tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7160704310130277010..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Directing sitcoms Part 2By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87890148680800708992014-03-16T15:34:31.359-07:002014-03-16T15:34:31.359-07:00A fascinating couple of posts. Thanks for sharing ...A fascinating couple of posts. Thanks for sharing them, Ken!Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64665798838176586372014-03-13T11:36:35.173-07:002014-03-13T11:36:35.173-07:00Good news from CBS this morning -- "Mom"...Good news from CBS this morning -- "Mom" is renewed! (But if you're a fan of "The Crazy Ones," not so good news.)<br /><br />http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/cbs-renews-9-drama-series-5-comedies-2-reality-shows-for-next-season-no-mentalist-crazy-ones-or-intelligenceVP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-69215460451056394472014-03-13T08:28:13.942-07:002014-03-13T08:28:13.942-07:00Thanks for this look behind the scenes.
You mentio...Thanks for this look behind the scenes.<br />You mentioned assistant directors. Who hires them and what is their job during the filming of a show?Rick Wiedmayernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88140364246297622812014-03-13T04:47:32.971-07:002014-03-13T04:47:32.971-07:00When it comes to the subject of directing, there h...When it comes to the subject of directing, there have been many interviews and statements, but few can match the profound remarks by McG, the director of Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels Full Throttle, who once said: "There's two elements that go into filmmaking. There's sound, and then there's the picture". If he'd said that on Oprah's show, she'd have turned to the camera and said "This man is a geeeeniuuuus!", the same way she announces "It's George Clooneeeeeey!" and her sheep, I mean audience, whoop. For about 5 minutes. Yes, I can't resist the occasional dig at the Queen of Dumbing Down.Hamidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62883884152143169092014-03-13T03:11:20.939-07:002014-03-13T03:11:20.939-07:00When I watch the coffee shop scenes in reruns of S...When I watch the coffee shop scenes in reruns of Seinfeld, I pay close attention the to the background talent, and it's interesting to see how they interact with the waitress, or the dining companion, but you rarely see them react to the antics of Jerry et al<br /><br />I always find et al to be the funniest of the group, BTW.Albert Giesbrechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17742338183833125104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5678111115994655642014-03-12T14:32:37.910-07:002014-03-12T14:32:37.910-07:00Hi Ken,
I was watching Tim Allen's Last Man S...Hi Ken,<br /><br />I was watching Tim Allen's Last Man Standing and I noticed that there are a ton of Exec Producers and Consulting producers....what is that all about. Too many chiefs, not enough indians?Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10181969330364979800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67874166778322707812014-03-12T11:38:43.447-07:002014-03-12T11:38:43.447-07:00Another potential Friday question as follow-up:
...Another potential Friday question as follow-up: <br /><br />What is the director's role in post-production and editing? Phillip Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08498595633633248863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77784557859007804562014-03-12T11:13:17.772-07:002014-03-12T11:13:17.772-07:00Thanks for these posts, Ken--fascinating stuff. A...Thanks for these posts, Ken--fascinating stuff. And they lead to 2 potential Friday questions from me:<br /><br />1. In long-running shows where there isn't one constant director, does the look/feel/staging of the show change with each director? Or is the director's goal (or network directive) to conform his/her approach to match the ongoing look/feel of the show? For example, the Office (US) had some episodes directed by "famous" directors (Joss Whedon, Paul Feig, etc.), but I couldn't tell any differences between their episodes and other usual episodes. <br /><br />2. Why don't TV directors get the same "prestige" that movie directors do? I mean, movie directors are usually the second-to-last Academy Award. I don't know if I've even seen the Emmy Award for best directing even televised, and it's certainly not on the level of acting awards, unlike the Academy Awards. Usually the non-acting accolades for TV shows go either to the creators or writers (or both), not the directors. Why is that?Billnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56432360633067329902014-03-12T10:40:51.537-07:002014-03-12T10:40:51.537-07:00Ken (possible Friday question) - when a show is be...Ken (possible Friday question) - when a show is being created, how early does the set design become part of the equation? Your post reminded me that "Frasier" had an unusually "layered" set: a couch area, then an elevated the piano layer behind it, then the balcony behind that...and then a separate kitchen area visible from the whole lot.