What TV Producers Do

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me what a producer does, I could afford to give up the job! With all due respect to other members of the crew providing vital and necessary functions, I like to think of the producer quite simply as the brains of the operation. Responsible ultimately for the entire project from costs to storyline. As such the first responsibility of every producer is to climb inside the heads of the client/bosses, and wherever possible, deliver exactly what they are looking for, and where not possible, to offer viable alternatives that hopefully meet or approximate similar results. From there, it is up to the producer to figure out how to deliver in the most practical sense, usually on the fly.

In the field, describing here the other members of a pretty typical 5-6 person live, news crew, a good producer will give a competent cameraperson almost complete say in how to shoot the subject matter, the on-camera talent has a large degree of input on what to say and how to say it, the audio person is left to get the best sound possible, and the satellite engineer has to solve the transmission issues. The last stop on most projects is an editor who is supremely interested in what it all looks like when it is done. The producer’s job is to facilitate all this, which means he or she needs to know enough about each individual job to make sure they are all getting what they need and communicate intelligently with them about it. As these people are all usually busy doing their thing at the same time, the ability of a producer to multi-task is crucial. As the landscape can be forever changing, it is important for the producer to be flexible and communicate up and down the line to all members of the crew that need to know.

My kids will tell you this involves a lot of time on the telephone, because the producer is also responsible for the outside world, meaning the world outside the crew. People can be skittish around TV cameras, particularly if they are live, so inevitably permissions are needed and there are issues around rights, property and ownership laws. And there is of course the story to shoot, and people to interview which all needs to be coordinated and scheduled making it crucial for the producer to keep one eye on what is next.

And finally there are personal comfort issues. People can get cranky if it is hot out or lunch is overdue or there are no bathrooms nearby. Ultimately it comes down to the producer to arrange for all this.

Toward this end I have come up with my 6 rules of what makes a good producer. A producer must be:

Curious
There are a million great stories out there. A good producer knows that and is interested and excited to dive into each and everyone.

Fearless
In terms of diving into unknown subject matter which frequently requires asking stupid questions, or literally knocking on the door you are not sure who will answer, as well as being comfortable being second-guessed by the boss or client back home, who may not agree with or understand the decision you made on the ground. The decisions made need to be driven by getting the best product, not fear.

Decisive
A good producer must be able to make a decision – frequently without all the information. The worst thing is to be dithering around trying to figure out what to do next – it is hard on morale and drives up costs. A good producer will make the best decision possible and work to push it forward.

Flexible
With all due respect to #3 – sometimes even the best decisions go wrong. A good producer will know when to cut loses and try something else.

Communicate
With so much going on, it is hard to keep everyone in the loop. A good producer must make sure everyone knows what is going on and is comfortable with it, both on the ground and back home.

Focused
A good producer knows how to prioritize and solve one problem at a time while always keeping one eye on the end game.

As you can see, with all due respect to my children, there is plenty involved in being a producer besides just getting cauliflower ear from the telephone. In case it does not show, I love it and find it to be the most challenging and satisfying job there is.

Palin v. Sanford - Dueling Headlines

Two politicians have managed to cut through the din of Michael Jackson coverage recently. To their credit Republicans Sarah Palin and Mark Sanford are both generating headlines in recent weeks. Having your name in the paper can be a good thing for most politicians even if the specific actions in these instances have mystified some. The burning questions for each being why won’t Mark Sanford shut up, and what is Sarah Palin thinking? From a strictly political perspective both these moves make sense if we accept one fact about each: Governor Sanford is trying to get out in front of the other times he “crossed the line” (his words) with women other than his wife and Maria from Argentina. Governor Palin’s move can only be about fundraising – with midterm elections just more than a year away, keep an eye on how many campaign fundraising events she attends between now and next November, collecting political chits as she goes.

