Friday Questions

Heating up the summer with Friday Questions:

Arthur Mee starts us off:

So you write a blog post. Two days later, a paid newspaper columnist takes EXACTLY the same idea, rewrites it somewhat (but not that much), and puts it up as her own column.

Is this something that vexes you? Or do you shrug it off and say "that's life"? And did/does anything similar happen in the world of TV?

Considering my article was posted July 11th and hers was July 15th it seems pretty clear she “borrowed” my idea.

It would have been nice had the author acknowledged she got the idea for her article from my blog, gave me credit, and linked to my post – that’s what I try to do when I base a post on something I’ve read, but generally I shrug it off. Had she used chunks of my post and called it her own that would be a different story.  But this happens from time to time. 

Pat from Salem asks:

What are your thoughts about actors receiving royalties for having their character mentioned in an episode even if they don't actually appear? For instance, if Frasier refers to Lilith doing something in an episode, and even though Bebe Nuewirth doesn't appear in that episode, I still get to enjoy her "performance" because I can't really imagine any other actor in that role. Its almost like she did perform in that episode.

Huh? Actors don’t get royalties if their characters are just mentioned.

From Peter:

I sometimes wonder what sort of TV/home entertainment set-up people who work in the industry have at home. For example, I would assume Spielberg and Cameron have the most expensive and state of the art equipment for watching TV and movies.

What do you have? An HD TV or have you already upgraded to a 4K TV? A DVD player or a Blu-Ray player or 4K Blu-Ray player?

Without giving an inventory to would-be burglars, let’s just say I have a television, it’s in color, and I can watch recorded things. I’m usually one K or D behind.

Guys like Steven Spielberg have their own screening rooms. His comes complete with a candy counter. I always thought that was the height of extravagance until I learned that Barbra Streisand has her own shopping mall in her house.

Dave wonders:

After watching early vs later seasons of MASH, I seem to notice much more inventive ways to film opening establishing shots of the episodes in the early years vs late years. For example, there were many long shots through tent windows or doors, versus a quick set up 3 shot in the mess tent...is there a budget or time consideration that goes into that sort of thing? Or something else?

It had to do more with what directors were hired. Also, in the early years there was more attention paid to orienting the audience to the world they were seeing. After a few years the audience knew the MASH compound as well or better than we did. And the time taken to do those pretty establishing shots is time taken away from the script.

Alan Alda is very visual and the episodes he directed all had lovely establishing shots. But his first-edits were always long and those beauty shots were the first to go.

Of all the directors MASH used, Gene Reynolds is most responsible for the look and tone of the show.

And finally, from Bob Zirunkel:

Ken, a Friday question with a preamble:

The best advice I received but did not heed was from a seventh-grade guidance counselor who told our class that now was the time to start developing disciplined study habits, skills that would serve us well in school and beyond.

How did you develop the discipline needed to succeed in so many areas - writing/directing/producing/sports announcing/DJ'ing/parenting?

If it’s something important to me I have no problem focusing. But in school if there was a subject I hated I had a bitch of time forcing myself to do the homework.

I guess I’m also a little anal. I don’t like the pressure of having to complete something at the last moment. So it’s worth it to me to manage my time and get a jump on whatever task I’m facing. Especially in television where you’re behind even before you begin.

What’s your Friday Question? Thanks in advance. Now get outdoors and enjoy the summer.