On the Spot

After all of that foolishness last week of being intimidated by the master control room, I ran into a real "situation" this week. On Wednesday, we were scheduled to shoot the Rick Comegy Show. I'm thinking to myself, no big deal. I am helping Leon and Keith get everything together as we wait on Rob Jay to arrive. I was introduced to Coach Comegy, a very nice guy, as we got the set together. When Rob Jay arrived, everything was in place and ready to go. That's when Keith told me to operate camera one. I froze. Was he seriously talking to me? Someone who has never worked with a camera this sophisticated. Yes, it was apparent he was talking to me when I was instructed to put on the headphones and make sure the camera was positioned correctly. Leon then came over to give me a crash course on how to operate the camera. He gave me the basics, and it didn't seem hard. But then again, Leon makes everything seem simple. I took a deep breathe and prepared for the best.
The show started recording, and everything was going fine. I didn't have to do anything but stand by the camera, listen to Keith through the headphones, and make sure I had a good shot on Coach Comegy. And then it happened. Coach Comegy switched positions and kind of leaned forward, messing up my shot. And I heard Keith loud and clear. "Zoom out on Comegy. His shot is too tight." So that's what I did. I took my time and zoomed out carefully. Didn't get yelled at. Guess I did an okay job. Everything was back running smoothly. Then it happened again. Coach Comegy sat back and kind of leaned to the side in his chair. Here was Keith again. "Pan left on Comegy. He's out of his shot." I did as I was told. This time I heard a response. "Great shot on Comegy." I was super relieved. After that, Coach Comegy stayed in place and there wasn't much more I had to do.
After the show was over, Keith came out of the control room and told me that I had done good job. He said that I had done well in getting Coach Comegy back into his shots. I was soo excited. I am now looking forward to other chances when I will get to work with the camera. If everything goes according to schedule, that may be as soon as this weekends' football game. Wish me luck!