TV & Me with Producer/Director Gabe Crozier

TV & Me with Producer/Director Gabe Crozier

This week, Self-shooting PD, Gabe Crozier, discusses his career in television and commercials, including filming ladies legs all day to ITV’s Storage Hoarders.

How are you able to adapt yourself between working as a DV Director and Self shooting PD?
I enjoy DV directing for all the reasons any self-shooting director would. Having creative freedom to create a narrative and visual design, as part of my contribution to the episodes I shoot and direct within is challenging and exciting. As a self-shooting PD, I get more involved in the strategy of narrative and story development, be it in a reactive sense on a shoot day or in pre-production within scripting. I’m supporting and guiding a small team of shooters and will grab a camera too as and when required. So adapting between DV Directing and Self-shooting PD is a mental step between translating a script to screen and creating and nurturing a script to screen.

What made you progress into becoming a shooting PD, rather than a PD?
The idea of a shooting PD appealed over a PD role in that I personally love being on-set and active. Having the opportunity to be part of the story-telling process as it happens and pick up a camera and help shape the vision is a must to me. Depending on the show treatment, I may be shooting a lot in a day or just occasionally – but either way I am at the coalface and immersed in the team effort.

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TV & Me with Location Manager Steve Ballantyne

TV & Me with Location Manager Steve Ballantyne

This week we talk to Location Manager and Fixer, Steve Ballantyne, on the challenge of working in difficult environments, finding that perfect location, and his move to Asia.

You live in Hong Kong – how have you had to adapt your career to work around this?
My move to Hong Kong was actually adapting my personal life to work around my career – from day one I have chosen to work on productions filming in remote locations across Asia. I was originally working from London which did give me direct access to clients but restricted me on my ability to develop knowledge and to gain further valuable experience in the countries I wanted to support productions in, moving to Asia was always on the cards and inevitable to support my career plans in both managing the logistics for filming projects and my own personal interest in exploration.

What prompted the move to Hong Kong?
Initially, I had planned to move to Papua New Guinea, a country I still have a strong and very close affiliation to. However, PNG was just one country of many I wanted to work in, so I set my sights on either Hong Kong or Singapore as both have booming production industries. I finally chose Hong Kong for its close association to China and the countries it borders – I also felt Hong Kong was quirky enough to match my personality. I love the buzz of city life which is where I keep my office but I live out on Lamma Island and have chosen a home in the mountains. I love the contrast of life and the gateway living in Hong Kong gives me to provide production companies comprehensive logistical support in a range of countries across Pacific, Central and East Asia.

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TV & Me with Series Producer Jo Bishop

TV & Me with Series Producer Jo Bishop

This week, BAFTA-nominated Series Producer, Jo Bishop, discusses her career in television.

What made you want to specialise in making Factual Entertainment television and Observational Documentaries?
I started out in radio, making documentaries and social action campaigns for younger audiences on Radio 1. It wasn’t just the subject matter that needed to capture their attention but the approach. When I moved to TV seven years later, my style of programme making seemed to fit across both camps – entertainment and factual.

Amongst many other accolades, you have received two BAFTA nominations. What are the key skills involved when trying to convey a compelling story?
I don’t think I will ever stop learning from others and trying to improve on my storytelling skills, but I think compelling factual storytelling works in the same way as fiction. You need a unique angle or focus, a story that works on a number of levels, emotional drama and an element of surprise with twists and turns as the story unfolds. In observational docs you should be able to able to peel back your characters to enable the audience to make some emotional connection or at the very least have some understanding so they want to find out more.

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TV & Me with Production Manager Sonia Caller

TV & Me with Production Manager Sonia Caller

This week, Production Manager, Sonia Caller, discusses the challenges of dealing with contributors and handling multi-million pound budgets.

