CHAPTER   14

Anatomy of Production

Two Case Studies

The following section uses two case studies to illustrate the procedures and techniques that are used in two of the most common video production situations: multicamera studio production and single-camera field production. These examples have been drawn from two real programs: one produced for cable in a university setting and another produced for broadcast on a regional television network.

The first case examines a multicamera studio production of a presidential election day live broadcast produced by students in an advanced television production workshop. The second case is based on a six day shooting schedule for a nature documentary. Note that in both cases the production model described in Chapter 7 has been applied. Figure 14.1 presents the central elements of the production model.

In the model, the need refers to the reason why this program should be produced. The vision refers to how the message or content is to be presented (conceptualization, format, audience, etc.). The technical and aesthetic elements are the various technical aspects of the production, such as the type of camera to be used, tape format, types of microphones, and lighting control, and some aesthetic issues, such as visualization and composition, lens control for depth of field, and set design. Formative evaluation refers to the constant feedback during the entire production process from different sources to ensure that corrective measures are applied to the program when needed. Finally, the end product is the finished program and its subsequent summative evaluation, which is used in order to find out whether the objectives that were set out in the initial stages of the production process were achieved.

Anatomy of a Live
Multicamera Studio Production

The election day program was a political panel discussion produced by the Eastern Connecticut State University Communication Students’ Association and scheduled to be broadcast live on the university’s cable channel from 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The following case study describes the program from its inception to its airing.

■ The Production Time Line

● WEEK 1   At the first meeting of COM 420, the directing and advanced television workshop class, the production plan for the program was set in motion. Professor Martinez, the class instructor, firmly believed that one of the most important contributions that she could make to her students’ academic and personal growth was to make them aware of their so cial responsibilities as communicators. Her goal was to help her students to focus on real-world problems and guide them in the use of television to address issues of social relevance. She was also glad that she had an appropriate vehicle to help her implement her teaching philosophy: Channel 22, the university’s cable station, which reached a large part of their community and featured community-oriented programming.

Professor Martinez and the fifteen students in her class agreed that the semester’s video projects were going to deal with issues that affected the community’s daily life. It did not take long for the group to decide that the upcoming presidential elections fulfilled this requirement.

Students Babakar, Carmen, and Therese volunteered to be the producers for the three shows they decided to produce. Two shows were to be cablecast before and after the election. They were to be recorded live on tape in the studio and would include some prerecorded material. As a result, some postproduction would be required to edit these prerecorded segments. One show would be broadcast live.

The first show would be recorded live on tape on October 12, the seventh week of classes, and would air on October 20. The second show would be a live, one-hour show, cablecast on Election Day. The third show would be formatted similarly to the first one and would air two or three weeks after the elections, near the end of the semester. We will concentrate on the production process for the live show.

● WEEK 2 Because the workshop was also a directing class, Professor Martinez made everyone aware of the amount of time involved in learning how to direct in the studio and how complex the producing part of the project would be. There would have to be a lot of hard work and much discipline to accomplish the class’s objectives. She emphasized the importance of teamwork and proper planning and the significance of meeting the deadlines established in the planning process.

During this meeting, producers and directors for each show were designated. Babakar volunteered to produce the live show, and he would be assisted by Ivette and Carlos. Ivette volunteered to direct the program as well. Carlos would be the associate director. Jeff and Ann volunteered to work on the promotional aspects of the show. They all believed that if they were engaging in such a large production project, then they would better make their best effort to ensure that somebody was watching the show. The more viewers, the better. That is how television works.

● WEEK 3 The next step in the production process was to develop and write a proposal for Professor Martinez. The producer, director, and assistant director set out to write the proposal and design the production. For the proposal format they would follow the guidelines presented in the production model. Because most of class time was spent on instruction on directing and producing, the producers had to meet on their own time out side of class to shape their vision and write the proposal.

■ The Production Proposal

● NEED The need (justification) for the program was based on the class discussions on the role of television in society, its functions and dysfunctions, and the significance of the upcoming elections in the lives of every one. In addition, there was the desire to experiment with a live studio production. So far, the students had worked on several live-on-tape productions, but none of them had ever participated in a live production.

Once the need was defined, Babakar, Ivette, and Carlos went to work on the vision statement: how the program was to be presented. A brainstorming session on formats and content by the production teams for each show ensued.

● VISION Ivette was a member of the Communication Students Association, and she was aware that members of the association were planning to schedule a series of panel discussions and debates around the time of the presidential election. She suggested that they could work together to set up a panel that could serve as the basis for the live show.

Babakar agreed to develop a survey questionnaire that would be distributed among the members of the community to find out what issues they were most concerned about. This would help the producers to choose the guests for the panel and develop a list of questions for the hosts. One important element to consider was the fact that the show was to be broadcast at 5:00 P.M., a time by which the majority of votes would already have been cast. Therefore the program content would have six main components:

• Updates on election results taken from different sources, including government and media reports.

• Prerecorded segments on the most important issues at stake at the local and national levels (derived in part from Babakar’s survey) and their possible implications as perceived by the panelists.

• Sound bites from polling sites recorded by field production teams using portable camcorders. Babakar thought that they could cover two or three polling sites.

• Questions and answers with the panel of experts.

• There would be public service announcements (PSAs) rolled into the show for “commercial” breaks. They would use PSAs produced in the advanced nonlinear editing class. These PSAs dealt mainly with local and university issues. Some were of a humorous nature, so they would provide a nice break from the discussion and allow for smooth transitions between program segments.

• There would be a dedicated time to receive live calls from the audience.

● TECHNICAL AND AESTHETIC ELEMENTS It was decided that the show would be hosted by Mike, one of the students in the class, and Professor Stanley from the Business Department. Professor Stanley had some on-camera experience because he hosted a show produced by the local public television channel. The following production points were agreed on:

• There would be no more than two guests on the set at any time during the show.

• The set should be simple, with four chairs, a picture of the university library tower hanging in the background, and perhaps a couple of small American flags on the side of the set. They would assign the task of designing and acquiring the set pieces and props to Kate and Omar. Kate, who was also a performing arts student, had shown an interest in and talent for set design.

• The lighting, although not completely flat, would be high key.

• There would be prerecorded material: Several three- to four-minute field packages consisting of sound bites from people recorded at various polling places would be used as a way to introduce the points of discussion. This meant that there needed to be a video monitor in the studio for the talent to watch the prerecorded material as it was being played back during the program.

• There would be three cameras, and the show would be hosted by a professor and a student.

