“Rosewood”-Post #2

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Elisha McGinnis

The Fox Network seems to be continuing its male/female partner dynamic tendency with their upcoming fall comedy-drama “Rosewood”. Fox already has many shows that center around a male and female duo, such as “Bones”, “Sleepy Hollow” and “Minority Report”. “Rosewood” will continue this trend with a pathologist and detective duo that come together to fight crimes in Miami. Morris Chestnut and Jaina Lee Ortiz team up in “Rosewood” to create an interesting dynamic on screen. Ortiz plays a distant and abrasive counterpart to Chestnut’s fun-loving and outgoing nature. This seems strangely similar to Fox Network’s “Bones,” where the female plays the more distant and cautious partner to the outgoing male anthropologist, which is starting its 11^th season this year.

With the predestined ending of “American Idol” this coming January, Fox is putting all its marbles in it’s hit series Empire. Thus, putting “Rosewood” in front of Fox’s leading series says a lot about how the network feels about their new comedy-drama. Fox is counting on “Empire” to promote its 2015-16 season launch of a fall slate.

Rosewood – Post #1

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Elisha McGinnis

Rosewood is an upcoming Fox Drama series that centers around a private pathologist as he helps Miami law enforcement solve brutal murders. Morris Chestnut stars in the Todd Harthan (previously known for Psych) series alongside actresses Jaina Lee Ortiz and Gabrielle Dennis. One of the writers credited towards the series is Nkechi Okoro, who is best known for Bones.

The main cast and most of the writer’s room for this new drama is very diverse proving that television for 2015 is “hammering on the door diversity”. It looks like Fox is trying to follow Empire’s success with Rosewood, which adds a diverse lead to the network’s slate. Rosewood will also act as the leading in show for Empire on the station’s schedule. “Fox has recognized that reflecting multiculturalism in its programming is absolutely essential to the company’s survival if it wishes to have continued relevance to millennial and post-millennial audiences.” This adds to Fox’s strategic plan to attract more viewers. Rosewood premieres September 23rd in primetime.

World’s Funniest Fails Week 2

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Jacob Warren

After a solid debut, Terry Crews and Fox’s new live-comedy show World’s Funniest Fails has tapered off a little bit in the death slot on Fridays from 8-9pm. The reason for the drop in ratings is because of multiple sporting events in the basketball world taking place on Friday night. The NBA has an “NBA Friday Night” event where the two games (8pm and 1030pm) attract all the male audiences which just happens to be World’s Funniest Fails exact demographic. The NBA All-Star game was also two weekends ago and that sucked all the male ratings out of Friday night too. However, with all that said I still believe the show will continue to put up solid ratings and the total viewers continues to hover around 2.75 million. The show is absolutely hysterical, Terry Crews has a very good background of hosting shows and lastly, who doesn’t want to see people make complete fools of themselves? Look for the show’s ratings to increase and check it out if you want to laugh for an hour straight on FOX @ 8pm on Fridays.

Television Production

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Elice Miller

by Elice Miller

Source: http://tvisnotdead.com/category/production/

Overview

In the television business, producing a successful show involves many factors. There are normally three stages to television production, Pre-Production, Principal Photography and Post Production. The main locations where shows are produced are either Los Angeles or New York, however some other U.S. metropolitan areas are also used to produce a show. Before a show can even reach the stage or pre-production programmers will require a package. This is a collection of key assets that differentiate one property from another. The main performers, the producers and the story line are also closely related to the concept and how it will be executed.

Pre-Production

Pre-Production is the stage of production which involves planning and development, financing and deal making as well as securing people to produce and appear in the television show. This is the period of time when a series is scripted, the actors are cast, sets are built and a production crew is hired. The producer or production company create a full-scale budget, schedule and production plan once a project is given a green light. The budget must be planned very carefully in order to assure that the project is delivered without exceeding the available funding and to make sure that the producer makes a profit. Pre-production on a show ends once the planning ends and content starts being produced. Most shows do not get a green light, because they cannot secure financing.

Source: http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-thoughts-on-pilot-season-so-far-one.html

Once a network has given a script a green light, it will order a pilot of the television show. Television pilots are standalone episodes of a television series that are used to sell the television show to a network. These episodes are used as testing grounds to gauge if a series will be successful. Sometimes a network will pick up a show after watching a pilot but will not air the episode. Instead, it will be reshot and even recast after it is given the green light. Variety estimates that around 20 pilots are ordered by a network, which are typically made up of half comedy, half drama. About half a dozen of these are actually picked up to become the premier episodes for the show. The rest are passed by the network and generally never seen again.

