Directing and Producing for Television, 5th Edition

Preface

Since the age of ten I’ve been working in radio, television, movies, and theater.

The really important lessons learned along the way seem very simple now.

1. Arrive a little early. I was a child actor and I kept a cast waiting 5 minutes because I missed a subway. The director told me he couldn’t begin rehearsing until the whole cast was present, so they were waiting for me. It cost him hundreds of dollars for all those people to just sit around. That included their time, and the studio time. I should leave my house earlier next time. He never hired me again.
2. Don’t handle props unless you have to. I broke a sound effect just before we went on the air: live. The crew scrambled and covered the mishap, but I had been warned, and their icy ...