Ask An Assistant: Alyssa Tumale (Post-Production Assistant at CBS's The Drew Barrymore Show)

Alyssa Tumale,

Post-Production Assistant at CBS'sThe Drew Barrymore Show

Hi Alyssa! Thank you so much for sitting down with me. Tell me more about a day in the life of a Post-Production Assistant at the Daytime Emmy-Award-nominated talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show! 

Hi Cathy! Thank you so much for having me! At Drew, I'm in charge of the daily rundown of images, graphics, and videos that roll into the studio during taping. The rundown is used as a reference across various departments for people to check the status of each asset. 

During each tape day, I compile notes given by the Executive Producers, Producers, the legal team, the control room, the Talent team for each guest, and any other contact dealing with each segment. This is a helpful way for the Editors to have every note in one spot in order to help with the Post-Production phase. Additionally, I create the music cue sheets which involves locating the track names, artists, and publishing info for each song and sound effect played during the show. This ensures artists are paid for the use of their work.

I also do various tasks for other departments including assisting the Clearance team with gathering the rights information for photos and clips, helping the Script department with pulling "screen grabs" [i.e. a still image from video footage] from previously taped segments as a reference for continuity, and helping the control room crew by sending them images to be shown on-screen during segments.

My day-to-day goes to show that although your position may be associated with a specific department, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be interacting with and helping other departments daily. We’re all on the same team!

Very true! Between all those tasks, what’s your favorite part of the job? And what attracted you to the world of talk shows specifically?

My favorite part of the job is seeing the audience line up outside the building for the first taping of the day. It’s a gentle reminder that our content matters. People are willing to come from all over just to watch our show, and there are even more fans from across the nation watching from home. What each crew member does has an impact that is far bigger than we realize. 

I used to be (and still am!) one of those people excitedly queuing to see a show. I fell in love with watching talk shows the summer before my first year of high school, and that was my catalyst for wanting to have a career in entertainment. That summer, I watched The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon every weeknight and every season of Saturday Night Live. A big part of what I love about these shows is that I built so many friendships from around the world as a part of a community of people (online) who watched the shows "together" as they aired. This past season, I gave Drew tickets for a friend whom I met on Twitter ten years ago! It’s all come full-circle. 

And you eventually ended up at Saturday Night Live as a PA, so that's full-circle too! You have quite the resume in live TV between SNL, interning at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and your work at Drew. What continues to draw you back to broadcast programming?

There is something very special about live programming in the way that you can count on these shows day after day, season after season. With the same talk show host, or the same cast members, in the same format each episode, you can rely on this structure to greet you each time you put the show on—no matter how crazy your world (and the world!) has gotten.

During college, I took a class called Comedy in America. My 12-page final research paper was on the history of SNL and what has led to its longevity. I concluded the paper with a comparison of SNL to American football, and I think this comparison can be made to broadcast programming in general: Football is a unique American creation that draws influence from different sources (i.e. soccer and rugby), much like how these shows draw influence from different forms of entertainment. The hosts or cast members are like the roster of a football team; we see players come and go. We see new players come in that we aren’t too sure about initially, but we eventually warm up to them once they’ve earned it. We see some players stay on the team for years—perhaps for too long and past their prime—but we still like watching them anyway. We see the same plays used that may or may not have the same success. We see players falter and fall down, sometimes able to recover and sometimes not. We root for the players during their triumphs, and then we trash talk them during their failures.

Each season, we continue to watch the sport / show gathered around the television sets of our living rooms, not because we know for a fact that something exciting will happen each game, but because we’re sharing something. We’re sharing traditions.

Speaking of your fascinating final paper in college (NYU Tisch where you earned a degree in Film & Television), did studying film academically help contribute to your success today? Do you feel that an undergraduate film degree is necessary for an entertainment career?

Studying film academically helped me realize which aspects of film I loved doing and which I didn’t. The undergraduate program consisted of required film classes for its first two years before allowing students to branch out into their chosen electives. I was grateful for this because it let me see filmmaking from every angle, and it’s so helpful working with others when you know what work goes into each position. Each department has its own dialect under the same language. You may understand some words, but it’s important to speak a little bit of everything!

While I don’t think an undergraduate film degree is absolutely necessary for a career in the industry, I do think I wouldn't be where I am without the connections I made at Tisch—both the students I befriended and the professors that mentored me. Having a community where you can share (in every sense of the word) your passions and aspirations does wonders in keeping that fire in you alive.

Heading to NYU, did you know entertainment was always the plan?

While I was watching SNL as a thirteen-year-old, there was a voice inside my head that kept going, “I want to work there someday!” My first step towards that goal was joining my high school’s broadcasting class, and, there, I fell in love with filmmaking as a whole. Throughout high school, and even throughout NYU, I was still trying to figure out which aspect of entertainment that I loved the most—being on set, in a studio, or shooting on location. Although I love it all, it gradually dawned on me that I particularly love the comfort of being in the same studio every day. And that likely harkens back to my high school days of booting up the control room each day for our little morning news show.

Have you had any mentors that have been integral in jumpstarting your career? 

My high school broadcasting and AP Lit teacher, Dana Kling, was really the first person to give me the confidence to pursue a career in entertainment. He recognized my passion, pushed me to do the best I can in every project, and encouraged me from the moment we met. 

I'm also lucky to have two professors in particular at NYU that helped me. My sophomore Sight and Sound film professor David K. Irving was my advisor throughout college and continues to offer career and life advice to this day. Another professor, Eddy Friedfeld, instructed me in Comedy in America. Fast forward two years, and I got an email to interview for SNL. I told Eddy immediately. We both knew how much I wanted that job. Mentorships, just like friendships, will come naturally.

I also need to ask you about your creative pursuits outside of work! You’re actively involved (and talented!) in both photography and music. Tell us more about these passions and how they hone your creativity. 

Outside of work, you can usually find me and my boyfriend at Central Park chasing birds with our cameras when I’m not jamming with other musicians around the city. I’m a bird photographer with prints for purchase, and the bassist for a garage rock band called Alphabet City. It’s so important to ensure you make time for your hobbies outside of work. It’s easy to neglect hobbies while working a full-time job. However, I’m so much happier overall when I’m able to pursue my interests, and I think that makes me more inspired to go to work and get the job done!

Finally, do you have any parting words of advice or wisdom for your fellow Hollywood assistants?

It's okay not to know exactly where you’re headed. The words of Max Ehrmann’s poem “Desiderata” (introduced to me by Mr. Kling!) often echo in my head: “Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” Have faith in yourself. You are on track because each person is on their own track. Just keep going!

Thank you for this interview, Cathy! It was a pleasure!