TV & Me with DoP & Director Joe Dyer

This week, we chat to veteran DOP and Director, Joe Dyer, on working with music superstars and BAFTA nominated TV shows.

How did your career start?
I started at the BBC and Granada in the north of England working as a freelance camera assistant filling in for staff crews who were unavailable. I assisted cameramen to do interviews, documentaries, and anything we could for the TV companies. I often worked on shooting football matches for news bulletins – sensing when you thought there may be a goal, running the camera with the hope that you were right! The film was then rushed on a bike to the labs and put through video transfer to go on the news still wet! The quality was embarrassing!

You’ve worked with a lot of high profile talent including Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue and Bryan Adams – how do you work with them effectively, so they can take direction from you?
With directing Annie Lennox, the secret I believe, was always that we were able to get inside each other’s heads and see that we understood the same sensibilities. Annie has very strong views and visual ideas and I found my role was to make these dreams a reality. With artists like Kylie Minogue and Bryan Adams, when working with them as a DOP it was more trying to understand the needs of the director (Kevin Godley) in the case of Bryan Adams and feel the hugeness of the idea and be very, very brave! Art is my background and those times were about art not technology.

TV & Me with Twofour’s Sue Kenderdine

This week, we chat to Twofour’s Head of Talent, Sue Kenderdine, on producing multi-media content and working in extreme conditions with members of the royal family.

How did you get your break in TV?
I came to TV quite late after writing speculatively to a small Indie that was expanding, my timing was good and I became PA to the MDs.

Twofour also have offices in Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles as well as London and Plymouth – do you regularly collaborate with them?
Being based in the head office in Devon, I split my time between there and the London office and with Leeanne Vinson, our Talent Exec, we work alongside the other bases to try and ensure the right people are on the right teams’ radar!

TV & Me with KEO Films’ Maddy Allen

This week KEO Films’ Head of Production, Maddy Allen, discusses working across a number of platforms whilst juggling ever decreasing budgets.

How did you get into television?
It was a mixture of luck and determination. Although I had always wanted to work in television, I didn’t do any media courses (I studied German at university). I worked my way through a couple of corporate video companies and became corporate producer at a company that did both corporate and broadcast productions. Then I spent a couple of years learning the skills of production before I moved over to the broadcast side of TV.

As a Head of Production, I don’t necessarily look for people with a media education. I like to have production crew with a variety of backgrounds so whether you’re a media graduate, have spent time travelling or have been working in other industries, all experience is valuable. I’m far more interested in your innate skills and experience than what grades you’ve got on paper.

You have recently produced Skint and Bradford: City of Dreams. How have you seen the demand for factual entertainment television change in recent years?
Trends in broadcasting come and go and obviously how and when people watch TV is changing massively, but I believe that if it’s good TV people will watch it, whatever the genre.

TV & Me with Whizz Kid MD, Lisa Chapman

This week, Whizz Kid’s MD, Lisa Chapman, discusses the need for multi-tasking with all aspects of production – from working with comedians in silly outfits to dealing with HR.

How has your previous roles as a producer and executive producer helped in your role as MD at Whizz Kid?
Whizz Kid is an independent production company so as MD I need to be across everything from forecasts and finance to development and HR. My background is as a producer which also involves being across all aspects of a production and communicating with lots of different people so that ability to multi-task and people manage has really helped.

Is a career in telly something you always wanted to do?
Not at all! I left uni with a degree in Philosophy with vague plans of being a photographer. TV is something I fell into, had an aptitude for and loved (nearly) all of it.

What is your daily schedule like as MD?
It is so varied, there is no routine as such. I might be in development brainstorms, pitches or in the studio. It does involve regular cups of tea and coffee though.

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.

The Importance Of Networking

he Importance Of Networking

Whether you are a recent graduate looking for your first runner position, or a broadcasting veteran looking for a way back into the industry, don’t underestimate the importance of networking in a job hunt. Creating a network of professional contacts can help you to find unadvertised jobs, build your professional skills to make yourself more employable and help you get your career on the right track.

No one works in isolation so knowing people who work within the industry is the key to both your professional success and your job search success. Networking is the perfect way to meet the professionals in TV land, who can offer you new perspectives and assistance in seeking that all important new gig.

Attend conferences, discussion groups, workshops and trade shows, and make an effort to meet and exchange contact information with industry folk there – you can find out very quickly who the key people are to seek out.

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.

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.

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.

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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