I had the opportunity to work at a television channel.
I started as a video editor, who edited segments for current news broadcasts. Specifically, a camera operator and a journalist would shoot a story, the journalist would then create a script and do a voice-over. The editor’s task was to cut the video according to the script and overlay the voice-over. In the news broadcast, the anchor would say: “And now, our colleague will tell us more about this…” and the director’s assistant would play the pre-edited video file live. Sometimes, it was simply about stitching together several photographs or surveillance camera footage, usually sourced from the internet, to create a short video clip (30-40 seconds). The director’s assistant would play this clip when the anchor was talking about the news, to keep the viewers from getting bored by watching the anchor the whole time.
I also had to edit shows. For example, a “Cooking Show.” This involved a team of camera operators and a director going to a restaurant, setting up several cameras, and filming the show for several hours non-stop. The director is shouting, the restaurant staff are nervous. All of this can be seen in the footage. The result is a 15-20 minute show that was edited from hours of multi-camera footage. I edited talk shows with video links in a similar way. Several cameras in our studio and several in another city. You mix everything together, cut out the unnecessary parts, balance the sound, add music. And, of course, color correction.
Sometimes, I had to redo the opening and closing titles for news broadcasts. Change the logo, the year, adjust the sequence of shots to match the music, and so on. Creating new titles for talk shows was also part of the job.
Later, I started working in the live broadcast department. But more on that next time.
Television Channel Operations: An Inside Look. Part 2 (Broadcasting)