You have done a lot of location shoots across the world – where has been your favourite place and what are the main factors and challenges that need to be considered when filming abroad?
Filming overseas has its own challenges. What is really essential is making sure the teams are well briefed and have everything they need and if possible to travel as lightly as possible. Working with teams in a different time zone generally means my end of day is their beginning of day and as my phone is rarely off I have found myself taking calls at all hours to smooth the way. My favourite place so far has been Barcelona, I had negotiated an exceptionally great rate at a 5 star hotel for the team and when I turned up at location I think they thought I was someone quite important and put me in the penthouse suite – if only I could travel like that all the time on location! I have travelled the world extensively for pleasure living in very basic conditions, so I appreciate that some destinations can be extremely tough on teams working in volatile locations or challenging because of the elements of the natural world so it’s important to ensure they have the best opportunity to rest and rejuvenate on the road from time to time if they are away for extended periods because days are long and hard going.

How do you have to adapt your management skills between working with large broadcasting companies and small independent production houses?
Essentially, it’s always about communication – the bigger the team is, the more important it is to keep the flow and ensure everyone is informed of changes as timely as possible. Working with small independent production companies generally means I may bring expertise in some areas they have not got – so it’s not unusual if I am asked to establish new foundations, introducing new ways of working in the future and establish new important contacts for the business going forward.

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TV & Me with Series Producer Michael Waterhouse

V & Me with Series Producer Michael Waterhouse

TV & Me with Series Producer Michael Waterhouse, whose credits include The British, Secret Homes and Art of the Sea. Michael has just finished The Bible, a hugely ambitious ten-part dramatisation for The History Channel.

What was it made you want to pursue a career in television?
The career I’ve had is a long way from Rawhide, but if there was a seed, I think it was watching westerns as a kid, and being enthralled by the landscapes and the gunfights. Landscapes have featured quite heavily in my subsequent documentary career. Gunfights not so much.

How did your television career start, what was your first big break?
I had an odd entry into television. After university, I joined the Community Service Volunteers, which seconded me as a general assistant (a ‘Runner’ now) to HELP!, a local social action programme produced by Thames Television. That was the foot in the door. From there, I had two distinct breaks. In those days, it was extremely difficult to get a researcher’s job in ITV without an ACTT ticket and the Catch-22 was that you needed to work on a production to join the union. Occasionally, there were vacancies for non-union applicants. I went for any that came up, and after about six months, I was lucky enough to be given a researcher’s job on This Is Your Life. My interest was in documentary-making, but TIYL, to some people’s surprise, gave you a very good grounding in factual research. A year later, I applied to be a reporter on an ITV afternoon arts magazine called Afternoon Plus. I didn’t get the job, but the head of that department invited me to apply for the post of Producer of Religion & Arts – and that was the ‘big break’.

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Word of Mouth with Veteran Film Editor Mick Audsley

Word of Mouth with Veteran Film Editor Mick Audsley

PB member, Guy Ducker, talks to veteran film editor, Mick Audsley, about the vast changes in editing from when he first entered the industry in the 70s, through the delights and perils of the digital age and with it job insecurity.

Mick Audsley has edited everything from My Beautiful Laundrette and Dangerous Liaisons to 12 Monkeys and Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, but he’s concerned about the direction in which post-production is going. With the help of Hyperactive and Pivotal Post, he’s started an event called Sprocket Rocket, hosted by Soho’s De Lane Lea facility house, to get the industry talking. Having worked with Mick very briefly some years ago, I decided to see if I could lure him to the comfort of a West End club to find out more about his take on editing and where he thinks things are going wrong.

His first experience of cutting came when he edited a pitch to the BFI for a production of King Lear. The experience was revelatory: “I saw that this was where the power was in filmmaking.” The project was commissioned. I asked Mick what the atmosphere was like in the BFI cutting rooms when he was there in the 1970s. “Cutting rooms would all be working next to each other” he said. “We’d show each other work, we’d get excited about things, we’d ask advice, we’d ask friends to screenings ‘We’re going to run a reel today, will you come and have a look and give your notes?’ I too would be asked to come and see a film that Kevin Brownlow was making, and it was very exciting to see something like that and be asked your opinion. It was new to me to be given a voice.”

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TV & Me with Nickelodeon’s Will Poole

TV & Me with Nickelodeon’s Will Poole

This week we talk to Will Poole, Head of Production, Creative Services at Nickelodeon UK.

