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/
No comments:
Post a Comment