As a producer and provider of production services in Israel, I am always on the lookout for that one ultimate shoot that captures the breathtaking beauty of Jerusalem. No crew leaves Israel without filming in Jerusalem, and through all the years that I have been providing professional production services in Israel, no crew has left untouched by the city’s history, monumental architecture and eternal spirit.

I have compiled a list of locations across the city of Jerusalem, which offers you the best panoramic shots. I regard this list as unfinished – even after many years of producing and filming in Israel, there will always be a new spot with a good angle that offers great light and a stunning view.  

Kibbutz Ramat Rachel

At this Kibbutz you can find a lookout point with wonderful views of the city, stretching all the way to Bethlehem, the Herodian, and the Judean hills. When you reach the Kibbutz you make first a left and then a right. From the parking lot you continue to a small amphitheater, and at the edge you will find this enchanting hidden lookout.

The Haaz Promenade

This promenade is located in the Talpiot neighborhood, just ten minutes from the town center. It offers a great lookout point over the old city of Jerusalem, the Hinnom Valley, and the ruins of the City of David. The promenade is also known as Tayelet, and in fact there are three different promenades to discover. Film crews travel here often to catch a good shot in the afternoon sunlight.

The Y.M.C.A.

In the town center on King David street, across from the famous King David Hotel, you find the Y.M.C.A. hostel which offers a remarkable balcony with wonderful views of the old city, the new city and the Mount of Olives. When filming in Israel, film crews often look for symbols of the three religions and this is definitely a location to visit.

The Jerusalem Municipality Building

The building is located right in the center of town in Jaffa Street. If you take the elevator to the sixth floor you will find a wonderful panoramic balcony looking out to the east and the west of the city.

Mount Scopus

On your way to Mount Scopus, every point on the road around the Hebrew University provides you with a view of the old city and the Judean Desert. The lookouts also offer an almost birds eye view of the old city. This is the highest and closest point from where you can observe the old city: 830 meters above sea level.

Mount of Olives

Some say that the view at the Mount of Olives is the most beautiful in the world. The lookout terrace is on top of the mountain under the Seven Arches Hotel and above the large Jewish cemetery. During sunset and sunrise the city is painted in different shades of red, yellow, pink and orange and the Dome of the Rock sends rays of color all over the city. Shooting at the Mount of Olives when filming in Israel helps you to understand where the phrase ‘Jerusalem of Gold’ comes from. It is an unforgettable experience for thousands of filmmakers who travel to the Holy Land every year for filming in Israel.

The Tower of David

The Tower of David is located next to Jaffa Gate, the busiest and most well-known gate of the old city. The top balcony of the Tower of David provides a stunning 360° view of the old city and the new city. Filming at the Tower of David is a great location for film crews coming from overseas for filming in Israel. 

As mentioned above, this list is unfinished. Filming in Israel, and especially filming in Jerusalem, is a journey that takes you to surprisingly beautiful locations even after years. For anyone interested in further information about filming in Israel, I recommend our website http://www.biblicalproductions.com/index.htm with a comprehensive location guide to the best filming locations in Israel.

“Mein Hund möchte eine Schinkenrolle bitte.”* While I’m sure common phrases uttered in Austrian crime series Inspector Rex may not have helped me navigate the Viennese transport system, they did at least prime my ears to understand when to get off for the “Volksoper”. Watching non-English speaking television has benefits beyond mere entertainment. As multicultural TV channel SBS says, to ‘be a citizen of the world’ means making an effort, and for those of us who cringe at the idea of language classes or car radio cassettes in rush-hour, plain old television osmosis-learning is a fun way to gain entrée into faraway lands.

Every day, Australians watch an average of 3 hours 7 minutes of TV, but few of us watch non-English speaking/foreign need-to-read-that-yellow-text kind of entertainment as shown by SBS, who in 2007 ratings, had a market share of 5.5% . SBS broadcast more than half their programs in over 60 non-English languages and have more than 400 international and local program sources including dramas and comedies from countries such as Denmark, Austria, Italy, and Russia. Some notable shows include the crime/drama series of Unit One from Denmark, which won an Emmy in 2002, the Austrian crime series Inspector Rex, with a team of detectives and their sleuthing German Shepherd, and the Italian ladies of romantic drama Shopgirls.

So in all those hours of plasmatic light or cathode rays with noise blaring from endless Harvey Norman ads, why should one flick the switch over to a foreign TV show for entertainment? Surely the effort of having to READ is just too much after a day at work. Au contraire, the reading bit is easy. And there are so many more benefits of watching foreign television that won’t happen with another Friends re-run, which is just a saga of who will hook up with whom and in the end maybe Phoebe and Joey should have too just to give us that snuggly feeling.

**What is good TV anyway?

The contented sighs one might have when protagonists finally “get it on” are a sign that TV had an effect beyond a mere advertising medium. The ingredients for a good TV show have the aim of tasting good; of entertaining you. To hold audience attention, a TV show must have certain essential ingredients: a good script, good acting and believable characters. You know, those shows that make you believe “Hey it’s Rachel!” Rather than “Hey, it’s Jennifer Aniston who married then divorced Brad Pitt and had a string of mediocre romantic comedies.” Character not celebrity. Good TV ingredients can be sprinkled among many cuisines with varying degrees of taste, whether it be the Aussie barbie of Neighbours, the British beef wellington of The Bill, or the foreign fricassee of shows on SBS.

