Switching

Click on the image above for an explanation the Grass Valley Switcher

CAMERA & SWITCHING TECHNIQUES
Quality video production requires operating the cameras and the switcher quickly. Your response time for putting on program what is being presented and who is talking should not slow down the pace of the class. Some classes will keep you very busy. Others will require very little action on your part with long periods when you may not need to do anything. Producing quality video for any class, however, requires that you always remain attentive to what is going on.

The cameras can be focused most accurately when they are zoomed in all the way. Focus on the object furthest from the camera when there is more than one object in your view. This is called back focusing. When the distance of the subjects viewed by a camera remains constant, the camera will not need to be re-focused.

You will typically open the class by slowly zooming in on a shot of the instructor with Camera One. For behind the desk shots, use the last few inches of the end of the desk to frame the bottom of the picture. If the instructor is standing, the shot will be wider than if he or she were seated. Use about two inches of headroom with Medium shots.

BASIC SWITCHING TECHNIQUES
The question you must constantly be addressing is:
What do you want to put on Program next? You need to anticipate what your instructor will present next, and put it in Preview.

• KEYS
  All Key Adjustments should occur in Preview, never on Program.
  
  The typical Key is a small square in the bottom right of the screen with a thin gray border. The right and bottom sides of the square should be positioned at least a quarter inch off screen so that a sliver of the Background does not appear between the Key and the edge of the screen. Monitors vary. A Key positioned just far enough to eliminate any Background slivers on your Program Monitor might still show slivers on another monitor.
  
  When you anticipate that the Key will soon interfere with the Instructor's presentation, remove it. If you can reposition the key so that it does not block any information, do so in Preview, and then retake it to program. Remember the information, text or graphics, being presented is more important than is the Key view of the Instructor. The Key improves the presentation only when it does not interfere with the information.
  

• OVERHEAD PRESENTATIONS
  Frame whatever is presented on the Overhead as soon as it is placed there. Your instructor will typically point to an overhead view when he or she wants it on Program. Let the instructor know that they can cue you this way. Try to anticipate what the instructor wants on Program from what is being said.
  

• STUDENT INTERACTION
  When the instructor begins to discuss the presentation with a specific student who has asked a question or answered one, it can be detrimental to the discussion to put a shot of the student on Camera 4 on Program. The student might be analyzing equations on the Monitor while speaking. If you take Camera 4 on Program, the student will lose sight of the presentation and usually be startled by seeing him or herself on the Monitor.
  
  When a student makes a contribution to the understanding of the subject matter, it is natural for other students at the far-site(s) and those watching the tapes to want to see him or her if it doesn't interrupt the presentation. It can even make far-site students more willing to interact with the class. However, if you don't get students framed before they finish their remark, don't put them on Program or in a Key unless they make follow up remarks.
  
  When a far-site student is making remarks, use the NOVA 1/4 Screen to Key them into the Program. CODEC video is routed through the Frame Nova bus and is selected on the switcher's Preset Background bus with the Frame Sync button. Any video source can be selected on the Frame Nova.
  
  The only time that a full view of CODEC video is put on Program is when a far-site student is making a presentation. Any text presentation is usually unreadable on 1/4 screen. Far-site students lose their visual connection with the teleclassroom when they are put in full view on Program.
  

• WHITE BOARD PRESENTATIONS
  Classes in which information is primarily presented on the white boards will require more work on your part. Your instructor should write on one white board at a time, and should not use the entire width of a white board. This will enable you to zoom in tighter on the information. Let your instructor know if he or his students need to write differently on the boards after class.
  
  Cameras 1 & 2 are used together to view a white board presentation. One camera is set on a wide shot, usually Camera 1, and one camera is set on a medium shot. Camera 2's line of sight is perpendicular to the boards and is typically preferable for medium shots and close ups. When the instructor is blocking Camera 2's view of the board, use Camera 1.
  
  Alternate between your wide and medium shots as the instructor goes from one white board to the next. Keep the medium or close up shot on program until new information needs to be shown. Students need time to copy notes both from what has been written and what is being said. It is not necessary to show the instructor just because he is talking. Tape students often complain that board information was not shown long enough. Remember, the instructor usually blocks the information until he is finished writing. Look at the students with Camera 4 to see if they are still writing before you leave a board.
  
  When an instructor fills three white boards with information and begins to move from board to board explaining the lesson, you need to quickly put a readable view of the board he's talking about on Program.
  
  By using two cameras excessive panning is avoided. Pans on CODEC transmissions are blurred and disliked by far-site students. Pans, tilts and zooms should primarily be executed off Program. What far-site and tape students dislike most of all, however, is the thought that they are missing something. Putting what is being discussed on Program is often a trade off between time and aesthetics. A good producer puts well framed views on Program when the instructor wants them. A bad producer puts views on Program late. At that point, no one cares how well they're framed or whether you avoided a zoom.
  
  Remember, the instuctor is dependent on you to convey his or her material to off-site students. Work with your professor to figure out what you need to do to best reach these students.