Hurry up and wait

So I greet you this week with exciting news in the world of television, not only do I read in Variety that the movie Heathers is to be remade into a TV series, which hopefully will keep its dark edge rather have a 90210 style make over complete with bad acting, high gloss no substance characters and appalling storylines.

I also read that following the murder–suicide of a contestant on two of their reality shows - can anyone say psychological evaluation? – VH1 are finally looking to change their current slate of programming, which lets face it can all be traced back directly from Surreal Life*.

This is fantastic news for the likes of the indies who make actually interesting shows, although this may not be so great for Pepa or TLC’s Chili who were both set to ‘look for love’ in the fall season.

Yes that’s right folks I’m back in the states, back to the cut throat market, getting a show commissioned and back to complaining about the lack of decent documentaries in this country when secretly I spent my entire time in the UK watching re-runs of Friends. (And MOTD of course!)

On the production management side, commissioning editors are still on vacation this week, which holds up production. All projects I’ve been contacted about so far are ‘waiting for approval’ - code for someone forgot to sign on the dotted line before jetting off to the Amalfi coast.

So while waiting for the industry’s September jump start I’m budgeting an indie feature and making one last ditch effort to get our docu soap commissioned. I’ve connected my man on the inside with my man who can make it happen and I hope something will come of it. My Man Who Can, a seasoned development producer told me he applauded me for taking a stab at developing a series and that I was ‘entering the arena’. I think it was meant to be a compliment but to me it isn’t.

To me the arena is full of dirty play; it’s like a WWF fight that’s rigged from the start, carefully choreographed and nobody really wins except the promoter.

In the real production world I have had a very interesting offer from a production company who are very excited about me and look set to make an offer. The only downside being that I’m hearing some not so great rumors about the head of the company being terrible to work for. No doubt next week’s blog will be about money or integrity, can you really have one without the other?

 

*Surreal Life spawned Flavor of Love, which spawned both Rock of Love and I Love New York, which in turn spawned Daisy of Love, Charm School, I Love Money, For the Love of Ray J, Real Chance of Love…the list goes on!

 

There’s No Place Like Home

There really is no place like home and I’m back in London this week. I’m quite sad to report that where I remember the UK as being innovative, interesting and unusual in programming, for the most part, I’ve been extremely disappointed. So many people I hear of are heading Stateside in pursuit of better opportunities and bigger budgets. Good luck to them I say, they’ll need it!

 

It’s extremely common to hear of production companies sending out exploratory producers to investigate the US production landscape, but more and more I’m hearing of Coordinator, Researchers, Production Managers and even Runners (or Production Assistants as you may know them) heading off to try to ‘get some work over in New York’. Most have no visa to speak of.

 

Now far be it for me, a Brit living (and sometimes working) in the States, to suggest that anyone shouldn’t try their luck. But I really feel the need to give a reality check to those considering it.

 

To begin with, working in the states is a completely different barrel of fish in terms of work ethos. Where in the UK people are often arguing over whether they get holiday pay within their weekly rate or in addition to it, you guys are probably wondering what holiday pay even is.* While the UK is currently the Wal-mart of television formats, with extremely familiar shows popping up all over the cable network (Make my Day, Secret Millionaire, Set for Life), it’s really the development producers and executives that are making the most successful transition.

 

I do know a number of British TV people who came out to New York and are reasonably successful (read: currently employed). However 90% of these workers have been brought over by a UK company or like myself, have dual citizenship. Trying to convince a US company that are already flooded with applications from extremely well qualified candidates who have worked on show that the hiring team have heard of to not only take on, but pay for the privilege of hiring someone else is pretty tough in the best of time. In this economy it is damn near impossible.

 

And the truth is that this is a shame. In my short time working in the states I have worked for both UK & US companies and while budgets may be slightly better on some of the larger channels for everyone else it’s pretty much the same. And there’s also the question of the quality that is or should, be another issue. It’s one thing to make a slightly silly progam in the UK about people who live outside of their means, it’s another altogether when it’s dumbed down for the US market. And dumb shows down they do.

 

Commissioning editors do not see intelligence in their audiences, they want to reach as broad an audience as possible within a particular age range so they can sell make up, or a DVD or magazine or anti ageing cream or car or phone or ring tone. And market research has told someone in a comparable department that in order to sell these advertising slots they shows in those time slots need to appeal to females age 16 – 24 or tweens or a gay audience with disposable income or the DINKS (double income no kids).

