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Directing the 2nd Unit for BBC One's Press by Mike Bartlett

2018-09-05T10:00:00+00:00

So you’re standing on The Strand with Ben Chaplin surrounded by gawping pedestrians and you’re running out of time. You need to shoot your scene quickly but precisely – you’ve got Ben for the next hour before he’s needed elsewhere – so you tell him exactly what you need, the camera goes up on sticks, the team lines up the shot and your first AD shouts “action”. Ben does the scene flawlessly – but a pedestrian walks into shot. You call “cut”. You need to go again.

This is the “second unit”, a splinter crew from the main production team, and over the course of several months you’ll be working with actors like Ben, Charlotte Riley and Paapa Essiedu on moments, images and scenes that fit into the tapestry of BBC One’s Press, a flagship production about the modern media written by the estimable Mike Bartlett. You’ll also be shadowing superstar director Tom Vaughan throughout the production as he effortlessly brings Mike’s words to life through a thousand decisions a day, executed quickly and confidently. The last time Mike and Tom worked together they made Doctor Foster, a TV phenomenon. The pressure, it’s fair to say, is pretty high.

The scene is shot, high fives all round. Ben smiles, tells you he likes your hat and heads back to the main unit. Later, you’ll find yourself in an industrial estate after dark, directing a fleet of articulated trucks emblazoned with the logo of “The Herald”, one of the show’s fictional newspapers, as they make their way into the night. It’s like a moment from a Michael Bay film – thundering vehicles barreling past camera – and you realise you need more light for your overhead shot, filmed from a nearby hill. The lighting team springs into gear, runs downhill to set up more lights. Your AD shouts into a radio, and the lorries creep forward. One of the lorries is too slow off the mark – the convoy doesn’t look slick enough – so you call cut. You need to go again.

Over months you work on many moments like these. Lowloaders and dollies, swinging to a fifty. While Tom works tirelessly on scenes with the cast, you find yourself on an airstrip in the middle of nowhere directing a stunt for a pivotal moment in episode one with a coordinator who staged the fight scenes in the Star Wars movies. The stunt isn’t looking quite right – the police car needs to go faster. “Let’s go again” you say, and you pinch yourself, because it isn’t every day you’re working with people who trained Darth Maul how to swing a lightsaber and telling them you need another take. But then you remember you’re here for a reason – in this era of peak TV, there aren’t enough directors with the experience required to look after shows of this budget and scale. And so Directors UK and Skillset have set up a competitive scheme to give up-and-coming directors the experience of “high end” shows to help push their careers forward. You applied, interviewed, made the cut. You need to get the moment right. And so you go again.

That’s one reason you’re here. But the real reason everyone’s shivering on a remote airstrip at 9pm – is the excellence of the material. Press is an exhilarating, insightful piece of writing – whip-smart characters arguing about the challenges of journalism in an era of fake news, and the pressure to do the right thing in a world which values clickbait over commentary and entertainment over nuance – and everybody involved, from fearless producer Paul Gilbert and tireless line producer Kirsten Eller, rockstar production designer Paul Cross and unflappable First AD Kristian Dench to the runners Alicia and Emily hushing quiet in the wings of 3 Mills Studios, is working their hardest to bring Mike Bartlett’s words to life with the diligence, focus and attention to detail that his script demands.

When Press airs on BBC One on Thursday 6 September at 9pm I hope people enjoy the show for the nuance of Ben Chaplin and Charlotte Riley’s excellent performances, the sparkle of Mike Bartlett’s writing and the verve of Tom Vaughan’s powerhouse directing. But I also hope they’ll sit through the credits at the end and read every name – it’s a roll call of excellence. So many talented people giving their utmost for six hours of evening entertainment.

As for me? Fingers crossed, I’ll be directing my own high end show soon. Cut. Print. Let’s go again.

Nimer Rashed is a Director

Aim High with BBC Arabic's AimHigh trainee scheme

2018-04-11T13:15:00+00:00

As BBC Arabic accepts applications for AimHigh: its first ever trainee scheme in the region for journalists with disabilities, Ellis Palmer, Journalist, BBC News (World Online) blogs about his experience working for the BBC.

My name is Ellis Palmer. I'm a wheelchair using journalist here at World Online at the BBC.

My condition, cerebral palsy, means that I am unable to walk long distances and balance can be a significant issue. I also wear hearing aids as I have moderate hearing loss. However, that has not become a barrier to me becoming a journalist here at the BBC.

Every day, I write what I like to call the “first draft of history”: articles, features, and content for the international section of the BBC News website. In many ways, it is my dream job. I studied international politics and Hispanic studies at the University of Birmingham, before going on to do a Masters in contemporary democracies and nationalism over in Barcelona.

As well as English, I am fluent in Catalan and Spanish, so I often find myself writing stories from Europe and Latin America in order to use my languages on a daily basis. Although you never quite know what the day is going to bring. Although my day-to-day bread-and-butter is writing about international news and current affairs, I've also had the privilege to be able to use my experiences as a disabled person to create original, thought-provoking journalism.

Recently, I made a digital video on my experiences as a disabled tube user in London, which aired on BBC News and on current affairs television shows (as well as getting over 500,000 views on social media and the BBC News website). I also wrote a piece about how I viewed the reporting around Stephen Hawking's death as a disabled person, which got over 600,000 views.

In society at large, my disability is often a barrier in accessing resources that I need to live and, yes, let's not be shy about it: even in 2018, all too often ones disability is what defines oneself in the public eye. Yes, this can lead to prejudicial attitudes, stigma, and people being afraid to engage with disabled people socially or in society at large.

I grew up on Merseyside in northern England and went to a mainstream primary school and a comprehensive secondary school on a former council estate. I was sometimes advised to take "easier" subjects on account of my disability. Fortunately, I persisted: I studied the subjects I wanted to. I went on to university and to get my dream job here at the BBC.

At the BBC, my condition has not been a barrier in any way shape or form. The support I’ve received here from day one it’s been absolutely fantastic.

The corporation provided me with excellent assistive technology that allows me to do my job just as well, if not better than, many of my fellow journalists. It's things like voice to text technology that that allow me to write my articles faster as I'm a one fingered one-handed typist owing to my condition. I have the most wonderful Bluetooth-enabled technology that allows me to be able to hear my colleagues in meetings, as oftentimes, when one is working in busy, noisy newsroom, it can be quite difficult to hear one's colleagues.

Journalism is about telling stories: we all have powerful stories to tell about ourselves, our friends, our families, and our communities. That is why, if you believe you have a story to tell and can tell it in a powerful, engaging way, I would urge you to apply to the BBC.

