Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1081203
40 CINEMONTAGE / Q1 2019 the procedure. It made my heart triple in speed to try to figure out how to get around it." Even though Shapiro was manually sourcing the inputs during the sequence, at the last second he was able to jump to the next videotape, bypass the live camera and advance to the next key frame to get back into the sequence. "Now we try to make sure that we've anticipated every problem," he adds. "We have a photo backup just in case they're supposed to be there but didn't show up. We try to have backup plans for everything." For Shapiro, a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, being a technical director for live TV suits him well. Whether it is making sure all the cameras have their shots framed correctly or that the wrong camera is not cut to, he knows that the stakes are high when there is only one chance to do things perfectly. "Technical directors are expected to be 100 percent all the time," Shapiro maintains. "There's no 'Fix-It-in- Post.' The amount of adrenaline that gets pumped as we go on air is a feeling I've always loved. I love that high-stress, short-term pressure, when you've got one chance to do it right. "It's just like skiing down a mountain," he continues, harkening back to his original career dream. "You don't want to make any mistakes. You don't want to hit a tree. You want to get all the way down and feel great about it." In the early-to-mid-2000s, Shapiro directed 19 episodes of the sitcom Everyone Loves Raymond (1996-2005). Since then he has also gone on to direct an extensive array of televised classical music and operas, as well as the documentary Great Voices Sing John Denver (2013), in which opera singers perform songs from the singer/songwriter's catalogue. "After that, it was nice for me to be able to come back into the live television world," he offers. As for his best day at the Academy Awards, Shapiro says it was doing the Oscars with Crystal the first time they both worked on the show. "Not only is Billy a great comedian, he is also an extraordinary entertainer," the TD recounts. "He ended his opening monologue with a humorous short medley about the Best Picture nominees. And I was tasked with creating video effects during his medley performance." Before Crystal's rehearsal, he would briefly meet with the host to describe the director's framing of the camera and where the effects were entering and exiting the picture around him. "Billy was very interested in where his eye line should be," Shapiro says. "Then we would record a rehearsal and I would follow the script and take my cues from him. After each rehearsal, we would watch the playback and make adjustments to the effects to coincide with his movements. By the third time through, the performance and effects blended perfectly. It's a thrill when something complicated appears natural and gets the desired reaction from the audience." It has been nearly 30 years since Shapiro's first Academy Awards. To what does this multi- hyphenate attribute his longevity working with the Oscars? "Luck," he replies. "That and my continued excitement about the job at hand. It's the passion, the rush and a great group of people. There's a lot of clout to the show and I'm humbled to have been a part of it for so many years." f Kenneth Shapiro outside the Denali truck he'll be working in on Oscar night.