We have a unique database which we call our “clear alts”. That is in-house shorthand for “alternative suggestions that have cleared in the past and might be useful for recycling someday.” When we read scripts and find items that might present conflicts, our practice is to send two or three suggestions for alternate names for clients to use instead. This is a huge time-saver for productions that are working with short deadlines. At this point we have, for example, well over 400 periodical titles that have cleared in the past from which we can pick to help expedite a request such as: “We need a fake Hollywood gossip-type magazine title” or “We need a scholarly medical journal to show on the doctor’s desk.” We check eight different sources to make sure that featured periodical titles are fictional, so the more options we have on-hand that worked in the past, the faster (and cheaper) it will be to re-check them and get a quick answer to the art department. They are usually in a hurry!
First published May, 2012