Sarah Conner, an assistant producer on the landmark show that generated record ratings for BBC One, revealed how she had knelt on the bottom of the ocean for eight-hours at a time. There in the dark depths diving rebreathers in sub-zero temperatures she would direct cameraman Hugh Miller.
You can’t just get up one morning and decide to be an explorer.
Well, you can, but you’re not going to get on television with that attitude. You’ve got to jump through lots of hoops to get there and it’s not just a case of how many countries you’ve been to. You don’t have to join the Army to get into TV, but I think it’s good to have some level of expertise or niche knowledge. Once you’re an expert in anything, in any industry, people will come to you. That’s where you want to be.
Bonnie Rae Brickman is a New York-born film and TV editor with over 25 years’ experience, much of it in news and documentary. Her work has been honoured with four Emmy Awards and screened at film festivals worldwide. Bonnie currently teaches editing on the Ethnographic & Documentary Film MA programme at University College London. She shares tips on the art of telling stories through editing.
Paul Lang is a Director of Photography who has worked on seminal BBC documentaries and filmed in over 100 countries. Ed Moore is also a Director of Photography, who has the led the camerawork on landmark scripted programmes from Poldark to Red Dwarf. They came together to give a camera skills session at our 2016 Student Craft Skills Masterclasses.
Documentary Director Rowan Deacon, who has worked on programmes such as Our War and The Tube, shared tips on making compelling films at our 2016 Student Programme Masterclasses.
