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« Matt Roush's America's Next Producer Blog
ANP Judges' Diary: Episode 7
This just in: These contestants are tired. (So are some of the judges, at least this one, who as this episode was being taped was in the middle of covering the networks' upfronts week from a coast away.)
As the final four file in for the judging, this is the first time it hits me how few are left standing. Each one strikes me as a potential winner at this point: Zo, the tornado of self-confidence and experience — and ego; Jessica, brash and full of ideas; Daniel, witheringly funny and smart and capable of surprising us both visually and conceptually; and dark horse Gwen, the youngest and greenest, but with nothing to lose, she often shows remarkable resilience and aptitude. And she pitches like a pro in front of the judges.
But, for the second disappointing week in a row, we're unable to select a winner, because no one brought their "A-game" to the news challenge. Fatefully, not even Daniel brought it, whose news background should have made him a natural for a quick turnaround like this.
Watching reality competitions in the past, I’ve often wondered how sleep deprivation plays a factor in how certain challenges turn out. In this episode, we witness it firsthand. After being roused from barely any sleep and being handed instant assignments from a tough and critical boss — our guest judge, Lisa Kridos, executive producer of the top-rated Good Day L.A. — these bleary-eyed teams scramble to produce a watercooler, evergreen field piece. Somewhere along the way, perspiration (meeting the hard deadline) trumps inspiration (thinking “outside the box,” as Lisa urged them to do). Sadly, what they eventually come up with looks like everything else I’ve ever seen “inside” the box. Or, as judge David Hill succinctly puts it, “They went brain-dead.” Ouch.
Should they, as Lisa suggested in the grilling that followed the screenings, have looked for more sources to quote than just the typical random man-/woman-on-the-street? Should they have sought more specific locations to shoot from, and should they have requested “B-roll” footage to brighten up their segments? All excellent points. At the very least, these would-be producers should have tried to “produce” in the most basic sense of the word. This challenge feels to me like the kind of assignment you might get in college, where aiming for a C grade shouldn’t be enough. Take the topic, try to make it your own with a twist of some sort, and if you go with your gut (which Gwen failed to do, by leaving the Fox news studio when she initially realized she could have gotten all the sound bites she needed on site), you may just end up with something memorable enough to put on air.
I hated to see Daniel go. He was an early favorite of mine, and now that I’ve watched these episodes, his professional attitude during the assignments and his pithy comments in his interviews have endeared him even more. I hope he gets his wish to get some TV work outside the news arena. I hope this show gives him the exposure and opportunity to chase that dream. In other words, I wish him luck.
And, more selfishly, as we put this episode to rest, I look forward to the next challenge, hoping that the remaining three contestants can shake themselves out of the slump of the last two episodes and deliver the goods that will eventually crown one of them “America’s Next Producer.”
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Aug 29, 2007 8:57 PM
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Hello everybody especially the judges of this competition. Let's have a reality check here...
has everyone forgotten that the way most news stories are produced they are ORDINARY,NOT CREATIVE and VERY FORGETTABLE.
Name the last creative news story that you remember seeing? Can't name one can you? No because who cares... The news games is basically GET IT ON THE AIR. Cause you what? Don't have time to do no fancy stuff.
the only thing that made ZO and Gwen's piece better was the talent-- so then that's not fair because both teams really produced the exact same piece... but the creativity and the spark of the talent made theirs seem a bit better and their bites were shot left to right which is proper man on the street. Jessica and Dan's were all shot on the same side.
the only thing both of them were lacking was the basic rule of TELEVISION if you say it show it.
we needed to see tears or celebrities or the jail.
and that's my 4 cents
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Aug 29, 2007 10:24 PM
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I watch tv, remembering a specific creative news story is hardly relevant. Consumers of TV news choose which broadcast to watch based on the whole; the broadcast with more interesting pieces are the ones that are going pick up the viewers. It would have been less of an issue, IMO, if the guest judge had not specifically told them to think outside the box.
The judges were very clear that Zo and Gwen's piece was only slightly better than Jessica and Daniel's piece.
I was sorry to see Daniel go but the decision made much sense. I wish him luck, too. He was much more congenial than Zo who seems to be in the lead for the win. I'm still holding out for Gwen to take the prize, although scenes from next week don't have me encouraged.
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Aug 30, 2007 10:24 AM
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Satori
it is relevant in the sense that if you watch the program that's what the judges said it was not memorable, and very ordinary. My comment is what news stories are memorable and not ordinary?
I think they made a decision that it is better to not be so creative and get something on the air-- which is a decision people in TV sometimes have to make. Cause they would have been in much more trouble assured of going home if they didn't have anything for the live shot. So all of their energy went towards that.
also people who have had no sleep and have been going for weeks at a time (I assume) are not going to be too creative. Creative juices are revived by rest and having a little fun. the more you grind the lest creative you become. I am not telling you what I heard I am telling you what I know.
Did you look at them when they were standing there in front of the judges? If a strong wind had come by it would have blown them down.
And in their one on one interviews they are looking more beat down and more beat down. I think the producers of the show need to let them get some rest so that we can see what these producers can really do at their best!
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Aug 30, 2007 4:35 PM
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I watched the producer program several times, I find the people competeing are pretty much humble, because they are learning as they go, and they all have differant strenths they bring with them. What I have noticed, is Alonzo seems to intimidate the other's. He'll interupt them when their asking someone a question like implying they should have asked another question. He blames his partner for something they did or didn't do. I feel their put in a very akward position working with him. He's to intimidating which would make them more on edge then they ought to be. elevator9
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Sep 2, 2007 11:08 PM
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I watched the producer program several times, I find the people competeing are pretty much humble, because they are learning as they go, and they all have differant(different) strenths(strengths) they bring with them. What I have noticed, is Alonzo seems to intimidate the other's. He'll interupt them when their(they're)asking someone a question like implying they should have asked another question. He blames his partner for something they did or didn't do. I feel their(they're) put in a very akward(awkward) position working with him. He's to(too) intimidating which would make them more on edge then they ought to be. elevator9
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Sep 3, 2007 6:20 PM
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