Final Screening

Final Screening today, I have completed my production paperwork and I am really looking forward to viewing everybody’s projects.

I think that the progression on this course from a ‘3 Minute Wonder’ to two ‘5 minute programmes’ and to finish with two ’10 minute programmes’ has been really challenging but has given us quite a broad-overview of the industry and the expectations of the contemporary TV marketplace.

Personally, I think the work that my crew has put into this project has been incredible and I am immensely grateful to all four of them for their efforts, expertise and skill.

Nearly over now guys! :D

Critical Screening

Formative Screening today went really well and we received a lot of positive feedback for our projects. I was really pleased that everyone enjoyed ‘The Unthinkable Truth’ documentary and found Phil to be engaging and entertaining.  With the benefit of the big screen you could really appreciate how well Jim, the editor, has cut this doc in response to contemporary TV, additionally, the final interview with Phil was really worth pushing for at the shoot because Phi is emotional and impassioned and you can really emphasise with him as a contributor.  

Additionally, the BMX documentary has pulled together really well; the tracking shots have added a really ‘expensive’ look to the film and the use of the Birmingham World Championship races is excellent and all credit to James, the Director, for the level of access he gained to film those races. The film has a much more modern and dynamic feel to it than perhaps the ‘Alien’ programme and I think the timing with the start of the London 2012 Olympics makes this film wholly relevant and exciting.

Really happy with the feedback and the work just got to wait for the final screening next week.

BMX, Tracks and Training!

Further travelling and numerous service stations but yesterday we completed the BMX Shoot! This shoot was challenging for everyone involved; it was hard on James as a Director because he had to juggle Directing and recording good sound. It was difficult for Tim and Michaela because they had to handle both the interior stadium environment and the outdoor tracks and my most important challenge was ensuring that we got everything we could out of the interviews and really made the most of the fantastic access we had been granted.

At the National Cycling Centre in Manchester it was brilliant to interview the five Academy riders because we were giving them more media exposure but they already had to some degree some interview exposure so they were pretty comfortable on camera and gave great answers so didn’t need a huge amount of guidance from me.

It was critical, however, during this two shoot that we did not interfere with any of the rider’s training including the training of Team GB’s two Olympic BMX riders this year Liam Phillips and Shaznaze Reade. James and myself were fortunately able to negotiate with Grant Whyte, the Head Coach, that we would be able to film and also that we could have consent for the BMX World Championship races we shot back in May so we’re really grateful to British Cycling, Grant and Marcus Bloomfield, the Academy coach for being so welcoming and supportive.

It was a great experience for James and Tim to have that additional day filming Marcus on his home track; a bit more time, natural light and space to film some really creative and more technical shots!

 At Peckham race track, our contributors were equally obliging and although I had been worried that perhaps C .K. Flash, Peckham’s Head Coach and Quillan Isidore, the current under 16yr World BMX Champion would be reluctant to talk they weren’t; they were completely engaged, enthusiastic and I think natural in front of the cameras.

Our final contributors, Rob Reed and Flo Heft, as well as Flo’s Dad Andy also adapted to interview really well and this was surprising considering the lack of media experience that the three of them had. I did try as much as possible to make them at ease and ask the questions in a way that would allow them to answer naturally but perhaps with the benefit of hindsight it would have been great to have a little more time with these three particularly Flo because she has a lot of content to give.

On the whole, I think the BMX team adapted really well to the variety of situations and issues we had to deal with and I think that it has proved to me the benefit of capturing all and any interview you can in the time you have because you never know what might be needed in the edit.

Aliens, night-watches and stars!

In a whirlwind of activity we have now shot the ‘Mutilation: The Unthinkable Truth’ documentary! The travelling is a bit ridiculous and poor James, camera-operator, must feel like he has driven forever but it is done and we were delighted in that all the contributors were pleased with the experience and are not likely to send extra-terrestrial beings after us!

I had, unfortunately, missed the reccie back in May because I had attended a fantastic networking day with the BBC4 Controller Richard Klein which had been a real insight into the way Controllers select ideas for their channel but, anyway, it had actually proved to be an advantage that I had not attended the reccie because Phil Hoyle, founder of the Animal Pathology Field Unit, (The APFU) had been pleased to have a new person to discuss his research, theories and evidence with.

The Hoyle family were an absolute treat to work with and although I had been concerned that maybe Carol and Jason, (Phil’s wife and son) would not be on camera they agreed and really added another level of depth and perspective on the Phil’s story and search for the ‘truth about aliens.’

