The University of Blog

It’s not too often that someone is given a glimpse into the world of television. It seems elusive and untouchable. What happens behind the screen is almost magical. It’s like it just appears. But I have been lucky enough to see how the whole process works for Food Network Challenge. It’s just amazing how many people it takes to get an episode out. There are producers, writers, field producers, line producers, cameramen, lighting technicians, casting and many more pre and post production folks that make it all flow seamlessly. Yes, there may be hiccups along the way. Deadlines are firm. A show needs to be delivered by the time it is expected from the network. That may mean working round the clock it get it done on time. This can lead to emotions running high, but the result is so rewarding.

When I look back on my time at High Noon, I realize just how much I was given the opportunity to do. I worked on set both for Food Network Challenge as well as Disaster House. Working on set allowed me the opportunity to ask the cameramen and the director questions about what they were looking for, how they were capturing it, and take pictures on set. On Challenge, the field producers offered great insight as to what they were noticing and getting out of the competitors. When I met with casting directors both for House Hunters and Challenge, I observed them interview decide whether or not a person would be good on camera. I’ve prepared show binders. Even though that this process is tedious, it has showed me the information the producers need when they go into a shoot.

It’s true that I haven’t had much hands on experience. While I wasn’t sent on coffee runs, I definitely made copies. However, I stuck though it. I asked if I could sit in with executive producers and editors to ask questions and soak up their lessons learned. Through that, I have gained some insight into development and how to be a great producer. In a nutshell? It involves being highly detail oriented and paying attention to every aspect of production from the lighting to how the names are spelled in the credits. It will take ahwile for me to be that detail oriented, but I can focus on it in my projects this next semester.

So…. all in all… a great experience — Fulfilling, fun and rewarding. While there were times that I dreaded making another copy, those times would pass and more interesting tasks would cross my path, which I really learned from. Successful mission.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.