 

Which is really a massive shame because audiences miss out. I was lucky enough to catch a show the other night on the most wonderful channel in the UK, BBC4. It was entitled Made in Manchester and showed performances from musicians who had come out of Manchester, England. There were no ad breaks so no advertiser dictating content, which allowed viewers to see old performances from The Stone Roses, Charlatans, The Smiths, Simply Red, The Hollies, Freddie & The Dreamers and so many more. I’m sure shows like that exist on US television but they’re tucked away on niche channels predicated on the notion that if you can bunch all of a certain type of show together you can pummel the viewer with advertising just for them. Because BBC4 is paid for by the TV license it can be innovative, interesting and made for pure entertainment. When was the last time you saw something like that on US television?

 

Now before I hear cries of get back to England then if it’s so darn great. There are some wonderful things about US TV and the US that I’d miss dreadfully if I left. It just seems such a shame that in a country with so much innovation, we’re not able to churn out anything but the status quo.

 

* In the UK all workers whether short or long term, temporary or contract are entitled to paid vacation. As productions leave no room for leave during production, this often takes the form for television production crew of holiday pay. You accrue something along the lines of 1 day per two weeks worked so you’d need to work ten weeks to get a weeks paid vacation. Some companies deduct any holiday pay from the weekly rate, which is not strictly legal, while most factor the holiday pay into their budget and the worker is paid at the end of the contract for any unpaid leave.

Animals and Small Children

Almost forgot to add my two cents this week. Here in New York it’s like everything closes down for summer, unless you’re on production of course, which I blissfully am not.                                                   

Although I have roped myself into helping out a friend on a show that needs urgent transcription, this is not something I would ever usually do. In fact I’ve been successfully able to avoid logging as we call it for most of my career, however a friend in need and all that.

So I’m logging tapes of an international house buying show and watching these rushes it is amazing, utterly fascinating to see how different directors work.

The first couple of shows I did were the work of the series producer and I was utterly impressed, particularly having worked with him previously, at how skilled he is at getting people to say what he needs. You can damn near hear him editing the show in his head as they speak. He’s also wonderful at making the people feel comfortable and knowing when to let them talk and when to push them in a new direction. It was almost a pleasure to do those tapes.

However I got roped into doing ‘just one more show’ and of course this one is the polar opposite. I almost lost my lunch watching the director attempt to interview a young boy, about 5 or 6 who visible shrank into himself under the weight of the camera pointed at him and with open ended questions like; what do you think it will be like when you live in X?

Anyone who knows kids knows unequivocally that open ended questions are not the way to go. Better questions would have been;  do you like it better here or there? Anything with only two choices for the answer. Of course you can’t do one word answers which leads me onto the horror that was trying to explain the ‘say the question in the answer’ rule. I have to say that’s one of the first times I’ve really objected to anything I’ve seen anyone do on camera for a show I’ve contributed to. Interviewing a child to get a soundbite and putting them clearly under undue stress is pretty questionable. But not as damn questionable as having me transcribe it for them!

In case you’re interested, the only soundbite they’re likely to get from that one is ‘baguette’.

Next week: A look into the dangers of working with animals

It’s not what you know….

Another week down and I’m still working on development. Made a couple of steps forward finally, by engaging an ex colleague in the treatment and teaser. In fact this guy was head of development so it’s a clear case of who you know….                                                                   

He feels as I do that this idea has some substance to it (I keep wanting to say that it has legs but as it involves an amputee, I just can’t dammit) but more importantly he can pave the way to a direct line to an appropriate network, which is really just awesome.

But, this is the Production Managers blog not the development producer’s blog so today I’m going to write a little about networking. There are two reasons that this has come up recently, for one I am heading back to London for a visit soon and am using the time to network my ass off, more about that later. More relevantly I, as someone who once offered employment, often get calls, emails and texts from people looking for work.

This ranges from a direct text message, such as the one I received today which read:

Hi, this is xxxxxx xxxxx I worked with you on [name of show] and I was wondering if you knew of anyone in need of a PA.

To a faux friend / networking acquaintance who gets in touch when they’re looking:

IM: Still not found any work, getting so bored L

To the spec email:

Hi,

Cold Calling gives me the chills but I thought I’d send you my resume because I’ve just graduated from film school and am pretty sure I should be working already. I’m ready to direct because I took Directing 101 but I’m also willing to take any role like Producer, Cinematographer or PA. Here’s a link to my website www.iwanttheworldandiwantitnow.com.

