meetings...
Hi. My name is Michelle Paradise and I attend meetings.
I've discovered that EPs (exec producers) spend the vast majority of their time attending meetings. Meetings to discuss the script. Meetings to discuss locations. And yes, meetings to discuss future meetings.
But unlike some of the meetings I've attended in the corporate world, which feel completely unproductive before you ever even walk into the room, these meetings all have a very definite purpose...
For example, the purpose of today's mid-day meeting with Billy, Lee, and Michael (our DP) was to review the shot list that Michael and Lee created. It was amazing to go through each scene shot by shot! It really gave Billy and I a solid sense of what they envision putting on the screen. Additionally, we were all able to brainstorm ideas for scenes that could potentially be shot any number of ways. So, at the end of the meeting, we all walked away with the solid sense that we're all on the same page (so to speak) in terms of the tone/style of the show we're making... which helps us all feel much more comfortable going into next week.
And then there was our massive afternoon meeting, which was to go through each day of shooting in detail (it was our final pre-production meeting). I kid you not, there were at least 20 people in attendance, many of whom I'd never even met before. There were the network execs and the show execs (Lee, Abbie, Billy, and I), of course. And then there were the hair/makeup folks, lighting designers, camera operators, the stunt coordinator, the special effects supervisor, the editor, the script supervisor, various assistants, etc. We went through each scene to be shot on each day, discussing the people who would be there, any concerns about shooting, any outstanding issues, etc. And at the end, everyone in attendance had the same feeling about the entire production as we did after the shot list meeting: that we're all on the same page and that we'll be ready to go on Monday morning.
Point being, both meetings were very productive. And very necessary. And "productive" and "necessary" are both very good things... But really, what was most important of all was the fact that our afternoon meeting was catered and so I got to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie. Yum.
I've discovered that EPs (exec producers) spend the vast majority of their time attending meetings. Meetings to discuss the script. Meetings to discuss locations. And yes, meetings to discuss future meetings.
But unlike some of the meetings I've attended in the corporate world, which feel completely unproductive before you ever even walk into the room, these meetings all have a very definite purpose...
For example, the purpose of today's mid-day meeting with Billy, Lee, and Michael (our DP) was to review the shot list that Michael and Lee created. It was amazing to go through each scene shot by shot! It really gave Billy and I a solid sense of what they envision putting on the screen. Additionally, we were all able to brainstorm ideas for scenes that could potentially be shot any number of ways. So, at the end of the meeting, we all walked away with the solid sense that we're all on the same page (so to speak) in terms of the tone/style of the show we're making... which helps us all feel much more comfortable going into next week.
And then there was our massive afternoon meeting, which was to go through each day of shooting in detail (it was our final pre-production meeting). I kid you not, there were at least 20 people in attendance, many of whom I'd never even met before. There were the network execs and the show execs (Lee, Abbie, Billy, and I), of course. And then there were the hair/makeup folks, lighting designers, camera operators, the stunt coordinator, the special effects supervisor, the editor, the script supervisor, various assistants, etc. We went through each scene to be shot on each day, discussing the people who would be there, any concerns about shooting, any outstanding issues, etc. And at the end, everyone in attendance had the same feeling about the entire production as we did after the shot list meeting: that we're all on the same page and that we'll be ready to go on Monday morning.
Point being, both meetings were very productive. And very necessary. And "productive" and "necessary" are both very good things... But really, what was most important of all was the fact that our afternoon meeting was catered and so I got to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie. Yum.
posted by MP at 6:32 PM
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