What A VT Operator Does On Set: Crew Breakdown
INTRODUCTION
The VT operator is one of the least talked about crew positions in film production, whether that’s on YouTube or the internet in general. They are responsible for orchestrating the live transmission and playback of video and sound via production monitors. It’s a role which is a necessity for any industry level commercial or feature film shoot and one that every technical film crew member should understand.
So I’ll use this video to try and fill in this information gap based on my observations from working as a crew member in the camera department by first unpacking the role of the VT operator, going over what an average day on set for them might look like and finally giving a couple tips which I picked up from watching experienced VT ops work.
ROLE
The process of shooting a movie involves capturing multiple takes of shots until the director is happy that they have a shot which will work in the edit. This means they need to be sure of both the technical aspects of the shot, such as the framing, camera movement and focus as well as the content of the shot such as the performances of the actors and the blocking.
Since getting the perfect shot can be a bit of an intricate dance, filmmakers need a tool which they can use to monitor these live takes and evaluate them. This is where VT comes in.
The video tape operator, also called video assist, playback operator, or VT, is responsible for setting up video monitors that have a live feed from the production camera or multiple cameras and then recording any takes that are done as a video file so that they can be played back after each take for the client, director or creative heads of departments to evaluate.
VT came about before digital cameras, when productions were shot on film. Since film needs to be developed at a laboratory before it can be viewed - which of course takes quite a while - film cameras couldn’t playback footage that had been shot on set.
Therefore, the solution was to record each take from a tiny, low res ‘video camera’ inside the film camera called a video tap. This signal from the video tap was recorded onto tape with a device such as a clamshell. This tape could then be fast forwarded or rewound and playback a low res video version of each take that the film camera recorded.
Since digital technology took over and footage is now recorded to cards rather than film, the role of the VT operator has evolved but is still based on the same principle of providing a live image on a monitor and being able to quickly playback video of takes.
There will usually be a few different monitors, reserved for different people on a film set.
This can be done by sending a video signal either through a wired connection to different monitors, or by using a wireless transmitter that can send a signal out to multiple receivers which are plugged into monitors.
The focus puller will usually get a feed directly from the camera with a sidekick receiver. The VT operator will then transmit or wire a feed to their station and run it through software on a computer such as QTake - which is the industry standard. They’ll then distribute this feed from the software to other monitors which may include what we call a video village - a tent with production monitors that display feeds from all the working cameras that are usually reserved for the creative agency, clients, the director and sometimes the producers.
Nowadays they’ll usually also be a wireless, portable director’s monitor on the set which is either put on a stand or can be handheld by the director as they move around and give direction to various departments and actors.
The cinematographer usually operates and exposes using a 5 or 7 inch monitor which is mounted directly onto the camera, but sometimes will request a feed to a specific colour calibrated monitor such as a Flanders Scientific screen that can be used to more accurately judge the exposure and colour of an image. Kind of like a modern light meter.
Although there’s a bit of an overlap between the 1st AC and the VT op when it comes to who is responsible for monitoring, usually the on camera monitor and the focus monitor feed is set up by the 1st AC, while the director’s feed and any other external monitoring lies with VT.
AVERAGE DAY ON SET
The kind of gear that VT needs to run will be determined beforehand depending on the kind of setups that are needed. For example, the gear for tracking vehicle scenes will be different to the kind of gear that is needed for a standard interior scene.
Therefore the first step is to plan for the kind of video transmission required, taking into account things like transmission range and how many monitors will be needed.
There are two, or actually now three, ways to send a video signal from a camera to an external monitor.
The first is what we call hardwiring. This is where a cable, usually an SDI cable, is plugged from a video out port on one side to a video in port on the monitor. The upside to this method is that the quality of the feed will usually be very solid. The only way to interrupt a hardwired feed is if the cable gets damaged.
The downside however is that if the camera needs to move then the cable will often get in the way and need to be wrangled by someone to avoid getting tangled up or becoming a tripping hazard.
The second method, wireless transmission, doesn’t require tethering the camera with the cable and is therefore the most popular. It involves attaching a transmitter, such as a Teradek, to the camera and plugging it into the camera’s SDI out port. This sends a live video signal of what the camera is recording through a wireless radio frequency to a receiver.
VT ops usually build their own custom mobile video trollies that they’ll mount the receiver to. This receiver will then get fed into some kind of a distribution converter or switcher that will get fed into a laptop or computer that runs macOS. This feed goes into the QTake software, where it can be controlled. This signal is then sent out of the video trolley through a hardwire, wifi or through transmission to a monitor.
The third, fairly new, way that video can now be transmitted is through a live stream using the internet. This was mainly done during Covid shoots and is now used for tracking vehicle work where the car will drive out of the range of the wireless transmitters.
With this technique, a video feed is sent to a modem with a SIM card and antennas which uploads the live video signal to the cloud and creates a streaming link. This live feed can then be viewed by anyone with access to the internet anywhere in the world - which is why it was used for remote shoots.
So, depending on the needs of the shoot the video assist will evaluate and provide a technical solution that aligns with the production’s budget.
Once they have a live video signal up and running to the required monitors they will wait until shooting begins. They will trigger video to record for both rehearsals and any takes that the camera rolls on. After the camera cuts, they will call out ‘playback’ and then loop the video footage of the last take that was shot on the monitors.
Using QTake software they will also label each take that is done. Giving it the same name as the scene, shot and take that is on the clapperboard. This is a way of archiving what has been shot and makes it easier to relocate previously shot takes - which is especially necessary when directors need to quickly track down a specific take from a scene that may have been shot weeks ago.
VT will also collaborate with the sound department to provide audio that is synced up with the video footage. If you’ve ever seen a photo of a director on set wearing headphones, they are for listening to a transmitted audio signal that is being captured by the sound recordist that is synced up to the video feed on the monitor.
TIPS
Earlier I mentioned that it’s commonplace for video assistants to label and archive each take. They may also take this one step further by marking specific takes. As they’ll usually sit near the director’s monitor if they hear the director make remarks about a take being good they’ll be sure to mark that specific take. The director may also directly ask VT to mark a take.
This often happens during the shooting of commercials, which involve a back and forth discussion between the director, the agency and the client - who need to approve each shot before the production moves on. So, if, say, the director thinks they got it on take four, they may ask VT to mark that take. If they have time they’ll then do a couple extra takes for safety. Then once they’ve got those extra takes in the bag the director will ask VT to loop the marked take on the client’s monitor and then go over to them to confirm that they are happy, approve that take and then the production can move on.
On some shoots, the video assist may be asked to perform a mix and overlay. This can be done using QTake software and involves overlaying video or images on top of a take. For example, some commercials may need to incorporate specific text or a company’s logo on a shot. VT can overlay and then position this logo so that the cinematographer and director can find a frame that compliments and accounts for this.
Or, there may be a series of planned match cuts that the director wants to do. VT can then find the shot that they want to match cut with, overlay it on top of the live feed and mix down the opacity of the other take. They can then position the frame for an optimal match cut.
Most software these days is able to auto trigger video to record. So when the cinema camera starts recording it will trigger the video device to record at the same moment and likewise it’ll cut when the cinema camera cuts. However, occasionally when working with some setups - such as some film cameras - the video may not auto trigger and it’ll be up to VT to manually start recording video once they hear the call of ‘roll camera’.