Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/7700
You can't channel surf these days without coming across at least a half-dozen reality shows. And the subject matter runs the gamut. Some might be competitive programs and others offer a slice of life, more resembling a documentary in style. But whether the focus is on building the ultimate wedding cake on a stage or dealing with the deadliest of addictions out in the field, each program has its own production and post production challenges. The pros we spoke with this month provided insight to their work on reality television programs, some of which shoot between 100 and 200 hours of footage just to create a single hour- long episode. Workdays are long, but over time — some- times the course of a season — an efficient workflow devel- ops. Here's a look at how these executive producers and ed- itors bring it all together, and how they add polish to pro- gramming that is known for its unpredictability. A D D I C T E D Addicted is a new show that begins airing on TLC this month. The premiere season will consist of six one-hour episodes in which reformed addict and successful author/interventionist Kristina Wandzilak tries to help other addicts and their families overcome and cope with the struggles of addiction. Asylum Enter tainment's (www.asylument.com) presi- dent/CEO Steve Michaels and CCO/COO Jonathan Koch ser ve as executive producers on the program, which they pitched to the network and now produce and post in-house. "We came up with it and found Kristina," explains Koch. "That's what we try to do: recognize great talent when it crosses our path. We developed the show and took it to TLC, and they were integral in developing it specifically for [their audience]." At press time, all six episodes had been shot. Episodes 1-4 had been edited and Episode 5 was in a rough cut. The co-executive producers were also about to review a preliminar y version of the show open, which was to include footage of Kristina Wandzilak shot just a few days earlier. Production for the season ran 105 days.The show was shot in HD on DVCPRO HD using Panasonic AJ-HDX900s. Smaller format cam- eras, such as Sony's HVR-Z5U and HVR-V1U HDV, were also used for field shoots in which the crew followed around the addicts. And the addicts themselves were provided with camcorders, allowing them to record video diaries. Considering the nature of the subject, the EPs were pleased that none of the gear was sold off to suppor t any of their addictions. Asylum is able to handle all of the production and post on the shows they're involved in.The company owns its own equipment and has facilities for production, editing, graphics and finishing. "We've set ourselves up over the last nine years of being in busi- ness to make sure that we can service all of our core competencies of production, so everything we do on a show, thus far, has been in- house," Koch explains. "And if we ever needed to go out of house, we'd probably go get [what we needed] and bring it in-house." But, that said, the "one-stop-shop" concept, he adds, isn't what helps sell a show. "The entry point for having these conversations has to do with the credibility of the idea, your pedigree and reputation, and any previous relationship that you might have with the network." Asylum's Framework Post company handles editorial for Ad- dicted, using Avid Meridiens (the studio has 30 systems) and Unity storage. The first episode shot somewhere around 250 hours of www.postmagazine.com March 2010 • Post 23 Bringing order to programming that is unpredictable. By Marc Loftus Addicted: Asylum's Framework Post edits the show in-house on Avid systems.