Preparing to start an Arabic video shoot at Málaga Media Center (MMC) is not nearly as simple as saying those three words.

“Quiet on the set!”

“Is his mic on?” “Somebody check his mic.”

Native North African “David” fiddles with the electronics box for a lapel microphone clipped to his tie, flips a switch from “standby” to “on,” and his voice is suddenly heard through the speakers in the control room.

“Can we have a mic test? Just talk for a while so we can set the levels.”

“Ok that’s good, you can stop talking now.”

“Tell him he can stop talking now - we’re almost ready to start.”

The floor manager grabs David’s attention from the darkness of the studio; David nods back, smiles, and gazes calmly at Camera One.

“Teleprompter ready? Okay, roll tape!”

“Tape’s rolling.” “Whenever he’s ready he can start.”

Lit by studio lighting hung from metal bars on the ceiling and surrounded by objects and furniture collected from the props department, MMC buildings, staff houses, or recently bought, David stands in the middle of a carefully constructed set built into one corner of the video studio. Framed by either a Close, Medium, or Wide shot on each of the two studio cameras pointed at him, David looks intently at the camera with a red light on, takes a breath, and begins reading the script he prepared - now displayed in a teleprompter attached to each camera.

“Azzizin al-mushahid….” he says, and we’re off!

Each program begins with a greeting of the “dear viewers” and a welcome to the program, and closes with the customarily drawn-out “goodbyes” that are common to the North African Arabic culture.

Throughout the recording, part of the video team stands alert inside the video studio - cameramen at their cameras, talent on the set - while the rest of the group vigilantly monitors the machines, television screens, teleprompter and timecode from inside the nearby control room.

The director speaks through a headset to the cameramen, planning ahead which shots he wants and switching between them when the time comes. The timing operator keeps track of the time remaining; he also watches the teleprompter for the three x’s (xxx) which signify a camera change, so he can tell the director when a cue is coming. The VT operator ensures that the video goes down to tape accurately and watches for any errors in the recording, as well as keeping track of each shot change and pausing the tape when problems or discussions ensue. In the back of the room, other Arabic speakers work the teleprompter and listen carefully to David’s pronunciation and wording - occasionally stopping him to discuss the meaning of a word. A slight change in pronunciation may cause a very different meaning than intended.

Each person on the team is vitally important to the job of recording an evangelical television series that will soon be broadcast over satellite airwaves, directly into the homes of North Africans. As diverse as the different jobs are, without just one - as with links in a chain - the entire process would not be possible.

The first day is always a bit rough. What will end up as a 15 or 30 minute program can easily drag on to be much longer during the shooting. A few false starts, bad switches, and technical problems later, the first program in the series is recorded. The studio team piles out into the common area, where they plop on the couches, head for the snacks, or simply relax and enjoy a few moments of peace before starting the next program. David heads for the makeup area to change clothes - Andrea has already written out a list of which shirts he will wear for the next five programs! This way, when the show is broadcast, he won’t appear to be wearing the same clothing twice in a row.

Once David is back in the studio, it’s time for those watching from the control room to focus on the details. Details like the positioning of David’s tie, the shine on his nose that needs more makeup, and those three hairs sticking up at such an odd angle. Details that not everyone would imagine to be important, but all things that add to making a professional quality television program.

Despite the difficulties that inevitably arise (long days, illness, technical problems, script changes, etc.), by the end of the week each person involved in the video shoot is left with a sense of achievement for being part of something bigger than themselves. Something big enough to reach across the sea, through countries and people groups, and touch an individual heart with the truth of the gospel. Media doesn’t save people; Christ saves people. How blessed we are that he chooses media to bring about this saving knowledge of himself to those who hear.

[ by Kirsten; written for a prayer letter sent out in January 08 ]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Arabic Ministry, General, MMC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.