Wow, I haven't been around this section of the forum for a while, and I see that I've missed quite a bit in just one posting over the last few months (I guess with my 1st 5 month old, I've got an excuse). So... weather... I was working a motorcycle racing show, and it happened to be one of the hottest days on record for the area. "How Hot Was It!?" So hot, that some races were cancelled because the track was melting. The director kept yelling at the EIC that the truck was freezing, "Where are the penguins?" Camera guys were furious. When he left the truck I reached up and closed the A/C vent that was aimed right at him. I'm sorry I couldn't help the camera guys. Faxing... I was working on a "duel" feed in a HD truck, that rarely feeds out HD, so everything had to be converted (tape machines, fast forward, CG, Fox Box, etc.). Then of course the usual routing of all the cameras, tallies, etc. Well, the FF had HD effects on it, or so I thought. I needed to feed the FF with all the effects, 4x3 converted to 16x9. But we couldn't figure out the correct aspect ratio from the machine feeding it, to the FF output... and tried for a long time to get it right. I was off headset for most of this time, running back & forth to the tape room, the mother truck EIC, the switcher, etc. A camera-op came in the truck asked, "when do you want to fax?" I said, "I don't know, I'm running back & forth trying to get a show on the air, it's all been a big pain in the butt today." Camera-guy says, "well, it hasn't been a pain in the butt for us" looking down at his watch, wondering where his 3 hour lunch had gone. I don't think I took out the trash that day. Button pushers... I've trained them, showed & told them the same thing several times, watched them write it down in their note book, and watch them flounder on air. But the "real" TD's can't be there 24/7, and there aren't enough to go around anymore. Automation... Uhhhggg... how many jobs have I lost because of it. I'm one to have said, & been quoted saying, "You better learn it, cause it's coming whether you like it or not." I trained on it a few days & said, "this is not what I want to do." If I can't find camera 2 by looking down at a row of buttons labeled 1 - 10, with out pointing & clicking my way through a bunch of menus, when the producer is yelling "Go back to the anchors! We have breaking news!" then I don't want to be there. I find it really sad that one of the most important jobs in TV, the one job that NEEDS to be the MOST flexible, is now automated, and the LEAST flexible. 3 out of 5 stations here in market #6 (used to be #5) are now automated, and I can tell how un-flexible they are in any given newscast (a few days ago I watched one of the worst 1/2 hours in TV). I'm not going to go into the creative part, that's been hashed through too many times in this forum. There is no respect for the TD anymore. I'm gonna go watch my 5 month old daughter sleep for a few mins, and wonder if I can get something to automate her feedings... oh, right, she'll learn that herself soon, just hope she learns to cook from scratch, not just a box. --- Dan

Here's some Midwest weather I'm sure a few ppl encountered this weekend... Left the house in darkness and fog at 5am for a 3 hr drive to make the 9am call. Did the show, walked outside the truck at 6pm and it was dark and foggy. Drove home anyway. My 5 yr. old daughter just came downstairs from bed to tell me she missed me today and was glad I was home.

[quote="Bob Ennis"]And all too often I have been visiting a facility & seen a TD written up & diciplined because of an error that the Producer or Director made[/quote] My experience has been that getting in trouble for your boss' mistakes is pretty common no matter what industry you're in.

[quote="jonas"]Weather, I hate it some days... speaking of weather, here is a little clip from sunny san diego. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Im4Dlc168[/quote] Nice video...now if the SONY HDNA commercials would have only used YOUR footage instead of the shot of the Kalypso....... BTW, the point in my comments was to address the fact that while the folks in the trucks DO have to be good on show day (and admittedly on pre-pro days + all the time they spend working up to that level), there is a different type of pressure on those that are on-air for 3 hours per week (twice that if you get a couple of packages) vs. those that are doing local news for 3-4 hours per day, 5 days a week - with management's expectations of a technically perfect show every time. In a year's time, more pairs of eyes will see the sum output of a single local station's news than will see the Super Bowl or Academy Awards (probably combined). In sports, the theory is that the Producer & Director will be barking at you, but with a single overall purpose, and that purpose generally happens once a week. In News, the Producer's job seems to be to first set up the newscast, and then proceed to watch every OTHER station's coverage & constantly juggle their newscast to play catch-up (often at literally the last second). And all too often I have been visiting a facility & seen a TD written up & diciplined because of an error that the Producer or Director made; and with 15-20 hours of "scripted chaos" per week involved, the chances for errors are considerably high. Hey, but if either the Sports or News jobs were easy, everybody would be doing it. I only know of a handful of folks each year who want to take the plunge, and only a handful of THEM actually succeed, let alone the handful of those who succeed who end up rising to the top.

