TV INDUSTRY PERSONNEL by Dr. George Vinovich ABOVE-THE-LINE vs BELOW-THE-LINE TV production personnel are usually categorized as either above-the-line or below-the-line. Creative personnel such as producers, writers, directors, and actors are classified as above-the-line, while technical personnel such as camera, audio, TD, AD, grip, and gaffer are classified as below-the-line. Although it may appear as if this is a delineation between creative and technical jobs, it is actually done merely for account ing purposes on a TV show s budget. Below-theline personnel are usually paid a fixed salary or set wage based on their union s contract, while above-the-line personnel usually work on negotiable salaries that can be much higher than their union s minimum wage. Just about any camera operator or audio technician is going to cost about the same rate, whereas the salary for a particular actor or director can vary significantly depending on the salary a particular actor or director can command. As such, a TV production s below-the-line costs can be figured out fairly easily based on the mere number of technical personnel needed for the production, whereas the same show s above-the-line costs can vary astronomically depending on the particular actors, writers, and directors hired for the program. Wil Smith would command a much higher salary to star in a program than Jim Parsons of the The Big Bang Theory. Stephen King would command a much higher salary to write a TV mini-series than the writers of The Big Bang Theory. Likewise, Steven Spielberg would command a much higher salary to direct than the writers of The Big Bang Theory.. ABOVE-THE-LINE PERSONNEL 1. Executive Producer - the owner of the TV program and as such, the ultimate authority for the project. Sometimes the executive producer is merely the money or the bank behind the project and has very little creative input or interest in the project. The main interest is managerial concern for a financially profitable project. Executive producers usually hire a team of qualified producers, directors, and writers to take care of the creative aspects of the TV program. If you were having a house built for you, you would be considered the executive producer since you would have the ultimate authority over whom you hire as your architect, general contractor, and subcontractors, and you are also responsible for paying all of the wages for the workers as well as all the bills for all of the materials to build the house. Executive producers do not belong to any unions or professional guilds because they are management. (Try to name the executive producers of some of your favorite TV shows). 2. Producer (PGA) - hired by the executive producer to be in charge of the creative quality of the TV show. The producer is similar in nature to the architect who designs your house, but who does none of the actual work of building the house. The producer will hire a director to serve as the general contractor to be in charge of the daily responsibilities on the set, but the director normally must answer to the producer in regard to overall quality and progress of a particular episode of the TV series. Producers are hired because they know the best directors, writers, music composers, and art directors to hire for a project, and they also know how to coordinate and work with these creative artists for optimum results. In the end it is the producer who is responsible for the overall quality of the finished product, and it is the producer who must answer to the executive producer. 3. Associate/Assistant Producer (AP) - assists the producer in any manner needed. Some producers have a lot of responsibility in coordinating the creative aspects of the show, while other AP s are merely glorified secretaries that assist in coordinating schedules, telephones, and contracts in non-creative, clerical roles. Since this is usually a non-union job, an AP can make as little as minimum wage for working a 60-hour week, or, if the individual is well-liked and valued by the producer, command a very handsome salary. Friends and relatives of the producer who start out as AP s usually get good salaries, while unknowns usually get paid peanuts until they can prove their value on the job to the producer.
