Don’t panic! Advice from multi-camera directors – part 5: Ollie Bartlett

In the most recent post in this series, we heard from multi-camera Director Scott Imren. In this post, we talk to studio multi-camera Director, Ollie Bartlett.

 

 

 

 

 

Ollie bartlett

www.olliebartlett.co.uk

Follow Ollie Bartlett on Twitter

Follow Ollie Bartlett on Instagram

 

What makes a good multi-camera Director?

There is a lot going on during a studio day and you are the centre point of contact – liaising between all departments and running the show. Therefore composure is vital. And trying to think a few steps ahead – you should be prepared for what could happen and be able to adapt quickly.  Of course, good preparation (I love planning) before your shoot day will help you out and give you confidence.  Be clear and confident in your communication, build a good team around you, and trust them. A creative eye and a thorough knowledge of the tools at your disposal will help get your ideas on screen.

 

What’s the worst thing that’s happened while you’ve been directing a live multi-camera production?

I’ve had cameras, mic’s and screens go down while live. But so far, they’ve all had contingencies in place meaning the viewer would be none the wiser – hopefully that won’t have jinxed my next show! It’s about how you react. I like to think that I always have a plan up my sleeve if something goes wrong – if the autocue dies, is there another camera that the presenter can turn to that has autocue on?

 

Have you got any advice for anyone looking to become a multi-camera Director?

Get as much experience of being in a gallery as possible. I started out as screens vision mixer on shows like The BRITS and the Big Brother Live show – being in those galleries meant I saw a lot of multi-camera TV being made.  I learned so much. Shadow as much as you can – do you have any contacts at studio shows? See if you can sit in the gallery and watch. Then take in as much information as you can. Learn as much as you can about the technology you can use as a director. And watch shows and think why the director has done what they have done and what you might have done differently.

                                                                                                                                                                      

In the next post in this series, we talk to multi-camera director, Phil Jennings.