For Sanford, hanging onto the governorship is the only thing he has left. His wife Jenny, who had as much to do with putting him there as anyone, has left open the door to reconciling their marriage, while simultaneously putting as much distance between the two of them as possible. With 18 months left on his term, I am sure his hope is to rally, move past all this, and put his political career and marriage back together. If he quits now, he is likely done on both fronts. The last thing he needs is another woman popping up in a couple months and claiming to have had a physical relationship with him. With this “crossed the line” comment now on the record, he can at any point down the road use the tried-and-true Clinton approach that whatever may pop up, regardless of what it is, is old news. In other words, he is working to inoculate himself against future charges. Further, he did a smart thing by getting this out in the most controlled manner possible – an interview on his turf, one-on-one with an AP reporter – not some crazy live press conference. Been there, done that, cue the tape.

Palin, on the other hand, has just escaped all the ankle-biting and second guessing her political opponents in Alaska would surely continue to engage in if she remained in office. She is also simultaneously freeing herself up to write a book and collect hundreds of thousands of dollars for her friends, her PAC, and herself by making personal appearances. And yes, while leadership and loyalty are key components for a presidential candidate, a huge pile of cash can combat a whole lot of whatever criticism might be slung your way. Plus, this bold move makes her look like a maverick, which certainly worked to get the last GOP nominee on the top of the ticket.

While neither of these politicians may want exactly the kinds of headlines they have been getting lately, what they both clearly crave is to be relevant. Only time will tell how successful they will be at this… stay tuned….

The media: It's a business

One thing I think it helps to keep in mind about the media is that as part of our capitalist society, it is by and large, a FOR PROFIT industry. And therefore, as such, the idea is to get as may eyes and ears as possible on whatever medium you are working in thereby driving up the value. More eyes on your product means more can be charged for advertising and more MONEY can be made. This may seem a relatively obvious point, but goes a long way in explaining why you see what you see as much as you see it in the media. Many people express disappointment in what is offered in terms of saturation coverage and claim to be disinterested. 

 

To this I offer two additional points: 1. Yes, much of what is cranked out by the main steam entertainment and news industry is garbage. But unfortunately, if we were truly honest, we would have to admit, so is much of life. Walk into the average bookstore, and I bet you are not going to be interested in 90% of what you find there. Or art gallery. Or record store. Maybe 10% of what is out there in life is truly good, honest, provocative work. For some reason though, and maybe because it is beamed straight into your living room, people feel entitled to hammer TV as being crap. Much of it is, I agree. But some smaller percentage can be magical. Put your energies into seeking out that product.

 

And 2. I am not sure I believe you. One of my favorite poll questions ever asked was during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal – simply, are you following this story? Some 80% said no. When asked if they thought their friends and neighbors were, some similar percentage said yes. Which really tells us they were actually following the story, just too proud to admit it. The bottom line is somebody is watching this stuff. All the way from 24/7 coverage of Michael Jackson to the Real Housewives, people are soaking it all up or this kind of programming simply would be driven under by sheer economics.

 

Particularly now that we can measure what shows and stories people are interested in by how many clicks they get on-line. The more clicks, the more coverage. It is really that simple. You might not like it, you may even be telling the truth when you say you are not watching, but someone is. Please stop pounding the media for giving the people what they want. You can also give up saying that reality TV has run its course. Being unscripted makes it cheap and easy to produce. Every day another reality TV show project is announced. This genre is not going anywhere I am afraid until and unless people really stop watching. Good reality TV generates a lot of heat, which makes it the perfect television product (see two blog entries ago for why).  

 

I am also tired of the doomsayers and their predictions that newspapers, and close behind, television are dead industries. When magazines and radio came out, they predicted books were dead. When TV and VHS came along, they predicted movies were dead. When Tivo and the Internet caught on, they predicted TV and newspapers were dead. Really dead.  It just does not work like that. The market fragments and industries adapt and morph, but I spent a good chunk of the day yesterday watching TV – on a giant HD TV screen – and loving it. I am also in the middle of two books. I know I am not alone.  There will always be a place for each of these media, what is yet to be sorted for newspapers and TV is exactly what that place will be in the context that they have to ultimately be profitable.

 

Next week …. Why Gov. Sanford hangs on …