Crew
Due to the nature and scale of this production, it will require a relatively large but also unique crew. Requiring different roles and specialist skills to most other productions that cover similar subject matter. This production will be a collaboration between two different native networks. Channel 4 will be in charge of the UK portion of the show, while overseas the Australian Network SBS will be running the production. This reduces the need for frequent travel by crew members, allowing for more shoot time, a reduced budget, and better communication. Both schools can be filmed at the same time, meaning we can follow the stories naturally as they unfold, and without the need to constantly rig and de-rig sets, since they can both remain active and monitored at all times by separate crew.
With the collaboration of two crews we would also have more funding, more personnel available, more expert knowledge, and a wider potential audience. Since Channel 4 and SBS share a similar audience demographic and produce similar content, there collaboration makes the most sense. Thanks to their similarities producers will be able to trust that the other will create and keep a consistent story and tone.
Although there will be two separate crews, for logistical reasons some roles will have to be handle by one person who will handle this job for both countries.
One of the most intensive solo role, will be that of the production coordinator. The production coordinators main responsibilities are admin based, but they are one of the most vital people in a production. They will be responsible for script supervision, obtaining location permissions, budgeting and expenses, travel arrangements and much more. In this production their role will be expanded even further as they will be monitoring and communicating regularly with both crew, to ensure that schedules are adhered to and if not, making amendments to them. They’ll need to keep on top of permissions and release forms for all contributors. As well as supervising rigging, collating contributors information and being responsible for the crew’s travel arrangements, they would need to arrange travel for the “cast” of each country when they come together.
After carefully considering all of the above, I have selected Katherina Gapski, to be the production coordinator for this program. She has worked on a number of large scale productions before such as The Hunger Games, and the latest Spider Man movie, so she is familiar with large scale productions. However the main reason I have chosen her for the job is thanks to her work on the show Sense 8. This huge scale 2 season TV series was an enormous international collaboration, involving over 13 different countries and crew. Gapskiwas the supervising production coordinator for this show and was responsible for the travel, scheduling, and organization of the hundreds of cast and crew (all of different nationalities). As such this two country production will benefit from her vast experience.
With hundreds of hours of footage to look through, this series will be relying heavily on its gallery editors, offline editors and vision mixers. But to ensure that this series has a consistent tone, pacing, and style throughout its episodes. It will rely on one main “supervising” online editor, who will be responsible for piecing together most of the stories that the producers/directors identified for each episode. They will look through the approved footage and take inspirations from any rough cuts put together by offline editors, in order to piece together separate storylines in to one coherent narrative.
The main editor for this series will be the award winning JobyGee. He is a renowned TV and channel 4 editor who has worked on a number of their shows. He is most recognized for his documentary work, and his ability to piece together emotional and gripping stories. Many of the shows he has worked on previously have focused on secondary school children (most of our contributors will be around this period in their life). I am sure he will provide a great set of skills to this documentary since he worked on the first few season of Educating Essex, so as a result he is used to working with a large backlog of fixed camera footage. Meaning the amount of footage this documentary will cover wont be a problem for him and due to his work putting together the multi story narrative of shoes like Educating Essex, he will be able to ensure the story of this series effectively follows suite.
Rigging is the other biggest consideration and task involved with this production. With such a unique camera set up, that requires more cameras, sound, and engineering than most other productions, specialist crew are needed. The chief rigging engineer needs to be able to help plan, execute and adapt a detailed camera plan. Making sure that each one in each room is safely and neatly wired in to a central gallery. Audio and visual engineers need to be able to access every bot of this equipment at all times, and know that they will be able to achieve the control of angles and coverage that the director wants. This person needs to understand how all the equipment works and is connected together (especially in the case of any faults). They need to be able to clearly lead and instruct a team of instillation personnel and camera operators.
The best person for this job is Simon Mclarren. He lead the crew on the first series of 24 hours in A&E. He rigged and supervised the rigging of close to a hundred cameras and audio equipment throughout Kings Collage Hospital. Having worked on the series for almost 4 years he has key skills and expert knowledge when it comes to rigging fixed camera sets. Although a UK resident he was actually born in Australia which gives him a significant advantage over other riggers when it comes to leading. An international crew. Being used to tight and unusual scheduling, flying him out to rig the set of both countries (since he has greater specific subject knowledge than any riggers I researched overseas) would not be a problem for him. His time and confidence in this field will aid to the success of the production.
It was obvious from the start that this show was going to be presenter led. It needed to have a guiding voice over that could serve as a guide for the audience creating exposition, recapping and explaining details as well as introducing us to each of our locations and contributors. Several shows that have covered either a similar style or content before made excellent use of narration and I plan to do the same with my show.
