Last night I was one of several producers invited to attend a Job Forum hosted by the Producers Guild of America. These events are put together every few months to give an opportunity for members seeking work in a particular area to get a bit of "face time" with folks like me who tend to be project generators and thus, might be in a position to do some hiring.
The focus of last night's event was "Scripted Film and Television" and the organizers took great pains to emphasize to those submitting resumes for a slot at the table that this was NOT the night for Reality TV in its various guises. In a town that lately seems completely overrun by the Reality machine, it turns out this would be a tall order.
After brief introductions of the panelists, we circulated through the room, spending 8 minutes at each of about a dozen tables. At each table we would have the opportunity to meet potential UPMs, Line Producers, Post-Production Supervisors, etc. etc. and they would have a very brief opportunity to ask us about what we do, how we work, what we look for in our team.
I came away from this event struck by two things. First, the level of talent, smarts and experience gathered in that room was really impressive -- a testament not only to the fine work of the event's organizers, Robin Berla and Ann-Marie McHugh, but also to the unique magnet that New York City is for bright and seriously hard-working people.
The second vivid impression I came away with was of a community of very capable producers dying to work on narrative projects who feel trapped in the world of Reality TV.
Again and again as I moved from table to table I heard the same refrain: "I started in independent film, then got a job in Reality TV, have been working in it ever since and am just dying to get back into scripted work." Of course this shouldn't be surprising, given what we know about the economics of Reality TV versus scripted fare.
What I find striking though is how intense the passion is for good old-fashioned storytelling. For work that springs from the imagination of a writer. For story told through dialogue and character. For showing rather than telling, essentially.
It seems to me that the souls gathered by the PGA last night are not the exception but the rule. I'm convinced that this yearning to work in scripted film or television is a symptom of the tastes of our culture in general. And given the general taste we have as a culture for storytelling of this kind, it strikes me as somewhat sad that for whatever reasons, the system that is television today, has made it very very difficult to produce the type of work most human beings crave.
My advice to my fellow producers who feel trapped in the Reality TV Habitrail? Whenever possible and with whatever means you may find, I say, grab your own destiny and make your own way and start something of your own. Find writers you love and champion their work.Produce a short for the web as a start -- cheap and dirty. But do something you believe in.
It's the only way to survive.
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