The big five networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and CW have ordered nearly 100 pilots for the fall 2013 season. The networks ordered a total of 87 pilots last year. The Hollywood Reporter offered a breakdown of the pilots ordered:

Grand total: 98 (vs. 87 in 2012)
Drama total: 50 (vs. 42 in 2012)
Comedy total: 48 (vs. 45 in 2012)
Single-camera total: 34 (vs. 30 in 2012)
Multicamera total: 14 (vs. 15 in 2012)

Just because a network has picked up a pilot does not mean that it will last throughout the season. If the television show receives low ratings within the first few weeks of airing, a network will normally cancel a show. This spring 2013 saw many new television shows get canceled. Zero Hour (ABC), Do No Harm (NBC), and The Job (CBS) are notable shows that were canceled after airing less than five episodes.

Principal Photography

Source: http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-thoughts-on-pilot-season-so-far-one.html

This is the phase of production when the actors are finalized for their roles and locations have been secured for filming. At this point the development team has created a plan for filming and financing the show. The term principal photography refers to the phase of production when the majority of footage and sound are recorded. This stage takes place either at a soundstage or filmed on location. Filming on location means securing permits to shoot in an actual real-life setting. Shooting a show normally means rigorous 12-hour workdays. Television episodes are filmed in groups called blocks, and rely on the availability of resources and the restrictions of the production schedule. Large sets can be altered to look like many different locations simply by changing set pieces or lighting. For example, a dark scary park can also be a beautiful garden by using contrasting lighting and changing a few set pieces. Techniques like this help to keep the cost of production down, since this is the most expensive phase of production. Most directors and producers will shoot the most expensive production elements first so that the budget can be allocated for the rest of the scenes.

Post Production

Once the first few episodes of a show have been filmed, the post-production phase begins. All of the footage that has been recorded is edited and sequenced and special effects are added. Sometimes additional dialogue needs to be recorded in the studio and it is layered into the recorded footage. During this last stage of production the production team will screen episodes to their target demographic. This can help gauge the public response to the show and if it is negatively received then it can be altered or reedited before releasing to the public.

Production Companies

Source: http://www.marycollins.com/production-companies-and-recording-studios

Production companies provide the physical basis for filming. Television programs are produced in a variety of entities, from small companies to large multinational corporations. Many corporations employ in-house producers for internal communication reasons. Outside production companies will handle Television networks and local stations will employ producers, who’s main job are to control costs and manage brand identities. Producers are held responsible for a television show’s overall quality and survivability. There are a variety of producers that work on a television show.

Producers

Typically, the main producer and the writer are normally the same person; this ensures that a producer can make sure that a project stays true to its brand. There are many different types of producers; the executive producer or the “chief executive” is in charge or everything relating to the production of the show. Executive producers can be the head writers of a show, the CEO of a production company, or a producer on the writing team and may serve on the board of directors. The co-executive producer is second in charge behind the executive producer, and assists with the development and daily management of the show. The associate producer runs day-to-day operations for the show.

Many stations will have producers that work on multiple projects for the network. For example, Seth MacFarlane has three television shows in production on Fox network. Another notable producer is J.J. Abrams, who has produced shows on multiple networks throughout the years.

Sources

1. The Business of Television, Bleumenthol & Goodenough

2. http://www.wisegeek.com/in-the-film-industry-what-is-pre-production.htm#did-you-know

3. http://tvisnotdead.com/category/production/

4. http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5137630_tv-production-process.html

5. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/ruby-slippers-delorean-marilyn-monroe-wedding-ring-auction-272009

6. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192882/Artists-sketch-floorplan-Friends-apartments-famous-TV-shows.html

7. http://variety.com/static-pages/slanguage-dictionary/?layout=slanguage_result&slang=busted+pilot&x=0&y=0

8. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/faces-pilot-season-2013-416223

9. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/arts/television/fall-tv-pilot-season-is-in-full-swing.html?_r=0

10. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-pilot-season-2013-by-the-numbers-422351

11. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/unaired-tv-pilots_n_2998504.html

12. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/08/do-no-harm-canceled-nbc_n_2649224.html

13. http://videoproductiontips.com/equipment-needed-to-set-up-a-simple-video-studio/

14. http://youtu.be/MBZUkFpRW1I

Production

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Jennifer Pittz

by Jennifer Pittz

In the beginning stages of television production, programs were produced by television stations, by one of the three big networks, or by motion picture studios. By the 1970s, a portable video camera and other production equipment were made available and television production has continued to evolve since [1]. Technological advancements in television production have helped to reduce costs, create time efficiency, and keep up with the demand for exciting television.

Recent Changes in Production

Television production continues to go through constant changes as technology progresses. Production equipment is now mobile, lighter, digital, and offers more creative features. Production locations are primarily in big metropolitan cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Chicago. Production is an aspect of the television business that must stay up-to-date with technological developments and current economic activity to stay competitive and maintain cost efficiency.

Production Houses Migrating out of L.A.

