The search continues…

First off apologies for the delayed posting, I’ve had a few family things to take care of.     

 

But to follow on from last week’s posting I had the pleasure to experience a very different type of interview. After fruitless applications, a rather prestigious network contacted me regarding a position I’d applied for several weeks earlier.

To begin with, I wasn’t even sure that networks still respond to online applications but it just goes to show that you never know which applications will be the ones to get you the job.

So I was invited for an interview on Monday and it couldn’t have been more different an experience to the ones I described last week. Even preparing for the interview felt more serious as I realized there was the chance I’d actually be judged on my ability to do the job rather than my ability to schmooze the interviewer.

And I was, I was interviewed by HR and then separately by the two VPs, one male, one female thereby screwing my theory that men go with their gut and women ask questions – although the woman did have the prepared questions.

Fortunately realizing this would be a serious set up I was able to prepare answers to the questions I knew they’d asked. A friend who worked at the BBC many years ago and who coached me for a particularly tricky BBC interview explained to me that everything you need to know about what you’ll be asked in the interview is to be found in the job description. Everything they’re looking for, they put in there and it’s your job in the interview to demonstrate how your experience fits into that. Now that’s pretty tricky to do off the cuff so I always recommend prepping your answers in advance and practicing so they sound more natural (I know that sounds goofy but it works).

The only question that I was unprepared for was actually the simplest question: Tell us about you as a person. Coming from a different country I don’t have the same framework to assess what sort of answer they might have been expecting, in the UK it is certainly common to make some self deprecating comments that would make everyone laugh and show the interviewer how humorous and easy going you are. In the US however, I just don’t know what self deprecating humor may come across as and with health, dental and vision at stake, I didn’t want to take any chances so I make some noises towards TV shows I liked and we moved swiftly on.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering whether I did indeed get the job or not; sadly that’s not something I can answer yet but I did get invited back for a second interview so I must have done something right!

 Ahaaa, and before I forget I promised to mention and post a link to media-match.com who are a pretty good job posting website. Where they’re a bit better than the likes of mandy is that once your resume is posted it’s possible for employers to look you up.the reason I know about them is their sister site in theUK productionbase is the place everyone in the UK gets their jobs through.

A little goes a long way

Another week and another round of interviews; it’s very strange to be on the receiving end of interviews and I decided to write my piece this week on the subject hoping some of my experiences will benefit both interviewees and interviewers.                                          

 

I have interviewed my fair share of people, particularly in the last couple of years and I can tell you that no matter how good your technique, you’re likely to choose the right person only about half the time.

 

Most people tell you whatever they think you want to hear and I can’t count the number of times a PA I’m interviewing has told me their ultimate ambition is to be a producer.

 

In a nutshell the one thing that will encourage me to hire someone is enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for working in TV, for the job and for the work they’ve done previously because enthusiasm is what will take them through the long hours, crazy schedules and ridiculous demands. Sure experience counts for a lot, but it’s not enough without genuine enthusiasm.

 

Some advice to those being interviewed:

·         Make sure you’re there on time

·         Dress smartly

·         Bring a copy of your resume,

·         Do your research before you get there

·         Ask questions

·         And don’t be nervous; just remember to smile and be polite.

 

This is a list of things people have done in interviews that have instantly put me off hiring them.

·         Going to the wrong address, if you can’t find your way to the interview, how can I trust you to get the crew to their location on time?

·         Not making an effort with how you’re dressed – it tells me you’re not taking the job very seriously

·         Making inappropriate personal comments – that’s an instant no, it tells me you will be just as inappropriate on set to talent or contributors, not to mention getting on my nerves

·         Mumbling your answers or being extremely shy. I’m sorry but if you can’t be articulate with me then you’re unlikely to be an effective communicator on set.

·         Being too cocky, this happens wayyy too often with people starting out. If you’re cocky and over confident in the interview it tells me that you’re going to have a hard time following instruction.

 

Interviewing on the other hand is such an imprecise art in our field that some interviewers can be forgiven for not taking the process seriously with many people choosing to make it up as they go along.

Case in point, I had an interview today where the guy didn’t seem to have any questions to ask me, not even the most common, am I eligible to work in the US (my English accent is a dead giveaway). In fact this interview was so relaxed that the interviewer seemed entirely surprised when I asked what they were looking for in the role. I find that to be an invaluable question to ask in an interview so you know exactly what you sort of job you’re walking into).

