Those who watched The Academy Awards in 1996 are sure to remember Cuba Gooding Jr’s passionate acceptance speech after he won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Jerry Maguire.
What we didn’t see is the fever-pitch production work occurring behind the scenes that helped make it so memorable.
Until now.
It’s no secret that live television is fraught with danger, but that concern is usually directed towards the on-screen talent.
But it’s the intense off-screen action – which sees directors, assistant directors, camera directors and several technicians relying on their skill to predict what on the surface seems unpredictable – that truly controls the quality of the product.
Just take a look at what was required to shoot a three minute song for Fox‘s three-hour live musical telecast of Grease Live.
“You can’t memorise. You just have to feel the music and read the script,” associate director Carrie Havel told filmmaker Ken Levine on his blog.
She’s the one calling the shots, using the live music feed to guide each and every cut.
I don’t know about you, but after this I certainly have a newfound respect for the master artists of the control room.