DGA Monthly

2 I D G A M O N T H L Y 2 I D G A M O N T H L Y 2 I D G A M O N T H L Y Director Ron de Moraes was tasked with heading up the coverage for the Republican National Convention (RNC). With over fifty years of experience as a multi-cam live and live-to-tape Director, de Moraes approached the 2024 event with a blend of seasoned expertise and innovative vision. De Moraes drew on his experience as a private pilot to navigate inevitable hurdles. "When something goes wrong — and it will — you aviate, navigate, and communicate," he explained. "Keep the show on the air, use what's available to move forward, and allow the crew to work out solutions while you keep things running smoothly." His approach was simple yet effective: "I place myself virtually in the audience and ask, 'What do I want to see at this moment that will tell the story of what's happening and the reaction to it?'" This strategy allowed him to convey the atmosphere and energy of the convention to viewers at home, creating a dynamic visual narrative that captured the essence of the event. The pool feed from the RNC was wrangled by a team headed by Director Sarah Carlson Brooke, who has helmed such notable events as Hillary Clinton's 2016 election night gathering in New York and President Obama's farewell speech in Chicago. "As Director of the network pool, you are responsible for making sure all the networks get their technical needs met, said Brooke. "You go into production with a distribution plan and a back-up to that plan because anything can happen in a live environment. We consider if a fiber line gets cut how will the networks still receive the feed? To maximize our coverage without spending too much we agree to share resources and need to ensure that if a shared camera goes down, we can still do a show. From the pool perspective this is a news event; what if there is a moment on stage that is news making and the show production doesn't want to cover it, do we have the resources to cover it? There are multiple back-ups to the plan. "Technology has given me the ability to be more flexible both in pre- production and for the broadcast. I can plan for events efficiently from a distance, doing walkthroughs remotely and although not always ideal I can cut a show without being on location if we home-run the cameras. With consumer cameras being of higher quality we can add coverage without too much cost. All in all, more seems possible with the advance of technology. "This year's RNC was a massive event to cover. Months in the making, we were on the ground weeks in advance to cover a four-night event. My proudest accomplishment was putting together a team that not only were the best at their crafts but enjoyed working together as team." Associate Director Dawn DiCicco, who was working her first convention said of the event, "It's been on my bucket list to be a Network Pool AD for a Convention after I listened to Katlyn McBrearty from CBS do the RNC in 2020. She and Clara Yang were so organized, efficient, and communicative that after the 2020 RNC was over, I said to myself, 'If NBC ever draws the pool for Convention I want to do it!' The Conventions are such a fun and interesting pool event to work on because the Network is essentially covering the production of another team's show. For us, this meant having to coordinate every aspect of the broadcast with an outside team and finding ways to be flexible with changes we didn't know were coming or didn't have control of. It was a really challenging and rewarding experience to have your line cut be largely outside of your control, but it forced us to be extra nimble!" L-R: Technical Director Brian Zeitchick, Director Sarah Carlson Brooke, Producers Jay Blackman and Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner and Associate Director Dawn DiCicco in the RNC pool feed control room. Covering the 2024 Presidential Elections In preparation for the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election, DGA members were active participants in critical events broadcast only once every four years to inform the electorate. Below is the inside point of view from members working on the multiple- day Republican and Democratic Conventions and the Presidential Candidate Debate. An image of the convention floor taken from the control room at the RNC. Pool feed AD Dawn DiCicco on the convention floor. The Republican National Convention

• Cover