Reflecting on a potential job in Massachusetts with Comcast (cross them fingers), I vividly remember my first TV position I had in 1993: that of on-line producer on the local access show "I Love A Charade".
This show was the end result of a three-day training class with myself and six others. The studio was in a little strip mall that had recently been a flower shop. Not having been in a TV studio before, I still knew through logical means that studio areas were usually bigger with a higher ceiling for the lights. I remember being amazed at how such an operation was squeezed into such a small space. Air-conditioning had to be on almost all year because the heat generated from ten overhead lights made sweating on-air a good possibility.
My job that evening was just to monitor the phone lines, as it was a live show - and announce through the P.A. that another call was coming in. On my first announcement, screeching feedback came through the loudspeakers. I was dying of embarassment, but I remember Rob (the manager) cracked a joke about it & made me feel at ease. We ended up getting eight calls for the half-hour program, not bad. Everyone that called was a winner.
I remember stressing to Rob that I was wanting to learn all the positions, not just one. Many of my group actually just wanted to learn cameras, or audio. To be the best person I could be, I decided to learn everything, and I did in just under a year. This made my eventual choice of TV production as a college major all the more easier.
Looking back on that system now, they have no live shows whatsoever. Roughly a third of our shows back then were live, and I don't know why live shows were phased out. The current studio in Woodhaven could go live if it were re-wired, but that's part of the problem with the staffing there now: they have no urge to fix things to the way they were.
Should I get that job in Massachusetts... the studio will be very people-friendly and viewer-friendly. The crews are mostly staffed by volunteers and they deserve a good show for their time, as I got that windy October day in 1993.
Without being an actual resume:
Accepting one of my four local TV production awards in 1996. Experiences total over 13 years and 3000 hours... waiting to do more!
The Director:
- Kevin Harrison
- Lincoln Park, Michigan, United States
- I have lived in the Downriver (Michigan) area for 33 of my 41 years and have always been a fan of its history: from a blue-collar area to its varied offerings of today. It is my hope that I can help recapture its past and preserve it, in written and visual form, for today and the future.