• There would be a special animated graphic opening. Therese and Jeff volunteered to work on it.

• Babakar wanted to have direct participation from the audience, so telephone lines would have to be set up in the studio to receive live calls from the viewers of the program.

• The show would be taped for future reference on S-VHS and DVCPRO tapes.

• A meeting with Rick, the engineer, had to be set up for the next class meeting in order to resolve technical and engineering matters of the live transmission and to determine all their technical needs for the show. After the meeting with Rick, they would be able to fill out the studio production request form, which would include all the equipment necessary for the production, such as microphones and studio-to-cable connections for the cable feed (the signal to be broadcast over cable).

● FORMATIVE EVALUATION It was agreed that at each class meeting there would be a progress report to the class members (the crew) on all of the planned activities and each of the program segments. All prerecorded segments would be viewed by the whole class for class members to provide feedback on content, aesthetic, and technical elements before final editing. There would also be a weekly written report to Professor Martinez documenting the group’s progress.

● FINAL PRODUCT AND SUMMATIVE EVALUATION The one-hour show would be informative in nature. The live calls would serve as a barometer to assess audience interest in and involvement with the program. The final summative evaluation would consist of group analysis, reflection, and discussion. Professor Martinez’s feedback and grade on the project would cap the summative evaluation.

Once the proposal was developed, it was presented to Professor Martinez and the whole class. It was important to receive everyone’s feedback because the proposal was in essence the blueprint for the live show. After reviewing the proposal and discussing it with the rest of the class, Professor Martinez expressed her concern that the plan to record sound bites at the polling sites was not very feasible. They would take a lot of effort and would require additional technical and human resources (a remote crew, DVCPRO field kit, vehicles for transportation to and from the polling places, time, etc.) that were already stretched thin because of the complexity of the project. Everyone agreed to this, so the sound bites from polling sites were scratched from the plan.

Using the revised and approved proposal as a guide, Babakar, Ivette, and Carlos created a plan for their weekly tasks and activities leading up to the production day. Following is a summary of the activities carried out during the ensuing weeks ending with a more detailed account of the activities during the day of the show.

■ Back to the Time Line

● WEEK 4

• Meet with Rick to finalize technical details and formalize the final request for access to the studio and airtime.

• Schedule activities and assign principal responsibilities to the production crew.

• Present promotional activities plan.

● WEEK 5

• Present the structure of the show in outline form.

• Present the survey questions to the class for review. Distribute the survey to individuals in the community and analyze their responses.

• Contact professors who could provide advice related to the topics to be discussed.

• Finalize and approve the promotional plan.

● WEEK 6

• Propose guests and topics on the basis of the survey and feedback from the professors consulted about the program.

• Decide on topics for the prerecorded segments.

• Assign team responsibilities for the prerecorded materials.

• Begin promotional activities.

● WEEK 7

• Confirm guests and hosts for the live show.

• Work on scripts.

• Preproduction of prerecorded segments.

• Present to the class the design of the opening animated graphics and the set design of the show for final feedback and group approval.

● WEEK 8

• Production of the prerecorded segments.

• Present preliminary run down.

• Meet with hosts and guests.

• Hosts: Professor Stanley, and Mike, a student.

• Guests: Segment 1: Professors Caldwell and Rojas, Segment 2: Professor Free and Ms. Kim, Segment 3: Mr. Arias and Ms. Willis.

● WEEK 9

• Postproduction and viewing of off-line edited segments for feedback before final editing.

• Finish postproduction of opening graphics.

• Finish postproduction of prerecorded segments.

• Finish teaser.

● WEEK 10: THE SHOW Babakar was up early the morning of Election Day. He was worried and anxious. He and his partners had spent a great deal of time preparing for this show. He wanted to succeed. He wanted the whole class to succeed. He thought they all deserved it. Professor Martinez and every student in the class had worked very hard on producing this program. When he first volunteered to be the prime producer of the show, Babakar had not realized the amount of work that would be in volved in such an endeavor. But he was glad he had volunteered. So far, it had been a great learning experience, and Professor Martinez had been extremely supportive throughout the entire planning process. Babakar was looking forward to seeing how much progress had been made on the lighting and set when he came to the studio at 2:00 P.M.

The preproduction process had been not only extensive and exhaustive, but also exhausting. This was the only way to overcome Murphy’s Law (“If anything can go wrong, it will”). Overall, the class had been very careful and paid meticulous attention to detail during the planning process. The opening graphics, the teaser, and all the prerecorded material had been edited, and they now had three three-minute mini-documentary style packages, produced by classmate teams, ready to be aired.

However, one can never be too careful when dealing with a video program that is going to be broadcast live. Therefore Carlos, Ivette, and Babakar had decided to meet at the nonlinear editing lab at 9:00 A.M. to go over the material and make sure there were no glitches whatsoever. They wanted everything to be perfect. Babakar looked at his watch. It was 7:30 A.M. He had time to drive to school, stop for a light breakfast at the cafeteria, and make it to the editing lab by 8:50. Being on time is very important, but arriving a little early may be even more important. He had worked on many productions in which everyone wished they had a few more minutes to get their work done.

Babakar walked over to his desk, opened his portfolio, pulled out his schedule for the day, and looked it over once again, although he was almost certain that he had it memorized by now from working on it so many times. (See Table 14.1.)

■ TABLE 14.1 Babakar’s Shooting Day Schedule

He had a good feeling. Everything seemed to be in place, and everyone seemed to be ready. He was excited and confident that all would go well. Rick, the engineer, had taken care of all the technical details; Ivette, Carlos, and Babakar had met the day before with the program’s hosts and guests to go over the discussion topics and the information generated from the questionnaires. They had developed a list of questions that would serve as introductory material for each of the topics.

Earlier in preproduction it had been decided that three topics would be discussed during the program. The first show segment would explain the voting process and the role of the Electoral College, which was something that not everyone understood very clearly. The second segment would focus on the economic plans of the presidential candidates and discuss the implications their different plans would have for the country. The third segment would focus on the candidates’ views on the war in Iraq.

Putting aside his thoughts, Babakar finished dressing quickly and walked into the bright sun and cool breeze of an autumn morning. He jumped into his classic 1974 Ford Mustang and drove off to his encounter with the long-awaited moment: his own one-hour live television show. Even though he knew how much everyone else had contributed to this production, he wanted to call it his own. After all, he had led the team. It was not selfishness, simply pride and self-respect, and it felt good.

