Vision mixers were regular members of the production crew of the 1963 version ofDoctor Who.

During the recording of a programme, they sat in the control booth above the studio floor and decided when to switch between the — usuallyfour – cameras that were being used to film an episode, according to thedirector's instructions. They were thus "liveeditors", who controlled when a particular camera was actively recording.

They also were responsible for somevisual effects, such as the insertion of pre-recorded materialplayed back into a scene, and indeed the achievement of the original title sequence. Undoubtedly, however, their most important visual effect was that ofregeneration, which — as established byTenth Planet vision mixer,Shirley Coward — was always achieved by some form of camera cross-fade.

Interviewed onThe SensoritesDVD extraVision On, earlyHartnell-era vision mixer,Clive Doig, had this to say about his job:

What I'm doing as a vision mixer is cutting to the camera against the dialogue of the [camera script that thedirector has prepared]."Clive Doig

Because no mainstreamDWU show afterSurvival has been produced in a multi-camera environment, vision mixers essentially haven't been used since1989. Very brief exceptions occasionally crop up, however, as when characters are seen to be watchingtelevision programmes. The clearest examples of vision mixing in theBBC Wales era are perhapsTrisha Goddard's scenes inArmy of Ghosts.

AlthoughSurvival was the final story of the regular run ofDoctor Who to employ a vision mixer throughout its production, the last BBC-licensed story to use vision mixing wasThe Curse of Fatal Death. It in fact parodied the work of vision mixers in the original series by showing how quick cutting between cameras created the "endless corridors" down whichthe Doctor and hiscompanion typically ran.

List of vision mixers[[edit] |[edit source]]

Television[[edit] |[edit source]]

Season 1[[edit] |[edit source]]

• An Unearthly Child -Clive Doig (DOC:Vision On)
• The Edge of Destruction - Clive Doig (INFO:The Edge of Destruction)
• Marco Polo - Clive Doig (DOC:Vision On)
• The Aztecs - Clive Doig andJim Stephens (INFO:The Aztecs)
• The Reign of Terror -Fred Law and Clive Doig (INFO:The Reign of Terror)

Season 2[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Planet of Giants - Clive Doig andGraham Giles (INFO:Planet of Giants)
• The Dalek Invasion of Earth -John Lopes,Ann Smith, Clive Doig (INFO:The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
• The Rescue - Clive Doig (INFO:The Rescue)
• The Web Planet - Clive Doig (INFO:The Web Planet)
• The Crusade - John Lopes (REF:The Crusade)
• The Space Museum - Clive Doig (INFO:The Space Museum)
• The Chase - Clive Doig and John Lopes (INFO:The Chase)
• The Time Meddler - John Lopes andDave Hanks (INFO:The Time Meddler)

Season 3[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Galaxy 4 - Clive Doig (DOC:Vision On)
• The Ark -Clive Halls (INFO:The Ark)
• The Gunfighters - Clive Halls andJoan Duncan (INFO:The Gunfighters)

Season 4[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Tenth Planet -Shirley Coward (REF:The Second Doctor Handbook)
• The Moonbase -Ian Easterbrook (INFO:The Moonbase)
• The Evil of the Daleks -John Barclay (INFO:Day of the Daleks)

Season 6[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Dominators -Bill Morton (INFO:The Dominators)
• The Mind Robber -Geoff Walmsley (INFO:The Mind Robber)
• The Invasion -David Langford and John Barclay (INFO:The Invasion)
• The Krotons - David Langford (INFO:The Krotons)
• The Seeds of Death -Chris Griffin (INFO:The Seeds of Death)
• The War Games - David Langford (INFO:The War Games)

Season 7[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Doctor Who and the Silurians -Mike Catherwood (INFO:Doctor Who and the Silurians)
• The Ambassadors of Death - John Barclay (INFO:The Ambassadors of Death)
• Inferno -John Gorman (INFO:Inferno)

Season 8[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Terror of the Autons - Shirley Coward (INFO:Terror of the Autons)
• The Mind of Evil - Mike Catherwood (INFO:The Mind of Evil)
• The Claws of Axos - Mike Catherwood (INFO:The Claws of Axos)
• Colony in Space -Jim Stephens (INFO:Colony in Space)
• The Dæmons - John Gorman (INFO:The Dæmons)

Season 9[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Day of the Daleks - Mike Catherwood (INFO:Day of the Daleks)
• The Curse of Peladon -Michael Turner (INFO:The Curse of Peladon)
• The Sea Devils - John Gorman (INFO:The Sea Devils)
• The Mutants - Mike Turner (INFO:The Mutants)

Season 10[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Carnival of Monsters - Bill Morton (INFO:Carnival of Monsters)
• Frontier in Space - Mike Turner and Shirley Coward (INFO:Frontier in Space)
• Planet of the Daleks - Mike Turner (INFO:Planet of the Daleks)