This is a place for everyone, you can work for the BBC and you can make the BBC work for you.

Ellis Palmer, Journalist, BBC News (World Online)

Applications for BBC Arabic's AimHigh close on Sunday 22 April 2018

Find out more about BBC Arabic AimHigh on the Media Centre
Visit the AimHigh website
Apply at the AimHigh application page

My experience on the BBC Writersroom Directing Scheme 2017

2017-12-13T11:15:00+00:00

This year was the second year that I applied for the BBC Writersroom New Directors Scheme on Doctors - last year I got to the final round of interviews but was pipped to the post. At first I was gutted I hadn’t got it - but then I went away and got working on improving my portfolio. I completed post on my funded short film, sent that off to festivals, got some shadowing experience on TV dramas, attended Berlinale Talent Lab (after four years of applying) and of course watched lots of Doctors!

So I was thrilled that my perseverance paid off when I got one of the coveted spots on the BBC Directing Scheme this year. I say this because I think that how you come back from rejection is such a vital part of getting where you want in the end - and so that all those who are feeling battered by rejections can feel that this is, unfortunately, all part of the game and that if you keep working, keep showing your passion then in the end someone will say “yes, show us what you can do!”.

The process of the BBC Writersroom Scheme has been really supportive and well structured. The three of us trainees went up to BBC Birmingham, where Doctors is filmed, in the summer for three days. Here we saw how the Doctors machine operates and got to film a test scene so that we could see just how fast you need to shoot and how to work with two cameras. This really gave me confidence when it came to then directing the real thing when I headed back up to Birmingham for a month in October to direct my first episode.

I was working alongside a very experienced Doctors director, Gary Williams, who was my mentor for the month showing me the ropes. Gary was brilliant - getting the balance just right between being supportive, but giving me the space to be my own director as well.

My episode had a great script - although I was a little worried when I read it to discover that one of my key guest actors was in fact a dog! What I particularly loved about the whole process was the two and half weeks of prep time you get as a director. Previously on my shorts I have always had to crush prep in gaps between the rent-paying jobs, doing bits here and there. This was the first time I had been given real time and space to prep - it was so satisfying to really focus on the work and not worry about juggling anything else.

During this time we did castings, recces, meetings with HoDs, shot planning, blocking planning and so on. It meant that when the shoot came round I felt really well prepared and ready to go – which, given how tight the schedules are, is vital to ensuring you get everything shot each day.

I know it sounds like a cliché, but the whole team up at Doctors were so supportive, helpful and friendly. They all want you to succeed and know that it¹s a tough job - especially on your first episode - so they are all working with you to make the show the very best it can be. There is a really lovely atmosphere on set - even if the last two hours of every day feels like a mad dash to the finish line where everything is pretty hectic!

I’m very proud of my first episode and excited for it to be aired in February when I will see my name up on the telly for the first time. I am hoping to be back in Brum directing my first full block of Doctors in 2018. I am also developing a sci-fi tv series at the moment that I am hoping gets commissioned and would eventually love to be directing for shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock. The BBC Writersroom Scheme has been amazing so far and I hope just the start of my working relationship with the BBC.

Miranda Howard-Williams is a director

What the BBC Writersroom New Directors’ Scheme did for me

2017-10-06T09:00:00+00:00

Director Nimer Rashed, one of the original cohort for BBC Writersroom New Directors’ Scheme looks back on his experience and shares his aspirations for the future.

Before you undertook the directors’ scheme what experience had you had in directing for the screen?

About 10 years ago I directed my first thing ever, which was a short film for Film London, that was my first break into directing. Back then my focus was writing for theatre and television and I was given this break to do this short film which I wrote and directed. Riz Ahmed was in it – this was before he was the Emmy Award-winning superstar he is today. We got him just on the cusp of his break out which was great. So I basically wrote my way into directing with the help of Film London and I took to it very naturally and easily, especially because it was something I had written – a natural extension of imagining things is realising them. So that was it, the first bit of directing I did and quickly found I liked it and wanted to do more of it.

How did you feel when you found out you’d got on the scheme?

Since that film I’ve been wanting to break into telly and the reality is there are very few opportunities to break in – the BBC Writersroom Scheme was like a massive open gateway beckoning me saying ‘apply apply apply’ and I did, and got in. In the intervening years I’d done a lot of directing and a lot of work and obviously that had helped to bolster my application and I was ready for it. I was so happy that the scheme was running at all and then to actually get in on the first year that they were running it – there were big celebrations.

What was the process of the scheme?

It was an introduction to professional TV directing at Doctors, so started with a few days induction. We went to Selly Oak [where Doctors is filmed] and were introduced to how ‘Doctors land’ works which is this well managed, well run, fast-paced accelerated process. When I tell people about it now I say it taught me how to be a professional because it showed us the amount of preparation and diligence required to hit the ground running, there’s no time to muck around, everyone there is at the top of their game, you have to work quickly and be able to make decisions very fast. We were shown the focus required to direct successfully and introduced to the process of how to keep up with the Doctors pace which has held me in good stead I think.

How did it feel walking on to the Doctors set for the first time as a director?

It was a bit like what it must be like if you’re a footballer and you walk into Wembley stadium having been in the minor leagues for ages, walking into an arena that you’ve been preparing for for a very long time and suddenly you’re surrounded by people all looking at you saying ‘right, come on, show us what are you made of’. It felt very exciting, but also like something I’d been waiting for, preparing for for a long time. I think I did hit the ground running because of all the years of preparation that had led up to it, it was very exciting but also it just felt like something that was right. The time had come to do this, it just clicked. I enjoyed it and was exhilarated.

The scheme gave us all the insight into the specific working of what Doctors requires of you – which is full on, but it did prepare us. We could ask thousands of questions, we met the crew who gave us real insights, the Execs were all very supportive, and a hugely experienced director called James Larkin was very instructive and helpful. So to be honest I felt well prepared, the training was thorough and it wasn’t a surprise.

Thinking back there is a moment when you are finally let go and the wheel is in your hands – having been the co-pilot for the training and suddenly there you are in the driver’s seat, and there is a moment of ‘oh right this is really happening’, which is surreal at first. But then you realise: 'no it's okay, I know what I’m doing'.

What advice would you give to aspiring TV directors?

In terms of people who want to break in to the industry I think it’s about resilience: I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to do this for a really long time and could have stopped or given up many times. Any creative person knows that feeling. The best advice I’ve got is to create your own opportunities to make work, which you can do now, don’t wait for permission. The film that won the Virgin Media Shorts Grand Prize directly before getting this, was a low/ no budget film which won awards and really helped me. So make stuff, make stuff, make stuff – don’t ask for permission. And know that you are a director even before people start calling you one, I think it’s important to have that mindset.

