Growing up, Philippa Lowthorpe never expected to work in television: “I didn’t think [it] was possible because I grew up in a small village outside Lincoln… all my relations and people I knew were farmers, so I had no clue that somebody like me could ever work in television.”
Showing admirable versatility, he is also responsible for the visual look of the same channel’s hit submarine thriller Vigil.
What does the job involve?
Working closely with the director, production designer and all the creative team to create the visual world and help “frame” the point of view of the story to engage the audience. Sometimes that can be a dynamic world such as Vigil; at other times it can be utilising a more sensitive visual aesthetic to create an emotional engagement, as with Three Girls.
Further evidence that the BBC is striking a more strident tone as it calls for greater resources in the streaming era was provided by the corporation’s director of content, Charlotte Moore, in her recent Steve Hewlett Memorial Lecture.
In a wide-ranging and, at times, feisty speech aimed primarily at policymakers and politicians, Moore argued that trusted, authentic British storytellers in the tradition of Hewlett risked being undermined unless the BBC was properly funded.
Peaky Blinders' Laurie Rose and Liar's Matt Gray share their expert advice on cinematography.
Broadcast on BBC One over three consecutive nights in May, Three Girls tells the true stories of “Holly”, “Ruby” and “Amber”, who were victims of child grooming over a number of years and who helped to convict nine men of child abuse offences.
