital video switcher. Connecting with the audio and vision mixers allowing both to run out for a smooth transition.

PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENT; CHOOSING AND RESEARCHING THE PLACEMENT

For this unit, we have to undertake a professional placement at a tv related company in order to gain a wider knowledge of the industry. Firstly, we were given the option of this or we could have made a short film for the unit, the reason i chose to do a placement was because i believed I was lacking real experience within the industry and wanted to build up on it. Firstly, i wanted to do a placement with Renegade Productions, i wanted to do this because i believed it most closely linked with what i hoped to do for a career; I'm really interested in pre-production, aspects including script writing, ideas generating as well as organisational tasks such as casting and organising shoots. However due to time and spaces already I wasn't able to do my placement with them. This led me to not be too sure on what i actually wanted to do for my placement, i tried to find myself another one but as i needed one where i could start fairly quickly; i struggled to find a suitable one. Offered by the course, i chose to do my placement with Sound Credit TV; originally believing they hired out equipment to productions i decided to choose them because it was the area of TV Production where i felt the least confident, using and being around technical equipment i would say is my weakest part and i have a distinct lack of knowledge in this area, therefore i believed i would get the most from the experience in terms of learning by choosing Sound Credit.

Research into Sound Credit TV; 
Researching into the company themselves i discovered they are a company that hires out both kit (cameras sound lighting etc) as well as crew to different companies. Within Sound Credit there is 2 different strands of work they take part in, firstly they do many different sporting events, this involves providing the sound commentary for events such as premier league football. The second strand of work they do is with corporate companies. They provide the filming, sound and sets for corporate companies who wish to hold events, Sound Credit film these events and then webcast it into the relevant links for the people the company want to see. Boasting a huge amount of credits the company has done a lot of work for a lot of big broadcasters, they hold a base in Crayford where all of their equipment is kept and transported to and from events.

An example of some of Sound Credit TV's Credits

From the placement i hope to learn how a production is ran and organised, I'd like to get involved with the actual kit and just learn what different pieces of equipment do and how they can benefit a production. I realise a lot must go into it but it is going to be very interesting to see how much planning and organising goes into making a production work and with the most important part of providing the crew and kit for a shoot it will be very engaging to see how this process comes along.