Generation Gap (Mick Thomas)

SKY QUIZ SHOW

Myself and another Emma were assigned as the Production Managers on the Generation Gap quiz show, to be filmed at Sky Studios in Osterley. This was my second production with the NFTS. 

We had an initial meeting with the tutors about the parameters – these were originally vague and we were a bit uncertain where to begin. The first thing we did was put together a crew list by emailing head of departments for names and contacting people via Workplace. 

I did a draft of the budget which was £3,500 and Emma did a first attempt at a schedule. We ran through these in more depth with the tutors and revised based on their feedback. I also did a draft of the risk assessment, transport plan, and green memo. 

Emma and I organised casting. We devised a brief and shared it on all the casting sites and Facebook groups we could get access to. We compiled these into a shortlist for the Producer, who made the final decisions. We liaised with the contestants to get all the necessary contracts and information: right to work check, actors payment vouchers, material licences (for baby photos). We sent them all filming details two days before to ensure they had enough time to arrange their transportation and wardrobe. We also had stand by contestants in case something went wrong on the day.

We had limited time with the tutors and they were not as responsive as needed via email. Therefore, I kept a running list of questions and insisted that these be answered in our few meetings. One of our biggest initial struggles was catering: we wanted to do Sky's catering but were unsure we could accommodate our growing crew within budget. We resolved this by getting an accurate quote from the Sky crew, only providing catering for NFTS crew and contributors, and giving an allowance of £5/person. We asked additional crew (such as the Script Supervisors) to cover their catering from within their department budget. The food was so good, so I was really glad we made the numbers work. I had chicken tikka masala and jerk chicken.

The second problem to sort was vehicles. I was unable to get through to the Production Support team via email and had to visit multiple times in person until the vehicles were confirmed. Fortunately I was organised and began this several weeks before filming, so we had no issues securing vehicles. It took us a little while to find drivers; however, many of the crew could drive and I eventually sourced all drivers from within the team. 

The crew and resources were so small that Emma and I were also in charge of production design. As instructed, I bought paints to repaint the desks. However, I was not informed until after that these were the wrong types of paint to use on wood (I was just trying to colour match and so used the exact same paints). The desks look better, but certainly not perfect. We had a fun afternoon painting and drinking hot chocolate though. 

One of the biggest issues was booking the necessary filming kit from the TV studio (monitors, cables, buzzers, etc.). I submitted the form but had a bad feeling when I did not receive a confirmation. I visited the studio around five times to confirm the booking and ensure that the booking was being processed before the pick up date. On the Monday (rehearsal day) Emma and I went to double check how our booking was progressing at lunch; they had no record of the booking and no idea where the kit was. I remained calm and knew losing my temper would not help (how they had no record of the booking when we had multiple conversations about it I don't know). I enlisted someone from Stores and someone from the TV Studio to help and we ran around for almost two hours until we found all the items. Unfortunately we missed a lot of the rehearsal – we were not needed but were unable to manage the schedule which worried our Producer. They finished early. 

The other most frustrating task was paper. We had to print around 2000 sheets of paper for a one day shoot (scripts, call sheets, schedules, etc). The tutors were very adamant about this and so we did not want to push back too much; however, I really hope to find more sustainable ways of running sets as I learn more about the industry. This was very disheartening – and took hours of our time.

We also had one meeting with the Sky crew prior to filming to finalise logistics. From that meeting we adapted our risk assessment and split ours with theirs (we were responsible for certain risks and they were responsible for others). It was a great opportunity to work with these filmmakers. We tried to liaise with them as little as possible and condense information into bigger emails so as not to bother or rely on them. They were very impressed how self-sufficient we were.

The set up day at Sky was good fun (Emma and I mostly focused on paperwork). Our Sky contacts gave us a tour and helped us arrange our own queue in the restaurant for lunch. We wrapped a few hours early. I got lost in Sky and needed four people to help me find the shuttle, but I eventually made my way out. 

The filming day was also incredibly enjoyable. I was ten minutes late to school because we set the call time earlier than I am able to make it to school (my tube stop does not open early enough) – this is something to note for the future. Luckily we made it to Sky on time. Emma and I delegated to our Runners and ADs to ensure all areas of the stage were covered and that the contestants were taken care of. We made sure the contestants got through makeup, kept the shoot on schedule, and coordinated lunch. In the morning we were falling 15 minutes behind and shortened our break from 15 to 10 minutes to catch up. Mick, the Director, broke from lunch early – with no warning – but we managed to quickly organise everyone and relay the necessary instructions. I also got to be the Stills Photographer and got some great shots of the filming. We wrapped 90 minutes early, which was a great mood booster for our crew! The Gen Z triumphed over the Baby Boomers.

After wrap I worked on the cost book and expense forms. These only took about a day or two.

This was a brilliant learning experience and I absolutely loved going to Sky. Communication at times was slightly frustrating, but it all worked out in the end. This was a step up from First Year Film, and it was nice to have more responsibility for the first time. I think I definitely have a better handle on being a PM now.