Call me!

Xxx xxxx

Now it’s true I never actually received one quite like the last one but I do get plenty that are just like that and the cold calling part IS from a real email. In that instance I did what I always do when I receive an unsolicited email that is neither directed towards me nor particularly relevant. I replied.

My reply usually goes along the lines of…

Dear X,

Can I offer you some advice? If you’re planning to send unsolicited emails to people who you hope will employ you, you should really take the time to address it directly to them rather than to send one email to everyone on your list. This makes you look very lazy and doesn’t feel very personal for the person receiving it.

Best of luck

The Production Manager

I also usually ask them where they got my details. This separates those who don’t know any better from those who couldn’t give a shit. Those who reply and reply specifically to me get their resume read. Those who don’t are on my blacklist. It’s as simple as that people.

I’m not a big fan of the fishing friendships but they are a necessary evil as you never know when you’ll need someone in a pinch.

My advice is: if you’re trying to keep your name out there, drop people you know a line every once in a while to see if there’s work available and maybe let the person know what you’ve been up to work wise.  I wouldn’t advise cold emailing or cold calling people unless a) you’re amazing at it and have a strong success rate or b) you know someone in common and refer to them in your communications.

However in these desperate times (yes I said it, there’s a cold wind blowing through the media employment world these day and there’s no point denying it), sometimes you need to network. Sometimes you may wish to contact people you think would love to employ you if only they knew who you were because you’ve exhausted every other avenue. There are ways to do that if you’re considered with what you say. Always be polite, be brief and explain how you come to be writing to them.

As an example, I recently made a very good contact on LinkedIn using the following:

Hi there X,

I apologize for sending you an unsolicited email, I notice through LinkedIn that we have a couple of people in common and as you’re Head of Production, I was hoping to be able to send you my resume as I have excellent skills in the following areas……

…Best regards

The Production Manager

This email alone very nearly got me a job (scheduling conflicts prevailed). But it goes to show that networking, done right, can have an impact while networking done badly can have an adverse affect.

 

Now onto networking in London; I’ll be off in a couple of weeks and I’ll do my best to report from there what the cold media front looks like and hopefully be able to send back some optimism for a brighter time ahead. I’ve been reaching out to people I have worked with in the past to set up informal chats usually over drinks, where I will discuss with them what kind of jobs they do over in the states in the hope to get some of that work brought locally. Hopefully when they are next shooting over in the US I’ll be able to handle their project locally and I’ll finally be in a position to start offering work again. So brush up on your networking skills and remember a little goes a long way

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks…

When I first found out I was going to be ‘The Production Manager’ I was sat in a hotel room devising daily schedules for the Rachel Zoe Project’s Fashion week shoot wondering to myself how on earth I was going to find the time for these weekly postings amid the 6 days weeks and 18 hour days.                                      

 

Thanks to the economy and stubbornness on the part of the US TV industry to actual give a hard working all rounder a chance, this has not been a problem I’ve actually had to deal with. Aside from a few pesky weeks on an abysmal MTV reality show that I hope won’t see the light of day, work has been very, very sparing this year, leaving me lots of time to pass on pearls of wisdom.

It’s hard not to feel a little like an imposter writing as The Production Manager while I’m not really managing any productions officially. I am as I’ve mentioned previously working on some development for a reality show, advising small outfits on budgets and pre production and working on a few bits and pieces of my own but I’m not balls to the wall busy, which is a definite pre requisite for Production Managing.

What I am doing with my spare time is learning as much as I can about the creative side, developing, producing, writing so when I find a good production to work on I’m able to offer a lot more than creative number crunching. Every other person I meet is a videographer who writes, shoots and edits their own stuff on their little identi-kit Macintosh computers, loading them on youtube and becoming local legends. I have to admit, it’s making me feel a little inadequate.

The one thing I do have over those people is a relationship with the networks, an understanding of what goes into making a series or a one of special aired to an audience of millions (and occasionally to audiences of 5000, I’m sorry to report) and the knowledge of how to do it right.

I’m trying to put this knowledge to good use and have recently begun working on a film making workshop for kids in the local area. This week we worked out how to break down their movie trailer into segments so we could think about what scenes we could film and then we had the children storyboard their opening shot, we taught them about establishing shots and close ups.  I’d like to tell you it’s rewarding but mainly the kids are bored when they’re not being creative – how very ironic. But it’s nice to know that they are at least aware that there is a planning process involved with film making.

