Being on set can be stressful (and exhilarating!). But there are some key roles found on traditional film sets that'll help you stay on track. Be sure to leave some wiggle room for new processes, too so you can tailor these roles to your team and your show.

Graham Burns & Jackson Cook

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Co-Creative Directors

Dave Mizzoni

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Actor & Producer 

Liz Cohen

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VP of Development

Nate Nichols

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Creative Director

Kibi Anderson

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Digital Content & Strategy Executive

Chris Lavigne

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Head of Production

Chris Savage

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Co-Founder

Jeff Ayers

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Digital Media & Broadcasting Manager

E11 Resource Image

Roles for Shooting Worksheet

Lighting-Tutorial

Lighting Tutorial

E11 On Set - Deleted Scenes 0315.00 00 01 18.Still001

Deleted Scenes

On Set


DAVE MIZZONI: Being on set is like throwing a huge party that's very expensive.

GRAHAM BURNS: It's like being on a synchronized swimming team. Everybody's got to be in sync.

JEFF AYERS: It's like a rock show.

LIZ COHEN: It's like being at summer camp. So much fun.

MYKIM DANG: It's like choreographing a really complicated but beautiful ballet.

ADAM LISAGOR: Being on set is like jazz. You got the guy on the brushes. You got the guy on stand up bass. And then you got the first AD going, we're really behind schedule.

NARRATOR: The day you hit record for your show is the day that all of your hard work in pre-production pays off. When it comes to life on set, whether you're making a show by yourself or working with a big production company, you need to account for these six vital things. That's leadership, lighting, camera, set, sound, and talent. Once they're covered, it's show time.

CHRIS LAVIGNE: Being on set can be stressful. There's cameras. There's lights. There's wires all over the ground. There are people running around. It's a lot like a business, and if nobody's held accountable, something is going to slip through the cracks and you're going to kick yourself in post-production.

NARRATOR: Leadership on set is of the utmost importance. You need to have someone there to run the show. Meet the Brothers Buoy, Jackson and Graham.

JACKSON COOK: We're not related.

GRAHAM BURNS: No, no we're not.

JACKSON COOK: At the end of the day, someone's going to need to make decisions, a single person who's going to be in charge of saying, OK, this is what we're doing.

DAVE MIZZONI: Leaders are crucial. You have to know who to turn to when something goes wrong.

LIZ COHEN: There is a trickle down effect in terms of how people are treated and what the vibe is. If the people at top are angry, it's not going to be a well-run set.

NATE NICHOLS: Your objective is to set a tone. It's to set a vibe. People should be energized, and be stoked and proud of the work they're doing that day. That's your role as a leader on a set.

NARRATOR: Lighting can make or break the look of your scene. Whether you use natural light or you're investing in studio lights, you need to be intentional.

LIZ COHEN: Fo sho.

NARRATOR: Liz Cohen has been on sets for Netflix and HBO.

LIZ COHEN: Lighting is how it looks and how it feels. You're giving off like a tone and a style.

JACKSON COOK: Having somebody to take care of lighting is really important on set because they're super annoying to set up.

GRAHAM BURNS: OK, let's start that over.

KIBI ANDERSON: You know, lighting sometimes is the thing that people don't think about, and that is disastrous, especially for someone like me who may have darker skin. And making sure that there's someone who understands how to light a variety of different textures and skin colors is so important. So ideal you can get a good DP or camera guy who understands how to handle lighting, but don't forget that. It can make or break whether your show looks dark and dingy or bright and airy, and you want to err for bright and airy.

NARRATOR: Operating the camera properly is critical. You need to stay in focus and you need to make sure your show is actually being recorded. Here's comedian and producer Dave Mizzoni.

DAVE MIZZONI: Welcome to my office. You probably don't understand anything about a camera. And getting somebody who does is the most important thing that you can do, so that you have somebody who knows what can and cannot be achieved on the equipment that you're working with.

NATE NICHOLS: You have ideas that are specific to a more film-y vibe or a video vibe. Your cameras will help get your idea and bring it to life.

LIZ COHEN: If your camera's moving, if it's on sticks, whatever it is, the camera is helping get across your message.

NARRATOR: And what does "on sticks" mean?

LIZ COHEN: "On sticks" means on a tripod.

