December Q&A
You asked, and here are our answers!
How long does it take to film a series from start to end? How many days writing vs. filming vs. editing?
Gary Reddin (Script Editor): A whole series can take a long time, it all depends on the number of episodes we write. Our scripts go through a bunch of edit cycles. When I get a script from a writer I will give it a first edit, then it's off to the editorial director for a second edit, and back to me for resolution. After that, it goes off for review from partners, then to fact-checkers for accuracy, and then back to me for another round of post-review edits. All of that can take a few weeks per script. Then, we're still doing line edits/joke edits even at the table read. We want to ensure the script has every opportunity to shine by the time it hits production.
Katie Brink (Production Coordinator): Each episode spends about 6 weeks in scripting, 1 week in production, and 9 weeks in post production. Right now, we have over 100 episodes being actively worked on!
Brandon Brungard (Producer): Each series is also in pre-production for quite a while. Hiring the experts on the team, figuring out the broad strokes of the series, making the syllabus, building the set, designing the graphical identify of the show, performing table reads with the host --- all that stuff can take anywhere from 6 months to even a year before we ever hit the record button.
What's the hardest part of production?
Katie Brink (Production Coordinator): From my perspective as a production coordinator, it's scheduling😅 Making sure everyone has the resources they need when they need them, especially when our team is juggling multiple projects with different needs, is no easy feat!
Brandon Brungard (Producer): Oh yeah, looking at the thousands of deadlines necessary to keep a project on track will really melt your brain!
From my perspective as a producer/director, I think the hardest part of production is visualizing it. There are just so many decisions that go into what we can put on screen and how -- whether it's a photo we licensed or a chart or character we illustrate with the help of our Thought Café team. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the historical record isn't super reliable, and we often find ourselves trying to depict concepts and events that may have never been drawn accurately or fairly.
How do you decide what topic makes a good Crash Course?
Brandon Brungard (Producer): We get this question a lot, and it's tough to answer! Truthfully, I think our topic selection is a reflection of what we have done so far and how the team has grown -- so it's always changing! When we first started making Crash Course we chose series that we thought would be useful, of course, but also selected those topics (Biology and History) because they lined up neatly with Hank and John's experiences. But as the channel has grown and we've been able to bring in so many more passionate voices behind and in front of the camera, so many more topics that didn't seem possible now are. So I suppose a good topic is just one that we feel prepared to make well. (Which is the most non-answery answer ever. Sorry!)