The general rehearsal studio goals are the same for all acts. You need to get a quarter-inch ground plan of the space they need, a list of the performers and what they’re performing, and any special lighting or prop requirements. However, the specific rehearsal goals for each performer will vary. Our imaginary magazine program spells out the specific goals for each kind of act. (A description of the Nashville program production schedule appears later in this chapter.) Some performers can be seen before the Nashville program rehearsals. First, the director/ producer may have a chance to see the performers at local venues, which is a good opportunity to develop a shooting plan. If that is the case, the first rehearsal might be a kind of test to make sure that the plan developed at the local performance holds up in the rehearsal studio.
Let’s assume that we’ll be able to have an initial rehearsal of the BIG BAND and the STRING QUARTET in New York prior to going to Nashville. The BROADWAY STAR is in town, and we might meet with him, but since he’s simply going to stand in place and sing a familiar song, there’s very little we can rehearse. He does, however, appear later in a chroma-key production number, which requires a background with shots of New York and of him walking in the theater district. We’ll be shooting that with him during the prepro- duction period. The work for that is very much like what would be done if this were to be a single- camera music video, except fewer shots are required and the shots will probably be more traditional.
Although the members of the JAZZ FAMILY won’t all be here until the Monday of shoot week, we can meet with one of them and establish a personal relationship. At the very least we’d want to call to find out what instruments they will be playing, which instrument will stand where, and information about the drum set. Additionally, we’d want to know what music they intend to play so whoever is handling the legal affairs for this produc- tion can clear the music with Broadcast Music
Incorporated (BMI) or the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). We’d also be able to arrange a comfortable schedule that’s compatible with their travel and rehearsal needs.
The LIVING LEGEND and the ACOUSTIC STAR fly in at the same time. Questions about their arrival, hotels, and so forth, as well as about what they’ll be singing, would have been arranged by phone, with a follow-up confirmation fax or e-mail. The BIG BAND will need a large studio. They’ll probably need to rehearse no more than three hours, but they may have a four-hour minimum call, which would have been dictated by union contract. The STRING QUARTET will be able to rehearse another day but at a smaller studio. Music rehearsals are often done in the afternoon, since so many of the musicians will have worked late the night before.
Thirty to 60 minutes are generally required to set up prior to a BIG BAND’s arrival at a rehearsal. During this time, chairs will be set out, and the musicians’ parts will be placed on the appropriate chairs or music stands. The drummer’s rug will be set in place. In addition to the music and leader, there will be someone in charge of maintaining the scores for the various instruments. There may also be someone to write score and copy parts. If these are union studio musicians, you can expect them to be punctual; they should be seated to begin rehear- sals exactly on time.
Before the rehearsal, the director/producer receives and reviews a list of the players and the instruments they play. Rights to the BIG BAND’s music should also have been negotiated prior to the rehearsal; rehearsing an orchestra with music that is not cleared for your broadcast can be a very expen- sive mistake. At the rehearsal, the director/producer will draw the rough quarter-inch ground plan show- ing each instrument’s location. It’s wise to get at least two copies of the conductor’s score—even if you can’t read music. Later, you can find someone who will read the score, and you can mark it as out- lined in Chapter 6. It’s a good idea to get two or more copies because a lot of tentative comments are marked on the first score, which then becomes too messy to read; the second copy affords a chance to make a clean version.
After the rehearsal is over, when you’ve decided what you’re going to shoot, you’ll need to produce a shooting score with shot sheets for your camera operators so they know each of their shots. It’s pos- sible to “wing it” or ad-lib each performance or, film style, to shoot a great deal of coverage and then create the program in an edit suite. Given the
opportunity to formulate a plan, however, the expectations are that the director’s work will be more polished than it would be without one. Without a plan, all you can do is to “go with the flow,” which is basically a reactive process: first the music happens, then you react. Unfortunately, that’s too late. The alternative is to get to the right shot an instant before it’s needed. That requires a shooting script or a very thorough knowledge of the music.
It’s enormously helpful to have an audio record- ing—of any quality—of the rehearsal. Later, this recording can be used in conjunction with the score to create a shooting script. It’s sometimes helpful to play the recording at a production meeting for crew chiefs and other participants so they can become acquainted with the program’s content.
In order to get the audio recording, explain to the conductor at the beginning of the rehearsal that once the music or score is finalized, you’d like to be able to set it for cameras, which will require one clean play-through. A play-through for you becomes part of the rehearsal procedure.
As the band begins to play, it’s wise to resist the immediate tendency to begin devising a shooting scheme for each piece. Instead, just listen, and you will find that ideas just come to you. Mull over a few of the ideas, and take the time to be clear about who takes solos and when.
This part of the rehearsal is really for the band. They’re coordinating the material they’re going to play on the program. There’ll be a lot of stopping and starting as various parts are worked out. Use that time to get a feel for the piece. Even if you know the piece well, listen to it as if you were com- ing to it for the first time. Relax. Let yourself get into the mood of the piece. Then take some time to think about how you’d like to see it. Once you’ve allowed yourself the time to get a feel for the piece, you can start constructing a shooting plan. Assume for a moment that the music will begin with the entire band playing a statement of the melody line; then the vocalist will take a lead, followed by vari- ous instruments—the sax, the piano, a trumpet. You need to know who takes the lead and when. What camera can you use to get the best shot of the lead musician or vocalist? If you have the time and there are enough rehearsals, physically stand where each shot will be coming from and imagine what it will look like. Mark it in the score if you can. If you have a lot of time at your disposal, stand at the places you don’t expect to be shooting from and see what you’re missing. You may be tempted to change your mind and your shooting
script. Do the same thing with the second number they are going to play.
