![\"Q&A](\"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016-12-14-Colin-Rothbart-QA.png\")
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In this edition of Word of Mouth, we talk to Grierson-shortlisted Series Producer & Series Director, Colin Rothbart, about his career highlights, including a six-year self-funded documentary project, enjoying the locations on Holiday<\/em>, and catching slugs for The Big Breakfast<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n How did you first become a filmmaker, and what would you say was your first big break?<\/strong> You were shortlisted for a Grierson Award for your self-funded documentary, Dressed As A Girl<\/em>. How did that project come about?<\/strong> You\u2019re hugely experienced across a range of genres, including observational docs, music, reality & factual entertainment \u2013 which genre is your favourite to work on and why?<\/strong> What would you say is the biggest challenge you\u2019ve had to face during your career?<\/strong> You\u2019ve worked on many of the UK\u2019s most popular programmes. Which would you say has been favourite to work on?<\/strong> One of your most recent projects was BBC Four \/ BBC World\u2019s Art Lover\u2019s Guide<\/em>, which was filmed in locations around the world. Where have you most enjoyed working and are there any locations that presented particular challenges?<\/strong> What advice would you give to people looking to start a career in filmmaking?<\/strong> Are there any types of programme you\u2019d like to work on in the future, and do you have any particular ideas that you\u2019d love to get made one day?<\/strong> Colin Rothbart is a Series Producer & Series Director, and a ProductionBase member. You can get in touch with him via his PB Profile<\/a>. If you’re a PB member and you’d like to be featured in a future Q&A, let us know<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In this edition of Word of Mouth, we talk to Grierson-shortlisted Series Producer & Series Director, Colin Rothbart, about his career highlights, including a six-year self-funded documentary project, enjoying the locations on Holiday, and catching slugs for The Big Breakfast. How did you first become a filmmaker, and what would you say was your first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,14],"tags":[447,452,451,450,448,313,449],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tv-me","category-word-of-mouth","tag-colin-rothbart","tag-dressed-as-a-girl","tag-grierson","tag-holiday","tag-series-director","tag-series-producer","tag-the-big-breakfast"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/TOTI-Podcast-Artwork.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":[],"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/turn-on-tune-in-2","embedCode":"
\nI definitely took the long hard route, as I didn\u2019t know anyone in the industry. From the age of 16, I\u2019d done unpaid work experience at The Sun and Time Out in my school holidays and then luckily got a job as a hospitality runner at TV-am<\/em>, making tea for everyone from Kylie to Thatcher. This would have been great if it had lasted \u2013 but TV-am<\/em> lost their franchise six months later! So I suppose my first big break after studying at uni and doing a Journalism postgraduate degree was as a Runner again on The Big Breakfast<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\nThat was something I did in my spare time over six years. I had many friends on the alternative arts scene in East London, so one of them said we should be documenting this for posterity \u2013 so I did! But with no funding and a full-time job, it took a while to come to fruition. In the end, the fact it was filmed over six years meant the storylines had much more substance. It\u2019s played around the world in film festivals and is currently on Netflix.<\/p>\n
\nAs I love travelling as a hobby anyway, I\u2019d have to say that travel shows\/presenter polemics are my favourite genre. Throw in a bit of history too and I\u2019m in my element.<\/p>\n
\nProbably ever decreasing budgets, but that\u2019s true across the board. Gone are the days when you had crews for everything. One of my earliest challenges was having to find slugs for someone to eat live on The Big Breakfast<\/em>. After hours of waiting with a saucer of beer on the house lawn, I found some snails and called the Producer, who suggested if I smashed the shells off, they\u2019d look the part\u2026not my proudest moment! Also, all the nightclub filming I\u2019ve done in the past where you have to try and keep the camera steady while punters are trying to pull yer trousers down!<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019d probably say the BBC\u2019s Holiday<\/em> ten years ago. The budgets were great, the recces were amazing and you had plenty of time to shoot too for a change. We went to some fascinating locations and I was a big fan of Victoria Wood\u2019s Margery & Joan<\/em> sketches, and Judith Chalmers! Other than that, I also loved Weekend Escapes with Warwick Davis<\/em>, Alan Cumming\u2019s Urban Secrets<\/em>, working with Michael Portillo, The Apprentice<\/em> (despite the long shoots) and working with Mary Portas.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s always nice working where the sun\u2019s shining. When it\u2019s not, it can be a nightmare. We were in the Maldives once for Extreme Fishing<\/em> \u2013 idyllic at any time of year, apart from monsoon season! We didn\u2019t expect that on the one day we were filming, it would be feeding\/mating season for hundreds of manta rays, so we hadn\u2019t bothered with the expense of booking an underwater crew. Sod\u2019s law \u2013 that was the when they all flocked around our boat. So in the end, it was just me, Robson and a cheap handycam in a plastic bag while waves and whale sharks sprayed all around us! Another challenge was flitting around Tenerife, trying to keep up with the OAPs Behaving Badly<\/em> causing havoc on their mobility scooters\u2026<\/p>\n
\nDo it, but don\u2019t always expect an easy ride. What other job could you be filming teenagers throwing up in Ayia Napa one minute and interviewing politicians, hit men and pop stars the next? You meet people you\u2019d never have met if it wasn\u2019t for your work, which really broadens your horizons and makes you a true, informed global citizen.<\/p>\n
\nI love exploring subcultures, which I did a lot of early on in my career. It would be great to do that again, though mainstream TV is often more about celebs these days. I tend to mainly watch documentaries in my spare time, when I\u2019m not watching something on Netflix or another drama series. I\u2019d also love to work with Louis Theroux or Charlie Brooker \u2013 and do a travelogue with Joanna Lumley or Stephen Fry. I think working in telly can be extremely rewarding, often challenging, and has the chance to inform and influence society, usually for the better \u2013 as I remember well from doing the UK\u2019s first gay Wife Swap<\/em>. There are very few jobs that other people are interested in hearing about on the bus or at dinner parties and you never know what exciting project could be around the corner.<\/p>\nQ&A with Series Producer & Director, Colin Rothbart<\/a><\/blockquote>