[quote="jonas"]Weather, I hate it some days... speaking of weather, here is a little clip from sunny san diego. .[/quote] Aleast you get one week away from New England weather :) Is there suppose to be black in there for most of it? Can't imagine that is all you had time to shoot. later

[quote="jonas"]Weather, I hate it some days... speaking of weather, here is a little clip from sunny san diego. btw, hi bob. just a quick note about Super Bowl though... i did xli last year and it is really more than being good once. its more about being good for the three years between. plus not just on game day, but during setup technical and production days.[/quote] Wilco. Nice. Chris Bade WTVF Nashville

Weather, I hate it some days... speaking of weather, here is a little clip from sunny san diego. btw, hi bob. just a quick note about Super Bowl though... i did xli last year and it is really more than being good once. its more about being good for the three years between. plus not just on game day, but during setup technical and production days.

Wow... All this talk in the midst of my unemployment due to the writers' strike. I picked the wrong month to quit drinking.

[quote="ai21"]Bob, what are your thoughts.[/quote] While I know that I'll be taking a lot of flak for saying this, and in saying it, in no way do I mean to belittle the work or ability of the people who do these kinds of shows, the reality is that the Super Bowl (as you mention) is really just another football game...the World Series is just another baseball game. Yes there are more cameras & replay machines...this means more organizational skill on the part of the TD & others...but for the rest of the year these same people are doing "regular" shows & events. Are they good? Yes - but for big events they only have to be good once, while those of you who do the "grind" work have to be good every day and over the course of the year more eyes will see your work than will see theirs. With all of the money riding on the commercials (and as I've said before, every program - be it the Super Bowl or your local news - is nothing more than filler in-between the commercials, where the actual money is made), you need thinking people, and it's worth the money to have these people there. But for "C" & "D" games, for repetitive local news, and for a lot of events, the bean-counters who run this business are willing to sacrifice "creativity" for automation with the understanding that for every one time the new system fails, they've already saved more than enough $$$ in salaries & per diem to cover their loses...and as long as a commercial isn't botched, they don't lose a penny (and aren't more & more Master Control rooms [which are the cash registers] going to full automation?). So the managers will often take this risk, often at our detriment. If you are rolling your own tapes or servers, changing your own CG's, or using your Frame Mems in place of an external still store, you are already helping to put others out of work - but you do it because it's "your job". New systems are being designed to do to you what you are already doing to your collegues...it's just moving the "culling process" up the food chain. I've stated before that I find this trend socially irresponsible, but the days of the "creative types" or those who worked their way up the ranks & still had respect for those who produce content running our business are for the most part long gone. And by the way, if you don't think that cameras are being developed with image recognition software that can be programmed to automatically track action on the field, think again. To sum up, I talk about these things & these impending systems because I am one of you...I will be affected as much as you will be. Remember your last switcher demo? Was it directed towards YOU or towards the person who wrote the check? At my previous manufacturer, we demoer's were instructed not to spend a lot of time with the TD's unless they could influence the buying decision. Switcher manufacturers are in business to sell switchers, and an electronics frame without a panel is still a switcher if it can be run via some other interface. If new systems replace some or all of us, we will be supported & missed by the home viewer no more than drivers today miss the UAW worker who no longer assembles our cars in leiu of robots - in other words they won't see a difference. I still contend that as systems designed to consolidate & streamline the production process come on line, I believe that more TD's can better do the job of a Director than a Director can do the job of a TD. As jobs go away, I would hope to see more TD's moving over to the center chair, but unless we can convince those who hire us (and are now apparently "grading" us) that we are every bit as creative as those "above the line" I worry about that ever happening.

Bob, you seem like the seasoned vet in all the forums so let me ask you a question. Dont you think that in theory, the larger the show, the more hands should be on deck? Would you find it feasable to do the Superbowl for instance, with your director calling and watching cameras and dragging and dropping all over the place with some automated system or rather have people come in to do what they do and let the director just simply call the show? Are the companies really into saving a few measly bucks that theyd rather place too much work on one person than to disburse it to other highly qualified individuals? Whats next, replace all the hard cams with robotics and have 3 guys in the truck operating them all. we go through this at work now. we already call and punch our own show. Now we time the show, possibly want us to roll tapes, now they are thinking they want us to next or read the graphics as well. and we also roll commercials. i could see if we had some automated system, but we dont. all this is done with macros and xkeys controllers, and ps2 keyboards and such. what are your thoughts.