It was 10:45 A.M. when Babakar, Ivette, and Carlos finished reviewing the prerecorded segments. They had adjusted some audio levels and rechecked video and brightness levels. Rick expected very high technical standards to be met for program material that was broadcast on the cable channel. They output the segments from the nonlinear editing system to DVCPRO tapes and sat down to review the rundown and scripts.

Carlos had to leave at 11:40 for his environmental science class but said that he would make it back by 1:00 P.M., when they would meet with the hosts to review the final script. Then he would enter the script into the teleprompter.

Babakar and Ivette pulled out the crew assignment list. They needed to make sure, once again, that every position was covered and that everything was in place.

“Let’s go over this one more time,” Babakar said.

“It’s 11:50. Let’s grab something to eat first,” Ivette replied. “I’m a little bit hungry, and it doesn’t do any good to be hungry on a day like this. The lighting and set crew will come in at 1:00 P.M., and the general crew call is at 2:00 P.M. So let’s take a little walk over to the cafeteria and relax for a few minutes. I think we need it.”

Babakar agreed. They grabbed their jackets and left the editing lab. 5:00 P.M. was rapidly approaching, they thought to themselves.

At 12:55 P.M. Babakar and Ivette entered the television studio. All was quiet; the studio was empty. They could barely hear the sound of the central air conditioning, but they could definitely feel that it was doing what it was supposed to do. The studio felt very cold.

“Where is the lighting crew?” asked Yvette.

“Relax,” said Babakar. “It’s not 1:00 P.M. yet. They’ll be here any minute now. They know how important it is to stick to schedules.”

No sooner had Babakar finished talking when Angel and Robert, the lighting crew, entered the studio. They were followed by Kate and Omar, the set designers.

Robert enjoyed doing lighting very much, and he was very good at it. He had spent much time volunteering to work for Professor Rogers, a lighting expert, on many of his projects, and now everyone looked to Robert for lighting assistance.

Angel did not say anything; he just smiled. He was in good spirits, as usual. He walked into the studio looking at the floor plan and lighting plot that he held in his hand. Then he started to look around, as if all of a sudden the studio was a very unfamiliar place to him. He walked across the studio floor, went into the prop room in the back of the studio, and came back carrying a pack of colored lighting gels.

“Okay, gang, let’s do it,” he said, handing the lighting plot to Robert and the floor plan to Kate and grabbing the studio lighting ladder himself.

Babakar and Ivette looked at each other and smiled: two less things to worry about. They knew that the lighting and the set would be good. The team had met several times to talk about the lighting plot and set design, and now they knew all those meetings and planning were going to pay off. No finger crossing, just good preproduction work.

The hosts came into the studio at 1:00 P.M. to pick up their final script so that they could rehearse a little beforehand. They left ten minutes later and agreed to return at 3:30 P.M.

Carlos arrived at 1:15 P.M. He apologized for being late and explained that he had had to talk to his environmental science professor after class about his next project and an upcoming quiz. He went to the control room and started to input text into the teleprompter.

“Okay, Babakar, it’s getting closer to show time,” Ivette said. “Let’s look over the crew list and the rundown sheet. I want to make sure that we have it all together. I’m starting to get butterflies in my stomach.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Let’s do it,” said Babakar.

Babakar and Ivette went into the control room and pulled out the crew list, set diagram, and rundown sheet.

Here is the crew list:

  1. Babakar: Producer

  2. Ivette: Director/assistant producer

  3. Carlos: Assistant director/assistant producer (AD)

  4. Michelle: Technical director (TD)

  5. Carmen: Audio

  6. Therese: Character generator (CG)

  7. Robert: VTR

  8. Jeff: Teleprompter

  9. Ann: Floor manager

10. Kate: Camera 1 (1-, 2-shot of hosts)

11. Omar: Camera 2 (LS of set)

12. Angel: Camera 3 (1-, 2-shot of guests)

13. Mary: Telephone coordinator

14. George: Talent coordinator

“We don’t have a shot list for the cameras because the shots may vary depending on the dynamics of the conversation,” Babakar said, “but I’ve include basic shots for each of the cameras.”

He continued, “The set is sort of an isosceles triangle (two equal sides) with the vertex oriented toward the top of the screen and a small table placed on this vertex and a large picture of the University Tower in the background. The hosts sit on the right side and guests on the left facing the hosts. Camera 1, situated on the left will be getting 2-shots and close-ups of the hosts, camera 2 in the center will have the long and medium shot of the set (the establishing and ‘safe’ shots), and camera 3 will get 2-shots and close-ups of the guests.” (See Figure 14.2.)

Ivette knew all of this because they had gone over the set diagram and script many times, but it was certainly good to review it again. The setup was a good one to follow the conversation and to have reaction shots. She thought that reaction shots were a very important component of the storytelling scheme. She intended to use them as she had in previous projects, and Professor Martinez had always insisted that they do so. “Let’s move on,” she said to herself.

“Babakar, where are the PSAs for commercial breaks? Have they been logged and timed?” Ivette asked.

“Glad you asked,” Babakar answered. “I have the PSAs on a DVCPRO tape in my locker. Yes, they were logged and timed yesterday. I did it with Carlos. So we have two tapes for Robert, the VTR person. Here is the sheet. I’ll go get the tapes.”

“Good,” Ivette said.

When Babakar had returned with the tapes, Ivette said, “Now, let’s take a look at the rundown. What time is it?”

“It’s 1:35. We should be ready for the crew, Rick, and Professor Martinez when they arrive at 2:00 P.M.”

Ivette pulled out the rundown sheet and placed it on the computer teleprompter desk. Babakar moved over to her side, and they began going over the rundown sheet. (See Figure 14.3.)

By the time they had finished going over the rundown sheet and clarified the commands and instructions for the floor manager during transitions between segments, it was 1:57 P.M. They left the control room and went into the studio. Professor Martinez was already there, chatting with Robert and Angel about the positioning of a key light. Kate and Omar were almost done with the set. They were having a little trouble hanging the large picture of the library tower in the background. Despite this, the set was looking pretty good.

By 2:05 the rest of the crew was in the studio. Babakar gathered everyone together, read the crew assignments again, and sent everyone to take care of their responsibilities. He reminded them that they would meet at 3:00 P.M. The set, lighting, microphones, telephones, and everything else should be in place by then.

Babakar was very concerned about the two telephone lines the telecommunications office had placed in the studio for the incoming calls. Rick told him not to worry. They had already tested the lines, and everything was fine. They would retest again at 3:30, just before the run-through.

