[quote="Bob Ennis"]I think that Eric has a very valid point here. I've been switching for over 30 years now, and I learned a long time ago that, at least here in the Untied States, television is soley an Advertising Medium. The fact is that whether you're switching the Academy Awards, The Super Bowl, some game show (as I do), or the Local News; the sole purpose of our shows is nothing more than to separate the commercials. Networks or stations don't make a penny from the show content (other than the "well-placed" product placement) - go to black for 5 minutes & they don't lose money...blow 2 seconds of a 30-second commercial & you need a make-good.[/quote] Ah yes but what the networks or stations don't seem to realize that if we do go to black for 5 minutes, they may not lose money on that particular show but if the "filler between the commercials" weren't there then there wouldn't be any reason for the commercials, would there! Ultimately we may be here to pitch product but if there's nobody to pitch to then what's the point? I'm one of the "lucky" ones who's been saddled with a production automation system in my station and our ratings have sorely reflected it. Not that it isn't capable of doing the job, it's just that the "life" and "personality" are gone from the show. Now so is the audience we once had and ultimately so will go the advertisers. Oh well, at least I get to get out and play TV in trucks once in a while. There's still somewhat of a real world out there. I'm going to go drink heavily now.

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I'm new to the EFP sports TD chair as I just completed my first 3 game CBB series for BTN (Kayak). While I've done plenty of shows in other positions I wanted to focus on being a TD because I really do enjoy it and the challenges it presents. Plus I have solid mentors in my market, and I see BTN as a good way into the job, so becoming a TD seemed like a no-brainer. The problem is now that I am new to the position I'm going to make mistakes as I gain more experience. As for the past 3 days...I counted it I made 6 mistakes (on-air) my first night, 2 my second, and 5 my third. While I did get better and was able to correct problems on the fly I still feel like an ass letting down the show. Plus my inexperience showed, and even though I'm green it's still embarrassing. So how did you folks deal with your early days in the chair and getting over being green?

In the the 6 years I've been TD'ing, which is roughly 100 games, I've had maybe 5 absolutely perfect. Meaning that I cut the show exactly as the director called it. The other 95 I don't worry about, but make sure that I learned what I did wrong and tried my best to not let it happen again. Like my boss told me when I first started, "By the time you see your mistake, it's already in Cleveland."

A few random thoughts as I relax after another lovely three hour baseball game.... Many years back I was beating myself up after a game, the producer, who unfortunately died way too young, told me to forget it and that he didn't care if the viewers on Venus noticed the mistake I made. Paul was right. We don't rehearse live sports and we don't have the luxury of stopping and editing. Yes I care about doing the best, but it doesn't eat at me anymore. (Unless I did something real stupid.) If the clients wanted perfection, then the concept of dual feeds wouldn't have been implemented. Tying the production crew's hands as well as the technical crews hands doesn't really allow for "perfection" but it does allow for all the sponsored elements to hit air. Tuesday I work a studio show, the in time is late enough to avoid rush hour, no strike is done. I'm in a fixed facility and they usually cater dinner when the production is "important", if not, they have a good cheap cafeteria in the building. Depending on their payroll company, I might be paid in as little as three days or as long as two weeks. I can live with that.

I'm very glad I started this thread.

Stephan - I just had some spare time & read your posting....... :) Your points are well taken. While I readily admit to allowing 30+ years in this industry to turn a lot of my enthusiasm into cynicism, don't get me wrong in what I'm saying: I'm still doing what I do because I love the job, I take immense pride in what I do, and I assume that everyone else who TD's does, too - every show is another chance to get creative, and there's no better feeling than walking away from a show knowing that you've done a fantastic job. The people that I teach take my classes because the want to be better at what they do - no one I know comes to class or to the job with the intention of striving towards mediocrity. And you're right about the kind of people that this industry (and any branch of the Entertainment Industry) attracts. What other industry feels that it has to give itself awards every year, just for doing its job? My comments stem from the fact that I know too many folks in this job who define themselves BY their job, and I've seen that destroy them. That's why I say that keeping things in perspective is important. If you mess up an effect or miscut something, you can either beat yourself up about it (as I still do), or realize that (a) the viewer doesn't care; (b) the signal's on it's way to Mars so you can't ever get it back; and (c) it's ultimately not THAT important in the grand scheme of things because it's just filler to help sell Bud Light Beer (Centrum Silver Vitamins & Libman Mops in the case of my shows). So my comments were not meant in any way to downgrade the job or to belittle those who try to be the best at what they do, or to curb your optimism - I apologize if they were construed to sound like that. I'm simply offering MY approach to staying sane when it ISN'T a perfect show. If a Director calls something wrong, you can save them - if a camera is finding focus, you can wait that extra beat before you take them & save them - if the DDR isn't on the right clip yet, you can delay puttingit to air & save them. When YOU push the wrong button, there's nobody to save YOU. Our job is a huge (and underappreciated) responsibility, and the absolute BEST job you can do (such as switching a perfect show) is the absolute MINIMUM that's expected of you. Keeping things in perspective is a way of not driving yourself crazy when things DO go wrong. That being said, let me offer MY 5 criteria of what constitutes a perfect show: 1. A late call time (with minimal setup or programming needed). 2. An early out time (I'm on a 10-hr. minimum anyway). 3. My invoice is paid on time - in full. 3. They like me & my work enough to want me back the next time. 5. See #3. But you're ultimately right - I've got too much spare time on my hands.

