Vol. 13, No. 2 Summer 2004 Five alumni discuss current professional issues From among the many current communica- Life to Live and also serves on the board of many as 49 different scenes. Everything is tions issues being discussed in our classrooms, directors of the Directors’ Guild. As a totally scripted and blocked out. Some Telecomment chose three. Then we went to director, he is responsible for planning the weeks we tape six shows in five days so that several alumni for their viewpoints and to find day’s shoot (working around the schedules the studio can go dark for six weeks, saving out how their careers and work environments of the actors, many of whom also do expenses on equipment, stages, building are being affected by these issues. theater); mapping out sets, props, lighting; sets, wardrobes, and makeup. As director, I and eliciting the emotional and physical try to be tuned in to my cast and crew, Gary Donatelli, BA’74, director One Life to action required for each scene. Donatelli making it as easy as possible for them to Live, ABC, New York City teaches a camera production course as an stay focused during our very long days. ary Donatelli credits his career in adjunct professor for the NYU Tisch Another concern in my profession is that Gtelevision to the famous IU swim School of the Arts and since 9/11 has directors often aren’t needed in reality TV. coach Doc Counsilman. Donatelli was an volunteered his time to produce training Many producers and editors find work on IU wrestler during the Mark Spitz era. Just videos for the New York Fire Department. reality shows, but the Directors’ Guild before the Nationals his junior year, he was Donatelli lives in Ringwood, N.J., with his worries about the lack of work for all injured and couldn’t wrestle. So he asked wife, Debra, and their two teenage members of the directing team. The Guild Counsilman to lend him the VHS camera daughters. is actively marketing its membership and Doc used to tape the swimmers. Donatelli How has your career in scripted television been their skills, hoping to make new shows started taping the wrestlers, who were affected by the popularity of “reality TV”? signatory to the Guild and attempting to amazed by how much they improved from adapt to contemporary programming. I find “reality TV” a hilarious term, but it’s Everything in TV is cyclical. I predict seeing their moves. Donatelli’s first job very successful, and its success has definitely after graduation was sports cameraman for that reality TV will run its course. Some affected daytime soaps. We have to keep gems will stay, and the majority will prove Turner Broadcasting. As he reflects, “The our audience, attract more viewers, and wrestling injury was difficult to handle, but to be a fad. But the audience will still be become increasingly more cost effective. looking for a story and a conflict. maybe it led me to my career.” The Blair Witch Project had a strong impact Donatelli is one of five directors on One on the look of TV. And during the O.J. Bruce A. Humphrey, MS’79, first assistant Simpson trial, daytime viewers suddenly director, The Practice, Studio City, Calif. discovered that there was more to choose from than just soaps. The popularity of s a graduate student in telecommuni- reality TV has added additional competi- A cations at IU, Bruce Humphrey tion for an eroding audience. expected to pursue a career teaching courses For instance, we always try to attract in television production at a university and teens and college kids in the summer with a working at an associated PBS station. His carefully chosen storyline. This summer, in expectations changed dramatically when an addition to the story, we’re purposely giving L.A.-based movie crew came to town to certain scenes a “reality TV” look that’s less film Breaking Away. He was hired to be the than network quality. I’m sure our RTV production assistant for the feature film, professors never would have predicted this and this experience took his career in a technical “dumbing” of network TV! direction he never anticipated. Humphrey My work is much harder than [it was] 10 moved to L.A. in 1980, starting as a DGA years ago, largely because everything is trainee and working his way to first driven by the bottom line. We have to be assistant director on a variety of feature cost effective. The soaps require five films and television pilots and series. In the episodes every week so everyone on the set early ’90s, he made a conscious choice to must work very fast. The cast and crew run focus on television in order to spend more Gary Donatelli 80 pages of script per day, requiring as (continued on page 2) 1 Alumni discussion (continued from page 1) time with family and to have better opportunities to direct. Humphrey was first assistant director on the NBC dramatic series Sisters and added director to his credits for two episodes. This spring, he concluded five seasons as assistant director on the legal drama The Practice. When the show was cancelled, Humphrey found himself looking for work again. He says, “This starting over is an aspect of the business that one never gets comfortable with. Still, I try to look forward to new challenges each time I seek my next assignment.” He begins this summer as first assistant director on a new CBS show, dr. vegas, starring Rob Lowe and Joe Pantoliano. Humphrey and his wife, Deborah, have been married nearly 27 years Mike Hayes and live in Studio City, Calif., with their the final episode of Friends drew 40 shares. two children. Bruce Humphrey To me, the medium is healthy, drawing Humphrey’s first-hand experience in contend that viewers tune in to these record revenue levels locally and nationally network dramatic series has resulted in unscripted shows because of their and aggregating mass audiences. Advertis- strong opinions and judgments about the unpredictability; they want to be surprised. ers will continue to pay premium dollars to current prevalence of reality TV shows and This is disturbing because it highlights the reach large audiences via TV. I would argue the reasons for it. Here is a greatly con- utter predictability and sameness of which that cable has helped broadcasting evolve. densed version of his feelings and future many of our dramas and sitcoms are guilty. By producing summer programs when predictions. Read his full article at The control of networks and studios by a broadcast was in hiatus, cable forced the www.indiana.edu/~telecom. few large corporations has resulted in less broadcast networks to produce new How has your career in scripted television been creativity and more caution in program- summer programming. All media — affected by the popularity of “reality TV”? ming. Good storytelling is being sacrificed. broadcast TV, cable, radio, newspaper — Having spent much of my career working continue to be competitive and have forced in the prime-time dramatic series genre of Michael J. Hayes, BA’88, president and sellers to do better selling. It’s less about network television, I find the current general manager, WYFF, Greenville, S.C. television answering challenges and more popularity and dominance of “reality TV” n November 2003, Mike Hayes was about continuing to improve as an industry on the commercial networks a disturbing Iappointed president/general manager of in all aspects. trend. WYFF, the Hearst-Argyle NBC station I also have to say a word about reality First of all, I take issue with the label serving Greenville, Spartanburg, and TV. Reality TV was exceptionally limited “reality.” I’ll grant that the shows are built Anderson, S.C., and Asheville, N.C., the until this year because it was middle-of-the- around average, ordinary people (as nation’s 35th-largest television market. He road in terms of SES. It was only reaching opposed to professional actors) being has steadily climbed the TV ladder since his the lower demographic audiences. That observed in situations that are unscripted first job as sports producer at WISH-TV in changed this year with Apprentice, which and unrehearsed. However, the fact that the Indianapolis, followed by sales and sales has become the “water cooler” show of the unblinking cameras are omnipresent manager positions in Peoria, St. Louis, year, attracting hard-to-reach audiences, certainly creates a heightened situation that Austin, and Grand Rapids. Most recently, such as CEOs and, even more surprising, influences the participants’ behavior. I find Hayes was general sales manager with working women. “reality” series akin to sporting events in WLWT in Cincinnati. During his seven which the outcome is unknown and viewers years at WLWT, the station was awarded Peter A. Tenhula, BA’87, attorney, Federal cheer for a participant in the competition. four national Telly Awards for sales Communications Commission, and former From an employment standpoint, I am presentation. Hayes and his wife, Patti, senior legal adviser to FCC chair Michael affected by the number of so-called reality have two sons, ages 6 and 4, and are new K. Powell, Alexandria, Va. shows that occupy commercial network residents of Greenville. arly in Peter Tenhula’s career as an prime time. This results in fewer hours for EFCC attorney, he was on the front lines dramatic series and other shows, translating How are you handling the challenge of selling in the agency’s battles against indecency on into fewer employment opportunities for TV with an eroding audience? the public airwaves.