Show Format:

The show is edited to run 58:00 to fit the TV format. Each show starts with a brief introduction, and then the Guest Artist will start a concert, which should run about 65 minutes. This gives us extra content so we can edit to fit the time format. Much easier for us to edit out one extra song, than to fill 4 minutes of no music.

Studio Session Live TV schedule for Wed evenings in Hopkinton Ma, at HCAM TV 77 Main street.
Some evenings we shoot one show, some evenings we shoot two shows.
If we shoot two shows,
The first sound check at 5:30 and show at 6:00-7:10,
second  sound check at 7:30 and show at 8:00-9:10.

About Studio Session Live:

Studio Session Live started at HCAM-TV in Hopkinton with a concept by access producer Bob Crownfield.  Music, on cable access, but with PBS Quality.  Studio Session Live is music: A concert  recorded in the studio with a Guest Artist, and then edited for broadcast. 56 programs were recorded, with Guest Artists from MA, ME, RI, VA,  and and the UK. It starts again, with weekly scheduled for the first year, and for each of the next 5 years. Shows will air in several dozen towns, and several states

Airing now, it will bring Folk, Folk Rock, Blues, Celtic, Renaissance music, others styles to come, in a new hour show every week, to cities all over Ma and beyond

About Producer Bob Crownfield:

 Bob insists on quality in music and in program.  Don't distract from the Guest Artists music, which is the real subject. Search for and choose good Guests, concentrate on making a good show, and let the Guest Artist make the good music. Choose emerging artists as well as established artists“.  Experience has shown that attention to both artistic and technical production quality pays off.  65 shows later, it has worked very well.  SSL video is chosen by Guest Artists for their websites because of its quality. Bob is at home with artistic problems from sound mix, to camera angles and transitions, and selecting the right Guests and helping them to feel at home and to make another great show.

About Producing Studio Session Live

When Studio Session Live was first an idea, one of the first goals was to achieve audio and video quality that exceeded the normal. The second goal was to make sure that  nothing we did came between the audience and the guest artist.

Studio Session Live is a commitment between the guest artist and the producer. In return for the show that the guest artist creates, we  produce the show.The viewer should enjoy the performance, not see the medium.

As you can imagine, producing a television show like Studio Session Live takes a lot of resources. When I walk into the studio and start setting lighting for the show, I look at more than $250,000 worth of very expensive and technical equipment. First hour is the lighting setup, the second is the sound setup. The sound equipment produces CD / Studio quality 16 channel digital recordings which we remix into stereo, synch with the video, and edit for cablecast.

Before the guest artists walks into the studio, we have already spent more than four man hours on the show. The volunteer crew will include  three cameramen, a director, and a sound engineer. We will record 16 channels of digital sound.  By the time the show is recorded. we have spent another 10 man-hours. Post production, remixing, and editing will take another eight to ten man-hours. That adds up to 20 to 30 man-hours per show, all donated by volunteers. Remixing and editing times vary and can add 4 to 8 more hours per show.