By 2:50 the studio was ready. There had been a couple of bad XLR cables, but after a little troubleshooting, Carmen and Michelle had taken care of the problem. One of the microphones needed new batteries. Carmen did not want to take unnecessary risks, so she had requested plenty of AA batteries. They would do all the testing with the batteries that were already in place. But just before the beginning of the show, she would make sure that each microphone had new batteries installed in it. There was a ten-minute break, and everyone reconvened promptly at 3:00 P.M.

At 3:00 P.M. Babakar, the producer, and Ivette, the director, presided over the meeting. Now the people in front of them were no longer their classmates or friends. They were all professionals about to engage in one of the most complex aspects of television production: a live transmission.

Babakar went over the rundown sheet and explained how the transitions between segments were going to be done. These were critical because they had to change guests—George, the talent coordinator, would have to be alert and on top of things—and reset audio levels in two minutes while the PSAs were playing. Ann, the floor manager, would have to be quick taking off and clipping on microphones. If necessary, Angel, on camera 3, would help her and get back quickly to his camera. His shots were going to be called thirty seconds into the segment, so he would easily have time to frame his 2-shot of the guest.

Ivette was growing anxious. She felt that she was ready, but she still needed to talk to her crew, especially the camera operators and floor manager. She wanted to rehearse some shots and calls with the crew in the studio, make sure each camera operator knew what she meant by each call, and make sure the floor manager would use the proper hand signals to cue the talent. She also wanted to go over the program’s opening with Michelle, Carmen, Robert, Jeff, and Therese (TD, audio, VTR, Teleprompter, and CG, respectively). She also needed to get reassurance from Carlos, the assistant director that he had the backtiming calls under control.

There were some variables that could change the projected time of some of the segments, particularly the segments that involved the telephone calls from the audience. Whatever happened, it was Carlos’ job to keep her on track with the time. Backtiming ensures that segments get adjusted on the fly so that they adhere to rundown times and finally to the program time: sixty minutes on the nose.

It was 3:15 now, and the run-through was scheduled to take place from 4:00 to 4:30. Ivette wanted to go over the script and make the necessary markings before the run-through. She quickly ended the meeting and sat down with her camera operators and floor manager. After talking with them as a group, Ivette walked with each camera operator to his or her camera and operated the camera to point out camera angles and framing references.

Babakar sat with George to go over the guest protocols and cues.

The guests arrived at 3:30. A little after that, the hosts came in. George brought them into the studio and had them sit in the set so that Robert could make any minor lighting adjustments that might be needed.

At 3:35 P.M. Ivette came into the control room and went over the opening with everyone. She reminded Carlos once again of the backtiming issue and thought that she had a few minutes to do a fresh script marking, especially for the opening and the introduction to the first segment. Openings were always the hardest, but once you went past that point in the program, everything else would fall into place.

At 3:55 P.M., five minutes before the run-through, Ivette had her script marked and was ready for rehearsal. (See Figure 14.4 and Table 14.2.) She looked at it once again, took a deep breath, and spoke into the talkback mic (a microphone that allows a person in the control room to be heard in the studio): “Five minutes to first run-through.” She figured that she would need three run-throughs of the opening and the introduction to the first segment to perfect them.

Carmen and Ann set the audio levels for the hosts and guests, and the speed and brightness of the TelePrompTer was adjusted so that it could easily be read by the hosts. The telephone lines had been tested and were connected to the audio board in the control room.

At 4:00 P.M. everyone was set and ready for the run through. Ivette took her headset and told Ann to alert everyone that the first run-through was two minutes away.

At 4:35 P.M. Ivette was happy that she had planned for three run-throughs. It took three practice runs get the opening right. Now they were only twenty-five minutes away from airtime. She could not believe it. A great deal of the last nine weeks of her life had gone into this production that would last only one hour. “But I still love it,” she said to herself.

During the run-through, Babakar was sitting in the darkest corner of the control room. He would occasionally get up, walk up to the audio board, watch the levels, and walk back to his seat and glance at the papers he held in his hands. Then, realizing that it was too dark to read, he would hold his head in his hands, look at the monitors, and get up and walk again over to the audio board. The pressure of producing this live show was taking its toll, and the program had not yet even started!

At 4:45 P.M., when it seemed that everything was going well, havoc broke out.

“We don’t have a signal!” Rick, the video engineer, cried out as he came into the control room and ran to the back of the video console to check the video outputs and cables.

Ivette sighed, took her headset off, and sat down. Babakar jumped from his seat and stood there, in the middle of the control room. Everyone seemed to be frozen in time. But time kept passing.

■ TABLE 14.2 Ivette’s Command Table

*These commands were introduced in Table 9.2.

Rick’s words had filtered through the intercom system into the studio. The floor manager and camera operators had been unintentionally informed of the catastrophic news: There was no signal going to the cable transmitter. They all looked at each other and started wondering: Who’s fault was it? What was going on? Why was this happening? Did it mean they all would get an “F”? Where was Professor Martinez? The hosts and guests, innocently unaware of the circumstances, sat in their chairs on the set, exchanging thoughts and going over the election updates that George kept bringing in.

Professor Martinez came into the control room and found everyone in distress. Rick was frantically juggling cables and connectors, holding a radio in his hand and talking to his assistant in the cable broadcast room. Babakar, still standing in the middle of the control room, was staring at Ivette. Both were speechless. Now was the time for some creative problem solving.

Professor Martinez told Ivette to get up, put on her intercom, and tell everyone to get ready—the show was going on. If the worst came to the worst and there was no signal from the control room to the broadcast room, they would start airing the show fifteen minutes late. Segments would be recorded on tape in the studio, hand-carried to the broadcast cable room, and then aired directly from there. For all practical purposes they would still be doing a live show.

Suddenly, they all felt better. Words filtered again through the intercom system. So that’s where Professor Martinez was, they all thought. They had not been abandoned to their fate.

Babakar reacted and ran over to the Media Services office to get more DVCPRO tapes. Luckily, the office was just around the corner from the studio.

At 4:55 P.M., just as Babakar ran into the control room holding four videotapes, Rick emerged from behind the video console. Smiling and calmly, he said, “We got it. It was just a connector.”

“Two minutes to air time,” called Ann in the studio.

Ivette smiled, took another deep breath, and thought, “Well, now it’s show time!”

“Camera 1, are you ready?” Ivette asked. Kate pushed the Talk button on her intercom box attached to the back of the camera, and said, “Ready.” (Camera operators turn the Talk button on the intercoms only when instructed to do so. Otherwise, it is turned off to avoid interfering with the director’s commands and instructions.)

