First Job As A Runner!

Carol Vorderman (host) and the judges of Food Glorious Food: Anne Harrison, Loyd Grossman, Tom Parker Bowles and Stacie Stewart.

On Sunday I was given the opportunity to be a location runner for Food Glorious Food, an upcoming ITV show produced by Optomen Television and Syco TV. The day’s shoot was located at Marks and Spencer on Wood Lane in Shepherd’s Bush. My call time was 8:00 in the morning and so it was a very early start!

When I got to the location I was met by another runner, Sam who took me to the production office where several other members of the production crew were. Here I met production runner Michael Perry, production coordinator Lucy Woodman and several other location runners.

My first task was to make some drinks and deliver them to the film crew at the studio. After that, another runner Carly and myself were given a list of various snacks and items to buy from a nearby shop. As it was a Sunday we had to try and find somewhere that would be open at this time of the morning. We eventually found a Tesco Express that was nearby by using Carly’s phone and then we managed to get everything that was on the list whilst staying within the budget we were given.

Once this was done I was tasked with organising and preparing the walkie-talkies for distribution that were situated in the gallery. To do this I used some white tape and wrote numbers on each of the walkie-talkies so that when a crew member was given one, the number of the walkie-talkie would be written next to their name on a list that I was given to ensure that they were all returned. The task of distributing these was then given to another runner and so I signed out and gave some of the walkie-talkies to other runners on my way back to the production office.

I was then tasked with transferring a film disk from the production office to a film crew who were going to be filming some pick-ups outside. When doing this, Tom Clarke the content producer and one of the members of the film crew, asked me to help him fetch some pieces of furniture to use in the background of the shot. Whilst travelling with him to get these various pieces of set dressing, I had a chat with him about his career and the industry, which was very interesting for me, as this is the field I want to go into. I was also able to use my knowledge of the industry which I have gained over the duration of my course to ask sensible questions and hold an interesting conversation. 

Once this was done, the film crew outside then asked me to help with the filming of the pick-ups. This involved holding a reflector to help with the shots lighting, moving the background set to a slightly different place to give the background a different look, and helping to ensure the judges who were being interviewed were looked after and that everything was ready for them. My experience from university enabled me to understand what was being done and why, for example using depth of field to put the background out of focus, and holding the reflector in a certain position to reflect the sun onto the subject as a fill light.  I then helped transport the background items back to the studio.

After lunch, the other runners and myself were asked to be stand-ins whilst the floor managers and cameramen placed everything and framed up the shots. I then had to stand in whilst Carol Vorderman delivered some of her pieces to camera and close-ups of her winners reveal.

During the whole day I was trying to ensure that refreshments were available and stocked up for the crew and the contributors. This involved making drinks runs, moving food from various places, finding plates and cutlery, and plating up some food. I took a small notepad and a couple of pens with me on the day so that I could write anything down. This came in very handy when taking drinks orders and when Lucy Woodman needed to take peoples details for car orders at the end of the day. I also tried my very best to fulfil various peoples requests. An example of this was when an important lady asked me for a skinny cappuccino. I said that that would be fine to her, then radioed in to Mike to inform him of her request to see what we could do. One of the runners then went to a Café Nero nearby and delivered it to the lady as soon as possible.

I also had to ensure that friends and family were looked after. This involved ensuring their refreshment needs were being met, escorting them between various parts of the building, chatting to them and letting them know I was there if they needed me for anything.

Once the filming was done, I was tasked with the job of standing outside the front of the building and communicating with the drivers of cars that pulled up to find out who they were for, then radioing in to Lucy Woodman to inform her. I escorted Anne Harrison to her dressing room and then carried her bags to her car and ensured she got in safely. I then had to help the other runners pack up the set that belonged to Optomen and then help pack the van.

My first job as a runner was very enjoyable and I learnt a lot of how things are done in the industry. I was able to use my knowledge I have gained on my course to ask sensible questions and talk to other members of the crew about the jobs they were doing without being a pain. I made sure I did my very best in every task I was given and offered to take on any other jobs when I was free. At university I have learnt that good communication during film shoots, live shows and projects as a whole is very important in ensuring things run smoothly. This was made further apparent during this experience, and the use of walkie-talkies throughout the day helped to ensure this. I found that the hardest part of the job was the amount of names and faces you have to remember. This was very important because a lot of the tasks you are given involve specific people and you need to know who these people are. I found this fairly difficult because it was the first time I had worked with this group of people and so I didn’t know anyone previously other than Michael Perry. It was also a very long day, being in from 8:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night, however this is something that I feel I coped with well and would have to continue to do within the industry.

Here is the link to the show's website: http://www.itv.com/foodgloriousfood/