Talent Can't Survive Alone!

By Leonard Aaron Caplan

Let’s face it, it’s glamorous to be on TV, as a host, reporter, narrator, etc. You can’t blame people for wanting the notoriety, the access to “exclusive” people and places and the good living a successful talent can make. But those who aspire to such positions need to realize that the video, audio, lighting and writing of these segments don’t simply get done by themselves.

Along with camera people and video editors are engineers , directors and production assistants. There are also producers who plan segments, making decisions about what a video segment or show is about, etc. These are the people whom on-air talents must depend, no matter how good they are in front of the camera.

I’ve had students and even interns tell me there is no need for them to learn the ropes of video production because “I’m the talent”. These people miss the point! I’ve been in video production since 1979 and I can tell you that the talent who are smart enough to learn the ropes both in front of and behind the camera are those who will be more in control of the segments they do and ultimately more in demand by producers and others in charge of hiring.

The behind-the-scenes people who make talent look good will very appreciative of the talent who understands what they go through for the production and often will go out of their way to make the talent’s job easier. The contrary is also true. Show production people you only care about what you’re doing and don’t appreciate what they do and you can be sure of only minimal cooperation, and in some cases not at all.

There is a lot potential on-air talent must learn if being in front of the camera is their goal. It’s called “paying your dues”. It’s a myth that someone is spotted and hired sight unseen for their looks or voice. Most on-air personalities will also tell you that it took years, many of them working for free or almost-free for them to realize their goal.

Television is a team effort. No one position is indispensable. Everyone depends upon one other, no matter how different their job is from yours or how little you may understand it.

Understand this and you’ll increase your chances of success. Don’t understand it or minimize others contributions to the whole and you’ll see just how hard it is to reach or stay at the top.

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