Television operations and production is a team effort where clear communication between all members is critical. Communicating a camera angle, inserting a graphic or counting into a video replay all require clear, uncluttered, undistorted communications between producers, directors, operators and technicians.
When I started working in television/outside broadcast, I used to think the most important job of audio was to get on-air and mix a good sounding show. I learned quickly that intercoms were probably the most important aspect of audio’s job. You can lose a camera, crash a recording machine and even up-cut a commentary microphone, but if you lose the producer’s or director’s microphone you are probably screwed—believe me I know.
