Behind the Project with Senior Producer Natalie Taylor
Blue Chalk Media recently collaborated with Pearson to produce a series of “explainer” videos, designed to complement Pearson’s digital curriculum. From affirmative action in college admissions to marijuana and federalism, the films explain basic concepts in subjects such as American Government, Sociology, and Communication.
To create this series, we engaged the skills of over 50 talented producers, editors, graphic artists and writers in one of the largest production undertakings we have carried out to date. We sat down with the project’s senior producer, Natalie Taylor, to find out more about her role and just what goes into creating such a big series.
1: Can you tell us a little about your background before you began working at Blue Chalk?
Sure! You must be talking about my sordid past in the life sciences! It’s true before I started pursuing a career in production, I was working in a microbiology lab at Duke University. We were researching a joint vaccine for tuberculosis and HIV… which was a big job, but mainly involved hanging out with bacteria and looking at their proteins.
It was great to work but, personally, I started realizing it was a ladder I didn’t want to climb. I loved research but I was missing its connection to the outside world. I started thinking about all the hard work that was going into achieving these findings that would hopefully make less TB and HIV in the world — and I thought about all the other ways someone could achieve the same goal. I started thinking, maybe SOME of those other ways, like science communication, could possibly be more personally fulfilling for me. So after some searching, I started taking production classes at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies. I loved it and a friend encouraged me to apply to the science journalism program at UNC-Chapel Hill. I somehow got in and that led me to Blue Chalk.
2: What is your current role at Blue Chalk and what does a typical day look like for you?
Currently, I’m a senior producer. I started as a production intern and I don’t think I’ve had a single typical day since I started. On any given day, I might be watching cuts with an editor, reading scripts, updating spreadsheets, brainstorming with another producer, checking lighting with a DP, checking on crew availability with a production manager, responding to client feedback, coming up with graphics ideas with the graphics team, or ordering a sasquatch costume online.
3: This project was one of the biggest Blue Chalk has ever done, can you give us a quick overview?
I was actually involved in something a little like this project in my first year at Blue Chalk when I headed up a team that made 105 videos for grades K-2 for Discovery Education. Cut to a few years later when we were asked to create a similar number of videos by Pearson.
Pearson is a textbook company in the midst of shifting to digital publishing and are looking to video to stand out. We had been working with them for a while, at first creating internal marketing videos, then external marketing videos, then finally actual content for their digital textbooks.
Before the explainer series, we had made several series that took more of a documentary approach. But since we understand the topic should dictate the format, when they asked us to make videos for an American Government textbook, we needed a more information-dense and unbiased format. We turned to an “explainer” style. These were scripted, they were funny, had a host and lots of fun graphics and stock to help illustrate topics and keep them engaging. Our intent was to surprise, delight and, of course, inform. We also wanted to include interviews with experts from all over the world. Pearson loved that approach, in part because they could apply the format to a lot of different subjects.
4: What was your specific role on this project?
My role was to make sure we delivered great videos that the client loved, on schedule and on budget.
4: As part of this project, Blue Chalk had to recruit on-screen-hosts, how did you find this process and did you learn anything new?
In documentary, you don’t usually do casting calls so everything about it was new for me.
To cast for our hosts, we put out a casting call and got more than 100 people to come in and audition over 3 days. So the first lesson was how much WORK it is to schedule more than 100 auditions over 3 days! In subsequent rounds, I’ve discovered video auditions and … they’re a little less time-consuming. That said, while video casting is great for specific roles, I’m really glad we cast a wide net on our initial round because that was where I learned lesson number two: the difference the RIGHT performer can make. In person, you can figure out how versatile and directable an actor is. You definitely know it when you see it.
The third lesson for me was to respect how much power you have in making casting decisions, and that the information you get during the auditions is a great resource. We got permission to keep people’s contact information, and if an actor wasn’t cast, we tried to be prompt and clear with our decisions but kept the door open to possibly working together. That professional respect pays off when you need someone to fill in last minute and we’ve turned to that initial list a number of times for other projects since our first auditions.
Finally, I learned that EVERYONE does improv.
5: From the credits list, it’s clear that a lot of folks had a hand in this series, what was it like working with such a large team?
From the beginning, I knew this project could be bigger than making a lot of videos, and that building the right team would be the real accomplishment. I saw this project as a huge opportunity to work with and nurture talented folks, to throw passionate people from different backgrounds and experience levels in the same room (literally) and watch people learn from each other, and it was an opportunity to build Blue Chalk’s capacity in general. It was also an opportunity to develop systems and workflows (spreadsheets!) that we could apply to lots of other projects. Having more people in the office also made it possible to start bringing in guest speakers who could talk about their professional experiences, which helped us meet even more amazing people.
Having a bigger team came with a lot of challenges, but I was most proud of how well everyone worked together, no matter what got thrown at us (which was a lot).
6: What was your biggest challenge and biggest achievement when it came to this project?
The biggest challenge was keeping track of everything. Luckily we had Amy Polansky, production manager extraordinaire to help us out! A great production manager like Amy will make or break a project like this and I have no idea what we would have done without her.
The biggest achievement was building a strong team and making strong work. We reacted to all kinds of challenges with grace, speed, intelligence and a LARGE dose of humor. Creating an environment where people came together to solve problems in that manner and create pieces I’m truly proud of was a huge accomplishment. I am fortunate to have had an opportunity to learn from everyone who took part.
Our explainers series is available to watch right now on Pearson’s YouTube channel.