**Why bother to learn another language?

So what, you reckon TV is only for having a few laughs or drooling over the latest in it-girls and spunky boys, why bother learning more words in some other language? People sprechen zee English pretty much everywhere these days. This may be so, but the natives appreciate any effort foreigners make to learn the lingo, or at least try to pronounce the words. Imagine the oft-reported scenario of French waiters cocking their head in mock confusion over your rounded ays and arrs of hybridised “le water glug-glug le please”. Until they realise you’re from Australia and then that the bottle of six Euro water is proffered to thirsted tongues. The renowned arrogance of the English and Americans of refusing to even say please - even in English - have hardened the garcons and gaullish gals to defend their language behind a protective sheet of fillo pastry.

The easiest of the languages to pick up casually from TV are the European ones, as they don’t rely on tonal variations or squiggly writing.

But what does learning a language really mean? There’s writing, speaking and listening – for sure watching foreign TV you won’t learn how to write the little umlauts and cedillas and which way the thingee goes over the e, but the most important element of languages is being about to speak and understand.

So, when in Rome as they say…

**Learn to Speak and Pronounce

And in Rome you may be, but reading out words from a language dictionary sounds like Dame Edna trying to sing the Marseillaise. So there’s the first benefit learning another language - charming the natives so you won’t end up with overcooked snails thrown petanque style at your backpack.

No doubt the community class German tutor I had went home to a bottle of schnapps to dull the pain of two hours of cringeworthy ocker-isation of his language. “Vass ohben in douitzland see fet swyne mitt hunndden alls swestern ist” - which, if you could be understood by confused Berliners - would earn a mighty slap with some of their bratwurst and perhaps a jail sentence (what’s up in Germany you fat pigs with dogs as sisters). Do you think someone would serve you at Oktoberfest with that accent? Kein Malzbier for du. So that’s why, while sitting on the couch having a laugh, or biting your nails in suspense, your brain is picking up on the tongue-twisting utterances of another land. You hear what is right, and that safeguards against embarrassing faux pas. Just imagine “What would Moser from Inspector Rex say right now.” If you’re pretending to be Inspector Rex himself, the rest is easy. Woof will suffice.

**Learn to listen at real pace

Hearing the natural conversations of native speakers also helps to comprehend a language – those cringe-worthy classroom read-alouds stumble on cedillas and circumnavigate through ^ circumflex thingees. The real world is fast and full of slang that would never mention “baladeurs” in the age of iPods - so don’t bother with your high school language tapes, which were dumbed down for hormonally impaired students anyway. Listening to another language from natives accustoms you to the express train pace of colloquial speech; helpful for those frazzled moments at ticket booths and checkouts.

**Learn about culture

So, you can sprechen and you can comprende, but the most useful element of foreign TV is the visual element, sort of like looking up swear words in the dictionary at home because they’re not in the study curriculum. Foreign TV gives a backdoor tour that travel brochures photoshopped to paradise perfection won’t show. For example, one could surmise that the Viennese police all drive the latest in Audis or Alfa Romeos, generally live on a diet of ham rolls, and mental patients are treated with the civility of English Lords. And that in Denmark, murders are freaky, everywhere is within one hours’ drive of Copenhagen and interrogating prisoners without a lawyer is no worries as long as you cloud the cramped room with a fog of cigarette smoke. How true this is to real life, I am yet to find out, but watching the landscape used in the show makes me want to go there. Yes, most of the time Denmark looks dreary, windy, and cold, but the homes are exquisite, the streets look clean and they eat danishes, albeit not the ones we’re used to. Every episode of Inspector Rex is a travel spruik for Vienna, even the one in the sewers (typical Austrians, one could eat a schnitzel of those floors). So strong was the love of Inspector Rex that I diverted part of a holiday for four days in Vienna, to have a Rex experience. The hours of dogged detective work helped me to know where the public transport went, that “Prater” fun park was quietest on Mondays and that ham rolls could be found as easily as beer at an Oktoberfest. There’s even an Inspector Rex tour, with your own German Shepherd escort. Watching foreign television also gives a hint at what white-teethed preppy travel hosts won’t show you; the drug scene, the dodgy areas, the racial tensions and role expectations. Stilettos not sneakers while shopping, as shown in the Italian series Shopgirls, which illustrates a point that European women make an effort to look fabulous even when buying milk.

Remember though that even European ladies might succumb to ugh boots in winter, so it’s worthwhile to keep a sceptical raised eyebrow. Sort of like questioning American TV shows and how a chef and a waitress could afford a massive New York apartment, or that all lifeguards have minimum double D buoyancy devices or six-pack washboard stomachs.