4. Director (DGA) - is hired by the producer or executive producer to be in charge of coordinating the daily responsibilities on the set for the filming of the actual program episode. The director s role is similar in nature to the general contractor who is in charge of directing at the construction site the masons, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians who will actually build your house. Although in a movie or single-camera production the director is primarily responsible for coaching or getting the best performance out of the actors, in television the director is more concerned with calling the shots in the control room during a multi-camera production. In other words, a movie director typically sits in the canvass chair on the set directing the actors and action, while a TV director sits in the control room away from the set and calls for the TD (Technical Director) to take various camera shots on the SEG or switcher to electronically edit the show in real time. In single-camera, film-style production, the director has just one camera shooting at a time, while in TV production, the director has at least four cameras shooting at once during a typical sit-com, newscast, or talk show. In sports broadcasts, however, a director may have as many as 12 cameras from which to select a shot or up to 25 cameras during an event such as the Super Bowl. 5. Director of Photography [DP] (ASC) also known as cinematographer, the DP is primarily responsible for lighting and shot composition, i.e., the framing, camera placement, and camera movement for each shot in the movie or episode. It is the DP s job to execute the director s vision for each shot through lens selection, camera angle, aperture, and lighting. In other words, the DP is responsible for bringing the images of the director s vision or the movie/episode s storyboard to life. 6. Art Director (SMPTAD-IATSE) - primarily responsible for the look of the project which is the result of the set design, scenery, props, costuming, and make-up. Most art directors specialize in certain types of shows such as science fiction, sit-coms, soap operas, game shows, talk shows, or newscasts. Although an art director will hire other specialists (or subcontractors) to handle each aspect of costuming, make-up, set dressing, set construction, and special effects, the art director is responsible for delivering the overall look of the show desired by the producers. 7. Casting Director (CSA) - primarily responsible for finding the right actor for the part. Instead of having the director and producers sit through long hours of cattle calls, producers hire casting directors for their expertise in presenting an appropriate selection of qualified actors who would be good for various parts in a series or a particular episode. Casting directors usually know better than directors and producers which actors are qualified for certain parts, what the individual actor s range is, and which actors are available to play certain parts. By limiting the producers choices to a pre-screened A List of talent, the production saves much time and money in auditioning actors, and usually ends up with much better actors for the parts in the show. 8. Actors (SAG) (AFTRA) - are referred to in the industry as talent and are primarily responsible for performing the dialogue and visual action in front of the camera for the show. In fact, any one whose voice or body appears on camera is considered talent whether he or she has any or not. Actors traditionally take their orders from the director (except for some actors who are big enough in the business to tell the director what to do). Actors are provided their dialogue from the script and are coached in their delivery by the director. Most actors belong to both SAG and AFTRA so that they may work in front of both television cameras and film cameras. An actor must belong to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in order to work on TV shows shot by the motion picture industry such as Grey s Anatomy or Code Black. Conversely, an actor must belong to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) in order to work on shows that are shot by the television industry such as The Big Bang Theory, Two Broke Girls, or soap operas such as General Hospital.
9. Writer (WGA) - primarily responsible for writing the script or screenplay which contains the show s action and dialogue or spoken lines. Many movies are often based on a novel or short story written by a famous author, but screenwriters have to be brought in to translate the literary work into action and dialogue that can tell the story within the length of a movie or television show. Various episodes of a TV series are usually written by a team of writers. Some writers develop the story arc for an entire season of the show, while others concentrate on writing the plot or dialogue for a particular episode. Although unknowns can sell story ideas to the show, the final script and writing credit is almost always given to the staff writers on the show. To sell a script, you need an agent. To get an agent, you need to have sold a script. That s the catch 22 of getting into the writing business. 10. Music Composer (ASCAP) - is primarily responsible for composing and/or arranging a movie or TV show s music. Movies and TV shows have both background music and music scores. Background music is the music that is part of the scene, i.e., the characters in the scene are supposed to hear the music such as the music playing at a club scene or at a party scene; however, music score is music added to a soundtrack that the characters in the scene do not hear such as the Jaws Theme before the shark attacks. Music score is added to a movie or TV show to enhance the desired emotional effect the producers want the audience to feel. When the acting and writing of a scene are not accomplishing this desired effect, music score is often used to elicit the desired effect and seal the deal with the audience. Music by composers such as John Williams (Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark), Jerry Goldsmith (Patton, The Omen, Star Trek, Poltergeist), and James Howard Newton (Sixth Sense, Hunger Games, I Am Legend) usually plays a significant part in the movie and leaves a lasting impression on the audience. Just the mention of movies such as Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., or Raiders of the Lost Ark will cause many people to start humming the music score of these movies. 11. Production Assistant (PA) - assists just about anyone during a production. Again, a PA can serve a very important role in some productions, or merely perform menial tasks such as running errands, photocopying scripts, or making deliveries all over town. Depending on the production and the particular producer for whom the PA works, the job is sometimes an above-the-line position with a good salary. This, of course, is in situations where the PA performs vital and highly-valued tasks for a particular producer. In most situations, however, PA s work 60-80 hours a week for a very low salary, and to add insult to injury, they are usually on-call 24 hours a day and have to use their own vehicles to perform the errands and deliveries for the production. A male PA is sometimes called a gofer (go for this; go for that), --while a female PA is called a honeydo (honey, do this; honey, do that). Although PA s are almost at the bottom of the production crew hierarchy (just a notch above a runner ), they often climb the ladder over the years to become associate producers and producers. As such, there is a wise saying in the industry that most actors, writers, directors, and production crew heed, and that is, Be nice to the PA because the little PA serving you coffee right now could be the producer you are working for ten years from now. BELOW-THE-LINE PERSONNEL 1. Assistant Director (AD) (DGA) - assists the director in the control room by readying camera shots, timing scripts, and coordinating cues, or on the set by coordinating and directing the extras in the background of a scene. Becoming an AD is not a stepping stone to becoming a director. AD s are specifically trained to work with extras and not actors. Several AD s usually assist on a movie or TV show. 2. Technical Director (TD) (NABET) (IA) - executes the director s commands by selecting and mixing various cameras and video sources on the switcher (SEG) to go out over-the-air for a broadcast or line cut show. The TD performs the fades, dissolves, cuts, keys, and electronic special effects such as wipes, chroma keys, and DVE that are used to electronically combine the various video sources for a show such multiple cameras, titling, pre-recorded video, and still-store images such as photos and weather maps.
