Continuing to use the example of Blind Date and bearing in mind that we are talking about practices in the 80/90’s. Blind Date was not a complicated show, 6 cameras at the most. Even though the show was recorded, it was common practice to record the show pretty much in line with how the viewer at home would see it. This meant it would be a complete as possible before the studio audience. So, standard 60 sec clock, LWT ident, titles and mix through/wipe to the opening camera shot and off you go. Perhaps the odd re-take between parts or at the end of the show or ‘as you go along’ if more pertinent. This tape (the output of the studio vision mixer) would be the ‘Studio Recording’. All very smooth as all the production crew were extremely professional .
At the same time as recording the output of the studio mixer to one VTR machine, some of the cameras would be separately recorded onto additional VTR machines so that their pictures could be edited into the ‘Studio Recording’ as necessary for production reasons. These are referred to as ‘ISO or ISOCam’ recordings. Generally an ISO recording will have the normal studio sound recorded along with it.
The show would then move into video editing and then the audio would be dubbed. It’s standard practice when recording a big LE show, in a big LE studio, for the studio sound to be recorded onto a multitrack device for subsequent mixing or ‘sweetening’ before the sound is then re-united back with the edited video. This tape is called the 'Transmission Master’. Of course if a show is complete at the time of recording and requires no further work it is automatically a ‘Transmission Master’.
There is no such thing as a ‘dirty’ feed in a studio complex. The complete output of a studio mixer is the ‘studio output’. Vision mixers can also give an output which does not contain certain elements (usually graphics supers etc) and that feed is known as a ‘Clean feed’. Usually what is, and is not, contained on the ‘Clean feed’ can be programmed.
A show such as Good morning Britain will almost certainly record a ‘clean feed ‘ of the studio mixer so that certain elements can subsequently re-used without inappropriate graphics on it.
If you were a VTR engineer recording a studio’s output, you pressed the record button when the PA or director told you to start recording and you never ever pressed the stop button until told to do so. You never started or stopped a recording unless you were instructed to do so, if you did use your own initiative then almost certainly one day you would do the wrong thing and get the b********g of a lifetime, that’s why you got pre and after show material as a matter of routine rather than deliberately. Of course there were times when the studio crew wanted something else tacked onto the end of the main recording and you just recorded it on the end of the tape as requested – but that would be on the ‘Studio Recording’ tape and not the ‘Transmission master’. Very unusual for anything extraneous to be left on the end of a ‘Transmission master’ tape.
Between parts? Standard practice was 60 second clock to first programme pictures, end of part would be a visual hold of some sort (end of part XX for example) for 10 seconds, then fade to black for at least another 10 seconds. 30 second clock into the next part. At the end of the recording a visual hold for 30 seconds followed by a fade to black for another 30 secs at least.
Last edited by bluecortina on 21 December 2014 11:38pm