Rob Pagetto - Producer Cred.

Rob Pagetto. Where do I begin? Actually, even before I begin I can hear him giving me his list of credits and credentials in this biz (he is a good self-promoter for certain). Okay, I know. Rob Pagetto is an outstanding Producer. There. That's a good start because if it is produced at RedFish, the likelihood that Rob was the Producer on the project is almost 100%. He is the machine that we turn on when we go into production. From soup to nuts (and he is nuts!) Rob is who we rely on to make sure the show, commercial, event actually comes together. He and his team of super-energized APs are the first there, and the last to leave on everything we make.

I remember Rob calling me one day and I asked him in passing how things were going. His response lives with me still to this day: "Great. I just got the cocktail wieners and the sumo suits don't smell that bad so we are good to go. Oh, and we go the Borat Bathing suits we needed." We needed those? Who knew? Rob did and that's the point. As an executive producer you can only hope that the vision you are promising a network, a client or even talent will execute perfectly. Rob answered that call in my world a lot of years ago now. Since that time we have made over 100 commercials, almost 100 episodes of TV and countless corporate events and projects. He rarely gets upset. He always gets excited. That is the ultimate recipe for good morale on set, perfect execution of the project, and a happy client and crew who will return the next time the need arises.

I tip my hat to Rob. He is an huge amount of fun. He is a pillar in our business. I wish him a Happy New Year. Check your schedule...we are in production right now Rob! No rest for the wickedly funny, sorry bud. I know you would have it no other way.

You know, he was on YTV for a lot of years as a host?

Sometimes we forget that Rob is talent, too.

But not too often because he is a good reminder!

Here is a one last thing about Rob: Look for him as the HOST (yes, host) of THE LAST THREE coming to Canadian airwaves this summer.

Andrew's Studio Adventures

Andrew Newton is a man of systems. He envisions how things will work, he plans what has to be done to make it work and then he figures out how to do it when Tarik sees the budget and cuts it in half! This is a very special skill Andrew has.

A bit of background, Mr. Newton is a design grad, so he has an eye for imagery and space. He graduated and got what all respectable graphic design grads get... he was A&R'd by Nettwerk Records digital division, Nettmedia, and got a job at that prominent music label. Nettmedia placed Andrew at their client EMI Music to teach them about this new thing to them called the Internet. As a web savant in the early, early days of internet broadcast he ran the ongoing broadcast at Virtually Canadian (The worlds first 24/7 online radio station). After that for years Andrew sold digital marketing solutions to agency's and publishers; while planning his next big move. During this time Andrew honed in on a trend that was not nearly the buzz-word it is today-SEO. Andrew approached me with a rich SEO idea and I said: "Enough of that...let's make TV shows..." He has been around in the reaching-masses biz as a lead-thinker for a long time.

Now Andrew is our General Manager. This means he is in charge of everything that gets produced from a delivery-perspective. From studio shoot to satellite feed, Andrew is the guy who runs the show.

This interview should be interesting because I drive him crazy and this is the last thing he wants to do today. He is a pretty busy guy.

Andrew!!! Andrew....got a sec?

Andrew: "No."

Mike: "Catch you later?"

Andrew: "No."

I have a plan to get this interview...Chocolate. Off to Mac's for a treat....

Mike: Hey Andrew... What made you decide to get into broadcast production?

Andrew (eating chocolate like a bat eats a grape) : "You did. Remember?"

Mike: Oh, yeah.. What do you remember the early days of RedFish being like.

Andrew (laughing): I don't remember them.

Mike: All a blur, huh?

Andrew: Crunching numbers in Tarik's office about a project we are still working on called Broadcast SEO. Do you have any idea how relevant that search string will become?

Mike: What have we done since then? That you can recall in less than 15 seconds. Go!

Andrew: (laughing). We went from making commercials you would see on WUTV in 1988 to a company that just won an international award for a commercial we produced about Gonnorrhea...and somehow we have produced 54 half-hour TV shows that are pretty compelling; and 26 that are dry, yet informative. We have come a long way.

Mike: What made you first believe we were going to pull this off?

Andrew: That's not a fair question. You didn't even know this was going to happen. You just needed something to sell (laughing).

Mike: How did we build a sound stage in 14 days to get ready to shoot Man-up!?

Andrew: You grinding us. You drove us. Although people love me at first, it soon becomes apparent that I expect results.

Mike: But you had a plan.

Andrew: Sure I spent three fucking months planning every nut, every bolt, every squirt of green glue. Then, of course, Tarik said, "No. Do it for half". ...and it still kicks ass!

Mike: Brag a bit about it.

Andrew: Well....it is built for sound. For such high and open working space, there is almost no reverberation. We are in a reasonably size space, we can handle over 24,000k of lights, we shoot live to drive with as many as 5 cameras. We hit ground running 14 days after we started building the studio because we had to. Now we have an excellent studio space for rent, did I mention its air-conditioned? End of story.

Mike: What are your pride points in the company?

Andrew: I like the executive. I like the creative nature of the company. All the problems I will ever have at work revolve around how many tools I want us to have and the scope of our projects will dictate that I get the tools I need when I need them.

Mike: What does the future hold?

Andrew: More entertainment. The only thing the future wants is more entertainment.

And you will find it starting November 22 at 6:30 on SunTV. Good plug?

Mike: Brilliant. How was my interview?

Andrew: Not bad. I'm not a real fan of "what the future holds" kind of questions. Can I go back to work now?

Well that's Andrew for you, folks. Gotta love him. He is a good and honorable man. I hope you have the privilege of working with him soon.