In a sense, the greatest problem for us as a crew was sifting through the sheer volume of information and selecting the best bits we needed and although if I am completely honest I do feel that a few tricks were missed, on the whole the project has made a subject that is quite multi-faceted and in-depth into something entertaining and understandable so I am delighted by that.

On reflection, I do wish we had more time to reccie the other contributors, for example, Matt Sanders the APFU photographer was great at interview and it would have been good to have gleamed more information from him.  Additionally, I feel that perhaps sometimes the focus was a little Phil-centric but on the whole the whole crew has left with a positive impression of the experience and it will be fantastic to see this in the edit suite.

Work Experience Fortnight!

Well, I have had a really busy two weeks, in the first week I was given the opportunity to work in the development department at Twofour in London which was a really fantastic experience because I had neither worked with a team of development producers before nor had I been part of an office of professional programme makers so this was a great insight into working practice and ideas generation.

I had a lot of research to do that week which I really enjoyed also I was able to participate in a brainstorming session for a new programme and contribute ideas for talent and titles for shows that Twofour are currently developing. Additionally, getting the chance to talk to the development team about the programmes we’re making on the course was a real bonus and I am returning to uni with lots of ideas and a much more realistic view of the TV industry as a whole.

Immediately, after this I attended a networking event in London with the Royal Television Society which was superb. I was really nervous to be faced with meeting five commissioners at the top of their game, as well as Theo from Dragon’s Den, but they were all really accommodating and friendly in answering my questions and letting me hang around for a bit! (Never have I wished to be more knowledgeable in my entire life!)

Then to round the fortnight off I did four days of casting for Twofour which involved travelling all around Cornwall and handing out leaflets to get people interested in participating in a show for the Discovery Channel. Then, I also did a day working on the Hotel Inspector at the Meudon Hotel which I loved and I can promise is going to be an absolutely fantastic episode when it airs in mid-August. (Do watch because I was nearly crying with laughter at a couple of points and the hotel owners are absolute gems anyway. :D)

So busy time for me but a bit disappointing in that I did unfortunately miss filming with the BMX team at the Birmingham BMX World Championships but I am really excited to see their footage and to getting shooting for the two documentaries.

Productions greenlit and roles set in stone

Well we did the pitches today and the relevant projects have been selected for Unit 160; of the two pitches I participated in, ‘Mutilation: The Unthinkable Truth’ was successful and ‘Bionic Man’ was unsuccessful. L

Our ‘Executive Producers’, Jane and Mel, felt that ‘Bionic Man’ was too one-dimensional and would not work if we did not get access to EKSO Bionics where our key contributor David Follett was product testing a bionic suit. I feel that we probably would have been granted access and actually David would have made a compelling character and a wonderful ‘Extraordinary Me’, however, this is the reality of television that not all your ideas will get through and all art is subjective.

‘Mutilation: The Unthinkable Truth’, or ‘Alien Hunters’ as I have been calling it, will be made though, and the key points from the Execs was to look for younger contributors and to focus on creating a sensitive and well-rounded portrayal of the contributors, who let’s face it might be difficult for a lot of people to empathize with!

So having lost one project, I have now moved onto another and I will now be producing ‘BMX: Hoodies to Heroes’ which is an insight into the world of pro-BMX racers through the eyes of the youngest up-and-coming riders. I am really intrigued by this project and I feel it will not only make a great ‘First Cut’ but also will be incredibly suitable for the Channel 4 demographic and schedule.

A couple more things….

I feel I have not elaborated on why I have not been more forth-coming with my own ideas, contributors and projects (because there are a few on the back-burner and sometimes my head feels like it’s overflowing with ideas)

Well, I feel that I rugby-tackled the last module in that I ended up working on four different productions, two projects as a Director, one project as a Producer and one project as a 1^st AD. So this time, I feel I really want to engage with the role of the Producer and yes work really hard and support my team but also really process rather than hit things full on with extreme impact. (Think bear-hug not rugby tackle.)

Additionally, to turn up in industry with a plethora of ideas can only be a good thing; be prepared TV...

(However, still might be tempted into directing the TV Studio thing on the 17th, did love studio last time, but we'll see how we go and what other interest is out there.)

Also, I did want to quickly add we had a really good talk from Dogbite Films the other day.

It is so brilliant to hear that there are really people out there actually trying to build the Cornish film industry not trying to rip us out of £1.87million! (Remember that story? What a travesty.)

All the best of good luck to the Dogbite team.