NARRATOR: And don't forget set design. You don't necessarily need to build a back lot, but messy backgrounds and bad sets will overshadow even the best content.

GRAHAM BURNS: Everything that you see behind us has been planned. There are all sorts of indicators that you want to use to indicate to your audience the mood, the feel, and the vibe of what the video is going to be.

KIBI ANDERSON: You want to make sure that you can ground your audience so they're looking at something that is attractive, that makes them want to stay watching, and so thinking about set can be so important.

DAVE MIZZONI: Whether it's colors, or it's neat and clean and tidy, you're communicating who you are through the visuals.

NARRATOR: But good looks aren't everything. Sound is just as important when it comes to your production days.

LIZ COHEN: Sound, you have to hear people or hear the message, hear what people are talking about.

DAVE MIZZONI: How am I sounding today?

CREW: Good. Silky smooth.

DAVE MIZZONI: Silky smooth? OK, that's good. That's good. That's half me, half you.

NATE NICHOLS: If you don't have the right sound design or sound aesthetic or sound equipment, it'll be very, very hard to cut the full experience you want to take and immerse someone into your final cut. Because it's not just a visual experience people are having watching, it's an auditory experience as well. So sound is that important.

GRAHAM BURNS: (WHISPERING) You're so important.

JACKSON COOK: You guys can't see this, but there's a mic right there.

NARRATOR: Uh, actually, we can see the mic.

JACKSON COOK: You guys can see this, but there's a mic right there.

NARRATOR: The crew, the gear, and the set are the foundation of your production days. But your talent is there to ground your show and represent your brand.

GRAHAM BURNS: Choosing your talent is very important, obviously.

LIZ COHEN: Talent is kind of the face of your brand and the face of your show. What vibe are they giving off? Are they enthusiastic? Are they mellow?

DAVE MIZZONI: The most important thing is to make sure that everyone has what they need to deliver. An actor a lot of times has to deliver a performance in a very short amount of time, so relinquish the notion that we are dramatic. I mean, we are. That's the reason why you hired us.

NARRATOR: OK, let's recap. On set, there are six areas of responsibility-- leadership, lighting, camera, set, sound, and talent.

CHRIS LAVIGNE: You've got to think about all of these things every time you shoot. So if you're a production team of one, that means you are running the show. You're thinking about lighting. You're making sure the sound is good, that the framing looks nice, that the shot's in focus. And hey, you actually may have to hop in front of the camera yourself.

As your production team grows, roles become more specialized. So a three-person crew might include somebody running the camera and adjusting the lights. You have another person that is focused just on the script and directing the talent. And then maybe you have a third person, that's your audio person, that's focused solely on getting good clean sound.

A bigger team is going to mean even more specialized roles. So now you have a director, you have an assistant director, a director of photography who probably also has an assistant, a gaffer who can handle lighting, production designer, set designer, production sound mixer, hair and makeup, and some production assistants who can grab coffee, tea, snacks, and just generally lend a hand anywhere somebody needs it. Thank you very much.

CHRIS SAVAGE: It's a lot like businesses at different stages.

NARRATOR: That's Wistia co-founder Chris Savage.

CHRIS SAVAGE: As a startup, your co-founders are going to do everything. They're going to be building the product. They're going to be doing support. They're going to be doing sales. But as your company scales, you get departments and people who specialize in all those things. You get a sales team. You get a product and engineering department. And that helps you scale what you're doing and make it even better.

The same is true for your production team. We started with one person doing all of our production. But as we've scaled, Wistia Studios has become five people who are all more specialized and more focused on the different aspects of doing production.

CHRIS LAVIGNE: Most businesses that are making shows have production teams that consist of around one to five people. You can absolutely make a great show with just one producer. We did it for a long time here at Wistia.

JEFF AYERS: And you can also do it on a very small budget.

NARRATOR: Here's Jeff from Deathwish Coffee to tell us more.

JEFF AYERS: It's me again. I literally create over three to four shows per week, and have created, written, and starred in over 500 shows for Deathwish Coffee. That can be done with an army of people. But it can be done with just one.

NARRATOR: Whether you have a team of one or many, your time on set will be smooth sailing as long as you've covered your bases. Next up, we'll talk about what it's like to direct talent or to be on camera. Until then, crew up and get ready for a party on production day.

