Any TV guys here?

[Mike McNeese]

Bored and rambling...

I've only been in the production biz for 6-7 years now. Started strictly doing production stuff (shoot, edit, deliver), then got invited to shoot some live TV. Then I was asked to learn to run the Duet. And now I'm TDing live sports. The pay and the flexibility are great...but this feels more like 'work' than DPing...ya know? Yeah, I'm whining, and God knows I'm very lucky to be doing what I'm doing. Just scared that I'm gonna get too far away from my true love.

Any other TV dudes out there?

[mikkowilson]

TV rocks.

I prefer a fast paced live environment to the (sometimes too) slow pace of film-style. There's just something about the instant gratification of a live production.

Plus you know when you get to go home after event coverage, non of that "one more guys" in live TV! :)

And it's such a wide field, that you can always find something more interesting if you get board, so many possible assignments. And you can always of course get out of it entirly when the time come.


- Mikko ... living for that tally light.

[Mike McNeese]

Thanks for making me feel better, Mikko...

See, the thing is, I have a BLAST running camera for live stuff. There's room for creativity! But punching buttons on a switcher...people only notice when you screw up. But it pays so much better :)

[Brandon Rice]

We just produced a TV pilot here at Coram Deo Studios, and if we're picked up, I'll be thrust into the TV world... from what I hear it's SUPER fast paced... but I love that! :)

[mikkowilson]

Yeah, after camera, TD is my next position of choice if I'm not directing.


I mean, there's just something so cool about beeing able to say to your friends who's offices look like this...
http://www.dailyheights.com/images/cubicle-tn.jpg





"This is where I work..."

http://www.stephengoldberg.com/images/535_NGT%20TV.jpg


:laugh:

- Mikko

[seunosewa]

If it's air-conditioned, yes.

[manglerBMX]

i was in TV, but in promotions at a station without news. but it was still farily fast paced. i'm more of a post person so i'm not the hugest fan of a super fast paced environment. but i've been on some live stuff and it is very fun.

[CharlieG]

I used to TD Space Shuttle Missions for NASA TV when NASA was in the
"Space Lab" business... We would have to interact video between the science teams on the ground & the live experiments & Astronauts from the downlink from the shuttle and bring the "product" to you & the rest of the world LIVE. At any given moment we could be picked on network TV all over the world to local TV in middle America. On some Space Lab flights I had as much as 10 live ground based cameras (3 manned cams, 2 remote controlled cams & 5 fixed) the shuttle downlink, and I had to control & run my own graphics still store, type & run the character generator. I had 3 different video switchers and did an 8-12 hour shift.....

The stress level was shear hell......but I loved it!

[mjjason]

I used to TD Space Shuttle Missions for NASA TV when NASA was in the
"Space Lab" business... We would have to interact video between the science teams on the ground & the live experiments & Astronauts from the downlink from the shuttle and bring the "product" to you & the rest of the world LIVE. At any given moment we could be picked on network TV all over the world to local TV in middle America. On some Space Lab flights I had as much as 10 live ground based cameras (3 manned cams, 2 remote controlled cams & 5 fixed) the shuttle downlink, and I had to control & run my own graphics still store, type & run the character generator. I had 3 different video switchers and did an 8-12 hour shift.....

The stress level was shear hell......but I loved it!
But did anyone watch ;)

[mikkowilson]

I used to TD Space Shuttle Missions for NASA TV when NASA was in the
"Space Lab" business... We would have to interact video between the science teams on the ground & the live experiments & Astronauts from the downlink from the shuttle and bring the "product" to you & the rest of the world LIVE. At any given moment we could be picked on network TV all over the world to local TV in middle America. On some Space Lab flights I had as much as 10 live ground based cameras (3 manned cams, 2 remote controlled cams & 5 fixed) the shuttle downlink, and I had to control & run my own graphics still store, type & run the character generator. I had 3 different video switchers and did an 8-12 hour shift.....

The stress level was shear hell......but I loved it!

TD for NASA-TV .. oh man, you just raised the "coolness" bar to a whole new level.

- Mikko

[RJS]

I like all the different jobs...I guess anyone of them would end up being "work" if I had to do the same gig over and over.

A few years ago I worked on 3 shows for the DIY network...renovation shows. I was still a freelancer but they used me 2 to 4 days a week...it was great having a steady gig though it was hard to keep my other clients. The money was good and the crew was great...but after 2 years of that I just was getting ansy for a change...but instead of moving on I just asked for more money thinking they might say no...but they didn't, so I got more money and worked another year then finally I had to just say that I was moving on...it was hard passing up a regular freelance gig, but it was just a little too regular. I work on tv stuff, docs, music videos, commercials...i just love that variety...but if all I was doing was just docs or just music videos or whatever I eventually need a change.

BTW, Mike Mcneese...I worked on MST3k although just a short time...it was loads of fun...

RJS

[Mike McNeese]

I worked on MST3k although just a short time...it was loads of fun...

RJS

I'll give you $1,000,000 to switch lives with you.

