| 6 Days to Air | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | 6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park |
| Directed by | Arthur Bradford |
| Starring | Trey Parker Matt Stone Anne Garefino Vernon Chatman Bill Hader Frank C. Agnone II |
| Theme music composer | Joe Wong Didier Leplae |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Arthur Bradford Jennifer Ollman |
| Editors | Chad Beck Bret Granato |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production company | Comedy Partners |
| Original release | |
| Network | Comedy Central |
| Release | October 9, 2011 (2011-10-09) |
6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park (simply known as6 Days to Air) is a 2011 Americandocumentarytelevision film directed byArthur Bradford that details the production process of the Americanadultanimated sitcomSouth Park. The film follows the show's hectic, rushed six-day production schedule, in which a 22-minute episode is completed just hours before its original air date.
The film premiered on October 9, 2011, onComedy Central, and received positive reviews from critics. The documentary was nominated for anEmmy Award in the Outstanding Nonfiction Special category.
The film opens asSouth Park creatorsTrey Parker andMatt Stone leaveNew York City and the 2011 opening night of theirBroadway productionThe Book of Mormon to return toLos Angeles to begin thefifteenth season ofSouth Park. The documentary chronicles the production of the season premiere, "HumancentiPad", beginning the Thursday prior to airing. Parker and Stone, alongside producersAnne Garefino,Vernon Chatman,Bill Hader, and Susan Arneson, discuss ideas for the episode. Parker mentions his annoyance with downloading the latest version ofiTunes, and being forced to comply with the software's long list ofterms and conditions. The rant leads to ideas, with Parker instructing thestoryboard team on how to stage a shot. The film covers various aspects of production, includingvoice acting, animation,lip sync, communication withstandards and practices, character design, and editing.
By the next Tuesday, one day before airing, the staff are preparing for their ritual all-nighter, with Parker and Stone still involved in crafting the episode's plot, and the former still crafting its unfinished script. The episode is completed the following morning just after 7am, with audio and picture lock lasting until the afternoon, after which supervising producer Frank C. Agnone II takes the master tape to a nearby uplink facility, where it is sent toComedy Central in New York hours before it airs nationwide.
Bradford was friends with the duo for nearly 17 years prior, and they had worked together on the programHow's Your News?. Stone initially declined Bradford's suggestion of documenting theSouth Park production process, as they disliked having cameras in the studio, among other reasons. Bradford became involved when they later requested he film a documentary based onThe Book of Mormon. That documentary "ended up not working out," and, combined with the fifteenth anniversary ofSouth Park, "things kind of aligned at that point." Bradford was a fan of the show prior, and felt a license to ask harder questions behind the camera than he would with the duo personally.[1]
6 Days to Air received positive reviews. Ramsey Isler ofIGN wrote that "the greatest success of this documentary is that it gives a personal look inside the bizarre professional lives of two of the entertainment industry's most successful creatives."[2] Neil Genzlinger ofThe New York Times opined that "There are almost as many laughs in [the documentary] as there are in an actual episode ofSouth Park."[3] "You have to admire the intense work ethic driving the show's breakneck production cycle," said Harry Sawyers ofGizmodo. "The story of this single episode's genesis will resonate with anyone who has worked on a team accustomed to long hours and a relentless pace."[4] Phil Dyess-Nugent ofThe A.V. Club was positive in his assessment of the special, noting, "As they stress out and cocoon in their offices and forget what combs are for, you realize how much they must love what they're doing, because nobody would do this just for the money, so long as they already had carfare back home."[5]
The film was nominated for anEmmy Award in the Outstanding Nonfiction Special category.[6]
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