And then when you do get an opportunity like this one rise to it and give it everything because directing, especially for continuing drama, is incredibly intensive and requires a lot of you but if you can deliver you will be asked back and it has given me a career which is great.

What’s next for you?

Thanks to Doctors I joined Directors UK and am a participant on their High End Directors Scheme for directors ready to take the next step in their career. I am currently shadowing on Mike Bartlett’s Press working with the wonderful director Tom Vaughan who did Doctor Foster among other things who is being incredibly helpful and mentoring me.

We are about to start filming that next week. I’ll be on that for the next five months shadowing, and directing second unit which is a wonderful opportunity. I’ve learned that high end dramas may have bigger budgets, but in directing terms they feature exactly the same challenges as on continuing dramas like Doctors – just on a bigger scale. I genuinely think if you can direct Doctors you can direct anything. It’s true when I tell the people I’m working with now that on Doctors we shoot 20 pages of drama a day everyone is impressed. So to have gone through a year of directing that much material and making decisions quickly has really prepared me for the big leagues, I hope. That’s what I hope is coming next.

Where would you like to be in 10 years time?

I’d like to be working at the highest end of TV drama and making films as well, but TV is the new films. Doing what I’m doing now making great TV which informs, educates and entertains. A dream is to make great drama with mass appeal but with a social conscience, resonant storytelling that is contemporary and reflects modern society in all its glory.

The BBC Continuing Drama New Directors' Training Scheme is open for applications until 16 October 2017

Nimer Rashed is a Director

BBC School Report Sports Reporter scheme

2017-10-03T09:00:00+00:00

Margaret Burgin, the Senior Manager for BBC School Report, discusses why she is looking forward to launching the BBC School Report Sports Reporter scheme.

Working with young people all started for me in local radio at BBC Radio Sheffield where we hosted a “radio station” for the Sheffield Children’s Festival which featured young people who produced and presented their own news and programmes.

When BBC News decided to pilot the schools project which became BBC School Report, they invited me to an ideas day with other BBC staff with experience of working with schools, a really exciting day with like-minded colleagues.

I worked on School Report in the early days and then went off to other jobs so it was great to return last year and help to shape the project for a new generation of young people.

I passionately believe that we need to listen to the voices of our younger audiences so that we have an audience in the future, and I have always been impressed by the fresh ideas and sheer energy that young people bring to the news agenda.

BBC School Report is now in its 12th year. We work with about 1,000 secondary schools across the UK and this year we are including 16 – 18 year olds for the first time which means that sixth forms can take part too.

We are also inviting Youth centres and alternative provision to get involved so that we can feature stories from a really wide range of young people.

Launching the scheme

Opening up School Report to this older age group means that we get a lot of questions about careers with many young people hoping to find out more about what it’s like to work in the creative and media industries.

The BBC have a brilliant range of work experience, apprenticeships and trainee schemes but these are for people aged 18 and over and so out of range for most of our audience. We’ve had a lot of conversations in the office about providing more opportunities for under 18’s.

We’ve been working hard to come up with model that could offer real work experience for a younger age group and I am really pleased to be able to do this with our School Report Sports Reporter scheme.

The scheme, inspired by the BBC Kick Off Trainee Sports Reporter scheme, is working with BBC colleagues in our Nations and Regions to offer placements across the UK.

Young people aged 16-18 are invited to pitch an original sport story to BBC editors. Those with the best story ideas will get the opportunity to make their story at a nearby BBC station with the help of a local mentor.

The beauty of the scheme is that it benefits everyone. There are new, fresh and original stories for our local audiences, our staff work with young people and find out more about them and their lives, and a group of talented young people get a real experience of what it’s like to be a sports journalist at the BBC.

I have spent a lot of time in schools listening to the great ideas that young people have and I can’t wait to read the applications. The best bit will be watching, listening to and reading all the finished stories and featuring them on School Report News Day in March 2018.

What is also exciting is that this is not the only opportunity for young people this year at the BBC. Radio 5 Live are opening their doors for 11 - 15 year olds in their BBC Radio 5 Live’s Young Commentator of the Year Competition.

What this means is that 11 - 18 year olds, from all over the UK, have an opportunity to share their stories on the BBC.

How to apply

Applications for the BBC School Report Sports Reporter scheme launch 3 October via the BBC Careers Work Experience website.

You can follow the reporter’s journey via the BBC School Report Sports Reporter page.

Margaret Burgin is Senior Manager for BBC School Report

Find out more about BBC School Report

Life as a BBC Sports Reporter

2017-05-04T11:00:00+00:00

In this blog, syndicated from BBC Get In, Rachael Smith talks through the opportunities available as part of the BBC Kick Off Trainee Sports Reporter Scheme, to read the full blog where previous trainees talk about their experiences visit the Get In blog.

The BBC Kick Off Trainee Sports Reporter scheme is a five week work placement across BBC Radio and online Sport teams in the UK, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.

The scheme is open to sport-minded people over the age of 18. No previous media experience is necessary to be successful on this scheme. We look for people’s passion for sport and for telling great sport stories in their local area.

Watching reporters develop with the scheme each year is extremely rewarding. Some reporters come in with little-to-no knowledge of professional radio production or reporting and leave us work-ready, with increased confidence in reporting and many secure work in the industry.

From my observation, the transition is down to them taking the opportunity to develop their skills and story ideas with the scheme management, mentors and trainers. They leave nothing to chance.

Read the full blog where two ex-BBC Kick Off Reporters Mary Kate Monaghan and Jamie Gambrell, share their own experience of being on the scheme on the Get In blog.

BBC welcomes talented TV professionals from diverse backgrounds to its Commissioner Development Programme

2017-04-21T09:00:00+00:00

Julie Shaw, Kalpna Patel-Knight, Sarah Asante and Beejal-Maya Patel (L-R above) have begun a two-year opportunity on the BBC’s Commissioner Development Programme.

The programme equips talented senior people from groups under-represented in TV to compete for future commissioning roles - at the BBC and across the industry, by offering experience of the commissioning cycle, training, coaching and networking opportunities.

It is part of the BBC’s drive to increase diversity at all levels and ensure a wider range of voices and experiences are heard when decisions are made about the programmes shown on the BBC.

Sarah Asante, Beejal-Maya Patel, Kalpna Patel-Knight and Julie Shaw who make up the cohort are described by the BBC‘s Content Director Charlotte Moore as "candidates with experience, passion, unique and exciting perspectives – exactly what the television industry needs from the next generation of commissioners."

