Soccer at USC

Switching gears from the Carolina football schedule for Fox, Joe Schmitt, co-owner of At Will Productions was crewed to run a hand-held camera for a soccer match in Columbia against Florida.

Set-up in this stadium is a bit tricky. Carolina spoils crews because the football, basketball and the new baseball arenas are all pre-cabled for tv. Not to mention there is a very steep embankment between the production truck and the stadium. The cable runs aren't long, but they are challenging. Getting hard cameras to the roof requires stair and ladder climbing too. All in a day's work.

Joe Schmitt says "Carolina pays for the football re-play shows. Today we're airing on Sun Sports which doesn't have a preference for the Gamecocks. So I had to constantly tell myself...Florida coverage. But inside, I'm really saying Go Cocks!"

High School Football

Hats off to Gary McCullough of Garmac TV, and the folks in Charleston's local Fox & myTV Charleston. Why? Just about every local affiliate has tried to put high school football on the air. In the past, it's been coax running to a switcher, using ENG cameras. Some would have instant replays, some wouldn't.

McCullough has tried to take his experience producing and directing the Carolina games to a local level for years. Persistence pays off. Gary said "High School football works in other markets, and there's no reason it can't work in Charleston. But I won't do it if we're not going to do it right."

McCullough started as a talented tape op, working Presidential debates, and a multitude of live sporting, corporate, and entertainment events. His love of football prompted him to move up to produce and direct the Gamecocks for CSS. He even figured out a way to whip up a cart cam with the budget of a hand-held camera! Now he's responsible for the re-play show that airs on Fox Sports South.

So how is football coverage different now? Glass and triax, courtesy of Robert Warren Mobile Tv. What's that mean? Long lenses, 66 x with doublers, four standard camera positions with a production truck that contains a real switcher, replay machines, graphics, audio and engineering. Triax is a "one cable does all" solution that's very common in the production world. It's an RF transmitter & receiver that carries a variety of signals (including power) and enables the video operator to constantly adjust settings to the cameras from the mobile production unit. Can't be done with an ENG camera and coax cable. Even identical cameras just don't seem to match without painting them.

My TV Charleston hit the streets and found a variety of sponsors and are proud to present Thursday Night Lights that airs live Thursdays at 7:30. Great job!

Photo courtesy of Post & Courier Staffer. Thanks a bunch, but I'm sorry I don't remember your name.

Medical Consulting Group

Medical Consulting Group hires At Will Productions to shoot a series of commercials and web segments for Dr. Kerry Solomon. Dr. Soloman is a pioneer in eye surgery, and a super nice guy. He truly is amongst the best in the world, and only wants the best doc's to be a part of his specialty. Other eye doctors go to Dr. Solomon to do their surgery. That's how good he is.

Producer, Paul Johnson flew into Charleston for a rigorous week's worth of shooting. At Will co-owner, Joe Schmitt, Audio Ops, Chris Simmons and Ed Bates traveled to a variety of locations throughout the Lowcountry to shoot client testimonials and b-roll of Dr. Solomon's associates.

After using a variety of Kino Flo lighting mixed with some traditional tungsten fixtures, Paul Johnson equated the footage to "gold nuggets" and was kind enough to give us a quote for At Will's happy client list. Johnson said, “We worked Joe pretty hard on a recent medical shoot, and he rose to the occasion. I appreciated his hard work and dedication to getting high quality shots in a short period of time. He has a real eye for lighting and brings great ideas to the table for camera angles, interview settings, etc. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a hard working video professional.”

See how At Will's video turned out on Dr. Solomon's website. http://www.drkerrysolomon.com/