Bruce David Klein

Filmmaker Bruce David Klein founded Atlas Media Corp in 1989. Today, as leaders in nonfiction programming, the independent television company remains dedicated to the development, production and distribution of a variety of nonfiction programming series and specials. Named to the NATPE board in January of 2006, Klein offers advice to budding producers as November’s NATPE Mentor.

N: Does Atlas Media Corp own its programming or is it essentially a work for hire unit?

BDK: Atlas Media is one of the larger independent producers of nonfiction programming, and that’s really our moniker. We specialize in nonfiction programming, producing approximately 200 hours of original programming per year. We’re very much independent and our production takes many forms. The majority of our programming is for cable networks and international partners and the bulk of our productions, about 65% roughly, are co-productions, and around 35% of our programming is work for hire.

N: How did you come to form Atlas Media Corp?

BDK: I started in local television, and at 22 I was program director for an ABC affiliate. Then I helped launched a television station in Long Island, New York, which is now WLNY Channel 55. I was the first program director for that station. As such, I would produce local programming and also acquire syndicated programming. After a couple of years, I thought to myself ‘I can produce this stuff as well if not better than the guys who are selling it to me.’ That was the moment that I decided to flip the equation and went out on my own as an independent producer.

I formed Atlas Media in 1989, starting in the syndication business, where I would literally write, produce and direct every show. I would also clear all the stations and sell all the barter time myself. Then, about a year or two into this venture, cable television really took off. Program buyers from the cable networks really liked our programming and the experience of handing them one tape and them handing me a check and the whole deal was done was pretty amazing, especially in comparison to syndication where you have to deal with hundreds of stations and ad sales. That’s basically what launched Atlas in the sense of who we are today, having grown up with the basic cable industry.

N: In addition to learning you could produce programming better yourself, what else did your experiences in local television teach you?

BDK: I learned how to build programming from the ground up and that the devil is in the details. What words you use, how you set up the shot, the editing process, what music to use, all those little details have a huge impact. If I had started out in a slightly bigger market, where I didn’t have that nitty-gritty hands-on experience, touching every piece of the program, perhaps I would have gone in a different direction. Building a business is about literally 1 million details and making a thousand decisions a day. Because you’re human, you just have to hope that 51% of the decisions are correct at any given time. If 51% are correct, you keep going, and if they’re not, you don’t. That’s basically the margin of difference between success and failure. Having that local television experience, the grassroots, is a very good foundation for running a business, because many local television stations are small businesses.

N: Do young producers have those types of opportunities today, when there’s so much pressure to get it right the first time?

BDK: I’m an optimist. And I know and I’ve seen that there is always an opportunity for talent. Talent bumps every obstacle in its path out of the way. You cannot stop it. For somebody who starts as the fly swatter in a new studio, which I did, all the way up to, well, anything you can imagine, if you show talent, the second there is that spark, people start talking and everything moves away and magically, even when there wasn’t a job there before, it will suddenly materialize. I am a very strong believer in meritocracy and hard work, but talent is talent.

N: What was the most valuable lesson learned early in your career?

BDK: The most valuable lesson to learn is how to maintain the balance and discipline between the two warring factions of having boundless energy and a desire to do everything at once versus the discipline necessary to do one thing really well. As an entrepreneur, and particularly as a television producer juggling 10 or 12 series at once, learning how to negotiate that war between wanting to do it all and really focusing on what you do well and mastering it is a challenge.

N: How do you resolve that?

BDK: It’s never resolved, but you do learn ways around it. As a producer, I look at a rough cut and know that there are 15 things I have to do to improve it from a B+ to an A+ project. Then you think, do I go in and do that, or do I leave it? Or do I give it to someone else to do? These are issues I deal with every day.

N: What advice to you offer budding producers?

BDK: One of the key insights I offer, which I’ve also learned, is to always spend a little now, whether it’s money or time, to make your life better later. That’s very true in production and in life. The natural proclivity is to say I have eight shows now so I’m going to hire enough people or build the company to accommodate eight different series. When in reality, if you’re doing eight series now, you should be resourcing for 10 series so that your growth can be very comfortable. Prepare for growth rather than react to growth. That’s a really important lesson.

Other valuable lessons are: no detail is too small, make yourself indispensable, have no preconceived notions about your responsibilities, and also take on as much responsibility as the boss will give you. Another thing I always emphasize to our interns is to be true to yourself and be honest with yourself. If you really want to direct, try directing. But if you and the people you’re directing don’t have that warm, comfortable feeling, then you need to be honest with yourself and face the fact that maybe you’re not a director. I don’t want to stomp on people’s dreams, because you still can be a director. But you need to make the acknowledgment that if you choose to be or do something that doesn’t come easily for you, you’ll be swimming against the current your entire career. Sure, you can do it, but it’s going to be harder than doing something that perhaps you have a natural affinity for, like production managing. The acknowledgment is key to avoiding frustrations and other limitations to success.