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George Hoover and I wrote a book about how television production occurs on location. From the smallest corner stand‐up with one camera to the biggest events, like the Super Bowl and other major shows. If this project were a TV show, George would be the producer and head writer. I was the "grip." While I did the majority of the gathering and field work, the book would have never happened without him. When people found out George was involved, they gladly talked to me. Also besides being a very good writter (my wife liked his writing better than mine) he kept me from going down countless rabbit holes.
In the process of researching the book we asked people in the industry to suggest names for the book. Many of the names proposed provided insight that could only come from those who do this for a living. Many that were submitted are esoteric to the industry, and some are inside jokes. But many give an insider's view of the business. Let's look at a few of the submitted names.
Many people in the industry work in the business full time, but many work remotes as a second job. In either case a substantial percentage of people who work in the business are technically self‐employed contractors, or freelancers. The production company, network or television station doing the remote production hires them either by the day or usually by the event. In many cases there is a middle entity between the freelancer and the actual employer, as there are crewing services that assemble crews for remotes.
Are You a Cameraman?
M. Forman: Operating a camera can require long stretches of concentration and spending a long time on your feet. As is the case in this photo, two separate remotes are often done side by side ‐ one for the home team broadcast, and another for the visiting team.
The challenge can be ratcheted up by running a camera where the wind can be biting and the roar of the track can make hearing directions from the truck difficult.
Most people in the business who tell someone on the outside that they work in television have been asked this question. It is the tip of the television production effort that is most visible to the public. Another common response upon finding that a person is in television is to assume that they must be "talent" of some sort.
Eight O'clock in the Lobby
Bob Dixon, Jimmy Grgurich, No two remotes are exactly alike. Even the same event at the same venue, such as a three‐game baseball stand at Shea Stadium, can have totally different complexities, obstacles or even just a different feeling, as equipment and even personalities can change from one day to the next. Because the crew almost always shares transportation to and from the venue, a common parlance at the end of the day is when to meet in the morning.
So What is Your Real Job During the Week?
This can't be all you do for work, no?
A few suggested many names such as:
Turnpike TV 101; Roadside Attraction; Stop, Drop and Roll; Behind the Wheel of Mobile TV; The Curbside Television Diaries; Mobile Madness
Gabriel Antonini: All these suggested names point to the nomadic aspect of the business. Want to travel, like the outdoors, want new situations and challenges? Remotes might be for you.
TV in a Truck ‐ Just Add Cameras, Computers, People, and a Lot of Blood, Sweat and Tears!
R Leong: Often the last part is true.
Inside the Box: A Look at the Remote Truck Industry; Studio on Wheels; Stories for the Mobile Production Enthusiast; Mobile Madness: True Stories About Remote Truck Production
Judy Skeie‐Voss: Judy's three titles sum up the average remote. It is television production on location, sometimes in cramped quarters, often under chaotic conditions. Her second suggestion came closest to the final name selected for the book.
If Mobiles Could Talk
J Shymanski: If they could talk, would they, or scream in hysterics?
Park and Power: The History (or Story) of the Remote Television Industry
Lee Estroff. The power required by large production trucks can be quite substantial. The biggest trucks can draw well over 100kW (That was 20 years ago. The load has gone up dramatically). Here is three‐phase power, plus ground, into a large truck. The amount of power these trucks draw along with the necessary monitoring require complex power panels.
Load the Elephants....Unload the Elephants!
Clay Underwood . Equipment used to be quite large and very heavy. Early color cameras weighed nearly 400 lbs. Today equipment has become much more reasonable in both aspects, but the volume of equipment used in the largest remotes dwarfs what was used only 30 years ago. In the late 60s, the first generation of color camera heads (the part of the camera that the public sees, about one‐third the total electronics for the camera), on the right a RCA TK‐44, required two people to comfortably carry it. A few years before the TK‐44, GE introduced the PE‐250 (left). It took a couple of strong backs to carry this camera head. The person on the left was my father.
Remote TV production: A Brotherhood of Strangers; 'Scuse Me Buddy, Can You Spare an XLR Turnaround? I'll Give it Back to Ya Later!
