A Few Observations From My Few Hours Being Recorded for a TV Show

The short corridors to the recording studio are heaving with people, running back forth, looking for cast members, and talking to staff members about what's next on the busy schedule. On both sides of the corridor are a series of tatami-covered waiting rooms, each fronted with a lockable door and a nameplate to denote who is inside. Some of the names belong to well-known celebrities on Japanese TV, and others, like mine, belong to temporary guests not used to being there. Some are no doubt nervous, even if they've been on TV for years. Others are calm (like me), and nonchalant about the prospect of being recorded.

And nonchalant I certainly was in my very first time appearing as a guest on a nationally televised TV show in Japan (or for that matter, anywhere in the world). A brand-new experience that I certainly did not expect to happen any time in my lifetime somehow just found me on a Friday morning. With nothing but curiosity, I approached the massive media building that stands on the outskirts of Shibuya's busy streets. In it, a warren of corridors, rooms, and studios were jam-packed with the thousands of individuals that made the 24-hour televised public broadcasting service in Japan tick.

My nonchalance had much to do with witnessing the expertise of the production staff members manning these floors. Both excitable by the changes in schedule and calmed by years of handling tough schedules, they collectively cut an extremely reassuring presence. With many stars (and ordinary people) streaming in and out of the multiple studios at the end of the corridor, disorganization can be even more anxiety-inducing than the prospect of the unexpected appearing on cameras. Keeping everything on time, and thus not messing up the tight schedules, is paramount to no negative emotions flaring up.

Due to that need to keep everything moving on time, not just for the purpose of production but also to keep in line with the busy schedules of the most bankable stars, the staff members and the stars themselves work some un-Godly hours. Multiple episodes of the same show get recorded in one day, with staff members tied up from the beginning to the end of the working day going through scripts, rehearsals, and communication with those appearing on the shows. The recording itself can take multiple times the amount that gets broadcasted, just so plenty is left to use after editing work cuts out the junk.

For a media production novice like me, the result is a moment of realization of just how hard folks in the industry work. With weekend work the industry norm, and long days in the same studio a given, the glamor of media production can wear off and quickly be replaced with sheer exhaustion. But everyone I came across on my half-day in the studio was imbued with a sense of excitement about creating the best content that they possibly could, with the limitation of the time, budget, people, and resources they had on hand. Professionalism was reflected in the determination to be meticulous about every little detail.

And that meticulousness reflected every bit of the short 30-minute show I was part of. Scripting required half a dozen meetings, more email back and forth, and multiple versions of the script. Getting the visuals right required professional make-up, second thoughts about the clothing to wear on set, and rehearsals to get all the camera angles and lighting right, hours before the actual recording. The sheer details might be a common routine for those who have been in the business for years but for those witnessing it for the first time, it evokes nothing but pure respect. 

But at the same time, it does make one hesitant to think of a career in the industry. For those behind the camera, the reality of long hours that stretch into late nights and weekends must be balanced against the excitement of working with stars and on interesting shows. For those in front of the camera, long hours of shooting are coupled with a life of constantly moving between shows and studios, sandwiched by "downtime" of script reading and role preparation. The boundary between personal and professional time becomes more and more blurred.

My little trip to five minutes of national TV "fame" in Japan is, then, a learning with two sides. On one side is a respectful reckoning that we should never take our media content for granted. Too many people devote too much of their professional lives to making great content happen. On the other side is a reflection on just how far one would, should, and could take one's professional dreams and aspirations. The TV industry likely represents one logical extreme. But whether everyone, even some within the industry itself, tolerates such is open for debate. The definition of a "job" gets a rethink in the process.