The couch potato lifestyle can be pommes frites fabulous by watching foreign TV shows – the sights, sounds and speech will filter into your brain and itch your credit card to rack up some frequent flyer points. So beam that TV remote to foreign television to become a citizen of the world and learn that yes, you can buy ham rolls for dogs in Vienna.

*Note: I fully admit that any foreign language in this article is most likely grammatically incorrect, but hey, at least I gave it a go.

References:

SBS FAQ, 2002, SBS, http://www20.sbs.com.au/sbscorporate/index.php?id=380

List of Australian television ratings for 2007, 2007, Wikipedia,, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_television_ratings_for_2007

Bob Peters, Free-to-air television: Trends and issues, 2005, Australian Film Commission, http://www.afc.gov.au/gtp/wftvanalysis.html

Despite popular (and fairly legitimate) concern, it definitely is possible to write for TV if you are based in New York rather than Los Angeles. There are some shows that staff and shoot there, of course, like Law & Order, many talk shows and the soaps (see partial list below). And with a connected Los Angeles agent and some well-timed trips to the Coast, hour-long drama assignments for L.A.-based shows also could happen at the freelance level. This would be pretty tough, but this is Hollywood, so nothing is impossible, right? Yes, ultimately, you will want to live here in L.A. to take advantage of the bulk of work being here. But you don’t need to live here to get hired. You just need to meet the right people who do.

If you haven’t already, a good way to get into the networking mix while you’re in NYC is to join an organization like the Producers Guild East or the NATAS (the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) if you have enough credits (or as an associate if you don’t), or the IRTS (International Radio & Television Society Foundation), which has outstanding educational and networking seminars with both East and West Coast execs throughout the year.

Now for the recon. Here are the TV shows currently produced in NYC:

PRIMETIME TV SHOWS:

$9.99

American Justice

Backdrop NYC

Behind the Label

Black Donnellys

Blueprint New York City

The Bridge

City Classics

Cool in Your Code

Dateline NBC

Eat Out NY

Fashion in Focus

Fashion Week in Focus

Full Frontal Fashion

Inside the Archives

It’s My Park

Knights of Prosperity

Law & Order

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Media 3.0 with Shelly Palmer

New York 360

New York Noise

NYC Paradetown USA

NYC TV Presents

Primetime Live

Rescue Me

Reservations Required

Secrets of New York

Six Degrees

The Sopranos

Summer in the City

Videofashion! News

What’s Cooking at Gracie?

20/20

30 Rock

48 Hours

60 Minutes

DAYTIME & LATE NIGHT TV SHOWS:

All My Children

As The World Turns

Between the Lions

The Early Show

Entertainment Tonight

Fox and Friends

Good Day New York

Good Morning America

Guiding Light

Inside Edition

In the Mix

Judge Hachett

Late Night with Conan O’Brien

The Late Show with David Letterman

Live From Lincoln Center

Live with Regis and Kelly

Martha

Maury Povich Show

The Metropolitan Opera

The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet

Montel Williams

Newshour

NFL Today

One Life to Live

The People’s Court

Reading Rainbow

The Rachel Ray Show

Saturday Night Live

Sesame Street

The Today Show

The View

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

CABLE TV SHOWS:

Art in the 21st Century

A&E Biography

American Morning

Anderson Cooper 360

The Backyardigans

Bloomberg LP

Blue’s Clues

Blue’s House

Blue Collar Style

Broadway: The American Musical

Change of Heart

The Charlie Rose Show

Cheap Seats

CNN

CNN Presents

The Colbert Report

Cold Pizza

Consumer Reports TV News

Court TV

Cold Case Files

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

“E” Television Special

Egg the Arts Show

Emeril Live

Food Nation with Bobby Flay

Go Diego Go

History vs. Hollywood

Howard Stern

In a Fix

Inside the Actors Studio

Isaac Mizrahi Show

The Movie Mission

Newsnight with Aaron Brown

Nick News

Now with David Brancaccio

Paula Zahn Now

Project Runway

Room Raiders

Total Request Live

U Pick Live

VH1 Top 20 Countdown

Weekend Today

What Not to Wear

The Wonder Pets

With this list in hand, a few (okay, A LOT OF) clicks at IMDb.com will let you know what production companies run these shows and the names of the showrunners, so you’ll get a sense of what names to check for when you see industry seminars, panels and other events happening. And if you do get to meet them, while most would not take a spec, all will tell you who the top 3-5 agents/agencies are that they are open to take scripts from. And that will help focus your efforts on the rep front, as well.

The rules from there are the same as they are here. Have 2-3 excellent spec scripts for current shows. You can’t send a spec to that actual show, so you’ll want options to get into the door at multiple productions. Second, don’t set your sights on getting staffed immediately or nothing. I want you to start as a staff writer, but a freelance assignment is a great in (and a coveted one - these are competitive and often are favors). And the writer’s assistant, as abused and unloved as this poor schlub is, is often the first one to fill an open staff seat.

Once again, it looks like a lot of work and waiting to get to the pot of Hollywood gold, yes? Of course it is! But it certainly is worth it if you can make it into the handful of writing positions on shows back East or here in Los Angeles. People manage to do it every year. I hope you do, too.