A football match, the ninetieth minute. The ball goes in, and the vision mixer has already cut to the close-up of the striker before the director has finished the word "take". A beat later comes the replay, then the crowd, then the score graphic. The vision mixer is the person whose hands make the live edit of a programme.
What a vision mixer does
In a studio or outside broadcast (a live programme made away from the studio, from a truck full of equipment), several cameras, replay machines and graphics feed into one desk, the vision mixing panel. The vision mixer sits at it in the gallery next to the studio director and presses the buttons that decide which picture goes out. On a scripted show they follow the camera script and the director's calls. On sport or news they often anticipate, because there is no time for every cut to be called.
Beyond cutting, the vision mixer builds the effects that mix pictures together, such as split screens, picture in picture, captions over a shot and transitions into adverts. They rehearse these before the show and keep an eye on every source, so a black or frozen picture never reaches air.
Responsibilities
- Cut between cameras and sources live, on the director's calls
- Prepare and rehearse transitions, split screens and effects
- Check that every camera, replay and graphic source is ready
- Follow the camera script and keep track of shot numbers
- Anticipate cuts in fast live programmes such as sport
- Hand the finished programme or live feed to transmission
How the role touches the budget
No budget responsibility, and little influence on cost. The vision mixer is usually a staff member at a broadcaster or facilities company, or a freelancer booked by the day. Their day rate and the hire of the gallery or outside broadcast truck appear in the production budget, but they do not manage money themselves. The one way they affect cost is time. A smooth rehearsal and few retakes keep the studio day short.
How people get into the role
Many start in the gallery in another job, such as a production assistant logging timings or a camera assistant, and learn on a training desk. Broadcasters and facilities companies sometimes run training schemes. Quick reflexes, a good sense of rhythm and the ability to listen to several voices at once are what make a good vision mixer.
In the US
In American television the person at the desk is usually called the technical director, or simply the switcher, after the name of the equipment. The floor manager is often called the stage manager there, so titles in a gallery differ between countries even when the jobs are the same.