Terry York: Terry points out that people who work on remote productions must be able to get along with people they might only work with on occasion, sometimes only once. Remotes are a cacophony of cables and interfaces. The reference to an XLR turnaround (audio adaptor used to mate cables of the same connector sex) points out the fact that connecting all the components that must be connected often requires a lot of co‐operation among the crew members.
You Can't Park Here!
Bob Janeway: This is heard very often, sometimes after setup has commenced.
This is Not the Bathroom
Andy Swieck: Some people mistake the production trailer for this one.
Swieck remembers a mother with daughter in tow frantically entering a production truck, pondering the equipment and activity for a moment, then in a confused state wondering aloud where the "stalls" were. When informed that this was not the bathroom, the mother insisted that her daughter be allowed to use the truck's bathroom. Mother and daughter left convinced that something as complicated as that production truck must have had a bathroom. Most EICs and engineers are happy that these trucks don't, as there are enough potential disasters that can occur with all the electronics onboard. Imagine adding plumbing to the mix
We Have no Tally!
Dennis Lanius: Often systems not directly responsible for capturing audio or video can have a profound effect on how smoothly a remote production goes. Tallies, which indicate to talent and the crew which sources are "on air," can wreak havoc if they are not working correctly. Tallies are not only found on cameras, but are also found throughout the production truck. Another system that makes television production harder when it fails is the prompter system, the large monitor depicted in the photo. Most often these monitors, which allow talent to look at the camera and read the script simultaneously, are mounted on the camera.
The intercom is another such system. Probably the largest amount of grief that can occur in the middle of a production would not be the loss of most of the cameras or a couple of mics, it would be the loss of intercom. Imagine trying to orchestrate a production without the ability to communicate with people out of earshot.
E.I.C (Everyone Else is Clueless), and Other Nonsense from the Back of the Truck
Brian Nupnau. Actually the EIC stands for engineer in charge. This person is the lead technical contact between the truck client and the truck vendor.
A name suggested by many, and one of my favorites is:
Out by the Dumpster
That seems to be the area where the truck is invariably parked. Timothy Kubit of Denali remembers a truck coordinator by the name of Grace Cap, who was having no luck getting a venue in St. Louis to provide information on where to park the truck.
She then thought to ask where the Dumpsters were at the venue and told the truck crew to try parking near them. It turned out that was where the truck was supposed to park all along.
Although it's an interesting title in my mind. Guess it was too "inside baseball."
This photo was taken during the 2004 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. It is a good illustration of some of the common lay questions that were often heard. I found question 8 intriging. Even 20 years ago I was always amazed when people still thought somehow film was still involved. In 1980, Hollywood used over 1 billion feet of 35mm film per year. By the 2004 Olympics, Hollywood had released its first major all‐digital film: Star Wars: Episode II ‐ Attack of the Clones (2002). At that time film usage had dropped 75% from the 1980s. Today the use of film is likely below 50 million feet per year, mostly for niche productions. "Oppenheimer, " "Dunkirk," "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" made recently were shot on film. Today it is estimated that motion picture film usage has dropped over 95% since the 1980s.
When I first started in TV, I got why people thought the thick camera cables were hoses for circulating film. But in 2004? Home recorders were 30 years old. Everyone had VCRs. Going back to the hose analogy, early on in my career, horse racetracks were using film for the judges to review. The film moved through the camera's shutter mechanism. It then traveled down an enclosed chute into a developing bay. Finally, it went to a projector, allowing the judges to see the film while it was still wet. The process was clearly messy.
Truck with the generator
Having grown up in the business,
(The Kid)
my father and three others had a production company. They placed a generator in one of their production trucks. They also mounted a video camera. Remember, there was nothing small about these. They aimed the camera out the door as they drove through parking lots. At one point, a guy pulled out a cigarette pack and held it up for us to see.
Why would anyone do that? See the photo below. Video cameras were uncommon for the average person to encounter in the 60s. When one went by, it drew attention. The Lark Cigarette Company had an ad campaign at the time. They drove around displaying the signs shown in the photo below. You talk about it being so not like today. Two or three guys standing up in the bed of a moving pickup truck, and people pulling out packs of cigarettes to show. How many were actually Larks?
