I Work Hard for the Money

Hi! My name is Elyse Punia, and I am the Producer for Res. Life, a New Television Production. Being the producer officially means that I handle the budget and oversee all aspects of production. Unofficially, I write emails. all day. on special days, I also spend a lot of time on the phone. also all day.

Currently, one of my main projects is balancing the budget. While details will have to remain anonymous, we just received a nice sponsorship from our university that essentially sacrificed one student's tuition. Unfortunately, we are still over budget - a common college student problem. (Note to all readers: Would you like to sponsor a student-run production featuring lots of up and coming future industry leaders? Please contact me at newtv@bu.edu with subject line "I LOVE RES.LIFE!")

Despite our budget concerns, pre-production is running smoothly. Our first open casting call is occurring this weekend, February 23 - 25 at the Boston University College of Fine Arts. For more information, please check out our event on Facebook, or email newtv@bu.edu. The four leads are already cast, which takes a big weight off our shoulders, but the rest of the cast is just as important - watching auditions makes you realize how many talented people there are in the world. And how much they should be in a student-run production about residents' life...wink, wink.

Location scouting is also a high priority. Pat, Darcy and I are working together to find appropriate and available places to shoot. So far, the most difficult will be finding dorm rooms. Building a set is pretty much out of the question, budget-wise, so instead we have to find real places to shoot in during real time - harder than it sounds. Right now, I'm just glad it's supposed to be 45 degrees tomorrow, so I won't be freezing while assessing the usefulness of one dorm room to the next.

Other than the balancing act, casting call and not being cold, Res.Life is going well on the producer-front. My emails keep coming, my phone bill keeps growing, and I'm getting really good at playing with budgeting software. It doesn't get any better than this...

See you soon!
~elyse