Six Mistakes That Cost Time on an On-Location Camera Shoot
Most problems on a location shoot start days before the cameras roll. Helen Marsh sets out six common mistakes we see with on-location crews, and the simple habits that prevent them.
Helen Marsh · · 5 min read
Booking the crew before visiting the venue
The most frequent mistake is treating the venue as a detail to be settled later. A producer books a crew for a festival field or a town hall, and only on the morning does anyone learn where the power is, where the stage faces, or how far the nearest viable camera position sits from the loading area. By then the choices are narrow and every fix costs time.
A short recce, even by phone with the venue manager, changes this. We ask about sight lines, rigging restrictions, access times, where the crew can park and who holds the keys. If a visit is possible, Priya or another operator walks the space and notes where light will fall at the hour you plan to broadcast.
In mid autumn this matters more, because daylight fades early and an outdoor shoot that looks simple at noon can be in near darkness by late afternoon.
- Ask who controls access and what time the doors open
- Check where power and cable runs are possible
- Note sunset time against your running order
- Confirm parking close to the camera positions
Leaving the delivery format until the last minute
A camera crew can shoot beautifully and still hand over footage that the broadcaster cannot use. Frame rate, resolution, codec and audio layout are not matters of taste; each programme or news desk has its own specification, and a mismatch means conversion, delay or a lower quality picture than the cameras were capable of.
We recommend sending the broadcaster's technical requirements with the first enquiry. If you do not have them, the control room or the programme's technical contact will, and a five minute call usually settles it. Tom handles these conversations for us and can speak the language of the receiving end.
Agreeing the format early also tells the crew which cameras and recording settings to prepare, so the answer shapes the kit list rather than arriving as a surprise on the day.
Underestimating audio
Picture gets the attention, but a clean image with poor sound is rarely usable on air. Wind across a microphone at an outdoor event, a noisy generator beside an interview position, or a crowd that drowns the reporter are all avoidable with a little planning and are very hard to repair afterwards.
Tell the crew whether you need ambient sound, a separate feed from the venue's mixing desk, or radio microphones for speakers. For concerts and festivals, a feed taken from the desk can be combined with audience sound to give the programme a balanced result.
If the shoot is a news interview, choose the quietest workable corner, not the most photogenic one. A calm spot with decent sound serves the story better than a dramatic backdrop that the microphone cannot cope with.
- Say whether you need desk audio, ambient sound or both
- Pick interview spots away from generators and traffic
- Allow time to test radio microphones on site
No plan for when something fails
Equipment is reliable, but it is not perfect, and a shoot with no fallback turns a small fault into a missed slot. Batteries, cards, cables and a spare camera body are the ordinary protection, and a good crew carries them without being asked. What is often missing is a decision about who does what if a position is lost.
Before a live or time-critical shoot, agree a simple order of priority. Which camera matters most, who calls a halt to an interview if the signal drops, and who speaks to the control room. Daniel's signal team can monitor from the other end and tell the crew quickly if a problem is at the venue or further along the chain.
A two minute conversation at the start of the day costs nothing and often saves the whole schedule.
Changing the running order without telling the crew
Events move. A band runs late, a speaker is added, a ceremony starts earlier than printed. The crew can adapt to almost any change, provided they hear about it. The mistake is assuming the plan on paper is still the plan, and finding out only when an operator is pointing at an empty stage.
Nominate one person on your side as the single contact for the crew, and ask them to pass on changes as they happen. A named contact with a working mobile phone is worth more than a perfectly formatted schedule that nobody updates.
For multi-venue days, we also suggest a short check-in call at agreed times so that every operator is working from the same information.
- Name one contact the crew can reach throughout the day
- Agree check-in times for longer or multi-venue shoots
Forgetting permissions and access
Filming in public and semi-public places carries conditions that are easy to overlook. A venue may require advance notice for cameras, a festival may restrict where operators can stand, and some locations ask for passes issued in names rather than roles.
The organiser or producer is normally the right person to arrange this, and we will tell you which names, numbers and equipment details they need to supply. Leaving it to the day risks a crew standing at a gate with the kit still in the van.
Where filming involves identifiable members of the public, it also helps to agree in advance how that will be handled, so the crew can frame shots accordingly and the programme's own policies are followed.
None of these mistakes is dramatic, and that is why they are so common: each one is a small thing left until later. A short recce, a clear delivery format, a plan for sound and a named contact will solve most of them. If you are weighing up a shoot, get in touch through the contact page and we will talk through the practical points before anything is booked.
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