“Two?”

Omar said, “Yes.”

“Three?”

Angel replied, “Ready”

“Audio? VTR? CG? Teleprompter?” called Ivette as she looked at each person in charge in the control room. They all acknowledged her. They were all ready.

“Quiet in the studio, quiet in the Control Room.”

“One minute to air time,” called out Ann in the studio again.

“Ready to roll tape.”

“Ready to take bars and tone.”

“Ready to roll VTR 1.”

“Roll tape,” called Ivette.

“Tape is rolling and recording,” Robert called back. “Take bars and tone for 30 seconds.”

“Lose bars and tone.”

“Count down …”

“10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3 …”

“Roll VTR 1.”

“Take VTR 1 with audio.”

So the show was on! (See Figure 14.5.)

As the first images from the opening appeared on the program monitor, Ivette knew that there was no turning back—not that she wanted to anyway, for she had been waiting for this moment ever since the instant that she volunteered to direct. They were live on the air, and she was in charge. She was proud of herself, and she would make everyone look good. That was the team spirit!

“Ready long shot on C2, ready to open mics, ready to cue talent, ready to key CG, and ready to roll Teleprompter,” she called. “Five seconds,” Robert called out. It meant that the fifteen-second opening was about to end.

Ivette had her eyes fixed on the camera monitors, for they represented her windows into the studio. Even though there was a large glass window between the studio and control room, she had no direct view to the studio because the window was blocked by a dark blue curtain. The story that she was about to tell the audience relied on only three views of the reality inside the studio: the images produced by cameras 1, 2, and 3. She would decide which camera would show what and when the viewers would see it. “Cool,” she thought. That was a little power. On the other hand, it was also a huge responsibility. She glanced over to the program monitor just as the opening was about to end.

“Take 2, open mics, cue talent, key CG and roll the Teleprompter,” Ivette called.

In the studio the floor manager cued the hosts by using hand signals. In the control room everyone’s eyes were glued to the program monitor. They were all part of this show. The television production system was at work. They were advanced television production students. Since taking their first introductory class, they had learned and lived by the principle that television production worked like a system—an integrated, organized whole in which groups of individuals working independently but in unison strive to achieve a common goal. Everyone was responsible for his or her own job. The failure of anyone to perform accordingly was a failure for everyone. Good performance by everyone would mean success for all. Their ability to work as part of a team, an essential qualification for anyone involved in video production, was being tested.

Ivette saw the hosts and guests appear on the program monitor with a CG keyed over them. Then on the audio board the audio engineer pressed the On buttons for microphones 1 and 2, Mike’s and Professor Stanley’s microphones, respectively. The floor manager cued the hosts, the Teleprompter began rolling, and Mike calmly introduced the program: “Good evening and welcome to our special election day live program.”

The rest of the show went well. Transitions between segments were smooth. There were nine calls from viewers, which pleased everyone because it meant that were real viewers watching the program. Carlos’s backtiming cues and CG warnings kept Ivette on track, and the CGs kept the viewers informed about who the guests were. By the time the hosts said good-bye and Ivette gave the command to roll the final credits, everyone was exhausted but satisfied that they had accomplished their mission.

Professor Martinez was impressed and happy. Her long hours of dedication and patient instruction had paid off.

Babakar felt a kind of special numbness flowing through his body. “Boy, am I glad this is all over,” he sighed to himself. He recalled the many times that Professor Martinez had told them that a live transmission entailed a tremendous amount of preproduction work. However, she had emphasized, one of the best feelings they could ever have was the one after ending a live transmission in which everything went well, because once it was over, it was over. No postproduction.

The summative evaluation still had to be completed, but as far as Babakar was concerned, their work was over. Professor Martinez was right. “What a great feeling,” Babakar thought. He moved into the studio with a big smile on his face to congratulate everyone and to help strike the set. He was already thinking about his next project.

The Sierra Nevada de
Santa Marta: The Making
of a Documentary

■ The Setting

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, located in northern Colombia at the top of the South American continent, rises 19,000 feet above sea level, making it the highest coastal mountain in the world. Its two summits harbor permanent snow and glaciers, yet it is only thirty miles away from the turquoise waters and tropical beaches of the Caribbean Sea.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta a “historical patrimony of humanity and a biosphere reserve of the world” because of its unique landscape—a habitat of numerous species of flora and fauna. Despite its beauty and idyllic location, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a place in which conflict abounds. This has been so for the past four decades. Yet to its native population, engaged in a war of survival against the destruction of their environment and surrounded by conflict between armed groups, the Sierra is El Corazon del Mundo—the heart of the world. It is a land of beauty and biological diversity. (See Figure 14.6).

■ The Theme

It was a Sunday in early May. The abrasive sun of the Colombian Caribbean coast was up, radiating heat and fostering tropical life. The documentary team meeting was set for 10:00 A.M., and Julio, the documentary director, knew that he would be late. He came out of his two-room apartment, walked into the bright Sunday morning, and immediately felt the typical heat and humidity that embraced the city at that time of the year. “How I miss the balmy weather of December,” he said to himself.

As he walked past the huge mango tree in the front yard, he looked to the side and found what he was looking for: the large, lime-green iguana that, as usual, was perched on the thickest branch, basking in the sun. It was a good sign. For the past two years he had grown a little superstitious, and the iguana had become his amulet. The few times that he had come out of the apartment and had not seen the iguana, things had not turned out so well.

Julio got into his VW and drove off to meet with the whole documentary team: executive producers, videographer, soundperson, and assistant producer. They were leaving early in the morning for the Sierra for a six-day, three-stage video shoot, and there were still many logistical issues to clarify.

The Sierra was a fascinating place, regardless of the many risks that its geography and its people presented. Although he had been to the Sierra several times, every time felt like a completely new adventure. He remembered the last trip, when he had fallen while trying to get a close-up of a white-tipped quetzal, a species that is native to the Sierra. He hurt his knee badly and consequently was forced to endure a painful two-day mule ride to the town of San Pedro, where there was a vehicle waiting for the video crew. He would be more careful on this trip.

For him this documentary was very special. All of his previous video work in the Sierra had been done either on behalf of an ecological organization or as an assignment for the television network at which he was a producer and director. This time it was his documentary. He had had the idea, conceptualized it, researched it, and wrote the first draft of the script, although he was certain that after this trip a major script rewrite would most likely be imperative.

