Practical is best

The aspect of my placement which I enjoyed the most was undoubtedly the practical shoots. Over the course of my placement I attended a number real life shoots for a range of projects. This included creation of a sizzle reel, interviews and behind the scenes of events. One which was particularly beneficial to me was a day filming a segment for BBC’s The One Show. 

Below the radar had been commissioned to create a 4 minute segment on point to point horse racing in Northern Ireland for the one show. I was asked to attend as an assistant to the director for the day. My main role throughout the day was to make sure that anyone who appeared on camera signed a consent form and I collected their contact information. 

Aside from this I was a general assistant, getting coffee and tea and helping with carrying the tripods and cameras. 

It was an invaluable experience as it opened my eyes to how much time and effort goes into a 4 minute clip. The team filmed for 3 full days across Northern Ireland and ROI, conducted 10-15 interviews and shot over 2 hours of behind the scenes footage all to be condensed into a 4 minute slot. I look forward to seeing the segment on the BBC.

However, I would say the most valuable part of the day was being able to spend time with the sound operator. I used the time between shooting to ask him as much information as possible about the industry and his suggestions for how to get into it. It wasn’t until after the shoot whilst I was googling his name on IMDB that I noticed he was a big deal. He had done the sound for a number of high end big budget productions and is scheduled to be the sound operator for the upcoming Bladerunner series being filmed in NI later this year. 

I believe networking and asking questions to be a valuable part of the work placement experience. I had the chance on a number of occasions to speak with Micheal the MD of BTR and he was willing to answer any of my questions. This was very beneficial as I learnt the process of how they pitch new tv shows to channels, as well as how they tender for certain calls from the likes of BBC and RTE. One in particular which I helped with in the research was a call for traditional Irish shows with a connection to breads.

Outcome

Overall I have found the work placement a beneficial module as it has allowed me to gain real life experience within a production house and develop a much stronger understanding of how the process of creating a factual TV series is created from start to finish. I would be keen to stay in contact with Michael and the team and hope that they can consider me as a freelance cinematographer for future shoots.