Interview with Carlos Arakelian of Austin Texas

Carlos Arakelian
Freelancer

1. Can you briefly define your job to me?

I have done a variety of jobs in the many years in TV Production. I now work as a line producer and assistant director on a freelance basis. I organize the whole shoot. I mainly do TV commercials. I work for production companies hired by advertising agencies that come to us with a storyboard. We take it form paper to film and eventually to video and the TV final product. I work very closely with the Director. We have many meetings to determine what will be the needs of the project and form that we create a budget that is eventually approved by our client, the agency. Once the project is approved. I put together a crew and start supervising all the work that each crew member is responsible for. This takes usually a couple weeks of prep and many meetings. I organize, location scouts, casting directors, wardrobe, props, sets and other crew members that will provide many items and services.
We gather all of their prep materials and build what is called a pre-production book, that we present to our client in a pre-production meeting to go over all of the details of what we plan to do and how their idea will be executed. We also hire storyboard artists and special effects supervisors if needed.
For the shoot I usually put together a crew of about 20-40 people that will work during the shooting days. We also need to figure out transportation needs, location needs as well as organize catering and feeding needs of the crew, cast extras and clients. If we travel to a location we also organize all travel needs. We also (we being the production team usually a production coordinator and line producer supervised by director and company owner) are in charge of making sure that our director of photography, Gaffer, and other key grip get all of the equipment, usually rented for the days of shoot.
Once all of this comes together and our clients approves our execution plan, then we go and shoot a TV commercial. It could take 1 day of a week of shooting. Depending on the project. Usually 1 day per TV commercial.
At the level that I work, high end TV commercial production, all of this can cost from 80,000 to 200,000 dollars depending on the project. I have worked on campaigns that cost more than a million dollars for a week of shooting and several spots. During the shoot as a producer I am there to make sure everything runs smooth. If I am the AD, then I am responsible for everything that happens on the set. Making sure we are running on time. I create a shooting schedule before the shoot and during the shoot I try to make sure that we stay on schedule. I also give departments support in which ever way possible.
The director depends on me to make sure he and the DP have everything they need at the time that they need it, from actors on the set to the the set or location being ready at specific times. Once the shoot is over as a line producer I have to close the job financially and turn it into the executive producer. Consolidate all the expenses. With the help of the production coordinator it is usually a 2-3 day job. We hand the company a book with all the PO's and bill and tell them what has been paid, what is pending, and when it is all due. We also give them all the talent contracts and releases for their use.
Finally we celebrate and hopefully get paid for it.

2. How did you get started in the business?

I studied TV and Film production in LA and once out of college I got a job at an advertising agency as an assistant agency producer. Then I became an agency producer and later head of production for an ad agency. That was the first & years of my Career. By then I had produced and supervised as agency producer more than 1000 TV commercial.
After that I opened a production company based in LA and produced TV commercials for ad agencies. There I worked as an Executive Producer and Line Producer. I did that for 6 years.
I then went to Mexico after a company there asked me to help them at the same time as Line Producer and AD. I did that from about 1998 to about the year 2000.
I then left that part of the industry and opened another company in Houston, that did live events. We produced 27 live professional wrestling events a pilot for TV and a pay per view.
After that in 2004 I stopped that project and went back to Line Producing and being an AD. I have done that on a freelance basis since then. I started in 1987 and I am still at it today. Lots of hard work and lots of long days.

3. How do you tell someone over you (your boss) that you can't accomplish an assigned task?

There is no such thing. In this industry everyone is expected to get it done and in a timely manner. That is why we hire the best people and people that have been at it for years. Yes there are times that it gets tight, but we try to give everyone enough time to make it possible to get their job done. The best I advice I can give and try to follow is to be honest and if you don't know something or have a doubt, ask for help. This is much better than saying I didn't get it done.
The main part of my job is trouble shooting, fixing problems and coming up with solutions. That is why people hire me. I have been around long enough and seen lots of situations.
In our job, we avoid not accomplishing a task by making sure in pre-production that all will be there the day of the shoot. We only get x-amount of hours of days to get it on film and time is very expensive the day of the shoot, so it all has to move forward smoothly.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting out?

Yes, get your hands wet and dirty. Go out and try to get as much work as possible. In any position, from being a PA to being a runner. Work hard, help as much as you can and people will want you around. The more you work, the more you will learn. If you don't know or understand what they want or are asking you to do, ask. It is very important to ask, don't assume or guess. That is how people get fired, you will be surprised how much people are will to teach you .