This is the second time the BBC has run the programme. Fatima Salaria, now the BBC’s Commissioning Editor for Religion and Ethics and part of the first programme, met with the new cohort to talk about what they can expect and shares her experiences and thoughts on the programme below.

Looking back at my time on the BBC’s Commissioner Development programme I’m grateful for the opportunities it gave me. On the programme, I was encouraged to participate in championing important ideas and stories that speak to everyone in today’s UK – I’ve seen them go through the commissioning cycle and come to life on the BBC.

It’s been fantastic to meet Sarah, Beejal-Maya, Kalpna and Julie. I’m glad they are taking part in this training at such an important time in the industry.

The BBC is working hard to increase diverse portrayal, on air and behind the scenes. Commissioners and programme makers are asking 'How can we tell this story differently?' 'How can we make this relevant to a wider audience?' and 'Is our casting right?' The result is shows which are as brilliant, creative and diverse as BBC audiences expect, like those that made up the Black and British season, The Hip Hop World News and The Instant Gardener.

The programme was created to support experienced TV professionals like me, from groups that are under-represented in broadcasting. The aim is to make sure different perspectives are heard in the commissioning process, and that people from a range of backgrounds have the experience to compete for the top jobs in the future.

The BBC is more diverse now than it’s ever been, with an increasing variety of programmes to serve all of its audiences. We all know there is more that can be done to become more diverse and the programme is one way to do this. Continuing it across the industry and in partnership with the Creative Skills Network is such an important thing to do, because it’s making a real difference.

On a personal level, it’s helped me to make an important leap at a key point in my career. I’ve learned how to think and act as a leader and decision maker. This, along with honing new editorial and commissioning skills and the boost to my professional confidence from exposure to those at the very top of the BBC, has been transformative. My proudest moment was my involvement in Muslims Like Us, a truly ground-breaking programme for BBC Two.

My advice to Sarah, Beejal-Maya, Kalpna and Julie is to have confidence in their ability and point of view. I hope they make the same leap I did and wish them every success.

More about this cohort of the BBC’s Commissioner Development Programme:

Sarah Asante joins BBC Comedy Commissioning and has a background as a Digital Content Editor at the BBC, developing content from talent including Humza Arshad and comedy pilots and shorts. The programme Sarah would love to have commissioned is Orange Is The New Black, because of its many “laugh-out-loud funny moments and the most amazingly diverse cast… I love everything about it”. Sarah would like to see more BBC programmes that “really, really make fun of the BBC, like W1A” as well as more cheeky animation. Sarah looks forward to the training she will get on the programme and the prospect of seeing “people that look and sound like me across the table when producers come to pitch.”

Beejal-Maya Patel joins BBC Documentaries Commissioning and has produced a range of factual programmes for all of the major channels, including the BAFTA-winning Educating Essex. One commission Beejal-Maya admires is BBC Two’s Exodus (which looked at the issue of migrants travelling to the UK) because “it’s a programme that went beyond the headlines on a subject that’s really timely and matters in this country today.” She would love to see more programmes on TV that do this, bringing unheard voices from across the UK to the screen.

Beejal-Maya applied for the BBC Commissioner Development programme to help her ambitions to move into commissioning with the support of the training it provides.

Kalpna Patel-Knight joins BBC Entertainment Commissioning and was formerly Head of Entertainment at Possessed working on a range of shows including 5 Gold Rings with Philip Schofield. She would love to have commissioned BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, and to have spotted the potential of ballroom to become appointment viewing for the family, not to mention a worldwide success, “who would have thought that Ballroom Dancing would be shown every Saturday night in people’s living rooms? It was such a big risk - and what a risk worth taking.”

Julie Shaw joins BBC Daytime and worked on news features for Channel 4, the BBC and ITV, before joining ITV flagship Tonight with Trevor McDonald. The commission Julie would love to have made is Channel 4’s SAS Who Dares Wins because “it’s the sort of programme that’s normally put down as being a male-skewed programme - but I think there’s probably a lot of women out there that love it as well”. Julie knew as a child that she wanted to tell stories that shape the world and believes there is a huge amount of untapped creative talent in the UK and says “it would be brilliant to just capture more of that on camera.”

Find out more about the BBC’s Commissioner Development programme

BBC Outreach at Wild Place Project in Bristol with the next generation of Attenboroughs

2016-11-02T13:00:00+00:00

This week David Attenborough’s landmark documentary series Planet Earth II debuts on BBC One. To coincide with the series, the BBC Natural History Unit has worked with BBC Outreach giving fifteen students the chance to make their own short online documentary based at the Wild Place Project at Bristol Zoo. Jon Jacob went along to learn from them.

Watching other people do the thing I love doing is a bit of a treat.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t judge other people when I film people younger than me making a video short. That would be a distinctly unpleasant thing to do.

Between you and me, filming other people learning about how to make video packages is actually rather nerve-wracking.

First of all, there’s the pressure of knowing you’ve only got one take, that you’ve got a limited selection of questions at your disposal and you’re working with people who have limited media experience. And there's the worry that they well look on you as an expert. Failing to live up to that expectation could cause all sorts of minor reputational issues, both for and the organisation.

One participant for the BBC Outreach / Planet Earth project shared with me what his first experience of making video was, explaining that he was inspired by his Dad who bought an HD camcorder in a car boot sale. A few short videos published to YouTube and he was reaching out to his school friends looking for ways to improve the production values of his creations. By my simple maths he was doing that around about the time I started making videos, with a HD camcorder my partner bought me from Christmas twelve years ago.

I spent my afternoon with the BBC Outreach team asking the participants on the Talent Ticket programme what had surprised them and what they’d learnt on the three-day programme. What they didn’t realise was the extent to which they were teaching me, helping me improve on my production processes in the bargain.

Planning is important. Being on time is also vital. Flexibility is a necessity.

I was reassured by the last point. I’d always rather admired programme makers who able not only to have a vision of what they wanted, but were able to direct their contributors in such a way that the material they ended up with both fitted the bill and remained authentic. I'd assumed that my preference for flexibility masks an unwillingness on my part to plan down to the finest detail.

What I realise now - as a result of talking to the participants - is how that success is not down to precision or control as much as trust. Having a good idea of what you’re looking for is vital but being flexible enough to clap your hands together with joy (metaphorically and not when the microphone is on) is even more important.

There was one thing I overlooked being in the company of 15 student filmmakers – the energy that exudes not just from individuals but from the group combined. That kind of energy is infectious and inspiring.

When I interviewed them, I wanted them to shine. I think they did. When I went home I felt shattered. That what’s adrenaline does to you when it finally trails off.

