Little People, Snakes, Multiple Births

About a year ago, a cameraman that I was working with told me that a trend in reality TV was stories about little people, snakes, and multiple births. My experience in TV production has yet to involve all three of these story lines but I have had some interesting opportunities.

When I worked as a field producer for TLC’s “The Little Couple,” I met Bill Klein and Jen Arnold who are both under four feet tall. They were considering having children which would be considered a high-risk pregnancy due to their small stature. I conducted the interview of the Perinatologist, Dr. Judith Rossiter, who counseled the TV couple on their decision. It was amazing to witness how Bill and Jen managed their day-to-day lives in a world designed for people over four feet tall. It made me realize all of the things I take for granted: driving a car, ordering at a counter, using a public restroom.

Fortunately, I haven't worked with snakes. I did conduct research on great apes and their habitats at the Jane Goodall Institute and learned about the producing of mammalian wildlife programs. The research was used in the Animal Planet's program, "Hope in Gombe."

With an all Japanese crew, I served as the coordinator and locations manager for their filming of a historical drama, “Sakano Ueno Kumo” that was scheduled to air on NHK (which is the Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It was an interesting shoot. Only one of them really spoke any English, so I spent most of the day nodding my head with a big smile on my face.

I won't be surprised if I see a reality TV show about snake-handling little people with eight children. It'll be interesting to see where the reality TV "trend" will go.