Impossible tasks, insufficient time and inadequate budgets

[tdangelo]

I have many friends who work in creative arts / media capacities at churches and even more cyber-friendships with people that have similar responsibilities at churches. Having left the employment of a church now twenty-four years ago I have heard a consistent cry coming from my ecclesiastically employed friends. It usually goes something like this:

“Tom, you work for all the big networks on big TV shows, you don’t understand what it’s like in the local church!” “We don’t have the budgets you have; we work for people who do not understand what we do or how we do it.” “You work for professionals.” “My Pastor has fanciful ideas which we do not have a prayer of accomplishing.” “We are faced with impossible tasks, insufficient time and inadequate budgets.”

Well, to those who feel the grass is greener on the other (secular) side of the fence I would like to offer the following as a reality-check.

Next week I will be working on a national live TV “special” (to remain nameless). The show airs on a major three letter broadcast network. Like many “live” specials parts are usually pre-taped, either to accommodate artist schedules or other logistical factors. My show was planned to have two pre-tapes. One occurred about a month ago on-top of a NYC skyscraper. The second will occur this week.

This week’s pre-tape is with a major female R&B artist. Originally the pre-tape was planned as a five camera & line-cut shoot to occur on an Island which had no roads or bridges leading to it but did have a ferry. All gear would have to be limited to what the Ferry(ies) could fit. For whatever reason that Island was nixed and another Island was chosen. The new Island also has no roads, no bridges, but now no ferries capable of hauling gear. Everything would have to be barged to show site. The plan was something like this:

All gear would be loaded in tractor-trailers and driven to Manhattan to a security check point where all trucks would have to be unloaded, road cases opened, sniffed, and then loaded onto barges. These barges would travel to New Jersey where they would be cross-loaded onto other barges. The second set of barges would then travel to the Island we would be shooting at. Neither barge would be big enough to put a TV truck on. We would have one day on the Island to build a stage, set, lighting, PA, screens, TV compound, camera platforms, etc. The second day would be rehearsals, shoot, strike and load-out. Crew would have to travel to & from the show Island by water taxi.

Well, that Island then got nixed and a producer (2,500 miles away in California) has decided to do the pre-tape at sea. All tech would be loaded onto one barge. The stage, cameras and (oh, did I tell you about the live audience) would be loaded onto a different barge. Once the barges left the dock (two days before set-up) we would be unable to get any other spare or replacement gear to the location (floating at sea). No consideration has been made as to how we would cable from barge to barge. Again, we would have one day on the barges to build a stage, set, lighting, PA, screens, TV compound, camera platforms, etc. The second day would be rehearsals, shoot, strike and load-out.

I submitted a budget to the NY producer, identical to the same show in previous years plus line item additions regarding the “barge at sea” scenario. The response was, “We can’t pay this!” “With all these barges and stuff we are now a total of $100,000 dollars over budget.”

Well, it doesn’t make a difference that it was not my idea to shoot artist #2 on an Island, or an Island with no roads or ferries, or while floating around the middle of the Atlantic ocean or NY harbor. I didn’t create the schedule; decide to have a live audience, or any other factor.

Despite the challenges I realize that I am here in this situation, because God will change me through it, because God will give me an opportunity to be a good example of Him to others and because the people over me trust me to do the impossible, without adequate time or financial resources. If it were easy anyone could do it.

How much more should you, those that work at churches whose mission is to spread the Gospel and equip the Saints share in the belief that you have been afforded a great opportunity and gift to serve Him through your ministry and occupation.

Interested in seeing how it all turns out? Channel surf while grilling the hot dogs and hamburgers next Monday. But remember, nothing you see will be as eternally important as what you may be working on right now at your church (under staffed, without adequate time and underfunded).

[Esoteric]

Great story, but you have to tell us the ending. Did they come up with the money or cut something?

I have been in that situation before and had both outcomes.

[tdangelo]

Mike,

It's still unfolding. I just heard that the trucks have to be at the barge at 4AM (you mean tides are important?). There were cuts on my end but I would consider them minimal. I don't know how each department fared. However what's more important is how cuts will affect the final product (if at all).

[Esoteric]

Yeah, I have always been of the opinion that there are usually cuts that can be made. A few of them will not effect the final product, some will have a minimal effect, some will have a major effect, and some will destroy it.

The thing that is better about larger, more professional productions is that there is usually more padding to be cut. When your budget is $4.5m it is a lot easier to dig up $100k than when your budget is $150k. *lol*

[waynehoskins]

This evening a buddy of mine and I were skimming a broadcast on DVR, and about an hour into it I realized we were seeing the second airing of your pre-tape within the broadcast. We spent most of our time discussing the other part of the broadcast, how they manage to keep all six of the visual effect stations in timecode-sync, whether it was over copper or local station-to-station RF or back-channel RF.

Impressive show. It's quite reassuring that the big dogs have the same sorts of problems we do at small churches.

[tdangelo]

Originally Posted by waynehoskins

This evening a buddy of mine and I were skimming a broadcast on DVR, and about an hour into it I realized we were seeing the second airing of your pre-tape within the broadcast. We spent most of our time discussing the other part of the broadcast, how they manage to keep all six of the visual effect stations in timecode-sync, whether it was over copper or local station-to-station RF or back-channel RF..

By the six VFX stations I assume you mean the fireworks barges? Audio playback occurs inside the TV truck (in the case of NYC, from a Alessis multi-track) with LT/RT, SMPTE and FSK codes. FSK get’s handed off to another vendor (CP Communications) who handles RF transmission up/down the Hudson river. Each barge receives the FSK and locks to it. There is a multi-minute pre-roll to the barges so they are receiving code long before the music actually starts.

For the Boston Pops 4th of July Fireworks show audio playback also occurs inside the TV truck (from a laptop) with LT/RT and FSK code. FSK get’s handed off to another vendor who handles RF transmission up/down the harbor. During rehearsals a technician sits in the TV truck and verbally “prompts” what will happen next with the fireworks show. This rehearsal VO is recorded and played back into camera and AD headsets during the live show.

Originally Posted by waynehoskins

Impressive show. It's quite reassuring that the big dogs have the same sorts of problems we do at small churches.

I hope that point that is taken away is production is production. The challenges are all the same. The scale may be different but that is about it.