THE SH*T WILL HIT THE FAN

July. Mid 2000s. I’m an editor at Discovery Channel. Or a producer. I don’t remember. It doesn’t matter. We get word that a SHARK WEEK show had a problem—some footage wasn’t licensed. 

For the viewer, it’s not a big deal. But for a network, it’s a legal nightmare. 

The show will air in 3 hours, but that doesn’t mean we have 180 minutes to work with. And this is before digital files. There is no way to get a master tape to the broadcast center. We must uplink it to the satellite and then download it at the facility. Upload/download is in real-time. We have 2 hours and about 13 shots to replace.

The team gathers. The online editor–a linear edit suite–puts the master tape in the machine. We are going to drop each shot in. We’re doing this old school. One by one, I identify the shot, find a cleared replacement, and swap. I ask the operations manager how much time is left on the clock every few minutes. Thirty minutes. Twenty minutes. Fifteen minutes. Over and over, we keep on. 

We don’t have enough time.

Think. Think. Think. What would Holly Hunter do in Broadcast News? Then it hits me. Let’s upload each act as they are ready. That will buy us time. We just need to be minutes ahead of each act’s start time. Image swap. Image swap. Image swap. Tick tock. Tick tock.

The ops manager keeps calling out the time remaining.

Four minutes. 

The last shot is replaced. 

Tape is ejected, and Ops does their best Joan Cusack imitation. (Same amazing movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8zmxVEdas0) 

We succeed. The show airs with the audience blissfully unaware of the drama just minutes earlier.

This happens daily for news and live television professionals, but for me, it was one of the most stressful and exhilarating moments in my career. There was an excellent chance we would fail, but as a team, we figured out a solution, went with the plan, and it worked.  

Hoping Everything Doesn’t Go to Hell

I joke that life as a producer is solving problems all day and ensuring everything doesn’t go to hell. We’re writers, storytellers, editors, field directors, and other roles. But our primary job is ensuring the trains run on time and don’t end up in a fiery wreck. 

This task isn’t isolated to television. For any job, where you’re managing a task or a project from start to finish - it’s the same. 

Launching a new brand identity? Same. 

Cataloging a new library? Yup. 

Researching vendors to work with? Yes.

If it has a start, middle, and end, it’s still a train trying to reach its destination.

It Will Go Wrong At Some Point.

The truth none of us wants to accept is that it will go wrong at some point. A project rarely goes 100% smoothly. A missed deadline, a colleague not doing their job well, or an unpredicted snowstorm will impact your project. Even something as benign as a late shipment can destroy the best-laid plans. And when you face something big like a key person quitting, or a client doing a 180, or the project is not very good, it’s a big problem.

The sh*t will always hit the fan. Something will go wrong. It will sometimes be miniscule. It will, at times, be catastrophic. 

Producing and project management is a lot like playing golf. Anybody can hit off-the-range tees. But good producers can hit off the tee, lay up on the green, and sink a putt. 

Great producers are like Tiger Woods and Jason Day. They still win even when they land in the rough or have to pitch out of a sand trap. They succeed even when the conditions are horrible. 

How Do You Handle Things When They Go Wrong?

First, never expect things to be perfect. 

If golfers acted this way, they’d have four clubs in their bag instead of 14! Think about what could go wrong and plan accordingly. Have a Plan A, B, C, and so on. And if producing wildlife or live events, plan out to Z. 

Second, when something goes amiss, figure out the best solutions for this moment and in the future. 

You can’t spend all of your money fixing one problem only to have a more significant issue down the line. Bring the entire time together: the optimists, pessimists, wanna-be heroes, and doomsday sayers. Work together and outline all the possible challenges from this one problem and related issues in the future.

Third, make sure you keep the issue in perspective. 

If Tiger Woods threw a hissy fit at every missed fairway, he’d emotionally tire himself out for the rest of the round. If you overreact at small things, how do you expect your colleagues to take things seriously when it’s big? No issue is too small, but reactions can be too big.

Fourth, know that sometimes you will fail. 

The problem may be so insurmountable that the best solution may be taking the hit. Back to golf. Even the best of the best drop a double bogey or worse. In 1999, Jan Van de Velde was cruising to victory at the British Open with a three-stroke lead on the last hole. Then everything went wrong. When his ball finally fell into the hole, he had scored a quadruple bogey, losing four strokes and the championship. 

Failure happens. Maybe less epically than Van de Velde, but it will occur. How do you handle it? Do you lay blame elsewhere? Or do you pick yourself up, take a hit, and find a solution that may hurt but still moves forward? The latter will be successful. 

Lastly, perfection and success are not synonymous. 

Some people who struggle with unexpected problems want perfection. They want everything to be sparkle ponies with candy and root beer. 🦄 🥤 But projects are manned by people. And people–even the most talented ones–make mistakes. 

We’re human! Sh*t happens. Plan for your team's success, supporting them even when they slip up.

How you handle adversity is key to being successful. 

You will face challenges. Things will go wrong. But as you grow in your career, you learn that past mountains were molehills. Like you, the best teammates understand that perfection is preferred but only sometimes achievable. And success is always best when enjoyed with others. 

Be ready. Know things will crash. Accept that perfection is not possible. And the more you know–both good and bad–the better you will be.

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About the Author: 

Shannon Malone-Benedictis (she/her) is a two-time Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, creative consultant, speaker, and facilitator. From writing her first play at age 10 to executive producing documentaries for Disney+, Netflix, and others, she's always loved telling stories. Learn more about Shannon’s speaking topics and creative services at padlincreative.com.