[Derek.Sine]

worked in the control room in high school for an ABC affiliate station, I'm sticking to production. Both have pro's and con's but nothing amounts to seeing something you've spent 2 months cutting, hit the big screen.

[CharlieG]

But did anyone watch ;)


Thats a good question as I never tracked who watched CNN, MSNBC, CBC TV, BBC, Nippon TV, Euro TV or Belgium TV and others that took our live feed. But it was easy to track the audience of the video pulled off NASA TV for the nightly news of NBC, CBS & ABC news and don't forget the school systems that had NASA TV (NASA SELECT) feed direct to them as well as cable systems across the world and people
that had their on C band dishes in their back yards who watched...


So my guess we had at least 7-10 people world wide at any given moment that watched Shuttle Space Lab coverage, it could have been a little more too ya think.... LOL

[Deepfocus88]

it could have been a little more too ya think.... LOL

Zing!

[morten]

I run the TV end of the Pratt & Taylor Show on Rogers Sportsnet in Vancouver. It's a weird gig - three remote cameras, two routing switchers, Inscriber Inca Studio, a jerry-rigged audio board and a pile of screens and computers in a radio studio. During the show I have master control in Toronto on the phone and the whole thing is pretty much run by myself alone. I really love the autonomy! I used to run CG for a local TV show and the drama in the production crew was just killing me.

here's a shot of my workstation:

http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v96/148/30/667455548/n667455548_198018_8306.jpg

mor10

[MalcolmOng]

...what happens when you need to take a whiz?

[mikkowilson]

...what happens when you need to take a whiz?
http://dvxuser.mikkowilson.com/mor10_work2.jpg

:lipsrseal

- Mikko

[Drew Ott]

http://dvxuser.mikkowilson.com/mor10_work2.jpg

:lipsrseal

- Mikko


Caught!:laugh:

[morten]

...what happens when you need to take a whiz?

all jokes aside, it's quite weird really: Radio and TV don't mix at all. While radio is really laxed when it comes to breaks and hitting the hours right, TV is ultra strict. As a result the whole radio station has to go by my clock for the duration of the show. To compensate for this they've inserted some insanely long commercial breaks where we record promos and such. My breaks are therefore a full 5:10 long giving me ample time to take a stroll, make some cocoa and go to the washroom. That is ofcourse if I wasn't a seasoned broadcast pro who knows that you should go "take a whiz" before the show starts.

That said I did do a show once while coming down with a bad case of the flu. I was on my knees or on the floor for the majority of the show and dragged my controllers down with me. by the end the guys at Master (on the phone) asked: "hey dude. is something wrong? you seem so distant!" That's because the phone remained on the desk and I had to shout out orders to them... fun fun fun

mor10

[mikkowilson]

5:10?? wow!


- Mikko ... "real men only need 94sec to take a wiz"

[Derek.Sine]

sucks for master control, sit back in their little room. production isn't much better either.

[CharlieG]

We had down time when I worked those long Shuttle missions where we could take a break for a few minutes... Lucky for me the restroom was just around the corner from our POCC (Payload Operations Control Center) TV control room & just one door from the outside to get a little air. It would get pretty rough at times just sitting in the chair during those 8-12 hour shifts & just standing up and stretching was a real treat at times..

[Bryan]

I work for FOX Sports on the promotions side. Not production unfortunately, but I'd definitely like to get into that! (I worked production for some WAC college football games and it's a blast). But it's still fairly fast-paced as we have to prepare promo spots weekly and ship them out for regional and national consumption.

[Sad Max]

Eighteen years tv/feature work.

I detest tv work. Commercials are better, music videos are better, features are infinitely better, for $$$, resources, creative latitude, catering, crafty, and everything else that counts. The only positive thing I can say for tv, is that the schedules are pretty much universally easier, which doesn't count for much, with me.

Only take it when there's nothing else available, or when taking a specific tv gig offers me some specific advantage.

[Sad Max]

We had down time when I worked those long Shuttle missions where we could take a break for a few minutes... Lucky for me the restroom was just around the corner from our POCC (Payload Operations Control Center) TV control room & just one door from the outside to get a little air. It would get pretty rough at times just sitting in the chair during those 8-12 hour shifts & just standing up and stretching was a real treat at times..

You worked at KSC?!

COOL!

When "From the Earth to the Moon" was shooting, NASA invited anyone who wanted to come, to see shuttle launches; we were in the stands by the clock for Columbia's second MSL mission launch.

Never seen (or heard, or felt) anything like it, before or since.

[They Live]

I work for the FOX TV Show America's Most Wanted, and it's a good gig. We're kind of a weird hybird between NEWS-True Crime Stories-and re-enactments. So while there is some exposure to the craziness of the news world, I also get to produce and direct re-enactments for the show, which are basically little mini-movies. So there is a lot of room for creativity because we're constantly having to find new ways to weave investigative reporting with interviews, recreations, etc. etc. And, every once in awhile we catch a bad guy (close to 1000 captures from the show). So I'm pretty happy in TV...at least for now.