A program that consists of a standard opening and close and two people having a conversation may not regularly publish a “routine.” Almost all other programs do create and distribute a working rou- tine, sometimes called a program rundown. Essentially, this is a skeletal outline of the program. It’s made available as a text file, readable by
monitors appropriately placed or as a hard copy. It shows six important items:
1. A segment number
2. Who appears in the segment 3. What the segment is about 4. Where the segment takes place
5. How long the segment lasts—the running time 6. How far into the show we should be when the
segment is over—the cumulative time
Here’s a concise program routine, followed by an analysis of some of the significant factors involved in its creation. At one time material to be aired might have been “rolled in” from a tape deck or film chain. The tape playback would have been labeled VTPB, for videotape playback, and the film would have been labeled SOF, for sound on film. Now material to be aired is delivered as a file from a server. The change in the “delivery system” of openings, closings, or internal program packages doesn’t affect the way the director or producer con- structs, rehearses, or shoots the production.
Figure 4.14 A ground plan (not to scale) for a panel segment in which the host is in chair 3 the center. Camera positions are indicated for shooting this kind of seating arrangement while shooting “in the round” 360 degrees. Chairs 1 and 5 might be placed so they are more directly facing the host, but the cover shot would not be as strong.
PROGRAMNAME—DATE—EPISODE#
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 1. Tease Intro (Host VO @ Home Base over SLUG 1
@ Master Control
:30 2. SLUG 2—Program Opening Animation
@ Master Control
:30 1:00 3. Host & 3 INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
@ Home Base
7:00 8:00 Tom Jones: Press Secretary
Mike Smith: Reporter Star Journal Kate Lang: League of Women Voters
4. Commercial Break 1 (@ Master Control) 2:00 10:00 5. Host & 4 INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE II
@ Home Base: Adding
6:30 16:30 Jane Murray: Gotham News
6. Commercial Break 2 (@ Master Control) 2:00 18:30 7. Host & 2 RE: CHILDREN & THE NEWS
@ Production Area
6:30 25:00 Dr. John May
Dr. Alice May
8. Commercial Break 3 (@ Master Control) 2:00 27:00 9. Wrap & Tease @ Production Area :30 27:30 10. Credits—Graphics over Production Area 1:00 28:30
Here’s that typical routine with notes to explain some of its ramifications:
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 1. Tease Intro (Host VO @ Home
Base over SLUG 1 @ Master Control
:30
This means that the first item is a “tease” for the show, designed to grab viewers and keep them watching. The Description & Location column indicates that it will feature the voice of the host coming from the Home-Base area. The voice will be heard over pictures coming from a server located in Master Control (VO is an acronym for voice-over). Under Run Time we learn that the segment will last 30 seconds; because this is the first item on the rou- tine, there is no Cumulative Time.
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 2. Slug 2 Program Opening
Animation @ Master Control :30 1:00
Item #2 consists of SLUG 2. It is the program’s open- ing animation and comes from Master Control, although it will be started from our control room and aired through our switcher. The Running Time of the animation is 30 seconds; combined with the 30 seconds of the tease, that yields a Cumulative Time of 1 minute. Item #2 consists of slug 2. It is the program’s opening animation and comes from a server. Almost all sta- tions will have transferred the opening—in this case a film animation—to a file that would then be inserted from the server as the production was being recorded.
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 3. Host & 3 INSIDE THE WHITE
HOUSE @ Home Base 7:00 8:00
Tom Jones: Press Secretary Mike Smith: Reporter Star Journal
Kate Lang: League of Women Voters
Item #3 consists of the host and three guests who will be talking about something called “Inside the White House.” The three guests, itemized in the routine, will be seated in the Home-Base area, per the director’s instructions. The host’s seat and the way in which
guests are seated will probably be part of the show’s conventions—as it is onThe Tonight Show, for exam- ple. Which guest sits where will still need to be speci- fied. Usually this seating is based on a sketch or information given to the stage manager during rehear- sals. The segment will go on for 7 minutes.
This segment should then be finished 8 minutes after the program goes on the air.
The associate director (AD) is responsible for timing the program at many stations. At local stations, the director must perform this task while directing the program. If this were a morning show that began at 9A.M., the AD might use either a stopwatch or the clock to time the show. If the AD used the clock, he or she would know that at 9 o’clock and 30 seconds the animation should begin airing. At 9 o’clock and 8 minutes, the first talk segment should be ending. In order to do that, the AD will have to give the host time cues. In this case it will be easy, particularly if the AD works backward.
If segment three is supposed to be over at: 9:08:00 (9 o’clock and 8 minutes), then at 9:07:30 (9 o’clock, 7 minutes, and 30 seconds) the host must see a cue of “Thirty Seconds.” At 9:07:00 (9 A.M. and 7 minutes) the host gets a
“One Minute” cue.
At 9:06:00 (9 A.M. and 6 minutes) the host gets a “Two Minutes” cue, and so on.