[quote="Bob Ennis"]but I would suggest that rather than distain or ignore the new stuff, you NEVER pass up an opportunity to learn something new, as it may well be part of your future job...and never stop letting the powers-that-be know how much a part of the creative process you still are: it's when you become viewed by the people who hire you as nothing more than a "button-pusher" that they start thinking how easily you might be replaced.[/quote] I totally agree. I put this on my desk. Thanks.

[quote="Mike Cumbo"]How many directors that you know will want to do this? Yes, some companies will try to "convince" current directors to make the change, others will find a reason to replace an existing director with a willing rookie who has no proven skill delivering content.[/quote] If you look at the Local Station level where Ignite & Overdrive are coming on strong, the directors need little convincing to take on everybody else's job..."You'll do it or we'll find someone else who will". In the newsrooms, Producers learned long ago that it's not a big step to go from telling an editor to "trim in 3 frames" to doing it themselves...hence the birth of the "preditor". Most all of us take for granted the fact that when a new piece of equipment comes out we will try & learn it - that's how we keep our jobs. Directors are no different...if they are told that they have to cut their own show (as happens at many, many lower-market News stations) to keep their jobs, I'm guessing that they will learn how to do it, even at the Sports level - especially if the interface is fairly painless, which is Evolution's strongest selling point. As ai21 pointed out, most of us (especially those on this forum) have a passion for our jobs. I've put in over 30 years into my career, and while during that time I have run into more than my share of "friends" and "associates" who are all to happy to stab you in the back (which accounts for a lot of my often-flamed cynicysm), I still have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing people in both the Production side as well as the Manufacturing side - I wouldn't change a thing. But in working with manufacturers, I have also seen a glimpse of what they view as the future. Computers are taking over the content-creation side of the business, and with that means the demise or diminishment of repetitive jobs. It doesn't matter whether you're doing news, sports, or awards shows - our job consists of repetive functions; the people who pay for content creation want to cut costs whenever possible and they see systems like Ignite or Evolution as a means to that end. The look of most shows is no longer determined by wipe patterns or switcher-created effects...it is created by rendered graphics. Thus, anyone who understands the principles of how to set up a fill-and-key (or fill-key-key) can theoretically do anything from an over-the-shoulder box to title graphics on any of the "big" live shows...they now all work basically the same, and the "look" is created at a graphics house that can do 3-D, ray-tracing, and other rendered effects that producers and directors want nowadays...we just play them back & integrate them with live video. I'm sure that manufacturers are probably working towards Digital Image Compositing Devices that will allow us to manipulate some aspects of pre-rendered graphics, but even that won't put us back into the "graphic creation" business - we'll still be manipulating stuff that somebody else created (and if the Graphics Producers have any say in it, we won't even be able to do that). All that I'm trying to propose here is that our role as part of the content creation process is changing (and not necessarily for the better), and while some here may disagree with this assesment, there is no denying that some manufacturers who will tell you to your face or make a posting here stating "we have always listened to the TD and always will" are the same people who are actively creating products to put us out of work - as soon as the need for the human interface (in our case, the switcher panel) can be replaced, your input will be as welcome to them as an hour of overtime is to your producer. Yes, there will still be TD jobs in one form or another out there for a long time to come - but I would suggest that rather than distain or ignore the new stuff, you NEVER pass up an opportunity to learn something new, as it may well be part of your future job...and never stop letting the powers-that-be know how much a part of the creative process you still are: it's when you become viewed by the people who hire you as nothing more than a "button-pusher" that they start thinking how easily you might be replaced.

[quote="Bob Ennis"]...I have found that there is pretty much one paradigm at virtually all of the stations & facilities: they have one "alpha TD" (maybe two) and a bunch of button pushers.[/quote] I once worked with a production manager who was always messing with the switcher in his free time, making all sorts of interesting. We had a GVG-200 and that guy would have these elaborate demos that would play back from the timeline. I think in a way he was challenging his staff to try things. I've tried to do the same where I'm at now, modulating a bunch of wipes to make PacMan and other things. Sadly, not many take an interest. I just think switchers are cool. They were the first compositing devices I used before I moved into Adobe After Effects and such. Most of the production types just do their jobs and never venture past the basics. We've just installed a 4 M/E Kahuna, and there's a little more interest now. There was a perception by many that the old Ampex was not worth learning, although I tried to tell them otherwise. I don't know what the answer is. How can you inspire without making people feel like they can't do what you are doing?

