I recently volunteered for the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children Telethon. I previously shot some footage of the old and new homes, as well as several personal greetings from community members. However, the opportunity to direct 3 solo performers and a mass choir for the telethon pre-tape proved to be the most challenging and rewarding.
I arrived at the NSCC studio bright and early on Saturday morning; television is not a 9 to 5 occupation. After some last minute set and lighting adjustments, fuelled by coffee and timbits, the first performer arrived. She was to perform two songs and I was a little nervous, but fairly confident. I had instructed my camera people on the shots I would need and I was ready to begin. Once it began I felt things were going smoothly. The key seemed to be the pace I switched from camera to camera and making sure each shot was different and framed correctly.
We then had a pizza break and got ready for the next performer. She was going to sing and play piano, which would be easier to get a variety of shots. She did two songs as well and I thought it went well. I was able to mix up shots of her and the piano keys for a nice product. As soon as she left we built the set for the mass choir.
When the choir arrived I felt surprisingly positive. I figured it would be easier to direct the choir than the solo performances because there would be a greater opportunity for a variety of shots. This proved to be the case. I felt very confident and thought things turned out well. They did two songs and now there was only one act left.
The last performer was Chelsea Nisbett, a talented and beautiful singer/songwriter. She had two songs to sing as well. Also, she was using a guitar, which offered something else for a variety of shots. She did very well and I thought I directed pretty well, too. It was a long day, but certainly rewarding. I can’t wait to see the performances in the live telethon.
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