The cues will be given to the host by a stage manager, sometimes called a floor manager. The stage manager gets directions from the director or AD and with hand signals indicates how much time is left in a segment. Sometimes time cards cards with “3,” “2,” “1,” “:30,” and “Cut” or “Finish” printed on them are used in place of hand signals. Usually only the last 3 minutes of a segment are timed out for the talent. During the running of the pro gram, the AD may discuss time with the producer.
Directors usually don’t participate in the discus sion because they are involved with the shooting. The producer may wish to change the timings within a segment, depending on how well the segment is going. The AD will have to make the time adjust ments to the entire program while it’s on the air or being recorded. This will mean shortening or length ening one segment and making up the time in another. The AD will get approval from the producer regarding the new lengths of the segments and then have the stage manager show time cues at the new appropriate times.
# Description & Location Run Time Cumulative Time 4. Commercial Break 1
(@ Master Control) 2:00 10:00
This is the first commercial break. It will be inserted at Master Control. If this is a program for a network or for syndication, the chances are that there will be a “show logo graphic” inserted from the control room during the two minutes of the break. Any Master Control airing the program could use this as a cover should there be any problem with the commercial slugs as the program airs. Slugs are usually commercials or public ser- vice announcements that are “rolled or slugged into” the show. They are put on the air in the “commercial slug” or “commercial slot” that was left in the program.
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 5. Host & 4 INSIDE THE HOUSE
II @ Home Base: AddingJane Murray: Gotham News
6:30 16:30
This item also takes place at Home Base. One per- son will be added to the panel of three, which means there will be a panel of four guests and a host. She will probably be added to the end of the panel and will be put in place during the commer- cial break.
# Description & Location
Run Time Cumulative Time 6. Commercial Break #2 @ Master Control 2:00 18:30
This item will be handled like Commercial Break #1. During this commercial break, the cameras will go over to the production area and set up for the next segment.
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 7. Host & 2 RE: CHILDREN & THE
NEWS @ Production Area Dr. John May
Dr. Alice May
6:30 25:30
In item #7 the cameras will take up new positions, in which the seating for the host is part of the show convention for the production area. The guests’
seating will be spelled out during the rehearsal, as it was for item #3.
# Description & Location Run Time Cumulative Time 8. Commercial Break #3
(@ Master Control) 2:00 27:00
This commercial is handled as are the others.
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 9. Wrap & Tease @
Production Area :30 27:30
Rather than returning to the Home Base, the host will conclude from the production area, where the last interview was done.
# Description & Location
Run Time
Cumulative Time 10. Credits Graphics over
Production Area 1:00 28:30
Credits graphics will be superimposed—or more properly, keyed—over the Production Area. There are often contractual credits that must be granted. At a station that is a signatory to a Directors Guild of America contract, for example, the director must get full screen credit as the last credit before the produc- tion begins or the first credit at the end of the program.
The producers and associates will use the rou- tine to schedule guests’ arrivals. They’ll be consider- ing last-minute preproduction meetings and other day-of-production needs. Women’s makeup, for example, usually takes longer than men’s, which affects the guests’ scheduled arrival times.
The hair and makeup department will need to know who needs to be made up first. They’ll need to know that the guests in the White House sequence are to be done before those in the sequence regarding children. Wardrobe may be standing by for any last-minute fixes such as pressing or other clothing-related issues. The stage manager assigns dressing rooms. This is done in conjunction with the producers so everyone knows where to find each guest. The wise director/producer introduces the guests to the stage manager as soon as possible. That way, if the guests need something while the program is on the air and the director/producer is
not available, they know that their contact is the stage manager. The stage manager will also need to bring the guests to Makeup and to the studio floor in time for the shoot; therefore, he or she needs to know who’s who and where everyone is. Graphics will use the routine, as well as a graphics list, to confirm the needed identifiers and spellings. Audio needs to know how many mics to place in each area and will have to decide what to do when the fourth guest, Jane Murray, enters the set during Commercial Break #2.
Props will need to know how many chairs are needed in each area and must be alert for the stage manager’s cue that a commercial break is in prog- ress and that it’s time to bring in the additional chair. During the running of the program, the asso- ciate director (AD) might remind the stage manager about the addition of the chair. The AD would have written a note on the commercial page for this item to alert the stage manager if needed. Lights will be able to tell which areas get lit, when they get lit, and whether or not booms are present. Booms will affect the lighting because they throw shadows, and a different lighting plan might need to be used.
During the running of the show, the AD will use the routine to confirm time-cues to the host. The AD will confer with the producers during the running of the segment to determine whether a par- ticular segment should be lengthened or shortened. If segment 3 is going well, for example, it might be extended to 7 minutes and 30 seconds instead of just 7 minutes. If this happens, one of the other seg- ments will have to be shortened by 30 seconds. Last, the director needs the rundowns as a fast way of remembering who is in which segment, in which area the segment takes place, and the approximate length of each segment.