Season 11[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Death to the Daleks -Nick Lake (INFO:Death to the Daleks)
• The Monster of Peladon - Mike Turner and Nick Lake (INFO:The Monster of Peladon)
• Planet of the Spiders - Nick Lake (INFO:Planet of the Spiders)

Season 12[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Robot -Graham Giles and Fred Law (INFO:Robot)
• The Ark in Space -Mary Kellehar (INFO:The Ark in Space)
• The Sontaran Experiment - Mary Kellehar (INFO:The Sontaran Experiment)
• Genesis of the Daleks - John Gorman (INFO:Genesis of the Daleks)
• Revenge of the Cybermen - Nick Lake (INFO:Revenge of the Cybermen)

Season 13[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Terror of the Zygons - Nick Lake (INFO:Terror of the Zygons)
• Pyramids of Mars -James Gould (INFO:Pyramids of Mars)
• The Android Invasion - Nick Lake (INFO:The Android Invasion)
• The Seeds of Doom -Sue Thorne,Heather Gilder and Graham Giles (INFO:The Seeds of Doom)

Season 14[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Masque of Mandragora - Graham Giles (INFO:The Masque of Mandragora)
• The Hand of Fear - Nick Lake (INFO:The Hand of Fear)
• The Face of Evil - Nick Lake (INFO:The Face of Evil)
• The Talons of Weng-Chiang -Pat Mordecai (INFO:The Talons of Weng-Chiang)

Season 15[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Sun Makers - James Gould (INFO:The Sun Makers)
• Underworld - Shirley Coward (INFO:Underworld)
• The Invasion of Time - Shirley Coward (INFO:The Invasion of Time)

Season 16[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Ribos Operation - Sue Thorne and Fred Law (INFO:The Ribos Operation)
• The Pirate Planet - Sue Thorne (INFO:The Pirate Planet)
• The Stones of Blood -Nigel Finnis and Fred Law (INFO:The Stones of Blood)

Season 17[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Destiny of the Daleks - Nigel Finnis
• City of Death - Nigel Finnis
• The Creature from the Pit - James Gould
• Nightmare of Eden - Nigel Finnis
• The Horns of Nimon - James Gould
• Shada - James Gould

Season 18[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Leisure Hive -Paul del Bravo
• Meglos - Graham Giles
• Full Circle -Carol Johnson
• State of Decay - Carol Johnson
• Warriors' Gate - Paul del Bravo andJim Stephens
• The Keeper of Traken - Nigel Finnis
• Logopolis - Carol Johnson

Season 19[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Castrovalva - Carol Johnson
• Four to Doomsday - Carol Johnson
• Kinda - James Gould
• The Visitation - Carol Johnson
• Black Orchid - Carol Johnson
• Earthshock - James Gould
• Time-Flight - Nigel Finnis

Season 20[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Arc of Infinity - Carol Johnson
• Snakedance - Carol Johnson
• Mawdryn Undead - Carol Johnson
• Terminus - Carol Johnson
• Enlightenment -Paul Wheeler
• The King's Demons - Nigel Finnis
• The Five Doctors - Shirley Coward

Season 21[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Warriors of the Deep - Nigel Finnis
• The Awakening - Paul Wheeler
• Frontios - Paul Wheeler
• Resurrection of the Daleks - Paul Wheeler
• Planet of Fire -Dinah Long
• The Caves of Androzani - Dinah Long
• The Twin Dilemma - Dinah Long

Season 22[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Attack of the Cybermen - Nigel Finnis
• Vengeance on Varos - Nigel Finnis andJayne Beckett
• The Mark of the Rani - Jayne Beckett
• The Two Doctors - Jayne Beckett
• Timelash - Jayne Beckett
• Revelation of the Daleks - Dinah Long
• A Fix with Sontarans -Sue Collins

Season 23[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Mysterious Planet - Jim Stephens
• Mindwarp - Jim Stephens
• Terror of the Vervoids - Shirley Coward (also Jim Stephens, uncredited^[1])
• The Ultimate Foe - Shirley Coward and Jim Stephens

Season 24[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Time and the Rani - Sue Thorne

Season 25[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Remembrance of the Daleks - Shirley Coward and Fred Law
• The Happiness Patrol - Shirley Coward
• Silver Nemesis -Barbara Gainsley
• The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - Barbara Gainsley, Dinah Long,Julie Mann and Fred Law

Season 26[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Battlefield - Dinah Long
• Ghost Light -Susan Brincat
• The Curse of Fenric - Dinah Long
• Survival - Susan Brincat

Home video[[edit] |[edit source]]

Season 22[[edit] |[edit source]]

• A Fix with Sontarans - Sue Collins

Documentaries about vision mixing[[edit] |[edit source]]

Vision mixing has been the primary focus of two documentaries in the classicDoctor Who DVD range.

Footnotes[[edit] |[edit source]]