3. Camera Operator (NABET) (IA) - primarily responsible for framing the shot, focusing the shot, zooming in or out, and performing any camera moves on-the-air such as pan, tilt, dolly, truck, or arc. Camera operators usually have their shots written on the script for scripted shows such as sit-coms, soaps, and newscasts; or they have an assigned area or type of shot for unscripted programs such as talk shows and sports broadcasts. In television, one person usually operates the camera, whereas in movies, three people operate the camera: one frames the shot, another pulls focus, and a third moves the camera into various positions. 4. Titles/Graphics [CG] (NABET) (IA) - primarily responsible for creating and calling up the titles and graphics for a TV show such as the lower third titles to identify people on a talk show, the score box and statistics keyed over the picture during a sportscast, and the graphics used in newscasts. 5. Video Engineer (NABET) (IBEW) - primarily responsible for maintenance and repair of all equipment used in production, master control operations, and transmission via satellite, microwave, and over-the-air broadcast. Of all TV personnel, video engineers are in the highest demand. They are paid quite well and can always get a job. This job, however, requires extensive training in electronics which is not covered in most TV degree programs in college. 6. Audio Technician (NABET) (IA) - primarily responsible for miking, mixing, and sweetening the audio for a program. Unlike movies, most TV shows use the live audio recorded on the set. As such, miking is very important for the overall quality of a show. On talk shows such as Jerry Springer, the guests usually have wireless lav mikes clipped to their shirts, while the host of the show uses a wireless hand-held mike to speak and gather responses from the studio audience. Singers typically use hand-held mikes, sportscasters use headset mikes, and newscasters use lav mikes. In soap operas and sit-coms, the two boom mike operators on the set must get the best possible microphone placement for optimum sound pick-up without showing up in the shot or casting a shadow in the shot. Mixing refers to the balance between the dialogue and the music score in a drama, or the balance between the sportscaster s voice and the crowd noise during a football game. On talk shows such as Dr. Phil, the audio tech may have to balance separate microphone feeds from five to six guests all speaking at the same time. In audio sweetening, the audio tech adds pre-recorded laugh tracks and applause tracks to the soundtrack of a sit-com to make the show funnier and more exciting. Even though most of these shows are shot before a live studio audience, all of the laughter and applause you hear in the program when it is aired on TV come not from the live performance, but from pre-recorded tracks orchestrated for maximum effect in the sweetening process. 7. Editor (ACE) (NABET) (IA) - is primarily responsible for editing the movie, TV show, program segment, or news story using a nonlinear editing system such as Avid, Final Cut, or Premiere. Editors perform the technical operations of assembling a program according to their own creative decisions or that of the director or producer. For a movie, the editor is above the line, while for TV shows the editor is usually below-the line. 8. Floor Manager/Stage Director (DGA) - primarily responsible for coordinating the action on the set or stage by relaying the director s commands to the crew and talent via hand signals. Since the TV director is usually in a control room separated from the actors and crew on the set, the floor manager coordinates people on stage by relaying the director s commands to the people on the set. Although the director can speak to the Floor Manager via the PL line headset during filming, the Floor Manager must communicate to the stage personnel via hand signals so that his or her voice does not pick up on the live microphones during filming. 9. Grip (Stage Hand) (IA) - primarily responsible for moving and erecting scenery, flats and props on the set. Since union regulations are very strict in regard to these matters, only grips are allowed to touch these particular items. If anyone else handles or moves these items on the set, a union grievance or possible walkout could occur. As such, if a polite cameraman helps a grip move a heavy prop, it could cause big problems for both of them as well as the production.
