{original post had no questions}

Yeah, it's a struggle, and hard work, no mistake, but we also
have our fair share of fun as well. What makes it more bearable is
that we've instituted a humane system of film-making. Most shows shoot
16 hour days and then some. We shoot 12 and that's it. If you plan
out what you're doing properly, and don't get reckless, you can do
that. The Directors' Guild has been fighting for 12 hour days for
years, and been told that it couldn't be done. Then recently they
heard about us, and their jaws dropped, and they're coming out to do an
article that says, in essence, see, it CAN be done. And has been done
successfully for 5 years.

jms

Neil S. Turkenkopf <102664.3532@compuserve.com> asks:
> Doesn't the sound of all those jaws dropping give you a headache?

I think the only reason we're still amazing them is that they're
only now finding *out* about us. We're doing what we've been doing for
5 years now, it's just taken folks this long to notice us (which is
about what I figured would be the case going in).

jms

{original post had no questions}

I agree...it's just common sense, really.

Who knew it was in such short supply?

jms

{original post had no questions}

It's both. Even in the first two years of the show, we kept to
12 hour days by virtue of making sure we were always 3-4 scripts ahead
of where we were shooting, which is what makes all the difference in
the world (on most shows you're lucky if you're one ahead, and
sometimes pages are landing on the stage while you're shooting). You
get your writers working early, and make your notes clear, to minimize
mistakes.

Also, bear in mind that with the exception of maybe a half-dozen
scripts, most of them by Larry, all but one of the freelance S1-2
scripts were based on premises I assigned to the writers...which in
turn were based on my notes, which I give to John each season as a kind
of crib sheet for the overall production of that season's shows,
allowing our people to have months of cognitive lead time (where
possible) on sets, costumes, that sort of thing.

jms