TV’s Creative Toolbox

Written by Edith Manfred. Photos by Edith Manfred.

Behind everyone’s favorite television celebrity dancer, colorful puppet and overworked doctor sits a massive crew of professionals who make every exciting episode possible. This goes beyond the film crew who do the on-the-ground storytelling and into all creative industries, such as fashion for costuming, set designers and music composers. SCAD TV Fest’s TV’s Creative Toolbox panel was a celebration of below-the-line storytelling, told by four of the industry’s most influential storytellers of the year.

Set design is often the foundation for powerful storytelling. One of the biggest new TV shows this year was “The Pitt”, whose cinematographer and production designers joined the panel. Production designer Nina Ruscio spoke about how strong the collaboration between the writers and production designers was, as the set was designed before the script was even written. This was in part so that writers could be in the physical environment of the hospital when writing, which ended up being a 360-degree immersive set that was 23,000 square feet in size. Cinematographer Johanna Coelho voiced that the entire project was a contemporary plan in which everything was intentional, but it had to look as natural and ordinary as possible, even down to the 24/7 fluorescent lighting.

In contrast to the calculated realism of “The Pitt”, “Dancing with the Stars” costume supervisor Howard Sussman has to be ready for anything. “Dancing with the Stars” airs live every week, so while the costuming, choreography and set dressing are coordinated, nobody knows how it will work until it hits the air for the first time. The style choice of each episode is dictated by the dance style of the week, meaning every episode has a completely different look.

An essential part of the designing that every creative on a TV show is doing is deciding the tone through creative choices, such as lighting, cinematography style and color palette. For “The Pitt,” they debated between shooting it in a documentary style or a narrative style, and ended up deciding on a mock-documentary style in order to get as heightened a sense of realism as possible. Decisions like this depend on the experience in experimentation that the designers have.

All four professionals spoke about the need for aspiring creatives to get as much experience as possible in as wide a variety of projects as possible. Ruscio voiced that “in terms of design, everything is a learning experience” and that every experience can go into one’s library of knowledge and expertise. Production designer Denise Pizzini, who has worked on everything from “Pluribus” to “Better Call Saul”, started her career as an interior designer, then became a set dresser for a variety of shows, including the hit sitcom “Community”. She explained that everything is useful, even the small projects, because the smaller the project, the more that is expected from each crew member.

When asked about what skills industry professionals are looking for when hiring fellow creatives and crew members, all four agreed that respect and curiosity are at the top of their list  of requirements. Every project is a new adventure that will require new skills, so maintaining an open mind and a willingness to experiment is essential. Knowing your craft and being technically skilled cannot be overstated, as well as simply being kind and respectful. Sussman spoke about the importance of maintaining personal relationships in the industry, as it’s rare for a show like “Dancing with the Stars” to run for 20 years and 34 seasons without positive industry connections and a spirit of collaboration.

When looking towards the future of the television industry, all four panelists agreed that, despite technological innovations, physical jobs will maintain their value because of the inherently labor-intensive nature of television production. The consensus was that we will always need stories, so the challenge will be in balancing innovation with tradition.