Nice try, but you can't kill my youthful optimism and enthusiasm with mere cynicism! Slightly more seriously, the fact that the overall quality of the product doesn't really matter doesn't deter most serious practitioners of an art (even a highly technical one such as ours) from trying to put out the best product they can. Just look at the music industry. The charts are dominated by acts with little to no talent or originality, but that doesn't keep musicians (or at least the ones I know) from practicing hard at their instruments and trying to make great music. It's certainly true that viewers don't care a single bit about the people behind the scenes. But if I cared about that, I wouldn't be working behind the scenes. What I do care about is being respected by my peers. I couldn't ask for anything more than the kind of admiration and respect that Steve Laxton earned from his colleagues in this industry, and I couldn't give a rip if nobody at home knew my name because as Jonas said earlier in this thread, they're the easiest people to fool. It means much more to me to be told I did a good job by somebody I know and respect than some random person who doesn't really know anything about what I do. Besides, I don't think I would like being famous very much. As for all of us getting a life... Well, look at the kind of people a job like this attracts. Then look at the kind of people who will browse and post to an internet bulletin board about their job in their spare time. Hmm, I think I've figured out the problem here. :)

Bob, I do know that my work is just filler between promos and commercials but I do take pride in my work. I also know that the only way I can really hurt someone is if I drop of heavy piece of gear on them unlike a doctor or firefighter. My definition of a good show, when every member of the crew gets home safe.

bob, it is funny that you said that...i actually do miss steve's work, and i don't want to say what IT is but something i do almost every show i do as an inside joke to him. ; ) that said, i don't think we were getting too serious or philosophical about it...just kicking around something we think about now and then. btw eric, my girl is more into elmo than the grand canyon but she is going anyway! jonas

I think that Eric has a very valid point here. I've been switching for over 30 years now, and I learned a long time ago that, at least here in the Untied States, television is soley an Advertising Medium. The fact is that whether you're switching the Academy Awards, The Super Bowl, some game show (as I do), or the Local News; the sole purpose of our shows is nothing more than to separate the commercials. Networks or stations don't make a penny from the show content (other than the "well-placed" product placement) - go to black for 5 minutes & they don't lose money...blow 2 seconds of a 30-second commercial & you need a make-good. That's not to say in any way that there aren't some incredibly talented & creative people people out there, that we take great pride in what we do & that we always try our best to be perfect, but as Eric alludes to above, we need to keep things in perspective. If you or I never existed & never got into this business or got hit by a bus today, not ONE viewer would ever know the difference. But get taken out by a bus & see what effect it has on your family & friends. Many of us miss Steve Laxton every day - not one viewer misses his work. Well Said, Eric! Now excuse me while I get down off of my soapbox.

look, don't take any offense to this, but you guys have thought about this shit waaaay too much. for the love of god, please take your kids to the grand canyon, or something.

[quote="sahonen"][quote="jonas"]3. Fooled Yourself - Impossible, or are some guys actually able to make themselves believe they had a perfect show when that wasn't true?[/quote] I don't think anyone could fool themselves into believing it was a *perfect* show, but it's certainly possible to come away saying "I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time" when later inspection could reveal some minor nitpicky thing that doesn't really matter..[/quote] I disagree. I have seen several people who have thought that they just cut the best show ever and anyone watching would have seen the flaws. There are some people out there with more ego then skill. [quote="sahonen"][quote="Mike Cumbo"]Have you guys noticed that the good or very good shows usually occur when the level of the production team is very high?[/quote] I definitely notice that things go better all around when you've got a better crew. The less the director has to babysit everyone the more he can just sit back and concentrate on the shot flow and telling the story.[/quote] There are some productions crews out there who need the hand holding themselves.