10. Gaffer (Electrician) (IBEW) - primarily responsible for handling lighting instruments, dimmers, cables, generators, and other electrical equipment. Just as a gaffer is not allowed to touch scenery or props, a grip is not allowed to touch any lighting equipment. 11. Unit Manager (IA) - is primarily responsible for coordinating the logistical aspects for support services of the production such as transportation, food, lodging, location clearances, union contracts, etc. A unit manager or production manager is very similar in nature to a travel agent for the production. Although it is not one of the glamour positions in the industry, it is still a very important function for the success of the production. Good unit managers are usually in high demand and the pay is quite lucrative. 12. Runner - primarily responsible for running errands and making food and script deliveries. The lowest job in the TV industry hierarchy, being a runner is usually one s first job in television. Runners are non union and are usually paid little more than minimum wage. Job qualifications include: 1) speak English; 2) have a valid driver s license; 3) have a car in good running condition; and 4) be able to work long hours for little pay with only the hope of someday being promoted to a PA position. SOUND DESIGN POST PRODUCTION 13. ADR [Automated Dialogue Replacement] responsible for re-recording actors dialogue in a controlled sound studio environment after filming. Filming done on a sound stage will not require ADR, but when filming on location, it is very difficult to control unwanted sounds such as airplanes flying overhead, car alarms blaring, generators grinding away, or leaf blowers getting recorded along with the actors dialogue. This unwanted sound creates a problem when trying to edit together shots of a scene that were filmed at different times of the day. In other words, the master shot of the scene has the sound of an airplane flying overhead in the background, while the over-the-shoulder shot of the male lead has a car alarm in the background and the over-the-shoulder shot of the female lead has a leaf blower in the background. When editing these shots together to create the illusion of a seamless scene with continuity, it is obvious to the audience that the scenes were filmed at different times of the day because the background noise changes each time the shot changes. To fix this problem, each actor is brought back into a sound studio to re-record his or her dialogue one line at a time. Using headphones in a soundproof booth, the actor is fed a loop of three repetitions for each line of actual dialogue that was recorded on location. The actor will hear himself say, Let s go try this now; Let s go try this now; Let s go try this now and after hearing the last repetition of the loop will try to replicate the exact delivery and intonation of the original line that was recorded on location. If this is done correctly, the newly recorded lines of dialogue will match the lip-sync of the video shots just as well as the original dialogue except now the dialogue will be pure with no changes in background noise; however, this creates a new problem in that the newly recorded dialogue is so pure, i.e., no background noise, it sounds unnatural. As such, new ambience tracks need to be added to the soundtrack in order to make the dialogue sound more natural. In other words, if the scene takes place at the beach, an ambience track of sea gulls calling, waves breaking, and a buoy clanging can be mixed in with the dialogue in order to give the scene a more natural acoustic environment, but at least now the ambience track will be continuous and will not change with each shot. 14. Ambience / SFX [Sound Effects] responsible for recording and/or mixing pre-recorded sound effects into the program s soundtrack. The sound effects editor will create the natural ambience of a beach scene by mixing the pre-recorded sfx of waves crashing, sea gulls calling, and a buoy clanging; or for a busy city scene, traffic noises such as cars and busses driving by, horns honking, and police sirens wailing; or for a night forest scene, crickets chirping, an owl hooting, and a coyote howling. This natural ambience is important to set the proper atmosphere or acoustic environment at the beginning of a scene; however, the beauty of sound effects mixing is that the level of this ambience can be lowered in the mix as soon as the actors begin speaking, and then raised up again to end the scene once the dialogue has stopped. Of course, this would not possible in real life, but it is such a handy tool in the post production world of sound design for movies and television shows.
