Notes from the studio floor and the gallery
Short, practical write-ups on camera work, lighting, sound and the workflows that keep live television news and talk shows running to plan.
Each article looks at one part of running a studio, from cable routing and talkback to cue sheets and framing. Read them in any order; they are written for producers and crews planning or improving a live set.
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Setting Up Microphones and Talkback for a Clean Live Broadcast
A practical guide to placing microphones, laying out the mixing desk and routing talkback so a live studio sounds clear and the crew can hear each other.
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Studio Lighting Design: A Checklist to Work Through Before You Decide
Before commissioning a lighting plot for a news or live set, these are the questions worth answering first: the set, the presenters, the cameras and the length of your programmes.
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Rundown and Cue Sheet Mistakes That Derail Live Shows
Most live show problems start on paper, not in the gallery. Here are the planning mistakes we see most often in rundowns, cue sheets and crew roles, and how to avoid each.
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What Studio Equipment Setup Costs and What Moves the Price
A plain look at how a studio equipment setup is priced, which choices raise or lower the figure, and what to settle before asking for a quotation.
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A regional news desk and the first week with a new camera operator
Helen Marsh tells the story of Callum, a news producer who asked for a camera operator for his evening bulletin, and what changed in framing, pacing and calm on the floor.
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Talkback and Mixing Desk Habits to Settle Before Winter Schedules
Longer evenings bring heavier live schedules. Helen Marsh explains how to tidy mixing desk layouts and talkback routing in these weeks so crews hear each other clearly.
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Key Light, Fill and Backlight: The Three-Point Rule Explained for News Sets
Three-point lighting is the oldest rule in studio work. Here is what key, fill and backlight each do for a presenter, and why the balance between them matters over a long live programme.
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Printed Rundown or Shared Digital Rundown for a Live Bulletin
Two ways to carry a live show plan through a bulletin, a printed rundown with cue sheets or a shared digital one, compared by a sound supervisor, with a clear recommendation.
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Behind the Rack: How We Install a News Studio, Step by Step
A walk through a real installation week: how we survey the room, run the cabling, mount the cameras and check the monitoring before the first rehearsal.
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What Camera Operators Do Between the Rehearsal and the Red Light
The question we hear most is what a camera operator actually does during a live bulletin. Helen Marsh answers it from the studio floor: framing, moves, talkback and the small habits that keep a shot
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Talkback routing and mic checks: how we now set up live audio
Tom Ellery explains the audio workflow we use for live bulletins and shows: where microphones go, how the mixing desk is laid out, and how talkback keeps the crew in step.
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The Tools We Use to Build a Lighting Plot for a Live News Set
Part three of our lighting series looks at the instruments, meters and drawing methods behind a plot that keeps presenters looking consistent from the first bulletin to the last live hour.
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Building a Cue Sheet Your Crew Can Follow Without Asking
A practical walk through writing a cue sheet for a live programme: what goes in each column, who reads it, and how to test it before the studio doors open.
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A checklist to work through before you commit to a studio equipment setup
Before signing off a studio build, run through these questions on cameras, mounts, cabling, monitoring and access, so the room is ready to broadcast without surprises later.
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Camera Operation Mistakes on Live Bulletins and How to Avoid Them
A sound supervisor's view from the gallery of the camera habits that most often cause trouble in live news and talk shows, and the simple routines that prevent them.
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What Sound and Audio Workflow Costs and What Moves the Price
A plain look at how audio work for live broadcasts is priced, which parts of a studio sound set-up drive the figure up or down, and what to settle before asking for a quotation.
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A Sunday evening bulletin and the lighting that stopped drifting
Helen Marsh tells the story of Callum, a regional news producer whose presenters looked different by the end of every long live programme, and how a lighting plot fixed it.
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Preparing Live Show Workflows for the Darker Months Ahead
Autumn and winter schedules bring earlier darkness, longer bulletins and more weather cover. Here is how to adjust rundowns, cue sheets and crew roles before the busiest broadcasting weeks arrive.
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