The BBC Writersroom Director's Scheme

2016-06-22T12:00:00+00:00

Nearly a year ago, at the 2015 Edinburgh Television Festival, we announced the launch of an exciting and innovative new training scheme for television directors early in their careers. The objective, quite simply, was to train directors – on the job – to work professionally on BBC Dramas. At the same time there was a deep desire to radically alter the industry’s idea of what a typical British drama director looked like.

With the invaluable support of DirectorsUK and Creative Skillset, BBC Writersroom constructed a programme whereby 12 directors new to television work on a block of one of the BBC’s four flagship dramas (Eastenders, Holby, Casualty and Doctors). During their time on the drama, the trainee director is mentored by an established director: the trainee observes the established director through prep, on set and in post-production.

At the same time, the trainee preps and directs one episode him/herself and the established director supervises the trainee though this process. On completion, the trainee then receives a full credit as the director of that episode.

The end result is something truly tangible – not only has the trainee benefitted from observation and instruction, but they also have a full drama credit to take with them into the jobs market.

So how did we select trainees for such a golden opportunity? Well, applications were accepted throughout the autumn of 2015 and, predictably, competition for the scheme was extremely strong with a total of 555 prospective candidates applying. I think I had expected a large amount of entries but I’m not sure I had expected the quality to be quite as high as it was. The standard of work was really superb. So over several weeks, the applications and accompanying showreels were viewed and scrutinised by an expert panel of experienced drama directors; and after a huge amount of deliberation, 95 of these were duly invited for interview with 12 candidates eventually being selected for paid mentoring and training.

The scheme’s review panel was hugely impressed by the high standard of the applicants and it is a measure of the candidates’ high standard that several BBC Executives have already approached BBC Writersroom for director recommendations based on the candidates interviewed (not just those selected for training).

We are already beginning to see fruit: several of our trainees have completed their training block and some of these have already been booked for a full professional block on production, and we hope that others will be equally successful.

The scheme is nearly one year old – and I think we’ve learnt a great many things along the way. But what I’ve mostly come away with is that it only works well when people work together: we couldn’t have launched this training without the support and input of DirectorsUK and CreativeSkillset; we could not have run the scheme without the tireless co-operation of Casualty, Doctors, Eastenders and Holby; and we couldn’t have done any of it if we hadn’t encountered the most extraordinarily talented pool of directors. We very much hope we can go on to serve another intake of new TV directors and keep the UK’s directing talent fresh, exciting and diverse.

This year’s trainees were: Baff Akoto, Rob Brown, Ruth Carney, Edward Dick, Samantha Harrie, Thomas Hescott, Waris Islam, Alex Jacob, Lynsey Miller, Afia Nkrumah, Nimer Rashed, Vito Rocco, and you can read Ruth Carney's blog about her experience on the Writersroom website.

Simon Nelson is Development Producer for BBC Writersroom

My experience winning BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award

2016-04-29T10:20:44+00:00

Jumana Saadeh and Dean Arnett at BBC Broadcasting House

I never knew that an intensive three days could be so key in changing the way I thought about something. But this was the case with my BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award, which offered me a camera kit and training at the BBC in London with award-winning filmmaker, Dean Arnett.

The training

Over the course of three days, Dean and I discussed the important aspects of telling a story. I had come in with the idea that having an interesting character that lives in unusual circumstances is enough, but Dean taught me that it’s not: to keep an audience interested, they need to see a journey, a life that is changing, or a conflict that the character is trying to get through.

Dean taught me the rule he refers to as the "HEC" rule, which consists of the three aspects to engage your audience. First, the character needs a "Human Condition" that is about to change. The second thing to bear in mind is the "Emotions". A character should be full of emotions and perhaps the most important emotion is “Empathy”, as that is the international language that everyone can understand. And last, but not least, is "Context”. A story should be told smoothly with a clear end and beginning for each chapter.

One of the best outcomes of this workshop was learning how to use my new camera. The award also granted me a Canon X350. I did not know much about using it, but Dean taught me its many advantages, particularly for shooting documentaries. Some of its main benefits are that the mic is attached to the camera, there is no need to change lenses, it is light, the settings are easy, the battery lasts for a long time and the compressor gives you the chance to shoot more footage per roll. It’s a good camera for ‘shoot-and-run’ shots, just what we need to record immediate action as it happens.

Practicing on the camera I felt very empowered, and in full control of the shots I wanted. Self-shooting also saves time and money. What’s more, in documentary production, you should always be prepared because sometimes there’s not much time to ask someone to take the shot for you.

Jumana Saadeh and Dean Arnett

Jumana’s next project

After this concentrated learning experience, it was clear to me how I want to proceed with my next film. The idea I came into the training with did not change, but the treatment is different now because of the magic question "why?” which I kept being asked in the training. Why do I want to do this film? Why is this important to be shown? Why should the audience be interested? Thinking of solid answers put me on track.

The impact of feedback from experienced people about my ideas at this early stage of my career is so important. It made me believe more in some aspects of the story when they liked it, and made me think twice about the things they didn't.

There is one thing that Dean did not want me to forget: with the help of sample scenes we watched together, I learned how to tell a story visually without any words spoken, narration or interviews. Filmmaking is the art of moving pictures and not a novel or a book.

After the workshop was over my time with the BBC Arabic was not quite finished. I had sessions with the editorial stuff regarding my next documentary. They spoke to me about BBC standards and how to always reserve the integrity of a film. It is great for an early career filmmaker to be aware of the BBC documentary standards. They are not easy, but worth learning from the outset.

I really encourage young journalists and first time documentary filmmakers to submit their films now to the BBC Arabic Festival for 2017, the call is open now.

Jumana Saadeh is the winner of BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award 2015

How a PDT (People with Disabilities in Tech) event helped me work at the BBC

2016-03-16T10:00:00+00:00

A year ago Ben Mustill-Rose, a developer who is blind, attended a PDT event in Salford, two weeks ago he joined the BBC as a Developer in Test, here he charts his journey.

It's just after 7am and I'm on a train, traveling to a school to do some testing for an app we're about to launch. A year ago I was unemployed and probably still asleep; now I work for one of the largest media organisations in the world and I've turned into one of those annoying people on the train who insists on taking up all the table space with their laptop.

My introduction to the BBC came in the form of attending a People with Disabilities in Tech (PDT) event in Salford this time last year. I wasn't completely sure what to expect but I reasoned that since it was a free event I didn't really have a huge amount to lose and the alternative was sitting at home continuing to look for a job in tech.

