interview and copy written for Sohonet
article here
xperienced producer Jessica Badenoch oversees diverse
production projects from development to final delivery, helping bring nuanced
stories to the screen that range from the police procedural Grimm (NBC),
supernatural drama Proof (TNT) and multiple award-winning
music drama Empire (Fox) to NBC’s Ordinary Joe and
romantic drama Tell Me Lies (Hulu). Her career spans numerous
notable projects where she has established a reputation for meticulous
organization and creative vision.
Purpose-Driven Storytelling
“I like to work on scripted dramas with strong writing that
talk about real-life problems,” Badenoch says. “If a show has a purpose, it can
help people relate to the story and characters, even if it is purely
entertainment. I think that's why I like post so much. You can do so many
things with color and sound and editing to affect and
engage people's emotions.”
From Theater Beginnings to Professional Production
Badenoch went to Creative and Performing Arts High School
(CAPA) in Philadelphia before heading to college in New York. There,
studying theater, she and her friends began to stage plays.
“We were young and we’d tend bar to make enough money and
then put all our money into these plays. It was trial by fire but each time we
learned a little more about what it takes to produce a show, whether that’s
lighting or ticketing or insurance.”
After relocating to Los Angeles, Badenoch concentrated more
and more on production, landing a first job as assistant at a local NBC
station. After producing commercials and live viewing parties for awards shows
she decided to cross over into scripted television, where she quickly rose up
the ladder from PA to associate producer to producer.
“I already knew how to manage people and so I needed to
learn how to run everything else that makes a show tick.”
Collaborative Leadership and Technical Expertise
Known for her collaborative leadership style, she has guided
teams through challenging schedules and technical requirements, contributing to
productions like Empire and Tell Me Lies and
gaining recognition for her versatility and attention to detail.
Adapting to Remote Work with ClearView Flex
Most key technology and workflow decisions fall under
Badenoch’s purview. “I welcome input from editors and my post-supervisor. I’ll
meet with vendors to learn about new developments but every project is
different and has a different budget. Usually, the showrunner will be the one
who selects editors, although I may have some influence in that decision. As
long as the DoP is happy with the colorist, I pick the post facility we use for
dailies and final color. A lot of times, the studio will have a relationship
with a certain company which I’ll take into consideration. I consider myself a
very loyal person and if there’s no reason for me to leave then I won’t.”
That relationship holds true for Sohonet and ClearView Flex,
the video collaboration software which has been a fixture in
Badenoch’s workflows since the pandemic. “Before 2020 there was not really any
concept of remote. Everyone had an office. All the editors and assistants would
be a few feet away down the corridor. It was all so self-contained. Then
suddenly we were on lockdown and I found myself sitting in the parking lot
waiting for a bunch of hard drives to be brought to the trunk of my car from
the local Best Buy so we could clone all the media.”
Embracing Flexibility in Workflows
At the time, Badenoch was working on the sixth and final
season of Empire. Editorial teams had to have workstations set up
at home and post producers tried to jury rig a system that would connect
everyone up.
“We tried a few different systems and ClearView was the most
stable at that time, so we just kept with it,” she says. “It's served us
tremendously and we still use it daily. I mean, it’s basically our lifeline.”
Badenoch just wrapped season two of Tell Me Lies on
which showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer was based in Atlanta near the set. “Since
she was going to be remote, it made more sense for everybody to be remote. If
there was a question or concern with a daily that comes in or an editor wants
to show me something, we just hop on ClearView really quick. Then, as soon as
the director’s cut starts, our editors are on ClearView with them for up to 12
hours a day.”
Even during final mix Badenoch will always be on the stage
but a showrunner or composer might have the session ClearView-ed to their
location.
“ClearView affords us the opportunity to continue to work
and to stay on schedule. With our showrunner in Atlanta there's no way that we
would have been able to do it otherwise. Not every show has to go remote
but we have the flexibility to decide on a case-by-case basis.”
Challenges and Rewards in Post-Production
“For a pilot shot last year the director and executive
producer wanted to be in the room with the editor. Not a problem. We rented a
small office suite and also offered the editor a remote system. They assembled
the show from home and reviewed in person with the director.”
There are broadly three options for workflow, she explains:
completely remote, entirely in person or a combination. “I think I prefer the
hybrid situation. I miss the human aspect and the creative conversations with
everybody in and around the office but I totally understand the convenience of
working outside of the office.
“Even if the show is fully in-person I feel like Clearview
will still be used quite a bit. Maybe not to the extent that it was before but
simply because of convenience. If a director doesn't live in Los Angeles, as
on Tell Me Lies where one of our directors was from the UK,
then it is not even a question any more whether they can do the same job from
thousands of miles away.”
Looking Forward to Technological Innovations
Having been given a preview of ClearView’s forthcoming video
chat feature, Badenoch is excited for it to launch.
“Normally you have ClearView to watch a cut on one monitor
and you talk to your people on Zoom on another. It’s always better to be able
to make eye contact all the time. Realtime chat will be another nice step up
for ClearView.”
No comments:
Post a Comment