Doing Their Own Thing

First of all, there is no such thing as a perfect telecast.

There are just too many things that can go wrong that are out of control of the TV crew. The duet could lock up, a camera could go down, an effects mic could be too hot or too low, a whip pan could occur.....you get the idea. When moments such as these occur there really nothing the crew can do but adjust and go forward.

Each and every instance of problems that happen that are out of the control of the production team disrupt the flow to the show.

Again, adjust and go on.

However, there are moments that occur during the telecast that disrupt the flow of the show that are completely under the control of the crew.

These instances happen when crew members "do their own thing".

Camera operators tighten from head to toe to a waist shot.

Audio operators raise the level of the effects mics.

The tape crew adds extra shots to a sequence.

The TD takes a camera on his own. This most often occurs on pickoffs and/or foul balls.

You get the idea.

I don't mean to sound like a dictator.

When one of our telecasts is of high quality, total credit is given to the crew.

When one of our telecasts suffers, the producer and the director are held totally responsible.

The highest quality telecasts are those with a total team effort.

Crew members who "do their own thing" are not members of the TV team.

I can live with and adjust to problems which occur which are out of the control of the TV crew.

I have a hard time dealing with members of a TV crew that are not members of a TV "team".