How many directors that you know will want to do this? Yes, some companies will try to "convince" current directors to make the change, others will find a reason to replace an existing director with a willing rookie who has no proven skill delivering content. Does the AD also build the end of period bump to breaks as they roll replays? What about the sponsored tele replay each quarter/period? I don't see saving truck rental fees, since you will need a vehicle to carry the gear and provide the work space for the A1 and CG ops as well as any other humans left. Maybe you can reduce the truck from 53' to 35' feet but you still need a driver and EIC.

It erks me mostly because since I was in school being a TD is what Ive always wanted to do. So to me, this represents a dream job, dream position, a thing of passion and Im seeing it being disrespected. I feel like the mood is, "we can push these buttons and get the show we do on air, therefore we are great at what we do." that makes me feel like they think anyone can do this job. we all know, that IS true to a degree. yes, anyone can push these buttons. But what happens when there is a new effect that the producers want to do, or the show changes up or gets larger. they still dont know how to use the aux keys, no clue. thats why WE the "tds" try to learn as much as we can, so we can do the job. thats the difference between "we the tds" and the "buttonpushers". anyone feel like i do about the position of Td v buttonpushers or the passion of being a td?

That looks like the correct company. What's odd is the fact that all the web pages have a copyright of 2005 and the last new release was dated August 2006. If they are still doing business it is very low key. Can someone in Australia try calling them to see if anyone answers? -= Ken =-

[quote="sahonen"]I haven't heard about the Evolution system, what is it, exactly?[/quote] The Evolution Nexxus system promises to do for sports what Ignite & Overdrive do for news. The philosophy is this: The Director sits in front of one or more Touchscreen LCD monitors...he maps them out to take the place of a monitor wall. To cut to a source, the Director just touches the source's box on the LCD. To transition from one source to another, the Director just drags their finger from one source to another. To add CG's, they touch the CG box on the screen. To do a replay, they touch a box called "replay" - the replay move fires off & the system undercuts to the second part of the system, where the tape AD is controlling up to 8 channels of Profile/EVS. The Tape AD has a dedicated M/E, so he/she can do transitions to various replays. I didn't look closely enough at the replay part of the system, but from what I saw it was clear that the one AD could easily control the 8 channels of Profile, and the demo showed some nice matching between machines, plus the ability to font the replays, all from the single tape AD position. The theory is that Evolution can get rid of the TD, the switcher panel, the Tape guys, and the OB Remote Van with its huge monitor walls. It's kind of the next step in a Flight Pack. Now, it doesn't get rid of the Camera folks, the Audio Mixer or A2's, the CG operator, or most of the other people required to do a sporting event - so at most you're going to save maybe $2500 a day in labor costs (lots more than that with truck rentals). I find it strange that they focus on removing the TD (just like Ignite does with news). Now there's no way that the Nexxus is going to go a Monday Night Football, a World Series, or any network A or B game. But for the C & D games, for stuff like Motocross, Billiards, World Poker Tournaments and the like, it's got very definate possibilities. And by the way, SONY Australia is part of SONY. I would guess that they are partnering over there in Australia because that is where the Evolution System was designed and is mainly where it's being used today. I believe that it's only a matter of time before others over here in the US see its potential. When I was working on a certain manufacturer's next big switcher, I had suggested incorporating the Evolution as an optional work environment on the panel. It's actually a very nice interface, and I saw no reason why the TD couldn't benefit from doing Touchscreen Switching - as opposed to the theory that we get rid of the TD. That manufacturer balked on the idea (a bad choice in my opinion), and from the last posting it looks like SONY is picking up the ball.