This is why I have chosen Mel Giedroyc to be the voice over fo ray series. Previous shows have used well established presenters such as Reggie Yates. So in order to ensure my documentary fits within the style and branding of channel 4 and these shows I chose Mel. An already well established presenter and voice over actress having worked on shows such as The Great British Beak Off and multiple quiz shows on various networks. She has a calming attentive and reassuring voice that will be able to easily bounce between the high energy performance scenes and the more serious actuality. She is well practiced when it comes to providing contributor related commentary and has the inflections needed to give them all their own sense of energy and help bring their stories to an audience.
UK Exclusive Crew
Now that we have covered the roles that will be taken exclusively by one person for both sides of the program. We can now break down who will form the individual country production teams. Due to the scale of this operation this show will need some on set roles to be takenonby multiple persons.
The success of this show and its concept heavily relies on the direct involvement and actions of its producers. With the amount of multitasking, micro management, record keeping, and communication that will be required on and in the run up to the shoot days we will require two producers.
The two producers I have chosen to lead the UK crew are Anna Dickson and Hannah Lowes. These two fully realized individuals are responsible for the creation and success of the two most stylistically similar shows to ours, namely Educating Essex and 24 Hours In A&E. Their history with fixed camera and gallery run programming will be a vital asset. With two producers at the helm one can be on the floor at all times, whilst the other overseas the production from the gallery. They will be able to constantly communicate with one another and thanks to their previous work will be able to confidently lead the rest of the production crew to not only ensure that the script is adhered to but that any changes are noted, approved and logistically viable. Monitoring not only their own production but leasing after every shoot with the school and the producers overseas.
Their experience in filming, but more importantly negotiating with locations like schools that feature young children and potentially sensitive stories, is what earns them their place here.
The show would also require two directors. In this instance one would be hired for their experience with live feed multi camera/fixed camera set ups. And the other would be hired for their story telling and stylistic prows’. By having a director it relieves some of the pressure from the producers who would need to divert most of their attention to the running of the floor and its contributors.
The directors hired for this series are Shireen Abbot and ShoBhatia. Shireen is an instant choice because she worked very closely with one of our producers on Educating Essex. As such she is not only familiar with operating this kind of set up (which will be a key component in successful story telling) but she is also used to taking and interpreting Anna’s creative vision and translating that on to the screen. Showill also prove to be a very valuable contribution to this documentary as she has worked on a number of performing arts and education documentaries in the past. Specifically School For Stars (which was a big inspiration for this documentary). Not only that but she also has producing experience at the BBC, so will be able to better understand the working of the series and what is needed for it to succeed. Due to her experience Showill take the creative lead on the series, this paired with her advanced communication skills pit her above any other candidates.
Also essential to the success of the day to day running of the series, are the assistant producers. In this instance every assistant producer will be deployed on the ”floor”/”set”. These people share a similar role to that of a floor manager during a live production. They will be deployed on the floor to listen in on classes (but not actively get involved) feeding back to the gallery regularly about what’s happening and who they should be focusing their attention on. If a contributor is about to perform or be interviewed then the assistant producers will make sure they are micdup, or standing/sitting in the right place. They will also carry round release forms for anyone who hasn’t already given consent to be filmed. As well as several other responsibilities that require a large floor team.
For the UK school, since the location/classes can be spread across 3 different studio spaces at any one time excluding interview rooms. I would need 4 assistant producers working on the show, in order to keep up with the different classes and events that unfold between contributors in each. For the UK I have hired four people with skills and experience that I know will be an asset to the production. I have chosen to hire Clare Cameron, Kate Elliot, Hugo Pettit, and Dean Tanner as combined they have over 50 years experience working in factual television and each posses invaluable people skills.
Clare Cameron was an assistant producer on 24 Hours In A&E and so is used to the format and requirements of the show. Having worked in fast paced high pressure environments she knows how to identify a story quickly and how to make contributors more comfortable in front of a camera.
Kate Elliot has been an assistant producer on several seasons of the Channel 4 show One Born Every Minuet. As such she has worked with several contributors who may not have initially been comfortable being on camera and found it obtrusive, but knows how to make them feel more comfortable. The show also has a number of interviews that take place after the main filming and she is skilled at asking/directing questions in a way that make specific points or steer a conversation the way the script intended.
Hugo Pettittwas a producer on the BBC’s version of Educating Essex, he knows what its like to work with young people and is adept at handling the challenges that come with filming kids. He has seen many positive but also negative stories unfold during his career at the BBC and so can be relied upon to spot which way a story is headed and how it can be shot sensitively.