The PDT event was part of a series of free, open door sessions that are designed to encourage a range of more diverse people – including women and people with disabilities – to apply for tech jobs at the BBC.

Ben at People with Disabilities in Tech (PDT) event in Salford in 2015

I felt very welcome on the day and I really enjoyed finding out about what it's really like to work at the BBC. As someone with a disability it was particularly good to be able to talk to other disabled staff to find out what support is available, for example Assistive Tech and Access to Work.

In addition there was a huge amount of info on offer about the tons of tech products they work on, for example what it's like to build a platform like iPlayer that gets hundreds of millions of requests per month. Or to hear from the team that design games played by millions of children or to learn how the BBC has automated the monitoring of all their online real estate. That's just a taster of the sort of information you learn at one of these events - it's all pretty impressive I'm sure you'll agree.

Ben Mustill-Rose with some IT students from the Royal National College for the Blind

Having attended the event I decided to apply for the BBC's Extend scheme. Extend has changed a bit this year but at the time ‘Extendees’ were given a 6 month placement within one of the BBC departments, the idea being that at the end of the placement you'd be in a good position to apply for further work at the BBC. I'm always hesitant to apply to things like Extend - as a rule I tend to lean more toward mainstream opportunities, but I was (rightly) encouraged to think of it as a foot in the door that would enable me to prove myself.

I could write an entire blog post on the things that I've done in my placement and still not scratch the surface. As a developer in test within mobile iPlayer I've been doing all the obvious things like developing and testing but even those two things warrant blog posts of their own.

We do lots of test automation in iPlayer so some of my work has involved extending our existing tools in tandem with running manual tests and helping other teams in adopting our testing practices with a small amount of devops mixed in for good measure.

I also spend quite a bit of time giving UX/accessibility type advice to other teams. I've had a noticeable impact on lots of other products that have yet to be released which is a really great feeling; I can't quite believe how much responsibility I was given from day one - I definitely got thrown in at the deep end but fortunately I enjoy a challenge!

Something that I wasn't aware of before I joined is how much outreach the BBC does. I'm now a STEM ambassador which sees me represent my department at various careers fairs / STEM events which is always incredibly satisfying; I really enjoy giving something back and I'm thrilled that the BBC recognise the importance of these sort of activities.

At the BBC we do things that change the world and we're building things that nobody has ever built before. Every day that I go into work I know that the things I'm doing are making a real difference both externally and internally and it's for these reasons that I was delighted to accept the offer of a permanent developer in test role on the iPlayer team a couple of weeks ago.

I’m the living proof that if you’ve got the right skills then it really is possible to go from attending a Diversity in Tech event to working on some of our flagship products. If you're at all interested in working for us then I would highly recommend that you check out the details of the next event which is taking place on the 8th of April in London.

If you’re reading this thinking I’d never get a job in tech at the BBC then I totally understand, I used to think the same thing, even though I’d got a good degree in Computer Science and some relevant work experience – but if you don’t bother applying, or attending an event, then you’ll simply never know.

And if you don’t come to the next event you’ll also miss out on hearing me present about my work on BBC iPlayer – and a pint at the end of the day. Convinced yet? You should be. I hope to meet you then.

Ben Mustill-Rose is a BBC Developer in Test

Find out more about the next Diversity in Tech Conference on 8 April 2016

BBC News School Report 10 years on

2016-03-09T15:14:20+00:00

Tomorrow (10 March) BBC News School Report celebrates its tenth annual News Day where over 30,000 students will take part in the award-winning project. They will be writing, editing and even presenting the news for the BBC’s national, local and regional television and radio news programmes.

Minh Nguyen, from Whitley Academy in Coventry, has been involved in the project for nine years and talks here about why she thinks the project has been successful and what students learn from the project.

I first got involved with the BBC News School Report project nine years ago. It’s been an amazing journey.

At the start I did not have any specific idea how I would run the project but I had guidance from the BBC School Report team, the teaching resources online and my BBC School Report mentor to help. The project is extremely flexible about how School Report can be run; whether schools want to run it during class or after school as extracurricular, as well as how we organise the students and our reports and whether we want to take part in News Days and rehearsals.

Now the project is well established and the positive reputation we have built up over the years has enabled me to recruit young year 7 students who are very committed to the project and are willing to put in the extra hours.

The older student reporters – who have taken part over the years - coach the younger ones until they achieve their final products. I mostly play the role of the adult observer and have the final say and allow the team the chance to work independently.

It’s brilliant to see what the young reporters get out of the project and it can be surprising how dynamic the young reporters are. After going through the BBC News School Report lessons, the student reporters know the dos and don’ts of reporting. They then take control of the whole project. They explore sources for the news, the formats and how they want the reports to be.

It’s important to allow the younger reporters time to talk to the older students and learn from them. And in return allow the older reporters to share their reporting experience with the younger ones and to coach in an informal environment. It is rewarding to observe how they support each other.

They become used to meeting deadlines, working together as a group with peers of different academic abilities, as well was growing in maturity.

When working with teenagers aged 11-14 it isn’t always easy to keep them focused for any lengthy period of time. Right at the beginning of the recruitment (usually September), I always emphasise the need for self-discipline and for trust in the team to allow them to become more confident to stand up and express themselves which is extremely important.

Many of the students have also mentioned the fact they have become more sociable through the project and they find it easier to make friends with students from other groups and different year groups.

My BBC Student Reporters have been recognised in the wider communities; including the Educational Division of the US Embassy in London. I wanted them to know that their disadvantaged upbringings would not affect their academic achievement (and of course a successful career life later on) as long as they try their best.

News Day gives them real-life opportunities and allows teachers like me flexibility in deciding what is best for the report team and how to make the most of the opportunity.

In my 13 years as a teacher of English in Sai Gon Vietnam, I struggled throughout to give the students opportunities to get involved in learning English more effectively. Therefore it is obvious why I take all the opportunities from the BBC School Report seriously and want to make them work for my student reporters.

Case study: Pavani’s story

One of the highlights of my journey to join the BBC School Report is the success of a student reporter – Pavani who is now a Year 13 student at the Academy.

In 2009 Pavani started year 7 at Whitley Academy and became a BBC Student Reporter. Through the project she developed her confidence and interest in journalism. She became an independent young person and continued looking for opportunities further afield.

In 2013 she was granted the US Embassy London Journalist Exchange Program scholarship and went to three different states in America in July – August 2013.

In August 2014; once again she used the experience she had gained from BBC School Report, and she applied for the Virgin Atlantic scholarship where she travelled to north India.

In August 2015 she was awarded the Sutton Scholarship to go to the US and visited universities including Yale, MIT and Harvard.