I believe this is the website: One of the news articles from this website talks about a deal with Sony Australia. Here's a quote... Evolution Broadcast Announces Agreement with Sony Australia and Global Television Sydney based Evolution Broadcast announced today that it has embarked on a technology development agreement with Sony Australia and Global Television to further enhance Evolution?s Nexus technology. The year long agreement allows for Evolution?s Nexus production system to be tailored to specific program genres and to integrate Sony?s range of market-leading broadcast products. The Nexus is a software-driven control system for television production that allows users to achieve significant reductions in production costs through the use of multi-skilled operators and revolutionary user interfaces. For some time, customers have been asking Evolution for a Nexus that integrates with Sony products, and this new relationship will allow Evolution to extend the technology base to include Sony vision mixers and other professional broadcast solutions. Is Sony joining the automation game, or is Sony Australia something else?? -Kevin

[quote="sahonen"][quote="Bob Ennis"]which is why the Evolution system is starting to draw some interest from some facilities & Producers.[/quote] I haven't heard about the Evolution system, what is it, exactly?[/quote] If I remember correctly, Evolution was an Australian company that put a touch-screen interface on the Diamond Digital switcher mainframes. It was made for very simple control of the switcher and there was no need for a control panel. I think most of the more elaborate effects were done through the use of macros which could have specific buttons on the touch-screen. I could have sworn I also saw it working with a Kayak. However, I think they went out of business last year. I can't find them anywhere on the web now. Cheers, -= Ken =-

[quote="Bob Ennis"]which is why the Evolution system is starting to draw some interest from some facilities & Producers.[/quote] I haven't heard about the Evolution system, what is it, exactly?

[quote="sahonen"]I simply can't fathom how anyone can stand to use a piece of technology by memorizing what buttons to push without having at least some idea of the underlying logic behind what they're actually doing.[/quote] In travelling around the country teaching, I have found that there is pretty much one paradigm at virtually all of the stations & facilities: they have one "alpha TD" (maybe two) and a bunch of button pushers. The alpha TD typically knows more about the switcher, takes the time to learn all of the new equipment, and is typically the "most creative" of the bunch. It's the alpha TD that the news department looks to to build the look for all of the newscasts & local shows - they think that he/she "walks on water" or "is the best TD ever", and so they always go to this person. Everyone else who isn't top dog is viewed by management as little more than "video typists" whose sole job is to play back the effects created by the "wonder child". Because most stations have one specific look that they want across all broadcasts (much like FOX Sports does) and often only the alpha TD has any say-so in this creative process, these other TD's have little encouragement to try and advance their knowledge beyond playing back what somebody else already built. While I don't agree with the idea of just settling for being a playback atrist, I do completly undertsand how many people get beat down into being mediocre. This mentality of "we just need someone to create the look & then anybody can play it back" is also (in my opinion) the reason that devices such as Ignite and Overdrive are quickly becoming the norm for many local stations. And if you're a Sports TD who gets their effects from a playbook built by somebody else, or if the Director/Producer walks in & hands you the effects disk, then that's pretty much the equivalent of being one of the other TD's at a local station. Being able to be creative & build great effects does you little good if the show won't let you use them "because it would deviate from 'our look'". And look at how many local pick-up TD's are making a good living doing some of the C & D games - they may not know how to build the effects...they have just enough knowledge to know how to adapt them (often with the EIC's help) for today's game. I agree with you that the ideal would be to learn all of the in's-and-out's of the equipment - that's what makes us better. But the reality is that a majority of the work out there isn't willing to pay the higher price for those kind of people, and there's more than enough people to fill the need for the "competent but less creative" positions out there. Not everyone is a Steve Laxton or Mark Herklotz, and most places won't want to pay their kind of rates when they can have a higher-caliber TD build the effects once & have someone else play them back for the rest of the season...which is why the Evolution system is starting to draw some interest from some facilities & Producers.

[quote="scottgfx"]"No, we can only chroma-key green!" and also "We can only chroma-key on camera 2!" Those were the registers programmed in the board's memory, nothing else could be done![/quote] I can't wait to see what happens when the board loses its memory.

[quote="sahonen"]I simply can't fathom how anyone can stand to use a piece of technology by memorizing what buttons to push without having at least some idea of the underlying logic behind what they're actually doing.[/quote] In my station there was this director that had worked there close to 10 years. She was completely inflexible as to how the shows were done, wouldn't bend at all on how things should look (it's not format!) and never bothered to learn the even then, vintage Ampex AVC Century. One issue came up with someone wanting to chroma-key off of something other than our regular green wall; "No, we can only chroma-key green!" and also "We can only chroma-key on camera 2!" Those were the registers programmed in the board's memory, nothing else could be done! Another issue was with a graphic I had made with a key-signal. When she turned on the ISO-Key for the still-store, she saw that the key was backwards. She ran into my room; "You made the graphic wrong! You need to fix it!". I just walked over to the control room and walked up to the board and hit the "Invert" button on the keyer. Nothing else was said. :)

[quote="ai21"]not only are they button pushers, but they arent even spending their spare time trying to be more than "button pushers".[/quote] I simply can't fathom how anyone can stand to use a piece of technology by memorizing what buttons to push without having at least some idea of the underlying logic behind what they're actually doing. I have too much of a hacker personality to really be content with just knowing the controls without knowing why the controls work the way they do. I can see just learning the buttons just to be able to do the job, but simply being content with that? No way.

