Tag: TV CAREER TIPS

Herbie J Pilato: If only they went steady with the camera – but stopped talking to it!

by Herbie J Pilato

Although I am classic TV-oriented, and relatively “old-school” in my mind set of how I believe television shows should be presented and produced, I still have my favorites in the new, contemporary programming of today.

Namely, Modern Family and The Middle, both of which ABC (my favorite network in history) just so happens to broadcast on Wednesday nights.

Although both series are top-notch on all levels (writing, directing, acting, etc.), of course I do have my issues with them. read article

How Overachievers Stay Sane and Avoid Burn-Out

How could this article not appeal to us? We mean, it’s gotta be about your friendly neighborhood Team TVWriter™, right? Overachievers, yeppers, that’s us!

Satisficing

by Elizabeth Grace Saunders

One of the fastest paths to burnout is when brilliant people get so stuck on making everything they do AMAZING that all they have to show for their efforts is a string of sleepless nights, broken commitments, and work left undone. But life doesn’t have to be this way.

It is possible for overachievers to get more done, improve their performance, and be less stressed, but it doesn’t always mean grinding out that extra task on the to-do list. Sometimes, we need take a step back and embrace the concept of “satisficing.” The power of this concept was explored by Dr. Barry Schwartz’s teamin a 2002 paper and is probably best summarized by researcher Emilia Lahti: read article

Peer Production: BLANK ON BLANK

Carol Burnett LP Cover

Carol Burnett is arguably a comedy genius. We love this interview with her cuz its particular presentation definitely is genius as well:

Daring to Push the Boundaries of Creativity

We don’t just dare you to throw yourself over the creative edge, we double-dog dare you. Cuz, let’s face it, as a writer, that’s something you genuinely need to do:

barbed-wireby Carla Woolf

In my personal creative experiences, being creative meant surviving and vice versa. It meant going beyond the confines of creative ideas that have already been juggled or developed, and it initially meant cautiously considering unspoken stipulations to choose between feeling that permission and approval must be sought before deciding how to create something, or just having the audacity to do what’s needed. Creativity may be described as having its hands in fun pursuits, or feeling fulfilled, or standing on the pinnacle of a highly advanced and accomplished idea, but for a great deal of my own life’s time, creativity was plainly about having to be resourceful.

Practicing and applying the old adage “necessity is the mother of invention” became a rather regular occurrence. Later on in life however, it caused me to speculate whether unlimited creativity was really playing an active role in my determination to create ways into and out of my many limited circumstances. Creativity is, and had been a resourceful tool for getting out of tight spots, and it undoubtedly had a place in the lives of artists looking to produce their next masterpiece, but my senses told me that there had to be so much more to it than just that. read article

LB: Where Did THE FALL GUY Live?

Colt-in-the-tub

Glad You Asked Dept. 1/27/14

Today’s question is about THE FALL GUY, an ABC action series (I think the network referred to it as drama, but…c’mon!) starring Lee Majors, Doug Barr, Heather Thomas, and Markie Post. Another actress played Markie’s part the first season, but I didn’t like her very much so why even mention her name?

I enjoyed my time producing the show – I must have, I served two separate stints there, executive producing the short-lived AUTOMAN in between. After years of writing “serious” drama like POLICE STORY, MEDICAL STORY, MEDICAL CENTER, and the like, THE FALL GUY was a terrific change of pace, filled with mindless action and humor.

Lee’s character, Colt Seavers, was a stunt man who moonlighted as a bounty hunter, and he never – I mean never – rang a doorbell or knocked when he went to anyone’s house. Instead, he and his trusty sidekick, Doug Barr’s Howie Munson, would rappel up to the most out-of-the-way top story balcony or window they could find. Because…stuntmen, you know? read article