Win Stuff 101

ESTV’s Win Stuff from Pre to Post Production

Win Stuff typically films two weeks on and one week off per month
Pre-Production
Talent Coordination- Our contestants consist of student organizations from around campus. We
have three members from a student organization come on the show and answer trivia questions.
Always have a list of potential student organizations on hand to make sure you can schedule
students weeks in advance. You don’t always have to know someone in that organization, but
that does help. Look for campus organizations that aren’t well known; you want your shows to
have variety.
Questions- Our show has three rounds
Round 1: Categories, which consist of Music, TV, Movies, Sports, etc. There are only
three categories on the screen for round one. Contestants must choose the category they want to
answer a question for. Depending on your student organization, these categories should and will
change to make sure all contestants have a fair shot at winning stuff. Most Basketball players
wouldn’t know about Glee! The person with the highest points at the end of round 1 gets a bonus
hint token.
Round 2: Connections, One-liners & Chronically Online. Contestants must select the
category for which they want to answer a question. Connections: There will be two people, and
the contestant has to guess how they are connected. One-liners, there will be a quote, and the
contestant has to guess who said it and where it is from. Chronically Online, there is a quote on
the board, and the contestants have to finish the quote that is usually from a popular TikTok at
the time or an old Vine. These questions can and should be catered to your contestants as well!
The Person with the highest score at the end of round 2 moves on to round 3.
Round 3: Lightning Round, the final standing contestant must answer 2 sets of questions,
typically 10 each. These are yes or no questions. For example, the questions would be “Is this a
shade of red?” and when asked “maroon,” they should say yes, and when asked “hazel,” they
would say no, and there are 10 yes/nos per question and two questions total. If the contestant
answers 15 of the 20 questions correctly, they win a bonus prize.
Graphics- Only rounds 1 and 2 have graphics; each question has a graphic for the title of the
question (which is usually something relating to the question or even a hint to the answer itself),
the actual question, the answer, and a hint. The Graphics are typically the Win Stuff logo without
“Win Stuff,” and the graphics are typed directly onto that picture. All graphics are designed and
edited on the main hard drive kept in the studio unless the editor has it. File Organization is very
important because each graphic is saved in a specific order, so when it is submitted to the
engineers, it can be uploaded correctly into the studio. Each graphic is typically named with the
season/episode number, Question number, and then A, B, C, D, etc. for title, question, answer,
hint.
Studio Reservation- The Studio is reserved at the beginning of every semester, but it still needs
to be confirmed within 24 hours of the show. That lets the engineers know that there needs to be
someone there to help set up the studio and be on hand in case anything goes wrong. Graphics
also need to be submitted to the engineers 24 hours before the show.

Production
Director- The designated director for filming oversees the entire visual and technical process.
They discuss camera angles, lighting, sound, and pacing to make sure the show runs smoothly.
They represent the control room and are in communication with each person, controlling all the
aspects of the show.
Technical Director- This person changes camera angles based on what the director
communicates. They can also make calls based on what they think would reflect well in the final
cut. When the host is speaking, they would ensure the camera is on the host rather than a wide
shot of the studio.
Audio- This person gives the lav microphones to the host and contestants. Before the show
begins, they collaborate with the floor manager to do a Mic Test and make sure each mic is
adjusted to the voice level of each contestant. Throughout the show, they should adjust the mic
levels if there are any sudden laughs or competition.
Score Keeper- Types the contestants' names onto the panel and updates the scoreboard as each
contestant gets a point. Round two has double the points per correct answer.
Graphics- This person clicks what graphics are on what TV in the studio. The TVs are how the
contestants see the categories and can pick which one they want. When the director says
“Take…A/B/C, etc,” you are changing which graphic is on the TVs. The graphics should already
be in order if they were filed correctly during design.
Floor Manager- Is the direct communication from the studio to the control room. This person
does the countdown to begin filming and communicates through hand signals to the host when
we are coming up on time per segment. The Director typically lets the floor manager know what
to communicate to the host via headset.
How the game works- Each participant begins with a buzzer button and three hint tokens. The
first contestant chooses a category, and the host reads the first question while the graphics person
changes the screen to the question. If a contestant knows the answer, they hit their button and can
guess. If they are right, they get the point and can choose the next category. If they are wrong,
another contestant can buzz in and guess. If they are stuck, contestants can also choose to use
one of their hints. The host will be provided with one hint for each question. If no one answers
correctly, the person who last answered a question correctly chooses again. Whoever has the
most points at the end of round 1 receives an extra hint token for round 2. The highest scorer at
the end of round 2 goes on to round 3 for the chance to win a bonus prize. Every contestant gets
a prize, and they choose between three options in order of the most points earned to the least
points.
Post-Production
Editor- Editing WinStuff is pretty simple, thanks to its consistent format, aside from the On The
Streets episodes. Most of the show stays as recorded, with only a few parts that need attention.
The editing process starts by adding the intro graphic and theme song at the beginning. This
leads into the host’s introduction, which usually doesn’t get edited until they start explaining the
rules. At that point, we typically add a background song available on the main hard drive. The
episode then runs as-is until a break in the middle of the first round. That’s where we insert a
hard cut, followed by the intro graphic and theme song again, which serves as the standard
transition between rounds. This same transition is used at the end of round one and again at the
end of round two. If contestants are taking longer than ten seconds to answer, we include a
waiting song that plays until someone buzzes in or the host moves on. This audio is also on the
drive. The episode wraps up with ESTV credits, which can be found in the same location. While
the overall format doesn’t change much from week to week, editors are encouraged to be
creative and add small touches to enhance the final product. Occasionally, production might
request extra clips be added or removed, but for the most part, the episode is edited just as it was
recorded.
Social Media- Social Media should go hand-in-hand with the editor. Editors should cut small
clips/highlights from each show and send them to the social media coordinator to post online. We
have our Instagram, which is posted on and kept up to date. When finished episodes are posted,
that should also be posted on social media, potentially with the collaboration of that student
organization’s Instagram. Behind-the-scenes photos of the crew could also be potential for
Instagram. Social Media presence can help with episode views.

On the Streets
These episodes are a pretty significant departure from a normal in-studio taping. Instead of a
strictly formatted show, the hosts walk around campus and ask random students questions for a
chance to win a dollar or a small prize. We typically use our phones or cameras rented from the
gear room to film. Unfortunately, Elon students are busy, so it can be difficult to find contestants
on the street who are willing to stop and answer our questions. This puts a lot of pressure on the
hosts to create something entertaining out of nothing, but this is always a fun challenge. These
episodes provide the most creative freedom for editors. There is no strict format and lots of room
to implement new ideas and bits. On The Streets is typically filmed once or twice per season.

Note from the Host:

The best Win Stuff episodes always come from days when the crew and contestants show up
with creative energy and a good attitude. At the end of the day, the whole point is to have fun.
Don’t stress too much. This is a student television show, not a high-stakes production. Mistakes
will happen, and that’s fine. What matters most is that we enjoy the process and make something
we’re proud of. I’m excited for another great season!