Where did your career in the industry begin, did you always want to work in TV?
Ever since childhood, watching Doctor Who from behind the couch and Star Wars 47 times, I’d wanted to work in film and TV. I moved to London following an MA in TV Production, naively expecting to coast directly into a Production Management role. Having sent out numerous CVs and pounded the streets, I got a break as a runner and then tape op, patching machines for duplication work. Whilst this wasn’t exactly my skill set it was great training and an excellent introduction to post-production.

What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome whilst trying to make it in the TV industry?
I’d say that one of the largest hurdles is making those initial contacts. I think the TV industry is very much about relationships – the more people you know, the more opportunities are likely to come your way. Like many people, I entered the industry with no contacts. Let’s just say the media infrastructure around Harlech in North Wales is not as robust as in other locations. I joined The New Producers Alliance which was a great way to meet budding film-makers and greatly enabled me in producing my first short film. Sadly that institution is no longer with us. My advice to those starting out is to get out there, meet people and make stuff – join as many online film and TV networking groups as possible.

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TV & Me with Producer/Director Paul Vanezis

TV & Me with Producer/Director Paul Vanezis

This week we talk to freelance Producer/Director, Paul Vanezis.

Where did your career in the industry begin, did you always want to work in TV?
I had a fascination with television from as far back as I can remember. I used to love fantasy shows such as ‘The Tomorrow People’ and ‘Doctor Who’ and wondered how they managed to create the illusion of different planets and of course, I loved the monsters. So I managed to get onto the Film and TV course at Newport Film School in South Wales, before all the courses became ‘Media’. It was a practical course and we soon realised that we were learning by making our own mistakes.

In what ways has making TV changed in the time you’ve been in the industry?
The big change was the move to tape for location filming instead of film. Now it’s tapeless and HD and inevitably self-shooting. On top of that we have affordable desktop editing. We always had non-linear editing with film, but the post production process has been streamlined making true fast turnaround much easier.

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PB Live Careers Forum

Our 2nd Live Careers forum attracted a whole range of queries. Thanks to everyone that joined in – here are the responses so far!

The Panel

Paul Crompton

Paul is an experienced factual producer with 20 years’ work in TV. Executive Producer and Co-owner of Barge Pole Productions, Paul’s specialties are popular factual television, observational documentaries, formats, legals, scriptwriting, dramatic reconstruction, pitching and development.

Nicky Searle

Nicky is Talent Executive at NBCUniversal International Television Production, looking after companies as diverse as Carnival Films, Monkey Kingdom and Chocolate Media. Prior to that she managed talent for Optomen Television. She has been in the industry for nearly twenty years working her way up from her first TV role as an unpaid intern at MTV Networks.

Paul Merrick

Paul is an experienced Producer/Director with over 12 years specialising in observational documentaries and factual entertainment, including extensive self-shooting. Creative and highly motivated, he’s dedicated to making great television across all genres and passionate about storytelling.

Joe Mahoney

Joe is Managing Director of ProductionBase. Prior to joining PB, Joe spent a number of years at BBC Worldwide as a senior commissioning editor, before moving on to Channel 4 to become their Head of Commercial Development.

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TV & Me with Writer/Director Hugo Blick

TV & Me with Writer/Director Hugo Blick

This week, we catch up with 2012 BAFTA Television Craft Awards winner, Hugo Blick, as he discusses past success, Marion & Geoff, how he got his break starring in Batman, and winning that all important BAFTA for Director of BBC 2’s The Shadow Line, proudly sponsored by ProductionBase.

You’re career began as an actor and you famously starred in Tim Burton’s Batman, playing the young Jack Napier, who killed Bruce Wayne’s parents and later became the Joker. How did you’re career as an actor aid you in becoming a successful director?
Marshalling a film crew is quite a military sort of thing but acting in front of a camera and all those people is really quite delicate. If you haven’t experienced that exposure it’s easy to not recognise just how vulnerable an actor can feel.

Was it an easy transition to make, did people take you seriously?
A loaded question there! First thing, I take actors very seriously! But you’re right to the degree that acting and directing are very separate talents and one doesn’t necessitate ability in the other – although Clint Eastward appears to have made a pretty good fist of it!

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