Now, if I only we could teach this to the film schoolers and other creative folk my life would be so much easier.

 

 

 

 

Creative Vs Production

It’s funny how those of us who work on the production side of things are always led to feel that we’re just not part of the ‘creative’ process. There is this massive misconception that all production does is book cabs and order lunches; if only it were that easy!

It’s certainly true that particularly in the reality side of things there are certain skills and techniques one learns from working up the creative side such as writing a decent script, knowing what will look good on camera and how to edit in your mind while filming. However it’s also possible (and becoming increasingly common) for people to work on the creative side and still have no more idea how to shoot a coherent  episode than a chimp. More than once I have heard people tell me that they’re making art and don’t want to be bogged down with details such as clearance forms. To which I reply “Dude, if you’re looking to make art, you’re in the wrong fucking business”.

And I stand by that, who would call Paris Hilton’s My New BFF ‘art’? Probably the same people who marvel at a life size replica of a horse about to mount a filly on a roulette table complete with disturbingly realistic 3ft hard on (fucking hipsters).

There is a point to all of this and that is I’m now back to developing the observational reality series I’d been waiting to receive a teaser tape for. This finally came and I was really pleased to discover that all those years of working with television professionals – yes there are some still out there – had really paid off. I was able to see instantly not only what worked and what didn’t but more importantly why, which goes a long way to persuading the creator of the masterpiece to make these essential changes.

It’s actually a really great show with a whole lot of potential to be entertaining and interesting and I must admit I’ve been a little discouraged of late as I keep hearing advice that chills me to my bones. “How can we market it to kids?” Ewwwww that kind of talk just makes me balk, as a thirty something independent thinker of medium education and decent intelligence I’m starting to wonder whether anything is every going to be marketed to my demographic, outside of Daily Show, Stephen Colbert and all the subscription based programming I can’t afford. The few reality shows I enjoyed are starting to lose their appeal and there is a teeny tiny reprieve with the news that MTV have finally done away with these reality obsessed marketing creative executives who turned the station that we are grew up loving into some kind of McDonalds inspired child catching demographic focused mess that we have today.

With the formation of their new comedy development department, maybe we’ll finally get back to some seriously good programs that are just universally  good rather than brand specific

 

N.B Excuse the lack of focus to the piece this week, I’m halfway from recovering from the flu and know not what I say

 

Is it worth it?

Finally a reprieve!

After what seems like a horrendously difficult year so far, things finally feel as though they are getting back to normal, death of Michael Jackson aside of course.                                                     

 

I’m now in the running for not one but two good jobs at reputable companies which is quite a relief. It’s not often I turn to the teacher training pamphlets but I came dangerously close this time.

A lot of people I’ve been speaking to are asking similar questions of themselves, the question we freelancers don’t like to entertain; is it really worth it?

Now, you may be one of those lucky people who has a wonderful career, you’re never out of work, you get paid well and are never exploited, your craft and hard work are respected and you enjoy every day of your job. I hate to break the news to you but if this is the case, you’re in a very small percentile of people who work in our industry.

I doubt there is a person reading this who hasn’t suffered a 20 hour day followed by another 20 hour day or who has worked their butt off sacrificing weddings, births, reunions for work only to be cursed out by a co-worker who have themselves made the error they blame you for.

Sure, the pay is (usually) good and we all often laugh at how this sure beats working for a living. But when I tell people the nitty gritty of the work I do, the hours, dedication, the sheer volume of work I have to contend with they are often understandably shocked and most likely secretly glad they don’t work in television or film for a living.

But now that work is becoming scarcer and if possible people are being even more exploited (shorter schedules, less staff, impossible budgets), it’s perfectly viable to ask whether it really is worth it. For the most part my colleagues have no job security, no sick pay or overtime and the idea of a 401K is laughable. Sure there are unions and freelancers union are going a long way towards providing benefits but it just doesn’t provide the same job security.

With this in mind it is certainly understandable that people are questioning how to make it work. I mentioned a few weeks ago about having temping as a back up and that certainly is an option. But for a lot of people who have families and mortgages to pay the need for a steady paycheck is a priority and trying to work out what skills are transferrable from a career in television can be pretty tricky. Even harder is convincing people from other industries that you’re serious about making the move.

Hopefully next week I’ll have good news to share and be able to provide inside scoops from one of the two jobs I’m gunning for, if not next week will read: Film industry Bloggers, The English Teacher.

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…

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