Northern Berkshire Community Television

NBCTC

Workshops

by Paul W. Marino NBCTC Production Director

Just who is in charge in the studio, anyway? Our Executive Director, Dave Fabiano, thinks it’s him, but the rest of us all know better. The person who’s really in charge is the Director. It’s a very important position on the production crew, and the one that rattles the most nerves. The Director is the one who gets to tell everyone else what to do, who makes the final artistic and technical decisions, and guides a show from before the beginning to after the end. If this sounds like fun-especially the part about telling everyone what to do (that’s what Dave likes about it)-you need to keep in mind that the Director also has to take the blame for anything that goes wrong.

Directing is a tough job, but a very rewarding one too. To be a good director, you have to know the equipment-what it’s capable of, and how to use it-you have to know the crew and what they’re capable of, and how to express to them what you want. You have to be able to ignore what’s happening in front of you, and think about how you want the audience to see it, to ignore what you hear, and think about how it sounds; you have to keep track of elapsed time, and translate that into time remaining, and make sure that the host gets that information accurately. And when it’s all over, you have to remember to tell your crew how well they’ve done (that’s the part I hate). Now I know what you’re thinking: How can all those headaches be rewarding? Well, it’s the satisfaction and self-confidence that comes with getting over a tough hurdle; the joy and thrill of turning out a show that’s going to wow people all over Northern Berkshire.

If this sounds like it’s for you, if you think you have what it takes to be a Director-or even just a humble member of a production crew, give us a call here at 663-9006. Or stop in and see us at 69 Union St. in North Adams. Get in a workshop series. We (that is, I) will teach you what you need to know to operate all our equipment, how to see and think creatively, and how to lead a production crew. It’s easy, it’s fun, and best of all, when it’s done, you’ll be one of us. The few……..the proud………the megalomaniacs!