15. Foley Artists responsible for performing and recreating sound effects such as footsteps, caresses, kisses, and punches for a fight scenes in sync with the video action. It is often difficult to get a good recording of these subtle sounds when filming on location because the microphone is too far away in order stay out of the shot, or there is too much unwanted noise at the location. To fix this problem, foley artists are hired to recreate these sounds in a studio called a foley stage. A foley stage is a soundproof studio with a large projection screen for the video and a series of foley pits filled with various materials to simulate footsteps in different environments such as twigs and leaves for a forest, concrete for an asphalt street, or sand for a beach. Foley artists will perform in these pits with a variety of shoes such as high heels for a woman s footsteps, tennis shoes for squeaking on a hardwood floor in a basketball scene, or cowboy boots with spurs for a Western. While watching the video on a large projection screen, the foley artists perform the sounds in sync with the action on the screen. They often use materials that don t even resemble the real object in order to get the high quality sounds we are used to hearing in movies such as coconut shells to simulate horses galloping, crinkling cellophane to simulate fire crackling, or shaking a metal plate to simulate thunder. Foley artists have also been known to perform many of the animal sounds we routinely hear in movies and TV shows. 16. Walla a group of people responsible for performing the human ambience of a scene. Unlike the natural ambience of sea gulls, waves, and buoys at a beach scene, or crickets chirping and coyotes howling in an evening forest scene, walla is concerned with recreating the human noise of a scene such as the chatter of patrons at an expensive restaurant, the rowdy yelling of college students at a keg party, or the panicked screams of people being told to hit the floor during a bank robbery scene. Walla groups usually consist of about ten people who gather around the microphone in a sound studio to perform the human ambience of any scene needed for a project. By recording multiple tracks, a group of 10 can easily become a group of 100 as long as each individual performs a different part for each track. Unlike foley artists, walla groups don t need to see the video of the scene in order to perform their parts. 17. Sweetening [Canned Laughter and Applause] responsible for adding pre-recorded laughter and applause to a sit-com or documentary soundtrack. Even though most TV sit-coms announce that they are filmed before a live studio audience, the laughter and applause you hear on the actual episode is placed and mixed from pre-recorded tracks in post production sweetening sessions. Those who have attended a TV sit-com filming will notice that there is a live studio audience and an applause sign that tells the audience when to applaud, but in reality, the episode that is shown on TV was actually filmed days before without a studio audience and the laughter and applause we hear in that episode is actually canned laughter and applause carefully placed and mixed for optimum effect in a post production sweetening session. The reason for this is that the live audience does not always laugh at all the jokes in the script as much as the producers wish or react to situations in the program according to the producers wishes. As such, in post production sweetening sessions, the producers can place the type of laughter and/or applause and control the intensity and duration of each reaction. If you listen carefully to I Love Lucy you will hear the same people laughing in every episode of the entire series. Watch an episode of MASH and notice that the scenes filmed outdoors on location have audience laughter. So where was the live audience seated for the filming of these outdoor scenes? Even concert documentaries will sweeten their soundtracks with audience applause and screams that were not recorded at the same time as the video we see. 18. Dialogue Editor responsible for optimizing the level of each actor s dialogue so that one actor is not louder than another actor, or that one part of a sentence is not much louder or much softer than the other parts of a sentence. Sometimes it is necessary for the dialogue editor to cut up almost each word of a sentence to make the level of each word consistent with the rest of the words in the sentence. This can be a long and involved process, but in the end it provides the quality and consistency we are used to hearing in movies and TV shows.
19. Re-Record Mixer responsible for mixing all the elements of post production sound design into a balanced composite soundtrack. For a movie, the re-record mixer will need to mix the following elements to proper balance in a soundtrack: ADR, ambience, foley, walla, and music. For a documentary, the re-record mixer will need to mix voice-over narration, interview soundbites, ambience, and music. For a TV sit-com, the re-record mixer will need to mix dialogue, ambience, walla, music, and canned laughter and applause. The goal is always to maintain proper balance so that none of the soundtrack elements interfere with the dialogue or narration of the scene. Sometimes, the music or ambience in a scene can overpower and mask the dialogue making it difficult for the viewer to understand what the actors are saying.