Practically all production companies and broadcasting stations own at least one on site studio or a production house. Studios can be used for several purposes including news production, creating local commercials, public affairs programming, and talk shows. The majority of production houses are located on the West Coast, typically in Los Angeles. Since the 1980s, when Twentieth Century FOX established the FOX Network, L.A. quickly transformed into the production capital of the world [5]. A couple years later Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Disney followed. The talent of the cast and crews, the industry resources, diverse locations, and constant weather help to keep L.A. the primary area for production [2].

However, the television industry is constantly changing to stay cost effective and many production companies are migrating to other locations. Production in Los Angeles County has lost over 16,000 jobs sine 2004 because of work migrating out of the state [3]. California was not competitive with other states despite the favorable environment it offers.The state’s lack of offering competing tax incentives as well as the current program on its way to an end has driven production out of the hub. During this same time frame New York, North Carolina, New Mexico, Georgia, and Louisiana have added thousands of jobs because of new film tax credits. Production of pilot programs for broadcast and cable networks have been mounting outside the state, making L.A. take only half of the pie in 2011 [6].

However, September 30, 2012 Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed the Assembly Bill 2026 and Senate Bill 1197 to extend government funding for California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. Governor Brown signed the state on for a new two-year, $200 million extension to the existing bill that was due to expire at the end of next year. The new bill will be offered through the 2016-2017 fiscal years [4]. The new bill is positive for productions that are currently in the works or productions that will end by 2016-2017. The bill was overwhelmingly supported by the state Assembly and the Senate. California offers a 20 percent to 25 percent tax credit towards production costs to offset business tax liabilities but compared to what other states offer the bill appears to be limited and not competitive [7]. But for upcoming and long-term productions, the bill does not encourage the film and television industry to stay.

Hurricane Sandy’s Impact on Production

Since production crews have recently relocated to new locations, the East Coast became a popular place to set up equipment. New York City has always been known as a television hub, but has lately flourished in the absence of L.A. production. In May of 2012, the Boston Consulting Group released a study recognizing New York City’s film sector is the strongest in its history. In 2011 it generated $7.1 billion and increase in over $2 billion since 2002 [9].

After Hurricane Sandy touched down and made land fall October 30 of this year, production throughout the North East came to a halt and was postponed. New York City officials announced that all film permits were to be revoked October 29 and October 30 for Hurricane Sandy precautions [10]. At least nine television shows were hurt by the shutdown including “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “Elementary” (CBS), “Gossip Girl” (CW), “Person of Interest” (CBS), “666 Park Avenue” (ABC) and “The Following” (Fox). Without the production of these new television shows, networks were forced to preempt other shows and shuffle around television programming for the week.

Late night talk shows, morning shows, and news stations were forced to figure out ways to get their shows on the air despite the natural disaster. Several talk shows also cancelled television production during the disaster and its aftermath including “Katie,” “The Colbert Report,” and “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” [10]. “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” which normally is filmed in L.A., was set for production for a special “Jimmy Kimmel Live from Brooklyn” in New York [10]. “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” filmed their shows despite missing the studio audience [8]. “Jimmy Kimmel Live from Brooklyn,” was not filmed according to plan. Morning news shows were able to go on for air but were forced to remain inside. ABC’s “Good Morning America,” NBC’s “Today Show” and “CBS This Morning” aired live Tuesday with extensive storm coverage [13].

Other production problems that came with Hurricane Sandy include getting enough news station crews out safely to shoot video and report for air. Stations were forced to be innovative and use the most of technology and social media with limited resources. In order to keep up with breaking news and current updates, CBS sent out its own mobile SUV weather lab to measure wind and rain [15]. Reporters also turned to citizen journalism by means of social media to get video and pictures on the scene. More equipment and labor are needed in order to cover a massive event at different locations and different news angles. CBS sent reporters and equipment from as far as Minneapolis and Dallas to help stations hit by the super storm on the East Coast [15].

Sources

1. Howard J. Blumenthal and Oliver R. Goodenough, The Business of Television, 2006.

2. http://www.resource411.com/content/?pageID=1013

3. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-laedc-report-20121116,0,3320485.story

4. http://www.film.ca.gov/Incentives.htm

5. Dominick, Joseph R., Sherman, Barry L., & Messere, Fritz. (2000). Broadcasting, Cable, The Internet, and Beyond, 4th Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill.

6. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/California-runaway-production-tax-incentive-337952

7. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/30/entertainment/la-et-ct-state-film-tax-credit-20120930

8. http://thecomicscomic.com/2012/10/30/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-the-no-audience-hurricane-sandy-edition/

9. http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/statistics/stats.shtml

10. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/29/entertainment/la-et-ct-storm-production-20121029

11. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jimmy-kimmel-cancels-monday-brooklyn-384033

12. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/jimmy-kimmel-brooklyn-show-canceled-hurricane-sandy_n_2038338.html

13. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/superstorm-sandy-aftermath-nyc-entrtainmen_n_2048791.html

14. http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/tv-production-takes-another-big-hit-says-filml-a/

15. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/490148/Stations_Improvise_to_Cover_Massive_Sandy.php