1 of 1- Paul Jeffries
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How do you feel about cameras in the studio?
I've noticed this message the past few days on the Zoomer Radio website:
For those of you not familiar, Zoomer has traditionally had a live in-studio stream on their website during most (or possibly, all) of their live day parts. This is fairly common with a lot of radio stations around the world.
When I was in terrestrial radio many years ago, long before the internet and live streams were a thing, the thought of having a camera in the studio, especially during the whole duration of my shift, would totally unnerve me, and I didn't consider myself to be camera-shy for the most part. But I used to be a chronic fidgeter and foot-tapper when I was on the air, so much so that I would often take my shoes off during my shift, because at least the sound of sock feet didn't seem to pick up on mic.
Quite simply put, even to this day, I'm the type of person that finds it difficult to sit perfectly still for long periods of time. That was one of the reasons I got into radio, as opposed to TV, in the first place. (Well, that plus the fact that there was no lucrative TV offers coming my way...lol).
I've witnessed other announcers over the years who've had similar quirks while on the air, such as shifting around in their seats, unusual hand and facial gestures, as well as fiddling around with objects to keep their hands busy, just to name a few. One of the old-timers at CHML used to shimmy the left side of his headphones back and forth on his ear very rapidly while he was on mic. Sometimes, if you were listening really carefully, you could hear a faint tick-tick-tick on the air. Folks that weren't familiar with his little gesture might've thought there was mice in the studio!
How do most of you feel about cameras in the studio? For those of you that have had to deal with it (even for a short time, like for a news interview), did it make you even a little bit unglued, or did you bask in the glory of having your face out in public for all to see? And for those of you that haven't had to deal with it, how does the prospect of having a camera document your every move strike you?
I'm curious to know!
PJ
ClassicHitsOnline.com...The place where all the cool tunes hang out!
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Re: How do you feel about cameras in the studio?
Many years ago, there was a remote camera feed to the Internet that showed you the City TV newsroom from a very wide angle. (It's no coincidence that AM740 is another Moses Znaimer creation - at the time of the cameras I'm recalling, he owned the TV station.)
Not only could anyone look at what whatever was going on, they even had it on a motor, so those using it could turn the camera remotely in any number of directions and see much of the place, including the desks, the major news hub, assignment, etc.
I've been told by those who were there that, while it wasn't intrusive, per se, and you couldn't zoom in, many were aware that it was there and they resented people tuning in on them while they were say, having lunch at their desks or maybe having a playful moment with their colleagues.
There were so many complaints that when the thing finally broke down no effort was ever made to fix it and any reference to it was soon deleted.
I can't really blame them. How many of us would feel comfortable, regardless of our jobs, if you knew there was a chance some stranger might be spying on every moment of your workday? It sounds like a cool little feature. But in reality, it's not if you're on the wrong side of the lens. (And I never did figure out what would happen if more than one person tried to turn the thing at the same time.)
- Radio Bob
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Re: How do you feel about cameras in the studio?
I hate to break it to you, but the larger the city, the more chance you're always on camera, at or away from work (except, maybe, in the washroom, MAYBE). Stop being so paranoid and/or self-conscious. And remember: No one can honestly say they've never picked their nose at work. 
- Paul Jeffries
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Re: How do you feel about cameras in the studio?
Radio Bob wrote:
I hate to break it to you, but the larger the city, the more chance you're always on camera, at or away from work (except, maybe, in the washroom, MAYBE). Stop being so paranoid and/or self-conscious.
Oh, I'm quite aware of that. Most of us have become accustomed to security cameras in place just about everywhere we go. But for the most part, those are mainly viewed by select groups of people that would have a legitimate reason for keeping an eye on you, not by thousands of looky-loos that are hanging on your every move solely for their own entertainment. To me, there's quite a difference between the two.
PJ
ClassicHitsOnline.com...The place where all the cool tunes hang out!
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