[quote="Matt Saplin"]I had a similar experience at a station I used to work at. I was having a rather 'lively' discussion with my boss about the person he'd selected to fill a Director/TD position for a weekend morning show. I was noting how young this person was, and how little experience they had. My boss told me "I don't need a TD for that show, I need a button-pusher -- somebody who can learn what buttons to push, not how the switcher works". Nice, huh? Get a Kalypso with every option under the sun, and then get somebody like that to "run" it? :-)[/quote] Man, I know how you feel. I absolutely know how you feel. I the only one here that can do more than "get a show on the air". And it erks the hell out of me, Im looking for jobs to get out of here as it is because not only are they button pushers, but they arent even spending their spare time trying to be more than "button pushers". I think I can sum it up like this....Oscar Meyer has a way thats M-E-D-I-O-C-R-E. Doesnt rhyme but it fits. I cant stand to see the position of TD being mishandled.

[quote="Matt Saplin"][quote="Bob Ennis"]A friend of mine at my former employer used to sum up the job of TD'ing by saying "when a director says 'Take', think 'Push'...'Take 3" means 'Push the 3 button'. I think that this philosophy pretty much sums up the programming required for station automation.[/quote] I had a similar experience at a station I used to work at. I was having a rather 'lively' discussion with my boss about the person he'd selected to fill a Director/TD position for a weekend morning show. I was noting how young this person was, and how little experience they had. My boss told me "I don't need a TD for that show, I need a button-pusher -- somebody who can learn what buttons to push, not how the switcher works". Nice, huh? Get a Kalypso with every option under the sun, and then get somebody like that to "run" it? :-)[/quote] Man, I know how you feel. I absolutely know how you feel. I the only one here that can do more than "get a show on the air". And it erks the hell out of me, Im looking for jobs to get out of here as it is because not only are they button pushers, but they arent even spending their spare time trying to be more than "button pushers". I think I can sum it up like this....Oscar Meyer has a way thats M-E-D-I-O-C-R-E. Doesnt rhyme but it fits. I cant stand to see the position of TD being mishandled.

[quote="EIC-Jeff"]PS-Rick, are you TDing the Rose Parade again this year?[/quote] Hi Jeff: How are you? No I can't do the Rose Parade this year because a NFL conflict. Long story, I tried to come in later and do it, but Barry wouldn't let me although it was ok with Production. Barry was being difficult although I really tried to work it out. Sorry I can't be with you, but I have already been promised I'll be on board again for next year! I'm headed to LA this week. Keep in touch... I enjoying the reading! Very entertaining..... Happy Thanksgiving. Cheers, Rick.

[quote="scottgfx"][quote="EricG"]I always tell em we can fax the minute they're all ready.[/quote] Please excuse my ignorance. The only time I ever worked a sports remote, I was 16 and it was more than 20 years ago. It was a golf tournament for ESPN in Fort Myers. I learned a lot of things like, how to test TRIAX cable and the proper way to run a shotgun mic, but I never heard the term "Faxing". Please enlighten me. :) Hell, I even took out the trash![/quote] Scott, "fax" is short for "facilities check." Making sure it all works, in other words and avoiding what EIC Jeff is talking about in the post above this one. Among the things that should be faxed: camera intercoms/tallys/controls, monitor wall feeds/tallys, IFB, microphones, intercom to all positions. That's not a comprehensive list, but you get the idea. Several years ago, I was working for OLN. I thought I had everything faxed out and ready to go. The EIC was a nice guy who had been more than helpful as we got rolling (I let him know I didn't freelance all that often). We get into the show and the director says "take 2." I say, "you're on 2." "What? Oh, take 3. Hey, why don't the tallys on the monitor wall work?!?" I looked behind me to see my friendly EIC burning a hole in my back with his glare. Honestly, I had never before worked in a truck that had monitor wall tally. Guess what, though? I never forget to check the monitor wall now! Another lesson I had to learn...you have to check the monitor wall for both the EVS ins AND outs. Sean