He also had the title for the documentary: “Sierra Nevada: An Island of Life.” He thought this was appropriate because the documentary was going to present two different views of life in the Sierra: those of the native Kogis and Arhuacos on one hand and the subsistence farmers and settlers on the other.

The indigenous population, who lived off the land, considered it to be their mission to care for the mountain and preserve the rain forest. The new settlers, who took over the fertile lower slopes of the mountains, deforested a large area for agricultural and grazing purposes. This was just one of the many conflicts in the region, and this was what his documentary was all about.

He was also thinking that he had a tight production time line in front of him. The documentary was scheduled to air on the regional television network on June 7. This meant that he would have only about three weeks for postproduction. He felt a little chill running through his body. Now, more than ever, he needed to think and act on the basis of shooting to edit.

■ The Team

Julio had convinced his friend and producer Carla to work with him on this documentary. She had worked with him on several projects and was very good at doing meticulous planning and conducting thorough research. In addition, she had great people skills, and this certainly would make it much easier to engage the inhabitants of the Sierra. She would also become a great asset in writing the final script.

Along with Carla, there were Nicky, the camera operator; Gino, the audio person; and Becky, the all-around assistant. “What a great team,” Julio said to himself.

Nicky was a veteran of the Sierra and had been Julio’s camera operator on every previous trip. Julio was grateful that Nicky had decided to take time off from his regular job at the network to come with him. In essence, this would feel almost like a network assignment because Becky also worked for the network. Gino was an independent producer who had become an excellent audio person. He was very well acquainted with field production and was great at capturing ambient sound as well.

Julio had worked with all of them—as a team—with great success while producing a couple of cultural and musical documentaries two years earlier in the Colombian Caribbean islands of San Andres and Providence. Although the Sierra documentary was an independent endeavor, financed by several independent organizations and the Delta Group—a group of local people dedicated to fostering the art of video to improve the quality of life in the region—the network’s general manager had donated the use of equipment and transportation.

Julio was excited. Today’s meeting would be crucial for the success of the project. He pushed harder on the accelerator, the VW jolted forward, and man and vehicle felt the rush of adrenaline and gasoline, respectively, pushing them onward to a much-anticipated adventure.

■ The Final
Preproduction Meeting

When Julio opened the door of the meeting room, everyone was already sitting there waiting for him. Julio apologized for being late (he knew that the director should be the first one to show up at a production meeting), sat next to Carla at the table in the front of the room, and pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase. Even though by that time everyone knew almost every detail of the project and their roles as part of the team, Julio always liked to begin from the beginning. He wanted everyone to be absolutely clear about every step of the process.

“We will spend six days in the Sierra,” he began. “We will leave tomorrow at 5:30 A.M., so we will meet here precisely at 5:00 A.M. By the way, we will be shooting DV not Betacam. We want the equipment and our team to be as unobtrusive as possible, and the Betacam camcorder has a somewhat imposing presence. Keep in mind that we will find electric power only at Alto de Mira station (Mira Heights), our first stop, and then four days later at San Jose de la Sierra, our last stop. Remember that there is no electricity in San Miguel. The Indians there believe only in nature, and as strange it may seem to you city people, electricity is not part of nature,” Julio said with a sarcastic smile in his face. He liked to make jokes and tease his teammates.

He paused, looked at Nicky, and said, “Nicky this bring us back to our number one production problem: charging the camera batteries and their rational and efficient use. We’ll talk about this later.”

Julio continued. “Since we will get everything ready today, it should not take us more than thirty minutes tomorrow morning to load the van and go. A network van will take us to Carmel, at the bottom of the Sierra. In Carmel there will be another vehicle that will take us a few miles up to Pueblo. From there we will walk and ride mules to the Alto de Mira station. We should be arriving around 6:00 P.M. Are there any questions?”

There were no questions. Everyone had made the trip before and pretty much knew the routine to get to Alto de Mira.

“We have secured permission to videotape from the Mamo, their tribal chief and spiritual leader, and the settlers,” Julio continued. “Also, the Nature Conservancy people staying at Alto de Mira sent us a message saying that we could interview them,” Julio said, and looked at Carla, as if waiting for her to corroborate his statement. Carla nodded in confirmation.

“We have also secured permission from the two armed groups that we are most likely to encounter. Our contact in the Sierra just confirmed that they have no objections to our presence in the area as long as we videotape only our own business. So if we encounter any member of these groups, do not, I repeat do not, videotape them or approach them to ask questions about their business. As a matter fact, if we need to approach them for any reason, let Carla or myself do it.”

Julio knew that this was something that could never be emphasized enough. He had seen and lived through some very uncomfortable situations because of a camera operator photographing something or someone without clearing it first with whoever happened to be in charge of the place. That was one of the most important rules to follow in shooting in a foreign or hostile environment.

“As a matter fact,” he continued, “if you find yourself in a situation when I or Carla are not around, and you are not certain that we have permission to photograph there, don’t do it until you get confirmation—no matter how important or visually rich the subject seems to be.” Julio was now looking at Nicky, the camera operator. This message was directed mainly to him.

“We will shoot in three stages, two days each,” Julio continued and repeated himself: “In the first stage we will interview some Nature Conservancy members about the importance of the Sierra as an ecosystem at the Alto de Mira station and get shots of the fauna and flora around there. During the second stage we move up to San Miguel, in the indigenous territory, and interview the Mamo—the Chief—Jose and some of the natives as they are working their crops.” He paused, opened his notebook, and looked at some of the notes he had made the night before when going over the whole schedule and structure of the project. The natives’ testimonials should reflect their religious beliefs, which he knew were linked to their idea of maintaining a harmonious relationship with nature. (See Figure 14.7.)

“Again, we videotape only when we are told we can. We’ll spend the night in San Miguel and move on early the next day to San Jose de la Sierra, for the third shooting stage. Here, we’ll photograph and interview settlers and the environment. We were told that they are cutting down trees and clearing the forest around this area. We expect to head back about noontime on Saturday, and we should be getting back into the city by 7:00 P.M. Carla has made arrangements for food and lodging for the journey, so we should not have any problems with this. She will give us more details in a minute.”

The meeting went on. Carla spoke next. She went over all the logistical arrangements. She also gave a description of the different geographical aspects of the areas they were going to visit and reminded them all that they were in for a long walk carrying video equipment and personal effects, so they should travel light. After all the logistics were reviewed and the production issues were clarified, the meeting broke up.

Julio walked with Nicky and Gino to a corner of the room where the equipment bags were located. He wanted to go over equipment with them and make sure that everything they needed was there and functioning properly.

