Interview with Chris Billig

I interviewed Chris Billig, who is the executive producer at TCG Studio. The director and founder of TCG is Thomas Cobb (hints the name: TCG = Thomas Cobb Group). TCG is responsible for the opening credits of Lost, Lie to Me (which was Emmy nominated), Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, 90210, 24, Friday Night Lights and the list goes on and on. Visit their website (the link is above) to check out everything they've done. It is really impressive.

Here's the interview:

1. Can you briefly define your job?
Chris explained to me that he is the executive producer. His job is to find clients, meet with them, talk to them about what they want and develop creative briefs. There are a lot of things to consider, including budget, time, scheduling, overages, etc. After he's hooked the client, the creative director and Chris get together with the client to understand what they are looking for. Chris oversees the job and gives his creative input. He makes sure the client is taken care of.

2. How did you get started in the business?
Chris told me that he majored in history and government in college and moved to LA to go to law school, when he stumbled upon Hollywood. His grandparents wanted him to pursue a trade, like becoming a lawyer or doctor, but he went against that and went into the film/television business. His first job in LA was working as a Production Assistant on Cold Case.

3. Have you ever had to tell someone over you (like your boss) that you can't accomplish an assigned task? How did you do that?
Chris said that if this question is concerning competence - the answer is no. But, if the question is have you had to tell a client no because of the restraints they've put on him, then yes. He gave me an example concerning budget. If a commercial is going to cost $500,000 to make, but the client only wants to spend $50,000 because they could go to India and get a commercial produced for that amount, then he would tell them no, he couldn't do it for $50,000 and to go to India.

4. Do you have any advice for a media student starting?
Chris told me to stay single (he said "I'm joking....kinda") because establishing yourself is a very selfish thing. You have to put in long hours and work harder and longer than anyone else. You won't have time for anyone else. He told me to define and strategize my life/goals, to be realistic but don't compromise and if I have a vision, to go for it. Chris also told me to ask people for help, because no one is going to give me anything. He seemed impressed that I emailed a "dummy" (generic) email address at TCG and contacted me back because he wanted to help. He also told me that you have to find mentors and to stay hungry. If I don't know something, it's okay to say I don't know but I will find out.

Chris was super nice and incredibly helpful. I know I've made a great contact and he will be willing to help me in the future.