[quote="jonas"]3. Fooled Yourself - Impossible, or are some guys actually able to make themselves believe they had a perfect show when that wasn't true?[/quote] I don't think anyone could fool themselves into believing it was a *perfect* show, but it's certainly possible to come away saying "I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time" when later inspection could reveal some minor nitpicky thing that doesn't really matter. [quote="Mike Cumbo"]Have you guys noticed that the good or very good shows usually occur when the level of the production team is very high?[/quote] I definitely notice that things go better all around when you've got a better crew. The less the director has to babysit everyone the more he can just sit back and concentrate on the shot flow and telling the story.

[quote="Mike Cumbo"]Have you guys noticed that the good or very good shows usually occur when the level of the production team is very high? For me, cutting a good YES Network show is easy because I have a good truck and a good production crew. On some of the smaller regional shows where the team may be of lesser quality I sometimes have to guess where I'm going next. The same happens with "small time' college sports as well.[/quote] I totally agree. Also with everyone elses comments as well. Especially about the YES show. I had some damn near perfect shows when they were in town.

Have you guys noticed that the good or very good shows usually occur when the level of the production team is very high? For me, cutting a good YES Network show is easy because I have a good truck and a good production crew. On some of the smaller regional shows where the team may be of lesser quality I sometimes have to guess where I'm going next. The same happens with "small time' college sports as well.

[quote="sahonen"]As a rule of thumb, the quality of my show is proportional to the amount of sleep I've had in the past 48 hours. Now, I'd have to say there are four kinds of perfection - Fooled the audience, fooled the director, fooled yourself, and actually cut a perfect show. I have to add these because sometimes the director is so busy looking at his cameras or you're so busy looking at your panel that neither of you notice that an underdissolve is a couple frames too long or something lame like that. I know I've cut/directed shows that I thought looked good at the time but completely fell apart when I watched later. A lot of it is musical performances that are very sensitive to exactly when you cut or how fast you dissolve. I'm usually never happy, especially when I'm TDing for another director since we never seem to lock up our timing.[/quote] sahonen's four kinds: 1. Fooled the Audience - The easiest kind of perfect show. They have no idea what is happening in the truck and do not care as long we show the score and replay the touchdowns... 2. Fooled the Director - The second easiest form. Keeping black or bars off the air is a good way to accomplish this one. I work with the same small group of directors every year, but if you were working with a new one and were slow or hesitant about things this might lead to the perception of an unperfect show? 3. Fooled Yourself - Impossible, or are some guys actually able to make themselves believe they had a perfect show when that wasn't true? 4. A Perfectly Cut Show - This can be accomplished regularly. These show come from having ample set-up time, a strong sense of the traffic of a show and (IMO) NEVER experimenting on the air. That said, even if I felt a perfect show was cut, I will still make a to-do list of cutting frames here and there, tightening up gpi's, realabeling, etc for the next show.

As a rule of thumb, the quality of my show is proportional to the amount of sleep I've had in the past 48 hours. Now, I'd have to say there are four kinds of perfection - Fooled the audience, fooled the director, fooled yourself, and actually cut a perfect show. I have to add these because sometimes the director is so busy looking at his cameras or you're so busy looking at your panel that neither of you notice that an underdissolve is a couple frames too long or something lame like that. I know I've cut/directed shows that I thought looked good at the time but completely fell apart when I watched later. A lot of it is musical performances that are very sensitive to exactly when you cut or how fast you dissolve. I'm usually never happy, especially when I'm TDing for another director since we never seem to lock up our timing.

There are two kinds of perfect. The kind that a viewer would see, and the kind that the TD would see. The latter is a way higher standard. I often have felt I could have done something better, or easier, or even just different. I'd regard that as less than perfect, even when a viewer (not to mention director or producer) is "perfectly" happy with the result. I doubt many TDs here will say unequivocally that they always or regularly have perfect shows - most people have a certain level of humility. Besides, making the claim that you're always perfect is just asking for trouble, whether you're superstitious or not! I think that it helps to be aware of the two kinds of perfect. Don't whip yourself over the first kind, and learn from the second kind. brad