Crews and Coverage
For large events such as this Senate Banking Committee hearing, C-SPAN camera crews typically arrive on the scene three hours before the event actually begins. On this particular day, a committee room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building will be transformed into a temporary studio, complete with cameras, microphones, cables and control equipment. For this event, a crew of six is required to operate all the equipment. However, not all events receive such elaborate coverage. Many events aired on C-SPAN, like outdoor campaign stops or interviews in the halls of the Capitol, are often covered using only a two-person crew consisting of a camera operator and sound technician. With less equipment being used, the setup times are much shorter than the three hours mentioned above.

The Equipment
Capturing sound for an event like this hearing requires over a dozen microphones. Fixed microphones are set up in front of each speaker, and additional boom-mounted "shotgun" microphones can also be used to cover participants. The overall sound is controlled by an audio technician using a mixing console. By adjusting the volume and other characteristics of each microphone, the audio technician ensures the clarity of the sound recorded at the event. Having such thorough audio resources, C-SPAN often provides sound for other media organizations that send cameras to the event.

To provide camera coverage of this event, two different types of cameras are used. Primary coverage is furnished by mounted cameras, like the one pictured at the top of this page, set up on tripods and manned by operators. In addition, a remotely-operated camera, or robo-cam (pictured left), is used in situations where it would be impractical to place a manned camera. Outside the hearing room, an operator controls the motion and focus of the robo-cam using a small remote control device.

Just outside the committee room, the crew chief coordinates event coverage from a mobile control unit. As its name implies, the mobile control unit has many of the features found in studio control rooms. The mobile control unit allows the crew chief to simultaneously monitor the shots from each camera and choose which ones will actually be aired or recorded (for a closer view of the the mobile control unit, click here). When an event is carried live on C-SPAN, the crew chief will also be in contact with the control studio at C-SPAN to ensure the transmission is being sent properly.

In addition to their technical duties, shoot crews also maintain a detailed shoot sheet for each event they cover. Shoot sheets contain such information as the name of the event and its sponsor, the names and titles of all participants and the location and length of the event. Although they may not seem important, shoot sheets are a vital element of event coverage. Not only are on-air captions created from information on the shoot sheets, but the event length recorded on the sheets will be used later for scheduling purposes.

Following the completion of the event, the collection of cameras, microphones, cables and control equipment is disassembled and packed for the next day's assignment. Since the equipment is designed for portability, disassembling and packing is usually completed within 30 minutes. The final step for the camera crew is to bring the completed videotape of the event to C-SPAN's programming operations center, where it will be prepared for airing.