At a concert, the director controls what the audience sees on the I-Mag. At a professional sports event, the director controls the visual story that’s seen on television, or on a stadium’s huge video screen. Here, we’re talking about directing for live events, with multiple cameras, media servers and various other video sources at the director’s fingertips. There are certainly other types of directors, such as the Kubricks and the Coppolas — but that’s a different breed of cat entirely.
Directing for live video is like conducting a symphony, but the musicians are the cameramen, and together, the director and crew orchestrate everything that the audience sees — every cut, dissolve, wide shot and close-up. The number of cameras varies greatly, depending on the type of event. At a concert, for example, the director could control anywhere between three and ten cameras, while at a major football game or golf tournament, there might be 50 or more fixed and mobile cameras.
Switchers and Multiviewers
In the control room, either backstage or in the TV truck, the director sits in front of a video production switcher with rows of buttons for every video source that’s available. The switcher also includes banks of effects that let him create mixed images on screen and recall various presets from the switcher’s memory. In front of the director, there’s a multiviewer with live images of each available video source, plus images for the main Program and Preview feeds. The more sources, the more images on the multiviewer — and the more one’s attention needs to be sharp, yet divided.
For my two cents, the director’s chair is the most creative place to be backstage, and one of the most respected crew positions to attain. So, how do you get there? What chops are needed to sit down in the director’s chair with confidence, put on your headsets, and present the star to the audience in the very best light possible?
Experience and Opportunity
I love the scene near the end of Steve Martin’s L.A. Story, where the electronic freeway message board says “What I really want to do is Direct.” Well, I’m just fine at directing single-camera productions, such as those for sales, marketing and training videos, but when I tried my hand at directing a live multi-camera event a few years ago, it was awful at best.
To find out what it takes, I talked to Rob Darcy, who’s been directing live events for several years, with an impressive concert resume — including Usher’s world tour, the Jennifer Lopez world tour and the Back Street Boys’ Japan tour. Chances are, you’ve probably attended one of his shows and enjoyed his direction on the I-Mag.
A few years ago, I sat with Rob backstage when he directed for Tim McGraw, and recently, I met up with him, just as he finished directing Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz tour. I asked him about his pathway to the director’s chair.
“You need a lot of experience to be a director,” said Darcy. “I worked my way up from sports cameraman, and I was lucky enough to get lots of freelance camera work. Later, I got into music and concerts as a cameraman. When opportunity knocks, you have to be there to answer the door — and when I got offered my first directing tour, everything just took off. I had the experience, the background in the classic elements of television, and a very good idea of what looked right on the I-Mag.”
Split Focus
Not just everyone can fall into that role from running camera, so clearly, something else is needed — in particular, the skill to split your focus and keep your eyes on multiple camera monitors along with the all-important “Program” monitor.
“The first time that I sat down in that chair and directed something live, it felt like I was looking out the window of a freight train,” recalled Darcy, “and out every window was a different scene, just rushing at you. Now, after so many years, I know what to expect, and I’ve got a pattern. I know that when I’m directing, there are certain assignments that I make, and there’s a certain way that I set up the production switcher so that it makes sense — and allows me to find things instinctively and react to events as they happen.”
This brings up a good point in the modern age of cost and crew reductions. More often than not, today’s director switches his own show, requiring an intimate knowledge of video production switcher setup and operation. If the touring company rents switcher X, and you only have experience on switcher Y, you’d better be a quick study.
“You have to know music, you have to know songs, and it definitely helps to watch other videos,” explained Darcy. “I watch everything, from contemporary videos to the brilliant old classics like the Thief of Bagdad, filmed in 1924. It was brilliant in terms of lighting, in terms of framing, and most of the elements are still valid today. You can learn a lot just by watching what other directors are doing.”
Backstage, in addition to the director, the video crew is typically comprised of an engineer that shades the cameras and operates one or more “robo” cameras. Add the “content guy” that runs the media servers, and an LED technician that’s dedicated to keeping an eye on the video wall. Out front, you have the cameramen at both fixed and hand-held positions, and they’re also the ones skilled at building the video wall at each venue. It’s a very cohesive team, with the goal of making the audience feel as if they’re right there in the VIP section.
A Gift
Continuing our discussion, I tried to dig deeper into that “split focus” skill, which seems to be a critical factor in successful directing.
Darcy offered the following. “I think you have to have a touch of ADD, attention deficit disorder,” he said. “It’s perfect for people that have a hard time focusing on one thing. For directing, it’s a gift rather than a disorder — and one way to really use it properly, and one way where it’s definitely an advantage.”
“My advice is to get all the experience you can,” he continued. “Especially in this day and age, learn all you can about media servers, about consoles, about the gear — because the better you can use the tools, the better job you can do. The better you know your resources, that is, the capabilities of your crew and equipment, the better and more effective you’ll be.”
“Networking is also a huge plus, and the better you are at networking, the better your chances are,” he added. “I’ve encountered people in my journeys that have networked their way almost entirely into the positions they have. The more people you network with, sooner or later you’ll find someone that can give you a break, or clearly see that you want it that bad.”
Test Gig
At the time that we talked, Darcy had a “test gig” the next day in Las Vegas, with a little band called Aerosmith. They’re planning a tour this summer, with the goal of reaching out to some fans that don’t normally get to see them — in crazy places like Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Hidalgo, Texas, and Kelowna, British Columbia. It’s a brilliant idea, and hats off to the band for organizing this type of tour on the outskirts.
I heard back from him a few weeks later, saying that the Vegas show went well, and he’ll be directing for Aerosmith this summer. Yes, even directors have to audition.
The bottom line — network, get all the experience you can, and be sure to check out a copy of The Thief of Bagdad.