[quote="Rick Tugman"][quote="EricG"]Sometimes that gets the camera guys a 2 or 3 hour lunch, which is great. Why make them wait around and waste their time? Let's face it, if the cameras are up and in the right places in the monitor wall, we can usually fax within 10 minutes of sitting down at the switcher. Of course, this approach makes me feel much better about leaving the minute the show's over, if I have to be somewhere.[/quote] The two or three hour lunch is great for them... that was my point. It's not about them waiting or wasting "their" time, but making sure every is done, monitors feeds, telestrator, drops, backfocus etc. But I like your approach about leaving the minute the the show's over![/quote] Last week we have a set day; the expectation would be that everything is faxed before we leave on Friday night. So how come on Saturday morning I have one camera that can't hear, one camera that can't talk, another camera that can't zoom, etc? I don't care if a cameraman has a three hour lunch, but I DO care when I have to run my ass off Saturday fixing things that should have been taken care of Friday. Oh, and while they all had a long lunch on Friday, I got to finish doing all my work and skipped getting out for lunch! While I tend to focus my displeasure at the cameradweebs, isn't it really the TD who dropped the ball on the set day? Do I really need to be eavesdropping on the PL and then second guess the TD that everything is indeed faxed? I like the idea of leaving the minute the show's over; maybe I should try that some day! -EICJeff PS-Rick, are you TDing the Rose Parade again this year?

I usually end up in the rain / snow / cold / heat all the time. With the small truck we sometimes use I am also the EIC. A while back I was told I didn't need to "hang out" for strike, but ended up sticking around and playing with an effect I had trouble with during the show. I don't recall to many dirty looks till I had to come back to the truck area after leaving to go to the bathroom.

A lot of times if I don't help with strike (speaking as a TD) I get a lot of dirty looks. However if I had a hard build or a longer than normal build that doesn't bother me. I strike the production area the best I can, I'll help coil some cables, put some boxes away, but I try to make it a rule not to do power cables. My favorite is when they don't like the out time you give. What's up with that???

[quote="EricG"]I always tell em we can fax the minute they're all ready.[/quote] Please excuse my ignorance. The only time I ever worked a sports remote, I was 16 and it was more than 20 years ago. It was a golf tournament for ESPN in Fort Myers. I learned a lot of things like, how to test TRIAX cable and the proper way to run a shotgun mic, but I never heard the term "Faxing". Please enlighten me. :) Hell, I even took out the trash!

[quote="Rick Tugman"]But I like your approach about leaving the minute the the show's over![/quote] I sometimes like to let my Director do the Fade to Black so that I can get a jump on traffic :)

[quote="EricG"]Sometimes that gets the camera guys a 2 or 3 hour lunch, which is great. Why make them wait around and waste their time? Let's face it, if the cameras are up and in the right places in the monitor wall, we can usually fax within 10 minutes of sitting down at the switcher. Of course, this approach makes me feel much better about leaving the minute the show's over, if I have to be somewhere.[/quote] The two or three hour lunch is great for them... that was my point. It's not about them waiting or wasting "their" time, but making sure every is done, monitors feeds, telestrator, drops, backfocus etc. But I like your approach about leaving the minute the the show's over!

[quote="Rick Tugman"]If I can add my 2 cents to an above comment .... I sometimes get a little hot under the collar when camera guys ask "when are we faxing?"[/quote] I always tell em we can fax the minute they're all ready. Sometimes that gets the camera guys a 2 or 3 hour lunch, which is great. Why make them wait around and waste their time? Let's face it, if the cameras are up and in the right places in the monitor wall, we can usually fax within 10 minutes of sitting down at the switcher. Of course, this approach makes me feel much better about leaving the minute the show's over, if I have to be somewhere.

[quote="Bob Ennis"]A friend of mine at my former employer used to sum up the job of TD'ing by saying "when a director says 'Take', think 'Push'...'Take 3" means 'Push the 3 button'. I think that this philosophy pretty much sums up the programming required for station automation.[/quote] I had a similar experience at a station I used to work at. I was having a rather 'lively' discussion with my boss about the person he'd selected to fill a Director/TD position for a weekend morning show. I was noting how young this person was, and how little experience they had. My boss told me "I don't need a TD for that show, I need a button-pusher -- somebody who can learn what buttons to push, not how the switcher works". Nice, huh? Get a Kalypso with every option under the sun, and then get somebody like that to "run" it? :-)

[quote="TJPerkins"]but one time I was explaining TD'ing to some average joe, and all he got out of it was "You push buttons?" Then later: "Got any openings at that station of yours? Hell I could push buttons!"[/quote] A friend of mine at my former employer used to sum up the job of TD'ing by saying "when a director says 'Take', think 'Push'...'Take 3" means 'Push the 3 button'. I think that this philosophy pretty much sums up the programming required for station automation.

