March 22, 2008:  Two years ago today one of my mentors, Kaye Lavine, passed away.  I wrote about her at the end of an earlier blog, http://davidryanmediasolutions.com/2007/10/19/the-rocky-mountain-way-an-extra-5-or-10/, and I want expound further on something she espoused.

Kaye was an Executive Producer at Denver’s PBS station, KRMA-TV.  She hired me back early in my career to be Cultural Affairs Producer for the station.  Soon after arriving,  she enlightened me with one her work slogans, otherwise known as the “6 P’s:”  “Proper Planning Prevents Pi**-Poor Production.”  I laughed.  I knew I had found a kindred spirit.

(photo of Kaye Lavine from a feature article ca. 1984)

Both Kaye and I had begun our careers as mutli-camera television directors.  As a general overview, television production follows two different forks in the road.  There is single-camera film-style production and live (or live-to-tape) production.  I have had the privilege of working in both.  Both are fun and exciting (that’s why one goes into this field, right?)  And each requires a great deal of preparation. 

Single-camera production requires thinking through, before arriving on location, the most efficient way to shoot a story – and doing so by incorporating the technique of ”shooting out of sequence.”  In other words, a field producer/director must be well-prepared in not only knowing what elements the story needs, but also directing the shooting in such a way that minimizes setup, crew and talent time.  So, the result is that the middle or end of a story are often filmed or taped first; hence, again the phrase, “shooting out of sequence.”  One of the beauties of single-camera production is that if the field production is done efficiently, the post-production process can be a fun time of putting the “puzzle” together — and even perhaps playing with the footage to try out some alternative ideas.

As I mentioned above, Kaye and I both had a strong multi-camera directing background as well.  This is used when covering live events.  In that style of production, a number of cameras are used and the director and his/her team sit in a control room that displays all the cameras.  The director basically becomes a live editor, using production jargon to give commands and guidance to the crew.  The director must juggle his/her attention between watching what is happening live and also preparing the camerapersons, audio personnel and control room team for what is coming up next.  Unlike single camera editing, there is no “fix it in post,” so you can see how successful multi-camera television directors become strong believers in Kaye’s “6 P’s” principle.

I have learned some further interesting lessons from all this as well.  People have asked me, “Well, what happens if the event being covered doesn’t follow the script?  Was all the pre-production preparation a waste of time?”  My experience says quite the opposite.  I have found time and again over the years that even when the script got completely ”thrown out the window,” the “proper planning” provided me with a foundation that allowed me to better react to any fluid situation.

Of course this is not unique to media production.  The same tenets apply to successful people within a wide range of vocations: like the trial lawyer, the home builder, the surgeon, the space mission control team, the wedding planner and of course, the military combat commander.  

And I have found that it also certainly applies to the media replication and multimedia sales person as well.  Many of my clients come to me facing one or both of the following: a time crunch or a technical challenge.  Tackling those projects efficiently and successfully usually requires strict adherence to the “6 P’s.”  So if you catch me with a slight smile while working intensely on your project, there’s a good chance I am hearing Kaye Lavine’s voice in the back of my head.