Dean Tanner has been assistant producer on several seasons of GP’s Behind Closed Doors. Thanks to this he has experience with contributors of all ages, at both ends of the spectrum. This experience is something we will rely upon in the shooting of this series since both schools take on students from a young age, all the way up until their late teenage years, so having him on the floor will make life easier for everyone.
Australia Crew
The Australian crew will be organized and run by the SBS network and operate in parallel to the UK. This crew will be filming around the same time but constantly maintain an open line of communication to ensure the same stylistic approach will be taken, thanks in part to the similar programming of SBS.
For the Australian half of the show I have assigned two extremely competent directors from some of the countries similar documentaries. These directors needed to have experience working on similar subject matter to that presented in our show, and have the required communication skills to take on board a creative vision and ensure it parallels that seen in the UK. They needed to not only understand how the minds of an audience work, but also understand the minds of the young people they’d be filming.
As a result we will be collaborating withNaiomiElkin Jones and Stuart McDonald. Naiomihas worked on some of the most ground breaking and freshest documentaries on Australian TV. Having previously worked for ABC she will be able to confidently direct the show and explore excellent stories, I was inspired by her recent work on the show Revolution School, which was designed to change audiences opinion and expand their knowledge about Australian education in low income areas. This work and the skills that come with it are exactly what we want on this show. Stuart also offers several years of valuable experience to the crew having directed episodes of True Tails, one of Australia's most authentic and effective story telling documentaries, and he has worked on UK productions as well so will be able to see the bigger picture of the show.
To lead and produce the Australian half of the show, I searched through a huge backlog of SBS documentaries to find the people that I believed had the right skills to adapt and deliver the stories found in the show to an international audience. These producers would have to lead their team, be able to openly and effectively talk to the contributors no matter their age, to understand their stories, and then feedback to the UK to ensure they were in keeping with the overall creative vision.
For this task the people I will entrust are SharmeenObaid Chinoy, and Niamh Linnie. Sharmeenwas an obvious choice as she is an award winning international producer, originally from Pakistan she moved to Australia to peruse a career in media. Having worked on a large number of one off TV documentary specials and feature length documentaries she fully understands how to tell a story that tugs on the minds and hearts of an international audience. Her successful history of finding unique and inspiring stories will play a vital role in the narrative of this series. For the more logistical side Niamh willube our second producer, having worked for several different TV networks in the UK and Australia she understands what makes a shoot successful and possesesthe skills to make it so. Having worked a lot in factual programming on sets of different scales I am confident in her ability to micromanage and stay true to the channels branding/reputation and effectively parallel the UK.
With Jute stage school in Australia, although classes run more frequently, there are fewer classes being held at the same time. As a result our floor team doesn’t have to be as spread out and we wont need as many producers on the floor at the same time (which will benefit our budget slightly). However that doesn’t necessarily mean that the assistant producers working at Jute have an easier task, since there will be less of them they all need to be working more efficiently to achieve the same level of content. Although Australia is lacking in fixed camera documentaries, I looked for factual programming on Australian networks that would require similar skills to those needed in our show. After some research I picked three assistant producers that have enough experience and relevant skills to be deployed on the floor of Jute, namely Brenden Hutchens, Katrina Lucas, and Brad Gustaffon.
Katrina has been a producer on multiple one off documentary specials, all of which would fit the Channel 4/SBS brand very well. She is great when it comes to finding powerful stories that an audience will be invested in, and having worked with several different production companies in her time, she is used to leading/working with teams of various sizes and still achieving the same high brow results, which is exactly what we need.
Brenden Hutchens worked for many years as an assistant producer and then a producer on different Australian factual series, before setting up his own production company last year. Because of his effective career progression I am confident in his ability to communicate with and guide his fellow producers. His experience, on top of the fact he now creates and sources his own stories and key contributors will be a great benefit to our series.
Brad Gustaffonhas been an assistant producer on a number of Australian shows, all of which had significantly different audience demographics. His work on Nothing To Declare proves that he can communicate, and tackle potentially difficult contributors in serious situations. It demonstrates his ability to work with senior contributors (like staff, teachers parents etc) on set as well as the general contributors such as the public. He has also worked on some shows such as Prank Patrol which feature and are aimed at young children, meaning he is clearly able to shift mindset to focus on different contributors and different audiences frequently (and since our contributors will be a variety of ages this is a great skill to posses). All of this makes him a good, well informed choice to work on the series.