[quote="Bob Ennis"]As one cameraman told me; "All I ever see the TD's doing is empty the trash out of the truck at the end of the game...I want to get paid for that".[/quote] I have no cameraman story (I'm sure a few of them lurk here, so we'll just leave it at that), but one time I was explaining TD'ing to some average joe, and all he got out of it was "You push buttons?" Then later: "Got any openings at that station of yours? Hell I could push buttons!"

Cristal clear, that's my checklist, too. There is always a cameraman or two missing when you do this.

"faxing"- facilities check. Checking camera intercom, tallies, various camera drops (locations), program audio to the cameras and any monitors or the telestrator. Some handheld cameras may have several "drops" or locations where the plug into different cables. Example, game position, studio, team locker room. One camera and operator moves between those places when told by the director.

[quote="Rick Tugman"]If I can add my 2 cents to an above comment .... I sometimes get a little hot under the collar when camera guys ask "when are we faxing?"[/quote] I live in Europe and I'm rather distant from US working procedures (there is no TD, usually). But camera guys are annoying here as everywhere. I don't understand, however, what do you mean with "faxing". Could you spend a couple of minutes making it clearer to me? Thanks!

If I can add my 2 cents to an above comment .... I sometimes get a little hot under the collar when camera guys ask "when are we faxing?" That drives me nuts because I'm not really the one in charge of that. We work together as a team and there are plenty of other people who are involved in the remote woh need to be involved with a facilities check so I usually leave that up to the V-1 because they have feeds they have to get straight long before I can decide to fax. Additionally, EIC's have their responsibilities and they are usually putting out other fires so I usually wait till they have their eggs in one basket to begin a fax. What some don't seem to realize is the TD has much more on their plate these days than just building a camera and plugging it in so they can have a 3 hour lunch and sit around till their required to be on camera. As for Bill's comment about "getting out of the way".... I usually do somewhat the same except I always load in switcher defaults, clean up and I do take out the garbage out . The point is, I didn't take out equipment so I don't know where it goes and there are utility people who are supposed to be there for that!

I never empty the trash, I just tear my switcher and wall labels off really slow. Then I move some chairs around and maybe coil some headsets. Then I get out of the way :)

Oh man, I guess I need to stop snooping on this forum. Bob Ennis just equated me with a CAMERAMAN!! AGGGhhhhhhhhh......

Bob, a while back one of our camera ops came into the truck and said "I want to see what you actually do" to me. I was building sometimes and editing the durations. After maybe three minutes he just said "that's TOO much math..." and left the truck. At Oriole Park, the camera ops actually have it better then the truck folks, the trucks are parked underground and the temps easily go 20+ degrees over what it is outside the stadium. We have had some A/C units fail there and the A2 and camera ops are loving life while we die.

Mike - I can't even count the number of people that have passed through my training classes who were cameramen or other engineers that decided to become TD's because they were tired of working outside in bad weather or were fed up with hauling their equipment up stadium steps and wanted an "inside job". As one cameraman told me; "All I ever see the TD's doing is empty the trash out of the truck at the end of the game...I want to get paid for that". On the bright side, at least we get to be inside a truck during bad weather instead of on the sidelines during a snowstorm. By the way, that same cameraman (and this is a true story) asked me on the 3rd day of a 5-day class (when we were getting into more advanced concepts like Frame Memories and Internal DVE's) "What is that red row of buttons for?", and later asked "If the TD is so busy switching the show, who is sending feeds to and operating that thing (pointing to a DVE)?" I think that this guy is still running camera somewhere. And hauling his camera up stadium steps. In the snow.

We in MN are savoring the Metrodome while it lasts. Everyone talks about how it's such a shame that we have to see games indoors when the weather is beautiful, but at least we don't have to put up with it when the weather sucks. At least the fans can leave if they're getting dumped on/baked. The Twins and Gopher football are in the process of building open air stadiums as we speak, and Vikings are looking for a place to build a retractable roof. I think fans are going to change their minds when they realize what "open air" truly means after having been in the dome for decades, but by then it will be too late. On the other hand, the local minor league team plays in an open stadium and they pull huge crowds even with the Twins in town, so I dunno...