She has got amazing opportunities through School Report. Hopefully, other student reporters will earn similar success.

Minh Nguyen is a teacher who has participated in BBC School Report

Find out more on the BBC News School Report website
Watch the BBC News School Report YouTube channel

BBC Creative Access: first hand accounts from trainees

2015-11-25T14:10:00+00:00

DG Tony Hall and Acting Director BBC TV Mark Linsey with the BBC Creative Access Graduates

In June 2014 the Director General announced that the BBC would take on 20 graduate trainee interns from the successful Creative Access programme as part of ambitious plans to address the on and off-screen representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. We took on more than 30. Of the 20 who have completed the scheme so far, 70% have gained further employment at the BBC. Here are some of their stories:

Sabbiyah Pervez:

When I first saw the advert for the traineeship my immediate thought was this can’t be real: training at the BBC, during the General Election and it's paid!

My first year at the BBC has been a whirlwind, which is ironic given that I never imagined that I would be a part of this institution. It wasn't because I didn’t think I was capable but because I didn’t think I could fit in with the BBC culture. What is that culture? I guess before I joined the BBC I thought everyone had to be the same rigid individual with little creativity or opportunity to be creative. I was wrong. In the past year I have trained on some of the biggest stories in my region, Yorkshire, whether that was grooming, terrorism, school stabbings, the General Election or refugees. I have realised that being myself and I guess more importantly being allowed to be myself has opened up roads to people who would otherwise not engage with the BBC or media in general.

And this is something I am incredibly passionate about, hearing from the grass roots, what do I mean by that? The people who are affected by the news and who have incredible stories to tell.

Radio 4 approached me last week, they wanted me to take part in a panel discussion asking whether the Paris attacks could happen here. The discussion first aired on Thursday evening and because of the response it was replayed on Sunday evening also. One listener emailed Edward Stourton directly saying he thought the discussion: "may have been the most important programme broadcast by Radio 4 this year. Those young Muslim journalists were just so smart and had more insight than I have heard from the mouths of any number of politicians." There was also fantastic feedback from friends and colleagues.

More than anything in this year I have learnt that the term 'journalist' means nothing. Journalists are mere portals through which the public can tell their stories, air their grievances and have their questions answered. The value of my work in future will depend on how effectively I have engaged the audience.

Lara Owen:

There is nothing quite like the buzz of a busy newsroom or the satisfaction when a news story you have found makes it on air. My placement at BBC Inside Out West Midlands and Midlands Today has been really positive for my career in journalism and allowed me to use my editing, writing and filming skills in a busy news patch. After my master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism I was keen to get more experience in television and the Creative Access placement provided the opportunity to learn skills on the job, whilst also being part of a supportive community of other interns.

I’ve been lucky enough be trained as one of the producers for our regional debate programmes, interview Politicians in the run up to the Election and also research full time on Inside Out. Just to give a flavour, there’s been everything from EU Migration where we followed a Romanian family in their first few weeks of living in the Midlands, to our Train Waste film where me and producer Jonathon Gibson found out what goes on the tracks is a public health hazard the hard way, that’s right we picked up the samples ourselves.

My top tip to the new cohort of trainees is that it’s important to be a team player and not be afraid to muck in. I landed myself the task of translating for a Chinese media delegation on their tour of the BBC and when the first direct flight from China landed at Birmingham airport. It’s just about seeing every experience as a chance to grow and learn and find new stories. I now have a staff position with BBC Midlands Today.

Hannah Ajala:

The 12 months I was fortunate enough to spend as a trainee at BBC Radio 2 were phenomenal. I’d never set foot into a studio, let alone worked with such well respected and popular presenters. I learned the ins and outs, and was also fortunate enough to step into the newsroom at the BBC. I decided to grab each and every opportunity that came my way, knowing that I planned to make the most out of it, grow from it, and stay in it.

I realise that my love for broadcasting is something that has led me not only into radio, but online and on TV. After successfully completing the 12 months, I am now a Researcher at BBC TV and would just advise anyone out there to always believe in your brand, connect with people of interest, and keep growing... it’ll pay off.

Arran Shargall:

The experience and knowledge I've gained during my internship at Holby City has been truly priceless. This has only been made possible thanks to the opportunities and support of Creative Access, BBC Academy and the Holby City Line Producer - Lynn Grant, and my mentor, the Series Producer - Simon Harper.

Being a television graduate, I found it incredibly important to learn as many aspects of creating television as possible. The way Lynn catered the internship around my interests, allowing me to rotate through Script, Story, Research, Production Management, Camera and Post-Production, allowed me to gain a full understanding of how an idea evolves all the way in to an episode of Holby City.

Holby allowed me to be confident, creative and gain as much as I was willing to put in. What made my internship especially unique was the family-feel that transpired around the whole building. I think nowadays there’s more pressure and less opportunities for young people. However, I’m a firm believer that if you work hard enough towards something, you’ll get the opportunity. And actually what I think more young people should be doing is maximizing every opportunity they’re given, whilst also appreciating how privileged we are as young people.

Mujina Kaindama:

I started off the year at Sunday Politics South where I trained as a Researcher. Moving out of London for this opportunity I discovered that the regions have a lot to offer. The General Election was an exciting time as we hosted live hustings debates around the country. The show helped bring the politicians to the public and what followed were some tough questions - politicians kept getting caught out by the question: what is the living wage outside of London? I also had some unexpected tasks – most memorably during our live Worthing broadcast I played bouncer literally blocking the door to a group of Green party protesters.

I started the summer in BBC Radio Berkshire having first helped produce some breakfast show outside broadcasts on the Queen’s Longest Reign and commemorating Fred Potts, Reading's only Victoria Cross winner, I’m now Assistant Producer and sometimes reporter on the Bridgitte Tetteh Show helping cover news that affects the African-Caribbean community in Berkshire.

I’m still perfecting the art of persuasion but I’ve learnt if you don’t look up and ask you simply won’t get.

Ashley John-Baptiste:

I found out about the traineeship through someone who works in BBC current affairs. I had worked with this person on a previous project, and she suggested that the internship would be a good fit for me.

Honestly, I really hadn’t considered the BBC before that. I had never heard of the Journalism Trainee Scheme and at university career fairs I was only ever hounded by law, banking and consultancy firms (which was pretty soul destroying for me as a creative). Back then, the BBC seemed an impenetrable monolith. I never thought that I’d have a chance of working here in journalism.

As an intern, I started off as a trainee broadcast assistant on the news channel – helping with the flow of stories by researching and booking good guests. Soon after, I was invited to be a part of the Victoria Derbyshire launch team... I had no idea what to expect.

