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How
to Become a Television Producer
Ways
to Get Experience
1.
Cable TV and Public Access Stations
Your
local public access cable TV station is made for people
like you! Its purpose is to give citizens of
the community the training and opportunity
to produce their own programming and present it to the
public.
After
just a few nights of technical training lessons,
you could be shooting and editing your own programs!
This experience will help enhance a resume that may
be a little thin on formal education, as well as give
you some material for your demo reel that you
will provide to potential employers.
Derek
Harvie, producer of MTV’s The Tom Green Show,
broke into the business by volunteering at a community
cable station:
“I
went straight into producing—it was my first 'job' in
television. I started out as a volunteer producer on
community television and honed my skills there. I also
learned all the technical aspects there since I never
took any courses. It’s the easiest way in because unlike
college, after a few years, you’ve got a legitimate
reel. In my situation, I had two years of material I’d
already produced to impress people with.”
—Derek
Harvie, Writer-Producer,
The Tom Green Show, MTV
Most
cable TV providers make a channel or two available to
their subscriber towns for use as public access channels,
and these channels are usually desperately in need
of programming. You (and anyone you can interest in helping
you!) should offer to produce programs for these channels
on a regular basis.
There
are usually restrictions on what type of programs can
be run or what time of day they can be run, so make
sure you call them and request their programming guidelines
before spending valuable time on an idea. Run any program
ideas by the manager of the channel. You’ll find
that they can usually provide some helpful suggestions
regarding content and program structure.
Public
Access shows that are most likely to be ‘greenlighted’
(approved for production) are those that focus on
local events or people. This is because it helps the
cable company fulfill their agreement with the municipality
to offer local programming. Some suggestions are:
- A
program about the town government
- Covering
a local parade, festival or observance
- Covering
a town council meeting or sporting event
- Magazine-style,
local current events or “man on the street” type programs
If
these particular examples don’t seem too exciting to you,
remember that you can always put a creative spin
on each of these ideas:
- Involve
local celebrities as hosts
- Use
humor to introduce different segments
- Present
the program in an unconventional way — but
be careful not to offend people by being disrespectful
or making fun of what you’re covering.
When
you pitch programs to public access, tell them:
1.
What you hope to achieve or spotlight in
the program.
2.
What part of the community you’re gearing it
toward. Is it aimed at students? The elderly? Voters?
3.
How you plan to set up your project. This written summary
is called a program proposal for non-dramatic
productions and referred to as a ‘treatment’
for dramatic productions.
Sample
Program Proposal
http://cybercollege.com/progprop.htm
Some
online forms that may assist you in writing your proposal
can be found at:
4.
How you plan to finance your project. In some
cases there may be grant money or money built into
the public access channel’s budget that’s available to
assist you with production costs. It’s a good idea to
look into this possibility first before spending your
valuable cash. If the program is in the best interest
of the community, you’ll have a better chance at obtaining
funding from any community grants that have been set up
for Public Access.
This article is
an excerpt from the fabjob.com How to Become a Television
Producer. Visit www.fabjob.com
for information.
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