When the Antiques Roadshow visited Bath in april, I arranged to shadow one of the Directors and find out how the show is put together.

All of the crew, OB (outside broadcast)Trucks, scenery and technical staff arrive the day before the shoot to get the location ready for shooting.
The location manager produces a map of the location showing exactly where people will queue, where items will be filmed, camera locations, parking, toilets and everything else the crew will need to know. The queueing is designed specifically alongside the camera locations so there is always a group of people on the background for the items.

Lighting has been redesigned for this series and now they are going for a flood of soft light - which can be controlled from the lighting desk - so that gives the freedom to film anywhere in the location and not have to move lights.

The Sound man works from his own station in the OB truck and has 8 radio mics for the presenters and contributors which transmit back to a receiver base station in the main hall. Buzz track is recorded on 2 shotgun mics then all of the sound is sent back to the truck via multicore.

great experience and I really learned a lot from watching the teams working, I'll be looking to get more of this kind of experience in future.

BC2006 - work experience - promotional video

Another self-generated project is this promotional video for former Olympic mogul skiier Hugh Hutchison. Hugh now works as a marketing consultant and motivational speaker and needed a video to help promote his work.

I felt it would be great experience for me to work with someone of his profile and as he has done a lot of commentating work for BBC & Sky Sports, he is calm and comfortable in front of the camera.

BC2006 - work experience - Boom Operator

I have been subscribing to production base for some time and was lucky enough to be offered a job as a freelance boom operator for Reelmedia digital productions.
I've worked for the company 3 times now, twice for a Devon County Council training film and one for the QCA in manchester.

I've learned a lot about working with a cameraman from the shoots and how important it is to take direction on boom placement when shooting. You have to consider shadows, keep the boom out of shot but also get close enough to capture good sound - which can be difficult, especially when you are joined together by the umbilical cord of the mic lead !

BC2006 - work experience - Talking Issues

I volunteered to go for work experience at Talking Issues in Bath and I'm glad that I did !

Talking Issues produce Audio Books and Magazines at their headquarters in Bath and given my interest and background in audio editing and recording studios the opportunity was too good to pass up.

The company has a production office, 3 voice studios and an editing suite an is a very vibrant, friendly and busy place to work. The Company was started by Jennifer Howard who was previously at BBC Audiobooks and they have quickly grown into a major player in the Audiobook market, as well as being the first company to produce a full word-by-word audio version of a major magazine title.



I spent my first day shadowing the process of producing the weekly audio version of 'the Economist' magazine, from casting and producing copy, working with the producers in the studio, shadowing the editors and then finally proofing the finshed articles.
The workload on the day is high and the place buzzes with people - all working together to turn around recording, editing and proofing a whole magazine in one day. This is quite a feat of scheduling and the production team have to work hard all day to make sure that everything is done quickly, professionally and most importantly accurately.

This really opened my eyes to the way people co-work in the media and is a great example of team work in a production environment.

Talking Issues were impressed with my attitude and contribution and I have been working for them as a freelance proofer & editor since march.

BC2006 - work experience - Sl Music

Another self-generated project - a promotional video for SL Music Productions.

Hill is a good friend of mine who will shortly be releasing a Jazz / Soul album. I've also done a lot of Recording work and training in Hill's Studio and he has given me a great deal of help and encouragement with my studies. He has also done a lot of TV and video work so he had some great ideas to contribute.





I learned a lot from working with Hill and he had the idea of filming from slightly above so that he was not talking down to the camera, which would put the person watching more at ease.
This also gave a much better shot of the desk and the surroundings and make the environment look good on screen.

BC2006 - work experience - Jera Books

After visiting the Paintworks facility and seeing how the 3rd year of the course would work, I realised that I would need to be very self-motivated and create a lot of self-generated work to make the sure I got the most out of it.

I realised that I would need work experience with production companies, but also would need to work on projects myself and approach them as if was a freelancer producing a video for a client.

The project for Jera books was given to me by Phil Purves who had been contacted by the company. I volunteered to take the project on and managed every aspect from the initial production meetings, to equipment and location booking, shooting, editing and post production.

Here's the finished result ;




I have had some very positive feedback from the company about the project and I personally learned a great deal about myself, my abilities, time management and conflicting deadlines from doing it - good preparation for the freelance world !

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - careers

I discussed careers opportunites in the media with numerous people at the careers fair that was held in students union in march.

they gave me some good contacts within the media sector and some great websites to follow up on.

I've also visited the Careers Office and Job Shop to research opportunities for relevant summer work and have received a number of opportunities to apply for.

