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Production Manager: Craig Johnston
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Craig Johnston is a Seattle-based Internet and multimedia producer with an extensive background in broadcast. He can be reached at craig@craigjohnston.com.
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The Lowdown on Top Down
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by Craig Johnston, 1.23.2008
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In fact, carrying out a top-down, companywide directive can be one of the most difficult tasks for a manager.
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Keep Both HD and SD Viewers Happy
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by Craig Johnston, 10.17.2007
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News Flash: People are going to be watching TV with low-resolution display devices for a long time into the future.
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Four Kinds of People
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by Craig Johnston, 8.22.2007
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Human resource business psychologists seem to be making a good living coming up with this matrix and that, each of which define the differences between certain groupings of employees.
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Graphic Sounds Crowd Out Quiet Dialog
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by Craig Johnston, 4.16.2007
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Okay, maybe I should take some of the blame for what I'm going to complain about, because it was my own fault that I watched a "chick" flick on a cable network the other night.
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Management Policy Deserves Intellectual Rigor
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by Craig Johnston, 2.21.2007
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I was taught a long time ago, in managing employees at a business (or your own children at home), that if you have to resort to "because I said so," you might get your way, but you've lost the argument.
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You Still Have to Communicate Visually
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by Craig Johnston, 11.15.2006
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I've seen something on television over the past couple of years that bothers me, and I've been trying to figure out if it's really a problem, or if I'm just old school.
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Creative Thinking On the Fly
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by Craig Johnston, 8.23.2006
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It turns out there are more ways of being creative than being an imaginative writer or videographer. Stretching the limits of the equipment is another way of creatively contributing to getting the job done.
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Reacting Quickly To Correct a Mistake
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by Craig Johnston, 6.28.2006
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Bill Gates was on Donny Deutsch's CNBC "The Big Idea" show recently, and I was interested in Gates' answer to Deutsch's question about what kind of mistakes he's made.
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What to Do When Your Job is on the Line
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by Craig Johnston, 4.24.2006
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I have a friend whose boss told her recently she's one the edge of losing her job. She's not in the broadcast field. The reason she may lose her job is very much related to getting along with a client, a very important client. And she's baffled.
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This Device Has to Be Able Talk to That One
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by Craig Johnston, 4.03.2006
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Lack of communication is a frequently mentioned issue when employees are evaluating their managers, and vice versa.
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It's Time for HD Commercials
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by Craig Johnston, 2.22.2006
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I was pleased to read the other day that in this year's Super Bowl broadcast, slightly more than half of the spots were in high definition. I might not be all that pleased except that a friend of mine is cranky. In fact, maybe I'm not all that pleased after all.
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More Isn't Always Better With Sports Graphics
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by Craig Johnston, 11.23.2005
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I have a friend who has a particular discipline when it comes to dress ties--he always owns the same number of them, never more, never less. When he buys a tie for himself, or receives one as a gift, he gives one to Goodwill. It seems to me that those commissioning sports coverage graphics could use a little of that kind of discipline themselves. There are enough graphics on most sports telecasts, so if you're going to add one, throw an old one away.
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Pitfalls of Producing On a Collision Course
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by Craig Johnston, 7.20.2005
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Any manager worth his salt is making course corrections all along with his budget.
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One Solution Does
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by Craig Johnston, 6.22.2005
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There ought to be a disclaimer from people selling approaches for the transition from an analog to an IT infrastructure. It should say something like "one solution doesn't fit all."
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Developing a Tapeless Workflow
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by Craig Johnston, 4.18.2005
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I recently talked with a number of stations that are transitioning to tapeless video acquisition in their news departments. The removable hard drive, optical disc and memory card technologies these stations are moving to are very different. In each case, the change is monumental.
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Lights, Camera... Ouch!
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by Craig Johnston, 3.28.2005
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There's no time like the present to start experimenting with what it's going to take to make good high-definition pictures of your talent in the studio.
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Prioritize and Plan When It's Calm
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by Craig Johnston, 2.16.2005
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A great deal of the success television people have making it through emergency periods depends on how they've prepared during the calm ones.
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We're Not All 16:9 Yet!
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by Craig Johnston, 1.19.2005
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My voice, from yelling at the TV, will probably not return until midweek. But I can still type.
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Constructing Instructions
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by Craig Johnston, 10.20.2004
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It turns out there is an instruction manual for an employee. It's inside the employee himself. It's your job to access it.
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Don't Skimp on Audio
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by Craig Johnston, 9.22.2004
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When you've got a production problem on a show, it's usually audio.
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