TV PRODUCTION PROCESS & PRACTICES
The process and practices of producing television programs differ from one individual
to another individual and from a company to another company. However, some
elements are common in all cases.
The process begins with an idea for a television program. This inspiration comes from
many sources, news-items published in newspapers, articles published in magazines,
treatment (semi developed stories) from potential writers, full-length scripts produced
by writers or previously rejected by other producers, or books.
A producer or production executive takes this idea and nurtures it until it is developed
into a program. The producer provides the vision, hires key participants required for
the production process, arranges financing, supervises the production, and participates
in selling and promoting the program. The producer or the associated production
company also provides initial funding for the project to cover the costs associated
with the development of story, budgeting, and finding the financer.
First, the producer puts together a team of writers to develop the idea and convert it
into a story or theme. This team is the core of the creative process. Major production
companies or studios have over 5-10 writers on their payrolls and working on a story
at various stages; syndicates and medium independent companies have 15-20 writers.
The team includes: a lead writer(s) who compiles and edits the final script; theme
writers who maintain the consistency of the script with the general story or theme;
story writers who develop the story and the characters involved in the story; script
writers who develop scripts and dialogs; and punch-up people who add jokes and
punch-lines.
As the story gets developed, the executive producer and line producer develop the
production budget. This budget details the cost estimates of employing talent (director
and cast), acquiring music and other rights, staging and design, leasing a studio or
location, developing production support and staff, travel and administrative support,
and marketing. In recent years, marketing costs have increased significantly for
television programming, in parallel with the marketing costs of movies. Marketing
costs for television programs are typically divided into 50% for publicity, 40% for
advertising, and 10% for promotion. Publicity includes interviews of leading casts on
talk shows, radio shows, and magazines. Advertising includes paid slots on other
programs and magazines/news papers. Promotion includes linking up with corporate
sponsors such as fast food chains, perfume brands and other households consumable
brands.
After the detailed budget is developed, the producer or the production company
prepares an overall timeline identifying major milestones. Then, they present the
budget and the timeline to potential financiers to secure financing for the whole
project. The project does not start until the financing is fully guaranteed. This aspect is
discussed in detail in the next section.
The pre-production phase commences after the project is guaranteed a financial
support. First, a casting director is hired to find and secure the core, leading cast and
supporting cast for the project. As television programs primarily involve emerging
actors/actresses, finding good cast is challenging. Casting directors use several
sources to find suitable artists. Personal relationships developed through past work are
the primary sources and Talent agencies.
In addition, project-based advertisements or direct mail are used for unusual
requirements. Cast is selected based on screen tests and previous experiences
(Audition Stage). The casting director also gets involved in hiring extras or local cast
at the location of shooting.
Towards the end of the cast selection process, a director is selected to direct the
production. Unlike as in a movie production, television directors have very little
control over the process. Their participation in script writing and cast selections is
very limited or none. They are typically the last one to get selected.
After the production team is in place, the pilot development work begins. A pilot is
generally one full episode; in some cases, it may require developing more than one
episode to show the variations and consistency. Out of thousands of ideas, normally
about 100 pilots are developed each season. The pilots are shown to network program
directors and about 15-20 pilot projects are approved to be developed into full
programs per season. About one or two programs succeed and go into the next season.
After a project is approved, the typical week goes as follows:
The script for an episode reaches the director the weekend before. The director reads
the script and visualizes stage directions over the weekend.
On Monday, the whole production team meets and reads the script page-by-page, line-
by-line. The team identifies special needs and scheduling requests required based on
the script and arranges those over the next day or two.
On Tuesday, the whole cast meets for Table Reading or Cold Reading. During
this reading, stage directions and movements are fully developed. After the reading,
rehearsals take place. On Wednesday and Thursday, production takes place. Each
scene is generally shot with four cameras (35 mm) from different angles in case of
non-fiction television while fiction generally works with single camera set up with an
additional camera as and when required in special sense.
After the completion of production, on Thursday or Friday, editing takes place.
Editors do not participate in the production or preproduction, so they have no
connection with actors or production staff. They develop the first cut independently
based on the script and their creativity. The second cut is developed with the director;
third cut with the producer; and the final cut with the network. The network also rates
the episode based on the industry-accepted rating scheme. This schedule is
contractually obligated and strictly followed by all participants; variations happen
only in rare cases.
IDEA
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PRODUCER
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STORY/ THEME DEVELOPMENT
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BUDGETING
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FINANCING
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CASTING
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DIRECTOR SELECTION
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PILOTS & PROJECTS APPROVAL
SCRIPT
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STAGE DIRECTIONS
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SPECIAL REQUEST
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TABLE READING
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REHEARSALS
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PRODUCTION
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EDITING
