Crufts

February 15th 2008 - Victoria Simpson, Assistant Producer - filming  ‘Friends for Life’

Week two on the Friends for Life roadshow saw me – and the light coloured coat - once again on the M25 - this time travelling in the other direction…

Victoria Simpson

Anti-clockwise M25 travelling was decidedly slower, but being Valentine’s Day the radio keep me entertained with cheesy, love messages!  And on arrival, the crew greeted me with outstretched arms, symbolically depicting my huge bunch of Valentine flowers!  Whoever said romance was dead?!

Once again the weather gods were kind (rough translation - even if it did feel like minus 3, at least it wasn’t raining!) … so the kettle was boiled, the obligatory hot tea drunk, the course of the day strategically planned and we were off…

Needless to say, once again dear reader I can’t divulge any of the filming details, but what I can tell you is this year’s dogs come in all shapes and sizes – and this one was the size of a small grizzly bear! But big or small, they each have their own USP and they all desperately want your vote. However are you going to chose?! 

February 15th 2008 - John Smith - Outside Broadcast Director, programme transmission.

The wonderful world of television is full of buzz words and acronyms and very often meetings and discussions can be quite bamboozling as shortcuts and abbreviations pepper the air. The main challenge is to keep up with the latest jargon and, once in a while, introduce previously unused terms that will be repeated and could very well become an industry standard before the end of the day.

John Smith

Whilst we were discussing the possible requirements for the set and facilities for the Sunday afternoon programme the acronyms began to flow. Nigel our wonderful LD (Lighting Director) was referring to his plans that he had created on WYSISWYG (what you see is what you get) a wonderful programme that can create 3D models from a CAD (computer aided design) programme.

It was an opportunity to consider whether the area would benefit from the use of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and whether the LCD (liquid crystal displays) could be augmented by LC panels. LC? Er it’s a trade name, not sure what it stands for so had a look at the Martin website: The LC Series is a semi-transparent, modular system of LED panels, perfect for displaying video and images. Designed for stage shows, TV studios and other commercial applications, the LC closely integrates light, video and set design, offering entirely new possibilities for staging.

Sounds great and looks great but we need to see whether the PM (Production Manager) has enough left in her budget to hire them for the show. She keeps a BDI (beady eye) on the cost of the whole OB (Outside Broadcast) and works wonders as always.

How she manages to make sure that we have enough VTRs (video tape recorders), LSMs (live slow motion), CCUs (camera control units) PSCs (portable single cameras) amongst other TLAs (three letter acronyms) to get the Crufts coverage on the air, whether on UHF (ultra high frequency), DTT (digital terrestrial television) via your STB (set top box) or by DBS (direct broadcast satellite).

By the way there will be one DOG that certainly won’t win best of breed in this year’s Crufts coverage – a Digital On-screen Graphic.

February 13th 2008 - John Smith - Outside Broadcast Director, programme transmission.

It is a joy to look towards televising the dogtastic institution that is Crufts. This will be my second year as one of the Outside Broadcast Directors on the show, so I now know to a certain extent what to expect. Last year I was hit by the sheer scale of the event, and the many fine exotic breeds that fill the NEC across those mad days in March (and that is only the Outside Broadcast team!)

John Smith

Only kidding – we’re really not that exotic, but are very well bred nevertheless. Allegedly.

With just three weeks to go until the first programme, I am currently working on a technical requirement document that sets out the OB facilities that need to be in place to ensure that we capture the many and varied elements of the unique show that is Crufts. Then get them packaged, edited and on air and in the right order and in an exciting form. No pressure there then.

This weighty document needs to be finalised within the next few days so that it can usefully inform the discussions that will take place 21st February at the Technical Planning Meeting, where many of the key production people and craft seniors sit round a table and ensure that the television coverage of Crufts 2008 is all going to happen as smoothly and as efficiently as possible with no unpleasant surprises.

That is the plan. There will be surprises but here’s hoping that they will be pleasant ones!

The document sets out the range of technical and production facilities that will be assembled at the NEC for Crufts week, including the number of cameras, camera mountings, lenses, monitors, audio requirements, communications, editing facilities, video-tape machines and many other widgets and sproggets too varied to mention here. The document also includes the basic schedule for the lead up to and the delivery of the Crufts coverage.

A lot of the document is based on previous years but as time moves on and aspirations change there is a lot more to do that merely change the dates!
Tempting though that may be!

Claire Popplewell, who directs the coverage of the Main Ring, has done the bulk of the work on this document and I am in tweaking mode, particularly seeing to the detail of the facilities required for the programme transmission operation.

We have an additional programme on Sunday this year and this is an unknown quantity to an extent as we are moving from the relative safety of our purpose built studio to an area right at the heart of Hall 3. This needs additional facilities and I had the privilege last week of walking on the roof of the NEC as we measured out the best cable routes to this new presentation position.

Being on the roof of Halls 1, 2 and 3 at the NEC brought home the sheer scale of the venue and although the halls were relatively busy it was strangely peaceful up there. Perhaps I will be found there, up on the roof, during show week. However I doubt I will find the time to escape as I think I may be busy.

February 13th 2008 - Victoria Simpson, Assistant Producer - filming  ‘Friends for Life’

The gun has sounded. Crufts pre-filming for 2008 has started. And I was first off the block… 

Victoria

With an alarm call of 5:30am, sleep was in short supply. I then woke up to the thundering sound of a heavy downpour. Just what you want to hear before you start filming outdoors with dogs! 

Dressed in my wet weather gear (more of that later), I hit the road.  But the weather gods were on my side, and as I was travelling round the lovely M25 the skies eventually cleared. 

On the other hand, the fashion police were not with me, as I found out to my cost later in the day when taking off my wet, muddy boots in one contributor’s beautiful home, only to find I had a hole in my sock!  I have to confess to being attired in a light coloured coat as well – not something I would really advise to my colleagues!  Not unless paw prints have become the latest D&G fashion statement. Although, as I confidently told my Mum, it will go in the washing machine!

I should explain I’m making this year’s films for ‘Friends for Life.’ Now in it’s fourth year, this is our annual vote to find the canine pal most deserving of the title. This year there will be five worthy recipients, each with their own unique and special story, and all of them vying for your vote.

Filming has so far taken me along the M4, down the M5 and into deepest darkest… nope sorry you’re not going to get me on that one! I can’t possibly divulge the details of our five nominees at this stage. You’ll have to wait for March for that. Rest assured you won’t be disappointed; this year’s standard is high.  So stay tuned for those all important phone numbers!

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