[B5JMS] brief report from jms

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: "Alyson L. Abramowitz" <aly at best.com>
Date: 22 May 2001 01:23:28 -0700
Lines: 32

Jms at B5 wrote:
> 
> Well, all of last week I was in Vancouver for the first week of shooting on the
> two-hour TV movie BABYLON 5: LEGEND OF THE RANGERS.  (I'm back now for a
> while.)  It's been a terrific experience to date.  The dailies look great.

<snip> ...

> them.  SFC has seen the dailies and they're absolutely enchanted with what's on
> film.
> 
>

It's certainly good to hear that things are going well on the Rangers
production.  

Since there were some, ahem, challenges in the network direction with
Crusade (and since I play with process challenges for a living I'm
always intrigued by both the good and the bad processes), I was
wondering what the process was this time with SCI-FI? How does it differ
from previous network experiences?
  
I'm delighted that SCI-FI likes the dailies (and am looking forward to
being equally as delighted with the finished product).  Who sees them?
Is that their Programming Department? Did script go through a similar
process?

Thanks for the continued insight into the process.

Best,
Alyson


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 22 May 2001 15:06:24 -0700
Lines: 38

>Since there were some, ahem, challenges in the network direction with
>Crusade (and since I play with process challenges for a living I'm
>always intrigued by both the good and the bad processes), I was
>wondering what the process was this time with SCI-FI? How does it differ
>from previous network experiences?

It isn't so much different as it is pretty much the same, in the sense that the
whole TNT situation was an aberration; I had NEVER had that much interference,
that level of interference, on ANY other show before.  There have been
headaches, sure, but that's part of the job and never to this extent.

So SFC's involvement has been pretty much on a par with what has gone before. 
They had a handful of notes on the outline, ditto on the script, and that was
it.  And in both cases they were primarily small notes, line notes or character
bits.

You *expect* to get some notes along the way, because the network/studio is the
buyer.  I'm okay with that and always have been.  The TNT situation was simply
insane.

>I'm delighted that SCI-FI likes the dailies (and am looking forward to
>being equally as delighted with the finished product).  Who sees them?
>Is that their Programming Department? Did script go through a similar
>process?

I know it goes to the heads of programming in NY and LA, possibly to the PR
department, beyond that I don't know.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2001 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)