![\"Q&A](\"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-QA-Ashley-Gething.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In our latest Expert Q&A we talk to Director, Producer & Writer, Ashley Gething, about his career in TV.<\/strong><\/p>\n How did you get started in the industry?<\/span><\/strong> What made you want to become a Director, and what do you enjoy most about your role?<\/span><\/strong> What are the most important skills for a successful TV director and producer to possess?<\/span><\/strong> During your career you\u2019ve worked with some major world figures, including King Charles and Pope Francis. How do you approach projects with this type of contributor?<\/span><\/strong> You directed the RTS award-winning feature length drama-doc, Secrets of the Neanderthals<\/em>. With shoots in multiple locations around the world, and complex visual effects, what particular challenges did you face on this production?<\/span><\/strong> You\u2019ve worked across a range of different genres, from arts and history, to politics and current affairs. Do you have a favourite type of project, and is there anything else you\u2019d like to try your hand at in the future?<\/span><\/strong> What\u2019s the most difficult production you have worked on and why? <\/span><\/strong> What projects are you currently working on?<\/span><\/strong> How has the industry changed since you first started out?<\/span><\/strong> What tips would you give someone who\u2019s starting out in the industry?<\/span><\/strong> Ashley Gething is a Director, Producer & Writer, and a ProductionBase member<\/a>. If you’d like to be featured in a future Q&A,\u00a0let us know!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our latest Expert Q&A we talk to Director, Producer & Writer, Ashley Gething, about his career in TV. How did you get started in the industry? I was a local TV news Reporter and Presenter working in the East Midlands. After a few years I realised I was interested in how my news pieces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","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],"tags":[788,47,591,333],"series":[],"class_list":["post-4136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-me","tag-ashley-gething","tag-director","tag-producer","tag-writer"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/www.productionbase.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog-QA-Ashley-Gething.png","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 was a local TV news Reporter and Presenter working in the East Midlands. After a few years I realised I was interested in how my news pieces looked and sounded, so I gradually migrated to documentaries.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s a magical, incredible job. You go on adventures, you meet extraordinary people, you work with amazing colleagues, and you create something at the end of it all. Storytelling is one of the things which makes us human.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nClarity. Decision-making. Flexibility. Resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou watch and listen and try to understand what is going on and how you can fit and become invisible. And once you\u2019re invisible you work really fast to get what you need because these unique opportunities won\u2019t come again. Basically, you turn yourself into a swan \u2013 chilled out on the surface, working like buggery underneath.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHeat was a challenge – carrying kit up a mountain in 40 degrees was tough. I also narrowly missed being bitten by a snake. On a recce in Croatia we became concerned about landmines. In Gibraltar we didn\u2019t want to be cut off in a cave by the sea. The challenges kept changing\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe great joy of docs is that you can turn your hand to anything. I want to do bigger and more complex projects \u2013 in any genre \u2013 and test myself. And be better at what I do.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nMentally the most challenging was a film about a paedophile ring \u2013 for obvious reasons. I also made a film for Al Arabiya where we were tear gassed. Border guards with huge sticks started beating journalists and then they fired plastic bullets. That was quite challenging.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m currently writing a documentary script for Netflix with my colleague Supriya Sobti Gupta. It\u2019s a real life, incredibly high profile assassination story, which has never been told before. Which she found.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s much tougher and much more unpredictable. And the viewing landscape is changing at exponential speed. Having employment feels like the biggest challenge at the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nNever give up.<\/span><\/p>\nQ&A with Director, Producer & Writer, Ashley Gething<\/a><\/blockquote>