Tight filming schedule results in 'big issues'

A scene from SBS drama “Big Issue” with an unrelated video clip hanging in the left corner, aired on March 21 / Yonhap

By Jung Hae-myoung

The hostile working environment at broadcasters has been pinched as a problem for years, but a recent accident with SBS drama “Big Issue” has proven the problem hasn't gone away.

During the 11th and 12th episodes of the drama aired on March 21, color bars appeared at the beginning, unedited sequences with production notes were visible and scenes without computer graphics inserted were aired without proper editing prior to broadcasting.

“Big Issue” ambitiously launched on March 6, featuring a homeless paparazzi Han Seok-ju (Joo Jin-mo) trying to catch celebrities gambling illegally on a train by request of magazine editor Ji Su-hyeon (Han Ye-seul).

In spite of the hard work of actors and staff members, unprofessional mistakes on the screen made viewers turn their backs.

As the accident became controversial, the broadcaster officially announced it will suspend the show temporarily this week to secure enough time for shooting and editing. For this Wednesday and Thursday, previous episodes will be aired instead.

This is not the only case of a broadcast accident on the small screen in recent years. In 2017, tvN drama series “A Korean Odyssey” also exposed a green screen before computer graphics were added.

Such accidents are often blamed on poor production environment and tight schedules of the Korean drama industry, where script pieces often aren't ready until the day of shooting and filming is continuous with overnight shifts and extremely long working hours.

Lack of preparation to meet aggressive filming timelines has become a general practice for Korean drama crews and scheduling problems remain unsolved. The government enforced to reduce working hours to 52 hours per week, but this has not been applied in practice in the entertainment field yet.

To amend the problem, some production companies introduced a pre-filming system to finish shooting before starting airing, but this was not successful for all cases either.

MBC mini-series “Item” adopted the pre-produced format and was scheduled to film from September 2018 to January 2019, but completion was delayed till March, causing scheduling troubles.

Experts say enough preparation steps for filming to achieve quality is more important than rushing to the deadline.

“The broadcast accident like in Big Issue should not happen unless the schedule is seriously tight,” culture critic Jung Deuk-hyun said. “Most parts of the drama are touched with computer graphics, and it will need even more in the future. These genres of drama need more preparation than before to achieve perfection.”

Production crews raised their voice through interest groups. The Hope Union, a union of broadcast staffers, has demanded the government carry out a special inspection on their working environment, but it has not received a response yet.

“We demanded a fast examination of the labor ministry, but they only sent an official note saying the inspection may get delayed to April 8,” a member of the Hope Union said.

Some broadcasters are bringing positive changes to the scene. “The Light in Your Eyes,” a recent JTBC drama, completed making all episodes before it started airing with a reasonable schedule.

During an interview with the press, actor Nam Joo-hyuk said, “We mostly filmed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and even a few outdoor shootings lasted late at night. We actors could focus on acting with a considerate schedule.”

The drama was received and reviewed favorably as a well-made drama with enough time to work on post-production.