PREFACE

Producing as a career and a lifestyle grabbed me years ago, but like many of the people you'll meet in the pages of this book, I didn't start off as a producer. Writing was my passion. I liked the process, and was able to earn a living with feature-length screenplays (eight were optioned and one made…badly), short stories, magazine articles, movie reviews, educational curricula. Then, after moving from L.A. to NYC, I was offered a job at NBC as a writer/producer. I knew what a writer did, but a producer? I said yes immediately—I'd figure out the producing part later.

That simple yes was the launch pad for this journey called producing for television—and now, for new media—that shows no sign of slowing down. I've written and/or produced hundreds of television hours in almost every genre, for NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, for broadcast and nonbroadcast, from two-minute movie trailers to two-hour in-depth documentaries to a CBS special.

Each project has exposed me to a range of experiences—I can research new ideas, then write the scripts; I've shot in locations from the exotic to the mundane; I get to play with footage and sound and graphics in postproduction; I almost understand the parameters of finance; I've had the pleasure of interviewing celebrities, academics, and visionaries, on-camera and off; I've tested the range of my own patience and endurance; and, best of all, I've been honored to work with, and learn from, extraordinarily creative and talented people.

Producing has always felt natural to me. As the oldest of four kids, I mastered the skills of delegating, nurturing, cajoling, and outright bribery at an early age. I could convince my brother and sisters that making me a sandwich was a noble task rather than drudgery. When I was 12, I started a summer vacation newspaper, The Shack, and I gave each sibling a job: to report a new deer-sighting, draw treasure maps, make up riddles, sell ad space. I wrote the lead stories, designed it, and gave myself top billing… in essence, I've been producing all my life.

Producing is in my DNA. My parents were documentary filmmakers back in the day when nonscripted content was a labor of love, poorly funded, and rarely seen by large audiences. With a small dedicated crew, they directed, produced, and shot documentaries around the globe, shooting for weeks at a time. Through them, I learned about exotic places with unpronounceable names, heard stories of trekking into areas where the only common language was a smile. They loved what they did: the planning, the shoots, the weeks of editing. They found challenges and payoffs in each phase. And above all, they valued teamwork.

This family collaborative, its passion and fun, has shaped my world view of producing; it's also been essential in producing this book. My mother, Allie Clayton, provided nonstop inspiration, much of the book's graphic format design, and transcribed hours of interviews. My oldest daughter, Joan Johnsen, was also a valiant transcriber; Jonna McLaughlin, my middle daughter, and her best friend Becky Teitel, contributed their sage advice and experiences as former students of producing and now are producers themselves; and my third daughter, Simone McLaughlin, essentially constructed the glossary. My husband, Jeffrey McLaughlin, shared his considerable knowledge of postproduction, and supported me throughout the long writing process with his belief in my vision. Overseeing this family endeavor is the generous guiding spirit of my father, John Clayton, whose humor, vision, and belief in his team were the stuff of legend. His grin could light up any set.

Writing this book allowed me to explore my own producing experiences, and to combine or contrast them with those of dozens of other professionals interviewed for both editions. Each chapter was reviewed by a team of college students who were studying producing and offered their candid feedback and perspectives. Jackie Muldower contributed unswerving support, extensive research and review, and compiled references. Adam Wager offered his clarity to the text and its overall tone. Michael Krepack gave me consistent access to the latest developments in new media; Ashley Cooper Kerns, Joanna Kerns, and Nicci Marciante helped reshape, clarify, and update the legal chapter. Daisy Montfort and Noah Workman chipped in long hours on behalf of this book, and Alexandra Palmieri, Alex Holson, and Jaclyn Paris contributed to the Student Recommended Resources. I'm eternally grateful for this collective dedication to my dream.

An added dimension to this text is the collective experience and insight from the “guest speakers” in Chapter 11: Sheril Antonio, Sharon Badal, Michael Bonfiglio, Sheila Possner Emery, Barbara Gaines, Rich Henning, Ann Kolbell, Matt Lombardi, Jeffrey McLaughlin, Brett Morgen, Stephen Reed, Laurie Rich, John Rosas, Tom Sellitti, J. Stephen Sheppard, Valerie Walsh, Justin Wilkes, Scott A. Williams, and Bernie Young. I'm indebted to my friends and colleagues Sharon Badal, Stephen Duncombe, Evan Fairbanks, James Gardner, Rich Henning, David Irving, Jon Kamen, Al Lieberman, Lynn McVeigh, Linda Oken, Andrew Susskind, Justin Wilkes, and the Bradley-Jones team, who believe in me and in the potential and power of television and new media, and have stood by me through some dicey moments. Thanks also to Amit Das who convinced me to expand my original Producing for TV syllabus into a textbook. And a deep bow to Kent Cathcart, my sole touchstone in high school, whose struggles with me back then have paid off.

An integral part of the book's development process are the proposal reviewers—Don Caristi, Mischelle L. Mclntosh, Mary Beth O'Connor, and Eric Scholl. Equally as helpful were the manuscript reviewers for the second edition, Alison Reddihough and Andrew Susskind. Each made significant contributions with his or her candid feedback. The folks at Focal Press, under the thoughtful guidance of Elinor Actipis and Michele Cronin, have combined their talents to make the second edition even better than the first. The graphics, charts, and photographs were imaginatively designed and photographed by Polina Khentov; all these people are partners in this book.

Producing for TV and New Media: A Real-World Approach is the end result of collaboration, experience, curiosity, a bit of good luck, and a lot of hard work—a formula that's remarkably similar to producing for television and new media. Welcome to the journey.