TV Interview

I’ve always been curious of what goes on behind the scenes.  How a television set operates.  What a television set is like.  So, to find the answers, I interviewed a St. John’s alumnus named Sharese Perez.  She majored in television communications and even worked at WABC for 2 years, and Lifetime Television for 3 years.  She had her mind set on being a director.

Me: Good morning, glad to have you here, how are you?

Sha: Good, glad to be here.

Me: So, why did you major in TV communications?

Sha: Growing up, I’ve always had a fascination with TV, movies, actors/actresses.  I always wanted to be a part of that world.

Me: What is it about TV that fascinates you?

Sha: Well, back in my days, TV had more variety than today.  Now, I just see a bunch of reality shows! They had a lot of made-for-TV movies, and sitcom shows which were family oriented.  SO, it’s like you became part of the family, week after week watching it.  Overall, TV’s ability to just take your mind off of things and put you into another realm was what fascinated me.

Me: I know you told me that you were involved with the St. John’s TV club.  Can you tell me about one of your experiences with it?

Sha: Sure! Well I had a professor, who used to work at channel 7, with the soap operas.  I think he was a producer or director…can’t really remember. Anyway, he took us on a tour of the set of All My Children on W67th and I got to see all the props and secrets of the set, like where actors dash their scripts sometimes.  It was very interesting.

Me: Did you visit any other set?

Sha: As a matter of fact, we did.  We went to another soap opera set, One Life to Live on W66th.  I remember seeing the desk that the Buchannan patriarch had in his office.  I remember noting how beat up and chipped it looked, and that’s when the professor told me that TV can hide those things-it’s the magic box.

*a brief chuckle from us both*

TV show set

Me: So you wanted to be a director, what are some things you learned about that field?

Sha: How insanely hard it is.  When you think of director, we see a guy sitting behind the camera in that cool chair with the words “director” written on the back, and you picture him yelling “action” and “cut.”  Those things are tiny compared to what he really does.  He/she has to mark the floor for where the actors stand or read their lines from, he/she has to know the camera angles, which way he wants a scene filmed.  The director has to be in touch with everyone on the set.  He has to know practically everything from budgeting to remembering the character’s lines.  It’s just a lot of work. And it certainly is harder than it seems.

Me: Wow. That sounds crazy!

Me: What was your role at WABC?

Sha: Well, I worked in the operations department as a log coordinator.  I prepared logs for the day of air.

Me: What are logs?

Sha: Logs are like the storyboard for a particular show.  It lays out, in detail, the script of the show.  It’s basically how the program will be chopped you.  You know, we may start with an intro, run the theme song for 30 seconds, have a 5 min commercial break, return to the show for 10 minutes.  It’s just organizing the show into bits.

Me: Tell me something interesting that you learned there.

Sha: well, while working on the commercials, I discovered the manufacturing companies that market certain products.  For example, one commercial I had was for Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing, and I found out that the manufacturer behind it is Clorox.  Of course, they never aired that part on TV.  Though it may be on the bottle, I was just shocked to learn that the same company that makes cleaning products also makes salad dressing.

Me: O.O my goodness! Ranch was my favorite dressing! I’m sure they don’t make it at the same facility, though.

Sha: yea…but still.  It’s just the thought of what these companies are hiding from the general public.

Me: yea I agree.

Me: So, last question.  Have you met any actors, while working at your ABC or Lifetime?  I never saw a celeb in my life, so I’m always curious.

Sha: eh, not really. Working at ABC, I remember Regis Philbin holding the door for me.  Later when I worked at Lifetime, I got to see a taping of the Cosby show, because our office was in the same studio they filmed in.  It was cool. My time at these jobs was fun…stressful, but I enjoyed it overall.

Me: Thanks for your time.  There’s a wealth of info here!

Sha: Sure thing, any time.

Well that was my interview.  I’ve got to say, it was quite fun hearing about someone else’s experiences.  Despite me trying to write down every word Sharese said, verbatim, (next time I’ll bring a recorder!) and trying to think of questions that flowed from one to the next, I had a blast.