Ive been compared to the build of a man

I was reminded today of an occasion that now seems amusing when at the time was a little weird, bordering on insulting.

Wrapped up against the cold, a must on location

It occurred a few years back, as I was taking that step up from runner to Camera Op. I was called in last minute to help film a stunt that was going to happen in the local town centre. I knew nothing more than this.

It was a cold November day and I had wrapped up warm in lots of layers as we were going to be outside all day. Turning up early as they wanted me to film a lock off shot of the set being put into place.

As a cherry picker turns up to the area I am standing, I set the tape running. theres not much else I can do for now except guard the camera from the stray drunks and walk of shame students wondering back home in the early daylight hours. At this point I have lost all feeling in my fingers and my stomach is grumbling loader than the buses engines that pass by.

The best coffee you will ever drink.

Eventually the cherry picker is in place and the kind driver offers to pop to the shop and purchase a coffee. This coffee the first on an outside broadcast in the early morning is the best coffee you will experience. If you don't drink hot drinks, when you've stood outside for 3 hours in snow with no hat or gloves you'll soon take it up.

A few hours later at 10 am a steady influx of crew start to arrive on set and a small tent is set up. the director arrives on the next train from the south and we start the briefing. Today we will be filming a stunt with a very famous singer. They will be performing escapology whilst inverted.


So cherry picker in place cameras set up crowd building the star is running late and hasn't finished filming in another location yet. And the straight jacket need testing. 

In my head the VIP is a tall man so looking round the crew I'm trying to guess which unlucky man is going to get roped in, when the director asks my height. Oddly I look at him and say "5'2 I'm too short."

"No" comes the reply your just the right height and build. "I'm the same height as ****** *******?" I thought they were tall! Oh, well ok lets get on with this.

I get strapped into the straight Jacket

I get strapped into the jacket and the magician tells me how to escape. Lucky I did this very quickly without to much struggle limiting the embarrassment of writhing around in front of my peers in a straight jacket. Also makes me wonder if I was Houdini in a past life.

Not this Rapper with Glasses

Im still embarrassed at the fact Ive been compared to the build of a man, but in this job no day is the same and you come to expect the weird and wonderful. The call comes through the VIP is on route. Action stations, I'm waiting for them to arrive when a small man turns up with a gaggle of producers and all of a sudden the stunt starts. Im a little caught off guard. I'm still waiting for the tall man with the glasses that sings, not this short lad who is the same height and build as me. It suddenly downs on me that this is not the VIP I had in my head, this is not the rapper with the glasses but another short rapper and I can now see why I was the perfect stand in.

This is what we do it for.

This is the reason we do it. The reason we stand in the snow, rain, wind and sun. Hour after hour trying to get that shot.

This is the moment.

The nervous anticipation.

What will the show finally look like?

What will others think?

Will my name be on the credits?

Ohhhhhhhhhhh the excitement. The nervous butterflies before the show is aired for the first time. THIS is why we work in TV.

Six years of making tea, standing for hours and working hard have lead to this point. The moment your show is broadcast to the nation. In this day of modern technology and social networking its easy to gage the public reaction to it too. What are people on twitter saying and the ratings arrive the next day instead of weeks later.

My first credit as a Camera Operator will be tonight and I am just a little excited about it. I worked hard making the show and survived some appalling conditions which I will blog about soon. Shared showers and banging doors just a blot in my memory now but whilst filming they were the reality of tight budgets and fast turn around TV.