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Behind the Scenes Look: Live Television Production - Technical Directing

1 minute in the life of what a Television Technical Director does. Behind the Scenes Look: Live Television Production - Technical Directing is a real-time expose into the fast-paced world of live television sports news. It follows live Technical Director, Paul Overacker, as he shoots the documentary in real-time while switching a live broadcast of sports news. Rarely has there been such an intimate look at the pressures and time constraints of live sports news. Mr. Overacker directed and shot this documentary as part of a series of real-time documentaries that showcase to the outside world an insider's view of the challenges and the lightning fast speed that live television professionals face in the news industry; in this case Technical Directors. It is a commentary on how the modern world wants everything in record speed (thus, the brevity of the documentary) yet people don't always comprehend the amount of production work that needs to occur to produce high-quality news. The story informs people of the pressures of creating live television and it shows the impact on television professionals of having to compete in today's short-attention spanned 'Twitter' world.

  • Paul Overacker
    Director
  • Paul Overacker
    Writer
  • Paul Overacker
    Producer
  • Marjorie Dehey
    Producer
    Sons of Anarchy, Rogue
  • Paul Overacker
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Television, Web / New Media, Other
  • Genres:
    Live-action unscripted, Slice of Life, In the Day of
  • Runtime:
    1 minute 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 21, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 38th Annual Telly Awards

    United States
    Craft of Directing
  • Hollywood Screenings Film Festival
    Hollywood, CA
    United States
    March 11, 2017
    Semi-Finalist
Distribution Information
  • Youtube
    Country: United States
    Rights: Internet, Console / Handheld Device
Director Biography - Paul Overacker

Paul Overacker is a multi Award-winning Director and Technical Director working in television, film, and on-line productions. Awarded for his Craft of Directing for PlayStation E3 Experience and ESL Guild Wars 2 Pro League on Twitch. Emmy-nominated for his work on Super Bowl 50 as Technical Director, his work encapsulates all genres of Nationally televised productions, Daytime and Late-night talk shows, Primetime Drama's, Entertainment, Sports, News and Educational Productions. Paul has been in the entertainment business for over 25 years, with over 20,000 hours of live television production experience.

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Director Statement

The craft of technical director (TD) during a live television production is an unknown art form for those outside of the entertainment industry. Working a video switcher during a live show is like playing an instrument in a band. You only notice things when they go wrong. I wanted to show the amount of information a "TD" has to process, be ready for, and act on while cutting a show. This is a perfect, yet brief example of what a TD does.