I am a child of television.
When I was a kid, I used to go to Channel 4 and the people there are my uncles and aunties and basically, the editing rooms and the studio control booth is my playground.
While I never got to see the actors and actresses, I did however experience the newsroom environment.
With this in mind, you just got to love the behind-the-scenes look of CM Punk AEW debut.
Imagine the grueling preparation for a one-hour show. Since they are taping this live on-air, the possibility of going off-script is almost certain. The director calling the shots without pause reminded me of my mom when she directed newscasts. From what I remember, the typical newscast she directed had three cameras and a jimmy jib. A switcher sits next to her and her eyes are glued on the monitors that she just calls for the VTR, sound director, and floor director.
From what I saw on the AEW control booth, aside from I guess… at least twenty cameras planted inside the arena, the director also needs to talk to the pyro guys.
Dissolve 10?
This means the director is asking the switcher to use the dissolve transition as Camera 10's view is called upon.
Wow.
Kudos to the production truck!
I guess I can’t blame the production team for not seeing the constant mishaps of AEW wrestling. For starters, I bet they don’t care at the bad explosion scene wherein Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston painfully overreacted. Or the rap Max Caster unloaded? Or the Domino Pizza / Nick Gage spot? Or Chris Jericho’s landing on the Blood and Guts match?
Or Raw’s three-hour problem?
The director is too busy running the show. The bookers or the floor directors and the rest of the technical staff must help the director micromanage.
With that said, I guess someone needs to take charge of bridging the technical team with the creative team. I guess someone needs to check the on-air talent with the off-air personnel. WWE’s team is better than their AEW counterparts in my opinion in terms of bridging the gap but their content isn’t as good at the moment. I guess having Vince McMahon in the gorilla position has its pros and cons.
I guess our sentiments on pro wrestling vary. Some are ardent AEW fans while I still see the positives in WWE programming. If you are a child of broadcast communications though, this behind-the-scenes look is an awesome watch.