LOS ANGELES – Ask any award show producer the one thing they wish they had more of, and chances are they’ll say time.
“As a producer it is amazing how much time you get out of the program when you don’t have to wait for someone to walk out of the aisle and run up those steps to the stage,” National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences CEO Adam Sharp said.
Sharp is talking about producing a virtual award show during a pandemic, like the Daytime Emmys, which just happened online. He makes a point, because when you take a look at awards before Covid-19, you notice a lot of small time consuming things: multiple hugs on the way to accept an award, or large groups taking extra time to all get onstage.
Time consuming moments out of the picture, Sharp says he and the team had to spend a lot of time working out logistics - not center pieces and napkin colors, rather technical logistics with acceptors, presenters and hosts all joining from home.
“Working with all the actors, directors, and writers to set up their home web camera or tablets to join us live,” he said.
But like we saw recently with the BET Awards, it’s a chance not only for people in the industry to flex their TV muscles and make the production value outstanding, but also focus on the message…why you’re there in the first place.
“A lot of this is getting back to fundamentals. Honor the talented creators who have put together this great programming. They move a lot more quickly, we’re able to show a lot more of the nominated work because we don’t have to build in that time for transportation around the auditorium,” he said.
Just what award season 2021 will look like, in-person or virtual, remains uncertain. So for now, Sharp's sure all eyes were on the virtual Daytime Emmys show NATAS just produced.
“Last year we changed the envelope design because of a three-hour conversation after the Golden Globes, and we liked how it flipped open. We all watch each other and try to copy from each other where it makes sense,” he noted.
How long until Hollywood can gather in-person again is virtually anyone’s guess.