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The information on this page is an excerpt from
the
FabJob Guide to Become
a Television Producer. It is only a small sample of the valuable
information contained in the 157 page complete guide.
How to Break Into a Job in Television
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.
The above is only a small sample of the
information in the FabJob Guide to Become a
Television Producer. The complete guide gives
detailed information on how you can get hired as a television
producer. Visit
FabJob Guide to Become
a Television Producer for more
information. |
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