Behind the Camera: How We Plan a News Desk Shoot

Before I think about which camera goes where, I spend time in the studio doing very little. I stand at the desk position, walk the floor, and look at where the presenters will actually sit, where the guest chair ends up, and which walls and windows are behind them. A plan drawn from a floor sketch alone tends to fall apart the first time someone sits down.

I also ask who will operate. A pedestal rig that suits a trained operator can be a poor choice for a crew who work cameras twice a month. The answer shapes everything that follows, from lens choice to how much movement we build into the show.

Only after that do I open the equipment list. It sounds backwards, but the room and the people decide more than the catalogue does.

• Walk the floor and sit in the presenter and guest positions
• Note windows, doors and reflective surfaces behind the set
• Ask who operates the cameras and how often
• Check cable routes and floor condition for pedestal travel

A typical news desk needs a wide establishing shot, a medium on the lead presenter and a second angle for the co-presenter or a guest. I mark candidate positions on the floor with tape and stand a colleague in each seat. Looking through a lens at a real face tells me more than any diagram.

Distance matters as much as angle. Pulling a camera back and using a longer lens flatters faces and keeps the operator out of the presenter's eyeline. We try to keep the camera close to the line of the autocue so the presenter appears to look straight at the viewer.

We tape, test, adjust and only then fix positions. Tape is cheap, and moving it twice in an afternoon is better than moving a heavy base later.

Robotic heads earn their place in studios with small crews and repeatable formats. A bulletin that runs the same shot sequence every evening can be programmed once and recalled reliably. They also free floor space, which matters in compact rooms.

Pedestals still suit live shows where the director wants reactive framing, such as interviews that wander or panel discussions with unpredictable speakers. A good operator reads the conversation in a way a preset cannot.

Often the answer is a mix: robotics on the fixed desk angles and one manned camera for flexibility. I explain the trade-offs plainly, including the extra cabling and control desk space robotics need, and leave the choice with the production team.

• Robotic: repeatable shots, small crews, tight floor space
• Pedestal: reactive framing, interviews, panel formats
• Mixed rigs are common and perfectly workable

With positions agreed, I write a shot plan for each format. It lists the standard framings, who is on which camera, and which shots the director can fall back on if something goes wrong. For a two-way interview, for instance, there is always a safe wide that covers both people.

I keep the plan to a page where possible. A crew under pressure will not read three pages, but they will glance at a clear diagram taped near the gallery door.

We also agree the vocabulary. Whether the director calls a shot a two-shot, a wide or a master matters less than everyone using the same word. Small agreements like that save seconds on air.

On the day, I arrive early and run through the cameras one by one. I check focus, zoom range, tally lights, shading and the return feeds the operators rely on. A camera that looks fine in the corridor can have a sticky zoom rocker or a weak cable that only shows up under studio lighting.

We then run a short rehearsal with stand-ins, cutting between all positions. This is where small problems appear: a camera seeing another operator's shoulder, a shadow across a guest, a cable snagging a wheel.

If the crew is ours to train, I stay for the first live show and watch from the floor rather than the gallery. Many fixes are visible only from where the operator stands.

• Test focus, zoom, tally and return feeds on every camera
• Rehearse cuts between all positions with stand-ins
• Watch for shadows, cable snags and cameras in shot

A setup is only good if the crew can recreate it without me. I leave floor marks, a shot plan, and a short note on lens and height settings for each position. Where pedestals are used, we mark the parked position so the next show starts from the same place.

I also like to run one session where I do nothing and the crew sets up from the paperwork. If they get stuck, the documents need fixing, not the crew.

Over the years that has changed how I write handover notes: shorter, with fewer assumptions, and always with a photo of the finished setup.