Seven months on, I have been employed as a researcher/reporter. I feel I am an integral part of the Derbyshire team, often helping with next day planning. More than this, I have also been privileged to be able to originate my own stories and even report them.

The Creative Access traineeship has been phenomenal and has landed me a true opportunity of a lifetime.

BBC Local Apprentice reports for Inside Out

2015-10-12T16:11:33+00:00

In this special post, BBC Local Apprentice Joshua Gardner talks about his experience working on news story for Inside Out.

I've been working BBC Radio Leeds for over 12 months now and love every second of it. I'be had the chance to interview MPs durinv the 2015 General Election, and produced shows for BBC Radio Leeds.

I'be also brought lots of news stories to the station during my time here, stories that have featured on lots of different shows, from the BBC Radio Leeds Breakfast Show to BBC Look North. I'be also made a feature on people in wheelchairs getting around festivals, with a twist - I put the acts in a wheelchair to see how they got on.

Joshua Gardner with Ella Eyre

Today I feature in a BBC undercover Inside Out investigation as part of an idea I had on airport security and the way they act with people with disabilities.

I am a wheelchair user myself and when going on holiday I have always noticed a problem; ie they don’t check every part of my chair.

I noticed an email from the Inside Out team in Yorkshire mentioning they were open to ideas and suggestions for their upcoming series. I replied straight away saying: “I have an idea. Could we have a chat about it?” I got an email straight away saying come and have a chat.

It was there when I told the team about how I’m not checked as thoroughly as I should be when going through security and they wanted to know more.

What was said straight away was it does take time to get the ok for undercover filming and that process started then. We discussed flights I had taken over the last couple of years and went through in detail what had happened.

We started planning a trip abroad with me, a producer and a cameraman. We then booked the flights and filmed how I would book assistance for a flight to help with my wheelchair. I mentioned to the producers that I just have to press a button for assistance but never have to prove that I am actually a wheelchair user.

After booking the flight we then turned to planning what we would take through the airport. We decided to take a bottle of water and tools that I use to fix my chair. The water is a prohibited item which we are not allowed to take through security on to a plane – it would be up to security to examine the toolkit before allowing it on board. But would the security team at Leeds-Bradford spot them?

Eventually, the day had come to film and take the flight to Malaga; we prepared our secret filming equipment – I’m not going to tell you exactly how we did it! Then we went to security. It went as I thought and I although I was patted down and the outside of the chair checked at security and one bag attached to it was scanned, they did not find the bag underneath the chair with the water and tools inside.
So the water and toolkit I had put in my chair got through.

Once we arrived in Malaga we did some more filming, talking about the reasons for doing this investigation and why it is important for security staff to check every part of wheelchairs.

Paul Murphy and Josh Gardner in Malaga

On the way back to the UK we did the same thing again at Malaga Airport and once again we got straight through security without anyone finding the water or the toolkit.

Leeds-Bradford Airport say they comply with and, in fact, exceed security requirements. They say my wheelchair was swabbed for dangerous liquids and found to be negative, and the presence of a screwdriver and spanner, as part of a standard wheelchair kit, is permitted. They say the safety of the travelling public remains their highest priority.

This story has already been picked up by BBC Look North as a lead story, BBC Breakfast News, The Mark Forrest Show and BBC Radio Leeds as a lead story.

It took a lot of time to plan and it has really been great to be a part of it. You can watch the programme on BBC One (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) Inside Out, Monday 12 October 7.30pm.

Joshua Gardner is the BBC Radio Leeds Local Apprentice

BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award 2014 Winner

2015-09-17T09:15:02+00:00

The 2014 BBC Young Journalist Award was granted to Abdelfattah Farag on the closing night of the BBC Arabic Film Festival in 2014. The award includes training and equipment for an aspiring non-fiction filmmaker who took part in the Festival and was under the age of 30. Last month, Abdelfattah received his training at the BBC Arabic bureau in Cairo where he was also handed his new kit. Here, he blogs about his experience.

I just received the BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award training at the BBC Arabic bureau here in Cairo. The training covered shooting skills with cameraman, Sherif Foley; script writing and dramatic development for documentary filmmaking with Deputy Programmes Editor, Louay Ismail; and picture editing with TV director, Michael Ghattas.

The Training

Starting with the technicalities of camera work, I was familiarised with the importance of ‘depth of field’ and how to use focus. I was also introduced to ‘white balance’, a very important element that I knew nothing about before. Apart from shooting, I was taught how to properly mic subjects for optimum sound recording.

Dramatic development was one of the elements that I was most keen to learn about. The most interesting thing I learned in this area was how to start my film, creating a strong and effective beginning without telling too much. Part of that is presenting the viewer with an unexpected opening.

In teaching me this, Louay introduced me to the six forms of documentary – poetic, observational, expository, participatory, reflexive and performative – an eye-opening overview of mechanics, structures and styles of non-fiction film.

Michael Ghattas took me through beginner levels of how to use the Final Cut editing software, showing me simple editing tricks. Going through the programme, I learned how to put timelines together and sync sound. I also learned how to place and cut my shots according to my script or the director’s vision and use insert shots. By the second day of this training, I was able to cut my own short reports. It was very useful to me that, after two days, I was able to pick up the secrets of this vibrant tool.

But the most important thing I learned is that I should always make the film I want to make, I should express my own thoughts and not be influenced by others.

My Next Project

I have never used professional equipment in any of the documentaries or reports I produced in the past. But with my new camera kit, I am about to start. Part of my training was to learn to use this particular camera and all it offers. I believe that, with my strengthened knowledge and access to professional tools, my next project will be a much stronger quality production.

The discussions and workshops that I had about script development have already influenced the way I am thinking of directing my next story. As was instructed, I am already putting together the strong beginning and end which will help me piece together the remaining, informative part of the story. My training has allowed me to think on more than one level, approaching the production from more than one angle, in more than one way.

The first winner of the BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award

After the announcement that I had won the 2014 BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award last November, I remember just going up to the stage with great pride and joy and saying, ‘I feel like I am in a dream, and I don’t want to wake up.’ I consider myself very lucky to be the first winner. I was very happy to be part of the BBC Arabic Festival last year because I consider the BBC to be among the finest media outlets in terms of integrity, accuracy, impartiality and professionalism.

Abdelfattah Farag is a filmmaker and BBC Arabic Young Journalist Award winner

Abdelfattah Farag’s new short documentary will be screened as part of BBC Arabic Festival 2015
Read A sneak peak of BBC Arabic Festival 2015
To obtain tickets for the festival, visit the BBC Shows and Tours website