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - opportunities

As a result of doing the event it has given me more ideas in developing freelance work opportunities to add to the great progress I have already made in this area.

I have been working as a freelance audio editor / proofer / production assistant for Talking Issues audiobooks since february 2009. I initially went on work experience and they were impressed enough to offer me freelance work after 1 day there.

In November 2008 I attended the Encounters Film Festival and picked up a lot of 'Skillset' leaflets relating to training & opportunities in the industry. I since applied & was accepted for the 'Skillset Film Trainee Network' which will provide me with some paid placements with production companies and film crews.

Building up to the event this really helped my confidence and gave me some comfort in being able to gain work in the media whilst still studying.

After helping to run the event I identified that I need more experience in organising, directing and working with groups of people.

So, to gain more experience I have just produced a short promo video for a former Olympic Skiier and motivational speaker as a freelance director / producer. I have also agreed to direct an episode of BSU's 'Liquid Soap' in June and this will really help to build my skills.

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - preparation

As part of the prep for the event I produced the Call Sheet, Schedule and running order for the activities, as well as adding to the news script, helping to run meetings and co-ordinating the room & equipment bookings.

On reflection producing the call sheet and schedule proved to be a huge asset on the day as it prevented there being any confusion on what was happing where, when & with whom. We studied this in the first year and I realised the importance of them in practice when I worked on a shoot for National Geographic last June. The shoot was fairly small but even so it is critical to the smooth running for everyone to have a crystal clear idea of what is expected of them.

Also for future events I would be more mentally prepared and I am keen to gain more experience in leading groups and giving talks & lectures. I have agreed to be a part of the BSU 'Liquid Soap' online soap opera project and will be directing 1 episode, which will be a great way to start adding to my skills.

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - the demo

These shots show how the demo unfolded and shows all of the team working with the guests from City of Bath College


In this shot Reuben is explaining the vision mixing software, while Lance is the newsreader and I'm running through the script.






Will explains the concept of 3 point lighting with Lance as the subject and Reuben looking on.






Chris shows examples of our work created using Chromakey and moves on to talking about lighting.




The feedback from the event was very positive and the guests seemed to enjoy the green screen demo. After chatting to their tutor we found that we were covering familiar territory for them but they hadn't covered lighting placement in this context.

Also some of the guests were very impressed with the creative possibilities of using chromakey - one was keen to find out more on how it was used in 'Forrest Gump' after they had seen our examples.

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - reflection

Running the media event was hard work but very worthwhile.








Here I am talking to a group of the delegates - I was really nervous but I really enjoyed giving the presentation and taking their questions on how the equipment works. They were really interested in working in the media and were really keen to find out about our work experience projects and who we had met and worked with.

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - my perspective

We hosted an event today for a group of Students from the City of Bath College. The event was planned over the last 2 months and the team divided into 2 groups to run activities in the Gatehouse and Newton g08... or as we dubbed 'the fun room' !
I was put in charge of the fun room activities and was Technical lead & main presenter for the room. The idea was to run an interactive demo of a green screen 'News style' broadcast, get the students involved and get some hands on with the kit.
We rehearsed the setup but one the eve of the event we decided to use vision mixing software on a laptop instead of a hardware mixer, because we felt this gave a more interesting result on the screen. In hindsight this caused us issues because instead of being comfortable with the set up we were still addressing issues when the delegates arrived in the room 15 minutes ahead of schedule. So we had to think on our feet and run with what we had, doing our best to get the audience involved as much as possible.
It was also difficult getting volunteers - on reflection I would have picked people and directed them to go on camera or lights rather than ask for people to come forward.

All in all it went well and we managed to run 2 successful demos with the delegates involved - there's much more I would do better if we did this again - hopefully not to soon though !

Hill Briggs podcast

Here's a video podcast that I produced for my mate Hill Briggs. He's just finished recording & producing his 2nd Solo Album which is in the Jazz/Soul/Funk/fusion vein.




Hill has worked with Mick Taylor (ex. Rolling Stones), Sam Brown (played keyboards on the no.1 single 'stop') and has played keys & toured with many well known acts.

The video was a good exercise to make - there are a few minor points we can improve on - and now that the name of the album has changed we can put them into the remake !

A short film on Health & Safety - starring Balve !

We were asked to storyboard an idea that could tell a story in 3 shots then make it into a short film - here's my effort featuring the comic talents of Balve !


As the idea was in the slapstick vein I decided to make it look and feel like a Silent Movie and sourced some royalty free music to set the right mood - I also speeded the footage up to make it look more comic and added comedy sound effects - hope you like it.