At his computer thirty minutes later, he opened the meeting invitation and introduced himself to the other part of the HomeBuilders production team. Todd was to be his producer and Sherra the writer.
“Great to meet you both. Looking forward to working with you.”
“Same,” Todd told him. “Congratulations on the win. Your tapes are excellent. I just sent you a packet of information, but in a nutshell, here’s what we need you to get started on.”
Sherra picked up the conversation. “Keep in mind you’re not talking to experts. You’re talking to regular homeowners. Think about what they might need to know if they’re planning a renovation. What to look for and consider in terms of materials, structure, trends, things like that.”
Nick nodded. “Sure. Makes sense.”
“Keep it as simple and snappy as possible. Any time you get a chance to be personal on camera, mention a mistake or a preference, do that. It’ll make you more human, and that helps the audience relate to you.”
Snappy…okay. He had a feeling that would happen more off the cuff than in a script.
“Don’t worry too much,” Todd said. “Everything will be edited before airing. So try to be natural. At this point, we need high-level points you want to make.”
“The main things to remember are to have fun and be confident. There’s a sample script and template in the packet.”
Nick nodded. Obviously, he’d need to do a deep dive into that packet.
“One of the easiest ways to get started is to think of a list of dos and don’ts to share,” Sherra added. “People love those, and that’s something we can post on the website, too.”
“Cool. That’s a good idea.” He could do those in his sleep.
“We’d like to get the basic structure and script nailed down this month and begin filming first of April,” Todd said. “Then we can get you back out for any re-shooting in May and the production team can edit and have the episodes ready for early fall airing.”
“We’ll need to get you into the houses before filming of course, so you can familiarize yourself with the spaces.” Sherra began ticking off a timeline and outline of who would do what.
At least that’s what Nick thought he heard. He was having trouble concentrating as his throat tightened. He heard one thing loud and clear. Filming first of April? He swallowed hard as he ran a hand over his jaw. Please don’t let this conflict with Kat’s show.
He absolutely had to be in New York the first weekend of April for Kat’s show. That wasn’t negotiable. He started to clarify, but the woman didn’t take a breath.
Finally, she stopped talking and blinked at him. “You don’t have a problem working weekends, do you?”
Nick cleared his throat. “Not at all. Most of that sounds great. Only potential problem is that I have a previous commitment the first weekend of April.”
Todd and Sherra exchanged a glance then stared at him.
The back of Nick’s neck heated. He hoped they couldn’t see him break out in a sweat. Was the schedule already set in stone? Did they assume he had no other work or obligations?
“Hmmm.” Sherra looked at her papers again. “We’ll lose a day for the travel. All right. Let’s set up travel from here that first Monday. That work for you?”
Her voice was friendly enough, but the raised brows and steely eyes weren’t accompanied by a smile. Nick had the feeling that was the best he could expect. He did tell HBTV on the initial application six months ago, that he had the flexibility to make the schedule work.
“Sure. That’s great.” He breathed a sigh of relief and took a sip of coffee—and decided against mentioning early morning video meetings.
“Just a couple more things,” Todd said. “The dress code. Your sample video looked good, but you won’t need dress slacks or a tie. We want a nitty-gritty working feel, so faded jeans and a work shirt that look like it’s seen better days are great. Rolled up long sleeves tend to look better than short sleeves.”
“You’ll need to look comfortable and confident,” Sherra added. “You’ve got a great smile. Be sure to use it.”
“All of these tips are in your packet. Read it. Refer to it often. It’ll make the process run smoothly.” Todd ping-ponged back in.
Nick figured as producer, Todd was in charge, but the two obviously worked closely together and had been a team before.
“We’ll need your initial thoughts by end of day Wednesday. Just fill out the forms in the packet to get started,” Sherra said.
“No problem.” Aaand…Rebecca Andrews’ mantel just got another couple of days to dry. In his head, he shifted around his calendar and wondered when he’d have time to drop by the shop let alone work any shifts. Or squeeze in another trip to New York before the show.
“All right. We’ll talk again after that. But don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.”