During the last part of the rehearsal, work on the last number on the program—in this case, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” During taping, the JAZZ FAMILY will be on stage, and members of the BIG BAND will have to join them. This rehearsal is a good time to work out how the BIG BAND members will enter the stage. Give the musi- cians a break. Move the chairs around and set the stage for what you imagine the last act’s setup will be. Have a plan ready for the BIG BAND’s entrance before the rehearsal, and when the break is over, rehearse their entrance. This is one of the times it would be helpful to have the audio chief with you. If you can’t, make sure you’ve discussed your plans before the rehearsal. At worst, know where to reach the audio chief or engineer-in-charge so you can, if necessary, call him or her from the rehearsal studio.
At the end of the rehearsal, go over the next stages in the production. Outline the schedule and make sure everyone understands where to meet and when. Have printed agendas for the members of the bands. Include all the important phone numbers and addresses, as well as dates and times. That allows the group to make plans around your rehearsal and shooting schedule. If the agenda is kept handy, it serves as a written reminder to each of them of where they are to be, when they should be there, and whom to call if there is a problem.
If you don’t read music, you can arrange to meet with the arranger or someone who knows music to go over the score. When you play the recording you’ve made at the rehearsal and have the score, it’s possible to mark the score exactly as you would a script. It allows you to know how much time you have to get a camera from one shot to the next. If you can arrange to have someone at the pro- gram’s recording who can read the score, he or she can preset the shots you’ve designed at the moment before you need to “take” the shot. If you have to work alone, then you can still use the score and audio rehearsal track by using a stopwatch. The time for each shot won’t be exact, but the timing usually remains remarkably close, and the marked score lets you know which shot comes when.
Figure 7.3 shows an example of a marked score.
Figure 7.4 is an example of a marked script for a musical production. Note how similar it is to the scripts marked for dramatic productions.
There are many opinions about how to shoot classical music. The most prevalent is the one in which the director strives to explain the music
visually. Directing this way forces the director/ producer to remain true to the composer’s structure. It’s as if you were saying, “Look, the first violin states the theme, then the cello answers, then both the second violin and viola respond, and then they all join in. Now look, here’s the first violin in conver- sation with the viola.” If you can get the shots that will make that clear, you’re helping the audience to understand the nature of the music, and usually that makes listening to the music more enjoyable.
It’s certainly possible to approach the music in a less musically structured way. You might want to evoke a mood rather than deal with the structure of the piece. For example, I once shot the Juilliard String Quartet and dwelled on the shadows of the musicians as a device to get from one shot to the next. Even so, it’s useful to have a shooting plan that can be read from the score, since you can then be prepared for the mood changes you want to emphasize.
Prior to meeting with the STRING QUARTET, find out what they expect to play, and get a copy of the score and a recording of the piece. Obviously, it would be good to hear the quartet’s rendition, but almost anyone’s performance will be useful. Listen to the music, and analyze it if you can—either alone or with a musicologist. There are only four seated musi- cians, and something is sure to happen among the instruments. How will you make those relationships visible? What camera angles and what devices will you use? How can you prepare before the first rehearsal?
During the rehearsal the players will stop and talk among themselves, analyzing parts of what they’re playing. Some of what they’re saying may give you insights that can become part of your pro- duction. Even if you already have a plan for shoot- ing, there’s still time to be flexible. Before the players leave, it is a good idea to make a recording of the rehearsal as a guide for your own homework. The rehearsal with the STRING QUARTET will probably not take longer than two hours, but you may pay for more if there is a longer minimum call.
The next element of our program, the BROADWAY STAR, performs to a music track. The procedures used here are the same as what would be used for any artist singing any material to track. Music delivery to singers is done in one of the following ways: 1. Live: They sing with no musical background or with anything from a single instrument to a full orchestra as a musical background.
2. Live to track: They actually sing, but the background music comes from a prerecorded mixed sound track. Often stars with well-known
Figure 7.3 A marked score from Dr. Jeff Benedict’s “Castle Creek Shuffle.” Note that bars are marked at the top of the score. Shots are indicated where they happen and are noted in the manner of a drama. Reproduced by permission of Dr. Jeff Benedict.
hits prefer to appear on television singing to the tracks of their hit songs rather than try to have house orchestras attempt to replicate the intricate mix of well-known recordings. 3. Lip-sync: They sing aloud as if they were
recording that audio. However, the audio comes from the prerecorded mixed track of both the instrumental music and their voices. They do not just move their lips. I have had to work with novice performers who were unwilling to actually sing out loud during a lip-sync
performance. When that happens, the body doesn’t look right; it lacks the physical reality caused by the kind of breathing that’s necessary to sing. The energy required in holding notes is missing, and often the phrasing of the breathing doesn’t match what’s being heard. Singers are apt to miss entrances. It’s like watching a bad actor carry an empty suitcases on stage. The suitcases are supposed to be full and heavy, but since they’re really empty, the actor handles the task with no strain, and it looks—and is—false.
Our program contains examples of all three of these styles. In the BIG BAND number, there is a live vocalist and a live choir singing with the musicians. The BROADWAY STAR’s first number is a lip-sync production from a recent album, and his last song is sung to track.