First, they went over the audio equipment. They were planning to record two types of sound: interviews and ambient sound. For the interviews they had decided that whenever possible, they would use a boom—a long pole—with a dynamic, unidirectional microphone attached at the end. The ruggedness of dynamic microphones was very suitable for the task at hand. Each microphone had a windscreen because it often gets very windy in the mountains.

They were also taking with them the wireless kit, which included a lavaliere and a cardioid microphone with three sets of new AA batteries for each. The lavaliere would be used for interviews indoors if the use of the boom was not practical.

The shotgun microphone was ideal for ambient sound pickup. Gino was very good at this, especially in tropical forest environments. He would sit or stand patiently with his portable mixer, headset on, and shotgun mic in hand and listen very carefully to where all the sounds were originating. He would first slowly scan the air with the microphone as if to ascertain the type of sound and establish levels. Then he would tell the director what he thought should be done.

Directors had learned that most of the time Gino would record a very rich and exquisite blend of natural sounds captured on either a DAT recorder or the camcorder videotape. Julio went over the possible audio scenarios with Gino and Nicky and asked Gino for the list of the audio gear he was bringing. Gino commented that he had tested all the equipment early that morning and produced the following list:

  1. Boom pole

  2. Portable mixer

  3. Headphones

  4. Wireless mic kit: cardioid, hand-held, and lavaliere mics

  5. Wired lavalieres (2)

  6. Wired cardioid mics (2) to be used on the boom in interviews

  7. Supercardioid shotgun mic (to pick up natural sound)

  8. XLR cables: two (2) 25-foot and four (4) 10-foot

  9. Audio adaptors

10. AA batteries

Julio read the list and could not think of anything else to add to it. Next, he said to Nicky, “Let’s take a look at your list, and then we need to talk a little about aesthetics.” Nicky knew that the aesthetics part would be coming. It always did. He had been a camera operator for Julio on several projects in many different locations, and he had come to know his professional style pretty well. Julio always dedicated time before production started to discuss with his team the conceptual aspects of the project followed by the aesthetic and technical elements and how to achieve the desired look and feel of the show. In that way, he believed, everyone was aware of what he wanted and could make significant contributions to the final product.

“Here is the list,” Nicky said. “Everything has been tested and retested. All the batteries are fully charged. But let’s go over it once again. So, Julio, read the list out loud, and I will pull each item to make sure that everything is in order.”

Nicky gave the list to Julio, and they began going over each item in the list. The list looked like this:

1. One 3-CCD DV camcorder

2. Tripod

3. Batteries (12)

4. Headset

5. DV tapes (20 @ sixty minutes each)

6. Lighting instruments (one 350 watts and one 650-watt Fresnel)

7. Blue and amber gels (for color temperature matching)

8. Diffusers and reflectors

9. Video field monitor

“Looks good,” Julio said. “Keep in mind that we can charge batteries only at the Alto Mira station and San Jose de la Sierra. Even so, there are only a limited number of outlets we can use, probably one or two at the most. This means that we can only charge about four batteries during the night. Have Becky charge the batteries as soon as you change them, if possible.” Julio continued talking about some of the technical logistics, mainly the problems posed by the lack of electrical power.

“Aesthetically, there are three main points I want to emphasize.” he told Nicky. “First, depth of field. Use long focal lengths so that we get minimal depth of field. I want sort of blurry backgrounds when shooting the testimonials. This means keeping your lens diaphragm as open as possible, somewhere between f-16 and f-4.0. In any case this might be necessary because of the low light in some of the indoor locations.”

Julio paused, folded his hands together, bowed his head down, collected his thoughts, and then after a few seconds looked back at Nicky and continued: “When we shoot nature, then I want to reverse the depth of field issue. We use f-16 or higher. We want to show the magnificence and magnitude of the landscape.” Another pause.

“Our second aesthetic point is lighting,” Julio said. “We want to use natural light whenever possible. We’ll use the lighting instruments only when absolutely necessary or as a means to add head lights or kick lights. Otherwise, we’ll use natural light and reflectors.” Julio knew that all of this would ultimately be decided in the field, during the actual shooting. But he thought it was always good to give your camera operator this information well in advance. Even the audio person should be aware of the expectations for the visual treatment. For Julio the more each member of the team knew about the other members’ aesthetic and technical requirements, the more they could support each other.

“The third major aesthetic concern,” Julio continued, “is camera movement. For interviews or testimonials we will use the camera mounted on the tripod. However, there will be some times when I will call for a hand-held camera, cinema verité style. At this point, the camera will no longer be an observer. The camera will become intrusive and a participant in the scene. Of course, this will be decided according to the circumstances of the moment, but I want you to be prepared. Other than the interviews, there will be no chance for repeating or staging the action, so always stay alert and be involved in the situation.”

Julio slowly started to get up from his chair, and Nicky and Gino knew that their little chat was about to end. “Even during the interviews it will be difficult to ask the subject to go back and repeat something, as those are spontaneous statements and we want to keep them that way.” Julio was now standing in front of Nicky and Gino. He looked at his watch.

“It’s 3:30 P.M. and I have a few things to take care of. Finish packing the equipment and get everything ready to be picked up and loaded, and I will see you at 5:00 A.M. tomorrow. Don’t forget your water canteen, flashlights, and mosquito repellent.” (See Figure 14.8.)

■ Stage 1: Alto de Mira

As planned, the documentary team arrived at 6:30 P.M. at the station. The station was an Indian settlement built more than 500 years ago. Larger Indian settlements were built along ridges for visibility and exposure to sunlight, with a large number of terraces for draining and controlling rainwater. The station had been unearthed and partially restored, and it served now as a base for many ecological and academic organizations that came to the Sierra to study either the ecosystem or the social system of the Sierra natives.

Julio and the crew were greeted by the station caretakers and introduced to the Nature Conservancy members and Hans Klauss, a German biologist and professor at the University of Lundgrem, who was visiting the station. After unpacking, they ate a frugal meal, socialized with the people at the station, and set up the shooting schedule for the next day. Then they all went to bed. It was 10:00 P.M.

Julio awoke at 5:15 A.M. and immediately rose. He was the first one up. He loved to see dawn in the Sierra. He took a quick bath (two buckets of cold water poured over his body with a large wooden ladle), brushed his teeth, and came out of the barracks to his dreamy rendezvous with a Sierra dawn. (See Figure 14.9.)

