Since the advent of video tape, first demonstrated on the BBC by Richard Dimbleby in 1958, truly ‘live’ TV has emerged as a genre rather than a necessity.
It has its own conventions and offers a particular sort of viewing experience which trades on its inherent ‘immediacy’.
Live On Location:
Technological advances in satellite technology have led to the advent of outside broadcasts (aka OB’s) such as:
-SPORTING EVENTS e.g. Olympics
-NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATIONS e.g. Royal wedding
-Ceremonial occasions e.g. Coronations or other investitures
-SPORTING EVENTS e.g. Olympics
-NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATIONS e.g. Royal wedding
-Ceremonial occasions e.g. Coronations or other investitures
Case Study: Live Aid
-3 July 1985 – Bob Geldof organised Live Aid
-Huge event staged simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
-BBC gave the schedules over to the event - unprecedented.
-16 hours of rock music.
-The event was also broadcast live in the UK on television and radio.
Also broadcasts from Australia (featuring INXS), Austria and, thanks to satellite technology, theSoviet Union.
The first time anyone in the West had ever seen an uncensored, live broadcast from the USSR.
-The Broadcasts were plagued by technical problems
-Satellite breakdowns and feedback noise. žBut it was groundbreaking –Phil Collins famously flew on Concorde so that he could play at both Wembley and Philadelphia on the same day), and so no-one had any expectations.
-It became the lead story around the world.
Other live content includes:
-ONE OFF SPECIALS e.g. Telethons or concerts ¡ Reality TV output e.g. Big Brother
-News programmes
-Magazine programmes
-Disasters are often a prompt for ‘round the clock’ live coverage - DISASTERS e.g. 9/11
-The advent of domestic handheld video cameras and phones has increased the amount of on the scene material available.
-During the 9/11 terrorist attacks a stream of on the scene material shot by people on the ground painted an intimate and personal POV of events.
-This material is readily available and often utilised by broadcasters.
Live And New Media:
-Programme makers increasingly appeal and cater for viewer/user created content.
-Huge event staged simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
-BBC gave the schedules over to the event - unprecedented.
-16 hours of rock music.
-The event was also broadcast live in the UK on television and radio.
Also broadcasts from Australia (featuring INXS), Austria and, thanks to satellite technology, theSoviet Union.
The first time anyone in the West had ever seen an uncensored, live broadcast from the USSR.
-The Broadcasts were plagued by technical problems
-Satellite breakdowns and feedback noise. žBut it was groundbreaking –Phil Collins famously flew on Concorde so that he could play at both Wembley and Philadelphia on the same day), and so no-one had any expectations.
-It became the lead story around the world.
Other live content includes:
-ONE OFF SPECIALS e.g. Telethons or concerts ¡ Reality TV output e.g. Big Brother
-News programmes
-Magazine programmes
-Disasters are often a prompt for ‘round the clock’ live coverage - DISASTERS e.g. 9/11
-The advent of domestic handheld video cameras and phones has increased the amount of on the scene material available.
-During the 9/11 terrorist attacks a stream of on the scene material shot by people on the ground painted an intimate and personal POV of events.
-This material is readily available and often utilised by broadcasters.
Live And New Media:
-Programme makers increasingly appeal and cater for viewer/user created content.
ž-What began as an additional source of content has now evolved into a major source of programme content.
-žBroadcasters now collaborate with their audience
-Eg Facebook Live – offering new opportunities for live broadcasts online.
Live- An Opportunity to Increase Audiences, Promotion & Re-Invent Formats:
-Whatever the platform, live broadcasts represent a unique opportunity to engage audiences and to promote content.
-It becomes a ‘gimmick’ to be exploited and the added tension of ‘what might go wrong’ can draw audiences in – increasingly being used to market brands.
-Traditional broadcasters using lives continue to garner massive audiences
-Special editions of Eastenders, e.g. 2010 marking its 25th anniversary, gained an audience of 16.6m
-Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary live special in 2010 was watched by 14m.
-žBroadcasters now collaborate with their audience
-Eg Facebook Live – offering new opportunities for live broadcasts online.
Live- An Opportunity to Increase Audiences, Promotion & Re-Invent Formats:
-Whatever the platform, live broadcasts represent a unique opportunity to engage audiences and to promote content.
-It becomes a ‘gimmick’ to be exploited and the added tension of ‘what might go wrong’ can draw audiences in – increasingly being used to market brands.
-Traditional broadcasters using lives continue to garner massive audiences
-Special editions of Eastenders, e.g. 2010 marking its 25th anniversary, gained an audience of 16.6m
-Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary live special in 2010 was watched by 14m.
How Live is 'Live'
-It is important to realise that much of what we perceive as 'live' content is not exclusively so and actually relies heavily on pre-prepared VT inserts.
-E.g. News or magazine programmes using pre-shot material.
-WHY?
-Because it expands the possibilities of content and allows producers to vary locations.
The Trouble With Live:
-Totally live programmes are fraught with challenges, not least of all planning at potential technical problems.
-Lives rely upon meticulous planning-
-Scripting
-Timing
-Casting
-Safety
-Cabling
-Running Order Planning
-Legal wrangling
-OB lives even more so as there is the potential for infamous loss of the satellite link.
-Strategies are generally evolved to cope with theses potential pitfall.
These include:
-Studio based content- handling back to the studio in times of trouble
-VT- pre-shot material to be moved up and down the running oder as necessary.
Back-up material/ stand by VT.
Anything That Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong!
-However the very possibility of mistakes live on air adds vitality and tension to programme formats.
-The studio team and audience are perceptibly charged by the very notion of being live and this feeling is translated to the audience at home.
-Some truly classic moments of TV have happened live.
-However well prepared problems are always possible- you have to work to minimise the [potential problems but sometimes things happen beyond your control.
No comments:
Post a Comment