CETconnect.org

You’ve probably watched a program on cable, satellite or over-the-air that had a guest on from Cincinnati. Chances are very good that the guest was sitting in the LaRosa Studio here at CET. In addition to providing great television, CET also does quite a number of remote interview feeds. These are interviews that feature the host of a program talking to another person not in studio.

I’ve had the pleasure over last ten years to crew many of these feeds, or “inserts” or “hits” as we call them. In a nutshell, we will get a call from CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, ESPN, the NFL Network, ABC, NBC or CBS, to name a few, asking if a studio is available at a certain time on a certain date. If it is, the network books the studio and they tell us who our guest will be. As the “hit” time approaches (i.e., the time of the interview), I or one of my colleagues go to the studio and prepare for the feed.

In the studio, besides a camera, is the S.P.U.C. cart. S.P.U.C. stands for Single Person Uplink Cart. The cart carries an audio mixer, a couple of telephones, a telephone/intercom interface, cables and a make-up kit. One telephone is for the guest in the studio to hear the program audio. A small amplifier is connected via a long cable to the telephone and an earpiece is plugged into the amp and inserted into the guest’s ear. The actual earpiece is clipped onto the collar of the guest behind his or her head. A clear coiled plastic tube runs from the earpiece over the guest’s left or right ear and inserted into the ear canal. The other telephone is for co-ordination purposes so that I can get directions from the network technical staff. I wear a wireless intercom beltpack so that I’m always in contact with the “head” end. I also lay out a microphone to clip onto the guest. Once everything is checked out, I go to the lobby to meet the guest.

I bring the guest back to Studio C and seat them in a chair on the set. If you’ve watched our program Focus on CET, you’ll know which set I’m talking about. I make two telephone calls and establish communications with the network.

Then I put earpiece in the guest’s ear and clip the microphone to their jacket or tie. The guest chats with the program’s producer and I talk with the program’s technical staff. They tell me how to frame the shot with the camera and if the audio level is too loud or too soft. If the guest has some shine on their face, a little makeup is applied. We wait for the interview to begin. Sometimes the interview begins on time and sometimes the segment is delayed due to breaking news. Five or so minutes later, it’s all over. I remove the earpiece and microphone from the guest and escort them back to the lobby. Then I go back to the studio to reset for the next feed. We always have it set up and ready to go.

A few years ago, a guest showed up in our lobby for a hit that we knew nothing about. We had them on the air five minutes later.

Paul Verhagen is a Production Specialist at CET. He is the station’s main audio mixer and also a videotape editor. He also gives the best station tours in town.