Studio Production Checklist

Booking the Studio

Before any measures toward creating and taping a show can be taken, one must book a studio. In order to allow enough set up and break down time, the producer or whoever is in charge of booking the studio must allow ample time before and after the taping of a show.
Which studio will be booked? Depending on the type of show:

- Closed Studio is usually used for more intimate settings as well as for musical performance due to its padded walls.
- Open Studio is used for bigger settings, talent shows with a larger number of guests, panels, etc.

• Which studio will you be booking, Open ____ or Closed ____?
• Have you already booked the studio? Yes ____ No ____
• Have you informed your crew as to the time shooting begins? Yes ____ No____
• What time should the crew start setting up for the shoot? ______


Recruiting the Crew

When planning a shoot the producer must consider the crewmembers they will need.
_____ Director – the one who is in charge of the shoot and the one who directs the rest of the crew.
_____ Technical director – the one who operates the video switcher.
_____ Audio Person– the person in charge of the audio and the one who conducts the sound checks.
_____ CG Operator – the person in charge of the titles and the credits. The producer must communicate with the CG and give them the properly spelled names of the talent and crew, preferably before the shoot day.
_____ VTR Operator – the person in charge of the roll-ins during the show as well as making sure that the show is being recorded properly. The Tape Op must make sure that the roll-ins are cued.
_____ Stage Manager – the person in charge of communicating between the talent and the control room. The Stage Manager makes sure that things are running smoothly on camera. They are responsible for cueing the talent.
_____ Camera Operators – the people in charge of the cameras and the shots. The director communicates with the camera people and tells them what kinds of shots they should get during a show.
_____ Phone Operator – the person in charge of answering the phone during a live call- in show.

• Do you have all of the crewmembers that you will need?
• Yes ____ No ____
If no you might want to spare one of your camera operators by leaving Camera 2 locked down, or have one of them play double duty as Camera Operator and Stage Manager.
• Have you informed your crew members as to the time they should show up and start setting up for the show?
• Yes ____ No ____
• Have you informed the Audio person about the number of talent who will need to be mic’d? Yes ____ No____
• Have you given the Audio person the intro and outro music? Yes ____ No____
• Does the CG have all the properly spelled names of the crew and the talent? Yes ____ No ____
• Have you give the Tape Op all of the roll-ins? Yes ____ No____
• Are all the roll-ins cued? Yes ___ No____
• Does the Tape Op know at what time during the show each roll-in will be cut to? Yes ____ No ____
• Is this a live to tape show? Yes ____ No ____
If yes, make sure that you have a tape to record it on as well as a dub S-VHS or regular VHS tape as back up.
• Is this a live show? Yes ____ No ____
If yes, make sure that your CG puts up Live Call-in on the screen as well as the date of the show and the telephone number to the studio.
• Does Master Control know that you will be going live?
• Yes ____ No ____
* Notify your MNN studio facilitator that you will be going live so that they can alert Master Control.

Talent

The producer of the show is in charge of recruiting the talent and making sure they will show up on time. The producer and the director must both be aware of the number of talent expected because this directly affects the lighting scheme, the set, the sound as well as the equipment.

• Does the talent know what time they are supposed to show up for the shoot? Yes ____ No ____
• Do you know the exact number of people you should set up for? Yes ____No ____


Lighting

Lighting is an arduous and time-consuming task, which must be done before any furniture, microphones or talent is present on the set. To save time, and to keep a production running smoothly, the producer must have a lighting scheme in mind before the actual shoot. Your lighting scheme will be affected by the number of people the to light the stage for.
• Have you devised a lighting scheme for your show?
• Yes ____ No ____
• Do you know what colors you want to use? Yes ____ No ____
If no, then you can work together with the MNN facilitator assigned to your show to devise a look for your shoot

The Set

Among the many things the producer is in charge of, the design of the set is one of them. The number of on camera personalities that have to be accommodated will affect the set. The design of the set should pertain to the theme of the show. For example, if a show deals with a dramatic subject, the set should no be too flamboyant.

• Do you know the number of people you should set up for? Yes ____
No ____
• Will you need set pieces? i.e. an anchor table ____, a small rug ____, a
coffee table ____, platforms ____, columns ____, artificial plants _____, etc. ____________________________________________________
• Do you know how you want your set to look like? Yes ____ No ____
If no, think of the theme of the show and use it as a guide. You can utilize all of the props available at MNN to create your set.

Equipment

The equipment that must be checked out depends on the number of crewmembers and talent.

• How many camera people will you have? ______
• Will you have a Stage Manager? Yes _____ No _____
• How many people will you have on screen that will need to be mic’d? _____
• Does your show include any singing performances? Yes _____ No _____
• Does your show include audience participation? Yes _____ No _____