Television production is like baking a pie

• Posted: Monday, February 27, 2006
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• Author: pradhana

Harry Cocciolo is a director with Imported Artists and Tool of North America.

When I went to work at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, my first assignment was a television spot for a video game. My partner and I wrote an entertaining, albeit silly little idea. We sold it to our creative director and the client and we were off into production. Simple.

What seemed like a moment later, I was standing on a soundstage on the Universal Studios back lot, a director was screaming at an army of production people, film was rolling at thirty frames per second, and a budget twenty times my salary was disappearing before my eyes, all in an effort to bring our silly little idea to life. Not so simple after all.

Print production is like wrestling a steer. You can pin it down, literally, with real pins. Television production is like herding cattle. If you work hard, you might be able to steer it a little this way or that way, but it has a life and a mind of its own. The camera is rolling, time is ticking away, and the shoot day is almost always too short. Sometimes it moves along effortlessly and everything works. On occasion it turns suddenly, surprising everyone, and runs itself off a cliff.

The challenge with television is that you can’t do it all by yourself. You need a production company, filmmakers, lights, equipment, a cast and crew. You need help. That’s a difficult thing for a confident young creative team to admit. During the course of production, there are a million little decisions to make. You can’t make them all, but the first and most important one is yours.

You need to hire the right director. But there are 587,811 of them to choose from, where do you start? No one knows better how your idea should work than you do. Look for someone who shares a sense of your vision. Better yet, look for someone who shares a sense of your vision and might make the thing better than you ever imagined.

Television production is like raising a child. You fumble your way through the conception. Awhile later you’re holding your little angel, your client approves the production estimate, and a relative stranger, the director, rips it from your clutching outstretched arms. Your responsibility is not done. It has just begun. Even if you find the perfect director for the project, you have to stay vigilant. Outside forces are already plotting to kill your baby before it can walk. You have to protect it. Keep it safe. Give it love, attention, and a chance to grow. A television spot isn’t really a living thing until it is on the air. Until that moment it can be corrupted, maimed, or murdered. And until that moment, you have a chance to make it better.

When you present scripts or rough cuts to Jeff Goodby, he often asks, “Could it be funnier?” or “Could it be better?” It is a fair question. And it’s diabolical question, because the answer is never, ever, “Nope.” It can almost always be better. If only you had worked harder, thought of other ways to shoot, edit or finish the thing. If only you had tried another piece of music. If only you had more time.

Television production is like oil painting. On the shoot day you are collecting colors. After the shoot you go into the edit with just the colors you captured on the shoot day. You don’t have to be Picasso to appreciate that more colors are better than less. More shots, more range, more moments. You may not need them all, but that is what the cutting room floor is for.

That being said, “more” can be a dangerous request. You might need thirty-five takes to get a performance just right. If so, get them by all means. But you have to be realistic. Time is passing. Every minute spent on something you already have in the can is a minute that can’t be spent on something else. It’s a judgment call. Go with your gut. In my experience, the best move is almost always to move on.

Television production is like air combat. You have to rely on your wingman. They will save your ass. They will keep you honest. They will protect you from yourself. There is always one thing – one shot, one moment, something -- in the spot that you will have a special affection for. Often times it is that very moment that needs to go. But you can’t see it. For some reason, for this one thing, you have a blind spot. Your partner can break the news to you. Your partner can put a bullet in it for you.

Television production is like meditation. You have to keep your mind open to new ideas. Always. All day on the shoot. Every day in the edit. Every moment in post production. Sometimes the smallest tweak can make the biggest difference. The right cut. The right title. The right sound. At some point along the way, there will be an opportunity to make your spot better. You have to keep your eyes open, pay attention, notice it, and take advantage.

Television production is like baking a pie. Wait, maybe that could be better. Television production is like baking a cake. Or frosting a cake? No, television is like writing metaphors. No, baking pie was better. Everyone loves pie.

Source: Television production is like baking a pie [I have an idea]

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• Imported Artists
• Tool of North America
  

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