<br /><br />How deliberate are all of those choices? Are the creators actively thinking "We're going to be writing lots of group scenes, so we need a way to let a couple of people split off and have a private conversation"? Does the pilot director get some input?<br /><br />It also made me think about the recent "Big Bang Theory" episode in which they swap out the desk and computer from the back of the set (which nobody ever used) for a dining table (which everybody clearly desperately needs). It makes me wonder if the show ever _had_ a plan for that area of a set and then (like the characters) found that they never liked sending someone over there.Andy Ihnatkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17385467634470205852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35463272396911573492014-03-12T10:29:00.786-07:002014-03-12T10:29:00.786-07:00Sorry RockGolf. I was actually referring to last w...Sorry RockGolf. I was actually referring to last week's "Switched At Birth" Not a multi-cam comedy so I figured it wasn't worth mentioning. I saw "Big Bang" and agree that it was used well in that case as a punchline but it wasn't on SAB, the director was just wanting to speed two characters out of the scene and to continue the conversation with the remaining characters.unnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8697941887229969872014-03-12T10:04:03.159-07:002014-03-12T10:04:03.159-07:00A talented script supervisor can actually time a s...A talented script supervisor can actually time a show very well. They can anticipate not only a laugh spread, but stage blocking spread and camera spread (camera moves add time as well) They can also advise on how individual lifts will affect timing. Some script supervisors are uncannily good at timing, coming within seconds with their predictions. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87419783291702193522014-03-12T09:48:15.555-07:002014-03-12T09:48:15.555-07:00Hi Ken - thought you might be amused to learn abou...Hi Ken - thought you might be amused to learn about this upcoming Frazier zine: http://comicsalliance.com/zac-gorman-olly-moss-brandon-b-tossed-salad-and-scrambled-eggs-zine/Michael Cobbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01212470406094715215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35176677026629048802014-03-12T09:43:08.578-07:002014-03-12T09:43:08.578-07:00I couldn't agree with you more.I couldn't agree with you more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63316609176286430282014-03-12T09:04:38.685-07:002014-03-12T09:04:38.685-07:00@unkystan: If that was Big Bang Theory, the "...@unkystan: If that was Big Bang Theory, the "we'll see ourselves out" was a punchline, and a good one. Leonard was being a little passive-agressive with Penny, and said what some shows would treat as an innocent comment. But Howard and his wife recognized this was going to lead to an arguement and got outta Dodge. It was an elegant way to indicate that they (and therefore the audience) saw trouble on the horizon.RockGolfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40380877353698710712014-03-12T08:54:00.528-07:002014-03-12T08:54:00.528-07:00For mucho $$$ there are two-day workshops that cov...For mucho $$$ there are two-day workshops that cover less than what you've done for us yesterday and today. <br />Thank you. <br />People, buy MUST KILL TV to show your love. <br />Brian O.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06135578015612515545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75517190314762585792014-03-12T07:51:31.887-07:002014-03-12T07:51:31.887-07:00Read recently that when Tommy Smothers appeared on...Read recently that when Tommy Smothers appeared on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, the sketch they wrote for him had him in a hospital bed the whole time. Seems some CAROL BURNETT staffers had worked on the show Tommy had with his brother and were aware that Tommy never hit his marks. Made no effort to hit his marks. The BURNETT writers decided to save their own director the aggravation by pinning Tommy down in one spot during the sketch so that he couldn't wander. Lisanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79891839477292346382014-03-12T06:37:15.598-07:002014-03-12T06:37:15.598-07:00"We'll see ourselves out" might also..."We'll see ourselves out" might also be lazy writing, like the Now A Cliché of telling a flat joke and saying "I'll be all week, folks."<br /> I'll show myself out.Scooter Schechtmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21808548133122906252014-03-12T06:27:15.062-07:002014-03-12T06:27:15.062-07:00I was watching a (unnamed) show last week. Two cou...I was watching a (unnamed) show last week. Two couples having dinner and talk in the home of one of them. At the end of the evening the visiting couple leave and say "we'll see ourselves out" and just walk off camera! All I could think of is...who does that? That's just lazy staging.unkystannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70619672342797884962014-03-12T06:04:47.914-07:002014-03-12T06:04:47.914-07:00Any reaction to Anne Sweeney resigning as Disney-A...Any reaction to Anne Sweeney resigning as Disney-ABC Television Group president to become a TV director? Seems like completely different skill set required.Michaelnoreply@blogger.com