Problems before the performance:
Getting cameras. This was a huge problem because when we arrived the Osmo stabilizers we ordered were not in the central media department. At first, we were told that we could not have them as the man in charge was in another department and he was the only one who could give them to us. By the time he had arrived he tried to say that Lewis, our tutor, had not ordered them. As we were aware that this was not the case, he proceeded to explain that they actually did not have any in and that they were on back order. This was very frustrating and we ended up wasting nearly 20 minutes waiting just for cameras. This thankfully did not end up causing problems during the performance apart from some camera movement having slight judders. If I were to need equipment such as this next time, I would make sure to clearly communicate with central media and double check with them to see what their stock is like. I would also think of a back up plan just incase there were any problems.
Covid-19 case. Faith, who is the lead singer for Numero Uno, had been told to self isolate after her brother had received a positive test. This meant that this band was short of a vocalist and therefore could not perform. The other singers on the level 3 course agreed to help by learning her parts and rehearsing with the band when they could. It ended up going really well and despite them being nervous they did it really well. In order to get the best out of a last minute performance like this next time, I will ask for at least one person to know the basics of another band’s song. That way, there is more chance that they will find it easy to perform and not be too worried about it.
The set up:
This time, the set up was much more organised and faster. This is because everyone had an assigned job and therefore we all worked much better as a team. This is the list I created anyone not listed was focused mainly on camerawork and anything they were asked to help with additionally:
Without the mock rehearsal before hand, I believe that this would have gone differently. I know this because I was a lot stricter when assigning roles and ensuring people stuck to their jobs. I spent the week prior to the final performance asking people what they need me to do and work out a schedule and designate areas of work to individuals. In all of 45 minutes exactly, we had all of the instruments, cameras and monitors set up. This included the set up of the desk and iMac used to record. If I am an event manager again, I will make sure to do these things regardless to make sure the whole performance runs smoothly.
During this time, the promotion team were taking interviews from people in the first year to add to either the stream or promotional platforms. This was both a help and hinderance because even though they were able to collect a lot of footage, we had less people to assist in setting up. Next time, I would give them a designated time to do this and then return to help us, which will boost the set up time and mean we have more time to record. Although the promotional material is important, the promotion for the stream should not be better than the stream and if we don’t have enough people working behind the scenes to make it exciting, then the stream will let down everyone who watches it. Another problem with them leaving is the fact that they did not even get all of the material they need. In future I will suggest that they do this in days or weeks before hand in order to get everything they need without causing problems within the performance itself. However, it was understandable that it was difficult to do these things during the current pandemic as classes are very spread out to ensure safety for all students.
I asked Michael to solely focus on setting up the drums because he would be drumming the most. He did a fairly god job up until he was plugging the mics into the snake box. Despite having the ordered list from Tom though (linked below), he still mixed a few up of them which caused some issues during the sound check. Especially considering we had hidden the cables under a cloth covered table to make it look more professional. Thankfully because we set up so quickly we had time to sort these problems, which also included changing a few drum mics that weren’t picking up any signal. This problem however turned out to be a broken cable not a broken microphone. If this is something he does again, I will ask him to double check each cable before tidying them up to make sure they are in the right order. That may mean he has to work with the person behind the sound desk to check that the signals work.
I had also assigned Kabeer to the audio team for just this performance so that we had more people on the backline. This kept him busy and made him easier to control for a while but later on he continuously wandered off into the lighting booth. I had to tell him on multiple occasions to return to his role but he did it straight away when I did ask. Next time, I will put him in a different place so that he does not become distracted and can focus on his job. I should also research different methods of management so that I can find the most effective way to remind him that his job is more important than being social.
Camera work:
Due to a shortage of people to use the cameras, I was helping with the bass and guitar cameras. There were not many issues with this and I think that the footage I got is interesting, panning and zooming on the finger work or to face the guitarist in the background. This will help to make the stream much more interesting and gives a good view of various musicians from various angles. If this is going to be a clear issue in the future, it might be a good idea to ask some of the first years if they wouldn’t mind staying back to help us or enlisting some people from other departments such as media or photography.
Unfortunately, by the time we had gotten to the final set (our band) there were next to no people to do any camera work. This meant that we started our own videos and there is almost no movement in the cameras at all. Thankfully, we were all moving our bodies while performing which is an interesting use of stage presence. This again will require me to ask for help in future situations similar to this one. This happened during the mock though and I should have taken it into consideration when planning out job roles. If I had given enough notice some of the first year students would have been able to assist us with camera work at the very least.
The performance:
A lot of people were struggling with introducing themselves during the performance. One person in particular was Lucy from the band Day Trip. She was scared about it and ended up forgetting her lyrics. In case this was to happen again, I would maybe ask another band member or the entire band to introduce themselves. It is understandable to forget though as I almost did the same, as well as forgetting to introduce the second song. I would say this was due to lack of preparation. In future I will write myself a script and then I will find it easier to do. It is not excusable for them to not think of it at all though as I did ask them on multiple occasions to come up with an introduction during their final rehearsals, their mock and the final performance.
I think that my performance went well. I did not need help with the lyrics and remembered them all. This has been something that I had struggled with throughout this project and am glad I managed it this time. This happened by practicing as often as possible and listening to the songs during my commute to college and back home. I also noticed that I managed to stay in key even after hitting the high notes. As well as this, I did not have any voice cracks as I managed to drink lots of water before hand and did a very basic vocal warm up. This was something that I was worried might happen prior to the performance as the weather is getting much colder which tends to cause me to lose my voice often. I also struggle with keeping in key a lot and that is why it is important for me to practice. Ideally for my next performance I will have some vocal training but for this project I did not as the college were holding interviews for a new vocal teacher at this time. If my next performance is going to be during the winter season, I will remember to wear more scarves and drink a lot to protect my vocal cords from damage and in turn improve my performance.
I felt as though I was less nervous performing in front of multiple cameras than I was in front of an audience. I ensured that I was looking into different lenses so that I had no fixed vision and could get better shots of myself.
The decision to wear black and leather really worked well for us. The band look really put together and I believe that the outfit choices fit well with the setlist we chose. This was also good for us who were working behind the cameras as we were less likely to be caught in certain shots because we blended into the room. However, Michael was not wearing this as he was involved in both bands and although he stood out from us it was not a bad thing due to his drum solos, which brought him more attention. I do worry that he may distract the viewers in other shots but as he did not have any black clothes it was understandable. This setlist was also played in a great order because the high energy and exciting way we ended will look amazing for the end of the stream. I am excited to see how it all looks once put together.