I’m midway through an eight-cities-in-eight-days pledge drive tour (Seattle-SFO-LA-SD-Chicago-St.Louis-Boston-Cincy-Portland). I just got to talk to an enthusiastic crowd of travelers here in St. Louis, and then we did a little four-episode travel marathon on TV.
Watching the shows, I was so thankful to have the chance to actually finish the programs. In our early days of production, there was never the time or money to really lovingly polish the shows. That was back in the analog days, when it was closer to literally snipping and taping bits of footage (back when “footage” was actually measurable that way), rather than the economic and efficient editing of our digital age.
Each TV program we make has a rewarding final process. I get to take home a “fine cut” and suggest tiny fixes before we “lock it in.” My routine is to relax and watch the show with Anne. Then I stay up late and watch the show again with my finger on the pause button and a pencil in hand. Before going to bed, I transcribe my scribbles into an email to my editor (Steve) and director/producer (Simon). The next day they do the best they can with what we shot to get the show as I envisioned it. We review it in the editing room, and I am generally thrilled with the final version. Those teeny tiny tweaks make the show so much more satisfying for me.
Just last week, we finished our upcoming Iran special. I ran across my comments to Steve and Simon that might give you an insight into this part of the production process. These are my little gripes and wishes (keyed into script sequence numbers) as sent to the crew:
Did we use man and child on cart at Shiraz citadel? — great faces
.3 Should we lose the first sentence (Like most Americans, I know almost nothing about Iran.)?
.4 Are there any loose concepts we should write into the opening montage? (perhaps it’s an opportunity to make complex issues more clear)
.4 Let’s use the goofy pink girls and me at end of montage (with sound up)
.7 Is there a better clip of crew working at the start?
.10 Better example of “traffic direction ignored”…footage of someone actually driving upstream?
.10 Better shot of me on motorbike in traffic?
.14 Consider saving the shot of the beautiful women (first clip) to use later. We don’t need to spend that one here.
.17a Confirm that Farsi is actually a different script than Arabic.
.17 What about the clips of the girls outside the Shah’s palace?
.20 The music here is distracting to me.
.24 At “emboldened,” I don’t like the tight on the European vase — show something in the Shah’s palace that is Persian?
.28 Tighter on “Death to USA” mural with script more explicit and thorough…see new script.
.36 Stay on my snap shot a moment longer?
.39 Was there an interaction with women in bookstore that we could use? I remember her demonstrating how the book reads backward.
.46 Must we have a drive-by revealing the road sign that means nothing in our script?
.47 Do we have a shot of reflective roofs for that line (when I talk of how they insulate in the heat of summer)? I wouldn’t want to lose the clip we have here…it just would be nice to see reflective tops from above rather than looking up at eves.
.55 Can you finish the diplomacy painting with a tight on the watermelon, please? Also, for the last line (invaded India), I had hoped we actually shot a battle scene to cover that, not more banqueting.
.73 Where we say “blessings,” do we have another clip of teens on a date in the paddleboats? Also, I think we should not use the quick clip to paddleboats later, but move that later one to the first.
.75a Can you cut out my voice to hear “we love them” better from girl in the back? (Sorry I kept stepping on people’s lines.)
.76 I’d love a couple more Esfahan-at-twilight shots. This is so different and magically beautiful.
.80 Add just a beat to the end of the on-camera.
.81 Finish bakery sequence with the guy pulling away with fresh bread on motorcycle?
.89 Man on cell phone is a great shot, but not ideal when we say “meditative.”
.90 Can we show a bit of fish in the pond, then dissolve into bird tile after showing woman kneeling with lover at pond?
.91 First shot of two women at table is mediocre. They look in pain. Any happier alternative?
.93 Rick taking photo is a good shot but here it seems unmotivated and fakey. This could be used to introduce a series of snapshots at the end if we need a way to get into photos.
.96 Flip the tilt down of cuneiform in three languages with the close-up of the cuneiform to better fit the text.
.104 Do we have a good take with “May” proceeding the last line in the on camera? May peace be upon us. That’s what I intended to say.
My wishes were generally doable, and Steve and Simon have made the show just gorgeous. It’ll air through the USA in mid-January. I hope you can see it. For more on our Iran project (including a four-minute video clip), see our Rick Steves’ Iran website.
Rick, thanks for the insight on the script. I look forward to the episode.
Rick, forgive the praise comparison which follows, yet this blog is an accurate insight to your artistic process. On a florence etbd tour three years ago, our guide Reid Coen pointed toward the bronze baptistry doors by ghiberti. It was perfection art to me in every way, as we saw the originals at the duomo museum. Yet it was said that the artist polished and refined the doors right up to the time they went away for placement at the baptistry. Ghiberti wanted to squeeze out more perfection. So you too seem on refining programs. I’ve read before about the process in preparing scripts, shooting scenes, editing, re-editing to a “fine cut”. Now we see yet another series of refinemnts detailed in this terrific blog. You, like ghiberti, never want to put down the burnishing tool. We thank you.
