It doesn’t take long when you first start
working in TV to realise just how much you rely on other people, the good
members of the public, in order to do your job. Most of my working day is spent
finding the right person to speak to, phone bashing until I come across that
expert who is going to share years of research with me. The community worker
who is going to reach out to their circle and find the case study I need to
tell my story, or even that independent health care company who will not only
give me the use of their training room to recreate a hospital scene but will
lend me a nurse’s uniform, hospital bed and stethoscope to boot. (True story –
and yes I played the nurse.)
And for what price? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Granted there is often an element of mutual
exchange; good PR for an organisation wanting more exposure, the highlighting
of an issue that is of concern for a group in society or simply the lending of
an interested ear to someone with a passion rarely sought by mainstream popular
culture.
The absolute importance of building a
relationship and maintaining the trust of contributors cannot be stressed to a
TV researcher. They need looking after, consideration and gratitude because
without them your programme wouldn’t be possible.
Working with people from all walks of life is
one of the aspects of this job that I love the most. If you begin as you mean
to go on; politely, patiently, and with a listening ear, then there is little
that someone might be prepared to do for you. I am constantly humbled by the
generosity and openness of people I work with, it always restores my faith in
humanity especially when you’re dealing with serious or sensitive content.
Here are some of the more diverse members of
society that I have had the pleasure of speaking with…
- A train
signal box enthusiast
- A rat
catcher
- An
American pyro technician
- The
dedicated mother of an 8 year old free style dancing champion
- The
youngest member of an amateur dramatic society, aged 35
- Helena
Bonham-Carter’s parenting coach
- The
sales manager of specialised thermal imaging cameras for firefighters
- A
Master tea blender
- An Army
Major
- A
babyplanner
- The man
who sent the first ever picture text message
- The world’s best Elvis impersonator
Recently, a friend and I had the most helpful
and generous experience with a tattoo studio for a short film she wanted to
make. I helped Jane produce the film by finding a tattoo studio who would let
us record a time lapse of a tattoo being done in their studio. My housemate
introduced me to Belfast City Skinworks and the rest was plain sailing. The
studio made our job the easiest in the world, and here's the end result:
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