By 9:00 A.M., after having had breakfast, including a large cup of tasty Colombian coffee, the team was ready to interview the two members of the Nature Conservancy and Professor Klauss. Two of those interviews would be in English and would have to be translated. Julio would decide later whether they should be dubbed to Spanish, translated, and delivered with the narrator’s voice-over, or whether he would simply use captions for the translation.

He figured that each interviewee would speak for about ten minutes. He had already picked out three different spots around the station for the interviews. They would spend the morning shooting the interviews and finish up just before lunch. The afternoon would be dedicated to capturing the flora and fauna around the station. Then they would pack and get ready for the next day. They were leaving at 6:00 A.M. and would walk for about six hours to San Miguel. He figured that they would arrive a little before 1:00 P.M.

It was a very bright morning. They would have to watch out for harsh shadows. The first interviewee was Roger, a biologist with the Nature Conservancy. He was very tall and had very light skin. Julio had found an appropriate shaded spot under a large tree. The camera and boom mic were set. Gino ask Roger to speak in normal voice so that he could set the audio level. Julio stood behind the camera and looked through the viewfinder. He showed Nicky the framing he wanted. Nicky set the lens iris at f-5.6. Becky put new batteries into the microphone, and two minutes later the interview with Roger was videotaped. The interview with the second Nature Conservancy member was about the same, except that it was recorded in a different spot to provide some variety in the background.

The videotaping of Professor Klauss turned out to be more complex than the previous interviews. Julio wanted him to start while standing at one place, then speak and walk slowly about twelve feet toward a very special plant. There he would stop and kneel down while holding the plant’s flower, and Nicky would slowly zoom in to a close-up of the flower.

After that take, Professor Klauss would sit in another spot, with the Sierra as a background, and talk some more. For this take Gino recommended that they use the wireless lavaliere. After a couple of rehearsals they tried the real thing, and it came out nicely. The first take was a keeper.

This ended the morning shoot. They collected all the equipment, brought it back to the station, and set it on the floor in a corner, ready to be picked up after lunch for the afternoon shoot. Becky placed two camera batteries on the charger.

■ Stage 2: San Miguel

They arrived in San Miguel a little after 2:00 P.M. the next day. (See Figure 14.10.) The journey had taken longer than they expected because they had stopped several times to videotape the landscape, flowers, and fauna. They had encountered a couple snakes and several colorful birds. They were greeted by a member of the tribal council and were taken to a special tent that the Indians used to accommodate visitors. No visitor was allowed to stay in a native house or hut.

The Mamo (chief) lived on the outskirts of the village in a very small hut. Once they were settled, they received the message that he would see them at 4:00 P.M. From 3:00 P.M. to around 4:00 P.M. they videotaped the village, houses, people, animals, pets, and so on. They arrived at the Mamo’s hut precisely at 4:00 P.M. He was sitting outside his hut waiting for them.

Julio told Nicky to set the camera at an angle, pointing up to the top of the hut. When the Mamo started to speak, Nicky was to begin a slow tilt down, frame up a medium shot on Julio’s signal, and then zoom in to a tight close-up when Julio signaled again. The testimonial went very well. They would stop taping, talk to the Mamo for a little while, and then start taping again. They ended about 5:00 P.M. and had about 25 minutes of recorded material with the Mamo.

The next morning (Thursday) they were all up at 6:00 A.M. Breakfast was a cup of juice and some bread. Indigenous people did not drink coffee.

They videotaped the crops, got some testimonials from some of the Indians, and then packed and were on their way by noon. They had another six-hour walk to get to San Jose de la Sierra, and Julio wanted to get there before dark. So they were cutting it close, but if they walked at a steady pace, they could make it. Any more videotaping of nature would have to be very limited.

■ Stage 3: San Jose de la Sierra

The next day Carla was the first one up. It was 5:30 A.M., and she just could not sleep any longer. She felt very tired. The team had arrived in San Jose at 6:30 P.M. the night before, just before dark. It had been a long walk. They had stopped only to shoot a couple of times and only for a few minutes. The rest of the time it had been uninterrupted walking. She was glad that this was the last day of shooting. Tomorrow, Saturday, they would start their journey back to the city at 9:00 A.M.

After a quick breakfast Julio and Carla met with some of the settlers and began to set up the interviews and the videotaping of the surroundings. They wanted to photograph the settlers cutting down some very large trees. At first, Julio and Carla thought that the settlers would object to the team showing them bringing down the trees. Deforestation was a very sensitive issue.

However, the settlers—colonos, as they called themselves—wanted the issue to come to the light of the public outside of their region. They claimed that they understood the ills of deforestation, but as much as they had discussed this issue with government representatives and environmental advocates, they had not been given any viable alternatives for their subsistence.

By 10:00 A.M. they were taping the testimonials. It took until noon. At 1:00 P.M. they began taping the town and its surrounding. At 3:00 P.M. one of the settlers took them to the area where they were cutting down trees. Julio decided that after a few establishing shots with the camera on the tripod, it was time to tape with a hand-held camera. He wanted to ask questions to the settlers in the field who were sweating and covered with wood chips from cutting the trees. (See Figure 14.11.)

Nicky walked around with the hand-held camera and photographed the tree cutters at work with hatchets and chain saws. Some of them stopped to say a few words to the camera and continued with their activity. Soon it was 4:30 P.M. and all activity ceased. The tree cutters were done for the day, and so were the documentary makers. The next day, the team would head for home.

■ Postproduction

Julio and Carla spent the next week logging the video footage and structuring the final script. They would write the final script after all the logging was done and they had seen all the footage available. The journey to the Sierra had yielded eight videotapes with sixty minutes of material on each. The video footage and audio were mostly good. If they needed something that was not there, Julio could use footage from the network’s video archives.

Ramiro and Vicky would be working with them in postproduction. Ramiro would work on graphics and special effects, and Vicky would do the editing in a nonlinear system. It was all set for next week. Julio thought that the whole postproduction process should take about two weeks. The program was scheduled to be completed just three days before the scheduled broadcast on June 7.

■ June 8

The documentary team met at Julio’s apartment at 6:00 P.M. “Sierra Nevada: Island of Life” had aired the night before, and Julio had received many calls from friends, environmentalists, government officials, academicians, and people in general to commend him on the documentary. It had been a complete success in terms of both content and video making. The regional newspaper had called him. They wanted to do an in-depth interview with him about the Sierra and the documentary. He was happy, and he wanted to share that with his team. Everyone had worked very hard on this project and had contributed to its success. Julio raised his glass filled with champagne and toasted his crew: “Here’s to the Sierra and its people … to the documentary … and to you.”