Wow! Great inside look at making a film. I had guessed at the detail, but never seen an example. Couldn’t help thinking of Ron Howard as I read through it. Thanks for all the hard work you do to try to help us “feel” like we are there.
I’m really excited about the new show and hope it makes an impact on people’s perceptions of Iran. See you tonight when you’re in Cambridge!
A lot of work has gone into this. Looking forward to seeing it.
Are you going to Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine?
I am really looking forward to seeing this in January, hope our PBS (Sacaramento, Ca) will air it.
.90 Can we show a bit of fish in the pond, then dissolve into bird tile after showing woman kneeling with lover at pond? Have you considered what kind of problems you could create for a girl kneeling with her “lover” not husband? Or were they married? or perhaps from outside the country? Did these and others know they were being recorded for broadcast?
I really enjoyed reading about your experiences in Iran and hope that someday you will offer a tour (I have enjoyed your tours of Ireland and Sicily). I will be the first to sign up! I had several similar experiences this summer when I visited my sister in Jeddah. I thought Saudi Arabia would be scary but once there, I found the people to be so friendly, warm, generous. I never got used to the kleenex tissue being used as napkins though. The traffic was also scary (but I remember similar traffic in Cairo 30 plus years ago). What surprised me most about my journey was how much I liked wearing the abaya and hijab. I liked fitting in and knowing I could wear whatever I wanted underneath and that I didn’t have to fuss with my hair; no one was going to see it. I look forward to watching the Iran show next year.
Wow. Interesting list. Iran is a fascinating country. There is such a mix of emotions going on within the nation. It’s a place that has a younth ready to take over and hopefully bring in a new, improved era. Enduring Wanderlust
So, what is new in Iran since Babilone wonders were built in and nearby? As seen from a jet, a luck of lights on a ground speaks itself. Or some “human rights” advances? (See “It could always be much worse” by M. Kerjman) http://mkwrk2.instablogs.com/entry/it-could-always-be-much-worse/
Dear Rick, thank you for going to Iran and bringing these images back. I’m Iranian and I wish there were more real images of Iran in the US that I could show my friends. Persian is a different language than arabic but the script is the same (except we have 4 extra letters). But still completely different language. Also, I wish there was a chance to talk to Iranian women more. We are very different that what is portrayed of us. Our situation is complex, we are mostly very educated but deal with legal and cultural discrimination that we each fight individually. On top of that, Iran has an amazing women’s movement with smart and strong women. They make me very proud to be an Iranian. thaks again
Dear Rick, thanks for showing the truth behind Iran…
Here, I would like to make another comment, on the page http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2759 in the picture shown below the page, IT IS NOT “THE GULF”, IT’S PERSIAN GULF. It has always been PERSIAN GULF (from 500BC) and will always be PERSIAN GULF… please change the picture… PERSIAN GULF is the official name… Arabs should know they can’t change history with money nor with oil… SO, PLEASE CHANGE THE PICTURE!
I have watched your Iran episode for the second time and I am so impressed with it that I have placed an order for the DVD this evening. Thank you for showing the humanity of Iran to me and thank you for being an ambassador for our country. I am in complete agreement with Twain, travle is fatal to bigotry, prejudice and narrow mindedness. I believe we share the world with every one else; we cannot dominate it nor try to bend everyone’s thoughts to meet our mindset. Rick, while I really enjoy your shows and traveling vicariously to places I most likely will never get to visit, I think your show on Iran is the best one yet. My thanks to you and your crew and for being so willing to make that leap of faith, to show us back home the possibilities the world has to offer and for exposing the lies “our” propagandists feed us.
In your documantory you portrayed The Shah as a ruthless dictator which during his reign thousands of people were killed and tortured. You talked about Mossadegh as a national hero who was elected by the people and toppeled with the help of CIA. I lived in Iran until the age of 18 and been in US for past 30 years. What Shah and his father Reza Shah done for Iran was to bring modernity and wealth which are all taken away by Islamic Republic. You have touched our hearts deeply by your comments. We support Shah and his son Prince Reza Pahlavi and we are not minority. 60 million strong.
I just stumbled on this page after I heard some friends in CA are attending an event with Rick Steves on Iran. I can’t wait to see the episode! I have a better idea of how work you put into each one. Thank you for covering Iran and providing forums that I’ve used for my own travels as female adventuring solo.
i like that. webroyalty