In my recent experience, male interviews tend to wing it going with their ‘gut’ instinct, which can be impossible to preempt, while women have a set list of questions. Sometimes a little too set. In a recent interview a women sat and read a list of questions without looking up from the list once.

 

My only advice to those interviewing is this: Please respect my time.

·         It’s not respecting my time to take a personal phone call whilst in the middle of interviewing me (happened recently)

·         It’s not respectful to interview me for a different position than the one I’ve applied for without telling me (happened recently and should have been a warning sign)

·         And above all, it’s not respectful if I’ve taken the time to come in and meet with you not to drop me a two line email to say, thank you but we’ve hired someone else. (Only one company out of the dozens I’ve applied for have taken the time to let me know the position was filled).

 

On a serious note, this is happening with alarming regularity and while I appreciate that people are very busy, I don’t accept this as a viable excuse.  If I can manage to find the time while working 16-18 hours a day 6 days a week, then you can also find two minutes to keep a little decency and respect in this industry. A little goes a long way.

 

Making Waves

While I’m have a little time between jobs I’m using it to brush up on my technical skills. There’s not a lot of call for production managers to be able to hoist up a camera and be able to shoot but the way budgets are going that may not be far off.       

So I went online and found a great little evening course in downtown Manhattan (dctvny.org in case you’re interested). I was the only TV professional in our small class but I was infinitely the least active. What I mean by this was that the other people on the course were all using the class to learn skills for documentary making and my god were these interesting topics they were working on. One was documenting the stories of people involved in the civil rights movement in New York; another was interviewing Hollywood bigwigs for her new website; an American Idol for film makers (www.moviehatch.com). Another girl had just completed a film (Making Waves, Saving Lies) about a school in Kenya that teaches women rape and AIDS awareness – look out for it screening in NYC.

What struck me was how simply these people were going about and filming these stories without fuss or budgets or network approval. Sure, they’re not broadcasting on television but the stories are still out there being seen and heard.

This is something that’s really running around my mind at the moment, why there aren’t more interesting documentaries shown on television outside of HBO & Showtime. I was having dinner with a friend last night and she said that people in the states don’t want to be depressed, they want to be entertained.

Is that true folks? Is there no real documentary out there because people don’t want them or are people interested in hearing stories from the world around them? I’d love to know your thoughts on this…

Top 10 Tips for producing cheaper TV

Now I don’t usually post more than once a week but this article made its way into my inbox the other day and I thought it interesting enough to share.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/5002118.article

It provides the top 10 tips for producing cheaper TV. A couple of the points I wouldn’t necessarily agree with such as going tapeless or shooting on HD as a cost saving device - no matter which way you look at it, you’ll be paying more money for storage in post not to mention more money for the equipment and stock. But some of the other suggestions are really sound.

Enjoy!

 

When did reality television become an oxymoron (with emphasis on moron)?

So, I’ve been watching a lot of reality show lately to get some ideas for a series I’m helping to develop and I urge you if you haven’t to watch a show called I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here currently showing on NBC.                             

 

The reason I’m enjoying it is not the sight of celebrities eating rat tails and live stick insects (one actually tried to climb back out of someone’s mouth) or having mini melt downs, although these are all very entertaining. The reason I’m enjoying it is because it’s a welcome break from the cookie cutter reality shows on VH1 & MTV (and to some extent the networks too).

Tried and tested series where cast members from one show are given their own shows (I Love New York, Daisy of Love) and new shows are created from the bones of old (I Love Money, New York Goes to Work).

While they are sometime enjoyable, I find more and more that I feel like I’m watching the same show over and over again. The contestants are less like real people and more like caricatures (cue any girl who has ever been on Rock of Love).

And can someone please tell me why I can’t watch a single reality show where contestant interviews aren’t used as a narrative device?  This is usually in the form of a contestant who is up for elimination saying: So I’m up for elimination and I don’t know what to think. I could be going home tonight.

I’d like to add that the contestant is usually saying this in full make up and wearing the same clothing each time they come up for elimination ‘and don’t know what to think at this point’ because this is a totally lazy narrative device filmed after the show wraps, usually during the edit process when the producers realize they actually have no idea how to string a story together and spoon feed lines to the contestants.

I find it really peculiar that the only true ‘reality’ shows, or what we once called observation documentaries are on the premium internet channels, as though it’s some sort of intellectual porn.

Maybe some of you out there can enlighten me as to how things got to be like this and whether you think there is a market for reality shows that aren’t over produced. Some production values are required sure to tell the story but substituting flashy techniques for real substance just doesn’t cut the mustard for me.