First appearing on FOX's airwaves in 2002, American Idol 's emergence marked the start of the newest fad in reality television: a near re-incarnation of Star Search where contestants competed against each other in front of a small panel of critical judges and a voting audience. Since the show's inception, its style has been emulated by a number of different programs in the genre, including NBC's America's Got Talent and FOX's So You Think You Can Dance . Following this well-beaten path is this summer's latest Idol doppelganger, On The Lot ; which, instead of crooners and belters competing in a singing battle royale, pits filmmakers head to head to see who can create the best and most compelling movie. The prize: a one million dollar development deal with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios.
It would appear to be an attractive concept: a prime-time show where the movies are brought right into your living room, a summer blockbuster celebrating the summer blockbuster. Unfortunately, the show's ratings have been locked into a death spiral, unable to benefit from airing in tandem with ratings juggernauts like FOX's House or the aforementioned Idol . The judges have been panned as diet versions of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, and weaknesses in the show's presentation have been widely pointed out.
“I think what On The Lot is missing is how directors deal with situations where they're working under pressure, like dealing with actors or if they're about to lose a location,” says Alicia Ferraro, a production coordinator with Eminence Front Productions in Los Angeles . Although the show allows the audience a glimpse into the personality of each contestant, it does so on the shallowest of terms: much like its reality television forebears, the focus is placed squarely on the finished product, not the creative process, and each contestant is allowed about a minute of face time before and after each presentation.
Although that's enough time to gauge somebody's ego levels, the filmmaker's performance behind the scenes is never seen by the audience. “All of those things that happen on the set, how do they deal with that?” asks Ferraro. Having worked in a stage manager-esque role on a couple of films, including Knight to F4 and The Oakley Seven , Ferraro has seen plenty of off-camera drama, drama she feels would help boost the popularity and credibility of the show. “Right now, I have no one to root for,” she says.
The show's inability to give a better look behind the scenes leaves a little bit of ambiguity about the finished product as well. “I'm not even sure that the stuff they're showing right now is the stuff they're making or the stuff they made before the show,” says Don Swanson of Spruce Films. Swanson has filmed a number of shorts, including Suddenly Shay , which took second place for best horror short at the 2004 Cleveland Indie Gathering. Swanson also has some concerns about the filmmakers themselves.
“I don't think any of them are outright bad,” he says, “but some of them seem to be rehashing. They do it well, but there's no personal signature.” He adds that much of what he's seen so far resembles shorts you would access via YouTube or download onto a Blackberry. However, he has enjoyed the work of Zach Lipovsky thus far. Lipovsky, 23, of Vancouver , is a special effects editor who has used his background to create some incredibly dazzling animation in his films.
Despite his misgivings, Swanson does hope On The Lot succeeds. “The filmmakers should be judged on their work, but the show's structure cheapens it and makes it feel like a knock-off of a knock-off of American Idol ,” he says. His thoughts? Move the show to the Bravo network, and restructure the show's makeup so the contestants' behind the scenes work is more prevalent. He also believes that On The Lot 's official website (www.thelot.com) is a phenomenal tool, noting that it's helped him exchange ideas with a number of different, interesting filmmakers.
Besides being able to watch clips or entire episodes of the show and post on the forums, site members can upload their own films for the viewing public. There's even a classifieds section which is quite similar to craigslist.org, although it's quite under-utilized.
In order to be considered for acceptance onto the show, contestants had to submit a short film displaying their talent. After fielding over 12,000 entries, the field was whittled down to fifty by the first episode. These finalists were then subjected to a three round audition, where assignments included pitching a movie using a given logline, and breaking off into groups to film a short in 24 hours. This thinned out the crowd even more, from fifty contestants to eighteen. The remaining contestants are currently screening their solo projects, with one elimination per week.
Dan Dowding, 21, a student studying at the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design, has been making film since freshman year of high school. “I wanted to take the video production class offered and was very interested in making films,” he says. “I developed a passion for editing which then grew.” Since that point, he dove headfirst into the industry, having won a number of 24 hour film competitions as well as owning his own film company, Escape Entertainment.
Hearing about the On The Lot competition through a friend, Dowding sent in a trailer for a project he had been working on. Shortly thereafter, he received a phone call informing him that his entry was accepted, and he would be moving on to the next round. His next assignment: complete a short film based off of one of three given loglines. The finished product, a short entitled “Rise”, was submitted. Unfortunately, Dowding was informed that he had been eliminated, just before the first episode of On The Lot .
Since then, Dowding says he hasn't followed the show at all. “I was never into American Idol , or any other reality TV shows for that matter,” he says. “I feel like there are some very talented filmmakers on the show, and then I also feel that some of the people on the show were only chosen because of their personalities and charisma.” Still, he is confident in the producers' abilities to create a compelling program that allows for a good deal of creative license.
The experience hasn't slowed him down either, having recently worked as assistant director for a music video by Grammy award winning artist Killer Mike. Dowding is optimistic about his future prospects, saying he hopes to complete a feature film with US distribution by the age of 30. He also hasn't ruled out another crack at the On The Lot competition: “Who knows? Maybe The Lot will call me back for the second season,” he says.
Dowding's two competition shorts, “Rise” and the trailer for “RED”, are up for viewing at Escape Entertainment's website, www.escape-entertainment.com.
