Overview of the role
A shooting PD is a hybrid role that has become the cornerstone of how productions are shot in factual TV. They are operating a camera more than any other person, are skilled in building rapport with contributors and drive the storytelling forward. This is the key person sent out into the world, or onto the studio floor, to capture the raw ingredients to make a series.
The multitasking feat at the heart of this job is the combination of a firm base of technical skill with the ability to nurture great partnerships with a variety of contributors, protect hard-won access, and do it all at the same time. shooting PDs are excellent communicators, able to direct small crews of APs or researchers, as well as confidently and honestly debrief to series producers and executives. Productions rely on the PD to make many editorial decisions independently, which requires the right experience and confidence. They are thorough, creative, passionate and resilient.
A shooting PD is often the first leadership position in someone’s career. And so they must be able to manage and lead the junior members of the crew on location - while also dealing with editorial and shooting content, if there are no more senior people present. If this is the case, the PD will be making decisions on editorial or welfare issues, and bears some responsibility for their safety and wellbeing.
It is a role that can take many shapes, depending on genre and format, from being a single shooter in a team of six on an observational documentary, to being more of a solo act making an investigative journalism single. Some shooting PDs will also be edit producers, and once their shooting period is over they will take on responsibility for delivering an episode alongside an editor. Some will have a job that lasts a single day, others for many months. But they are all the beating heart of a production, all keen storytellers and lovers of people.
Core responsibilities
These core responsibilities are provided as a guide and are not exhaustive. The exact responsibilities in a particular job will vary depending on the scale / budget band / genre of the production.
- Operate a variety of cameras with a decent degree of proficiency that aligns with aims for how the series should look and sound.
- Maintain cameras, microphones, cables, lenses in good repair.
- Stock the kit with memory cards, batteries and consumables.
- Set up lighting for interviews
- Using a variety of grip equipment
- Secure and package rushes safely to be ingested in the edit.
- Record sound unsupervised, reliably gathering clean dialogue.
- Offer creative shooting ideas, with suggestions of kit to fit the budget
- Deliver the series aims by steering each shoot day smoothly and successfully, and creatively finding ways to tell each story.
- Plan for shooting with senior members of the team, supply shot lists or schedules and then communicate this through to the junior members of the team.
- Take responsibility for health and safety on location, if the most senior producer present. Working with the series producer and production management, they should ensure that a risk assessment has been completed and necessary PPE is in place.
- Support the production by taking on contributor liaison responsibilities, or by setting up shoots.
- Drive editorial decision-making by investing thought and care into what is being captured and taking part in discussions of where to next take a story.
- Earn the trust of talent and members of the public to participate in filming, obtain their consent and work with the rest of the team to secure signed release forms.
- Protect access to film at the location by building supportive, courteous working relationships with press officers and stakeholders.
- Manage a relationship with on-screen talent, and taking responsibility for coordinating their day and wellbeing during filming.
- Able to lead and manage a team of two or three junior staff, keeping them engaged and supportive. The PD is the first level of management on location and must be able to cope with leading others and being responsible for their welfare.
- Write logs after shooting, with story reflections in editorial logs, and technical details for the edit in rushes logs.
- Taking a brief from SD or SP on the look and feel of the series and delivering it.
- Craft complete sequences that cut together naturally, and capture the truth of the story.
- Multitask moment-by-moment editorial decision-making with constant camera operating, while maintaining a relaxed and positive experience of filming for the contributor. For example keeping a nervous documentary contributor company while a colleague sets up a shot.
- Build scenes that match the parameters of the filming day, keeping a shoot on schedule and on budget.
- Work unsupervised on a variety of sequences for example; pieces to camera, multi-person chats, GVs, vox pops, interviews, rostrum shots, present tense actuality, and step-by-step processes.
- Communicate the visual storytelling approach to the rest of the crew clearly and succinctly, and take on their ideas where appropriate.
Skills
Check out role specific skills, transferable skills and attributes for the role of shooting producer director.
- Understand cinematography fundamentals, for example directional light, colour contrast, contrast of light, and compositional elements of depth, rule of thirds, planes of action, composition.
- Realise the effect created by different camera moves, for example handheld as opposed to panning and tilting on a tripod.
- Choice of lens, demonstrating understanding of zoom lenses vs prime lenses and shot size.
- Literacy in the fundamentals of digital cinema cameras, colour temperature, aperture, ISO/Gain, exposure index, log shooting and LUTs.
- Shoot stable, confident handheld. Fluent walking shots.
- Record audio using shotgun and personal microphones.
- Tune radio microphones transmitters and receivers.
- Use grip equipment like tripods, but also sliders or gimbals efficiently and confidently.
- Rig action cameras like GoPros
- Plan and execute multi-camera setups or cross-shooting.
- Retention of detail is important, as a lot of new editorial information will flow through the PD. Not all of it will be useful for the story, but some will be, and together with the good judgment to act on it, having a good memory is a genuine advantage.
- The job is, by its nature, multitasking, and often relies on the ability to hold several thoughts simultaneously.
- The ability to make a good first impression and get along with a wide variety of people is essential. Listen carefully to what people tell you and assess it for storytelling potential, being an active listener.
- Creatively approach each new situation with a receptive attitude, the best solution may not have been apparent in the planning.
- Be organised in note-keeping and equipment maintenance.
- Solve problems proactively where appropriate, as this job is a step up from assisting roles and relies on experience.
- Confidence in your own decisions goes a long way, and can make the difference between finishing the shoot on time and overrunning.
- Collaboration: even if you are directing, a good idea can come from anywhere. This means demonstrating good teamwork, actively listening with patience.
- Curiosity: if the ancient wisdom that the ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ is real, then it requires an open mind and the willingness to pursue it in a direction that you hadn’t previously considered.
- Candour: not everything you film will be gold, and having the honesty to say so when asked is worth a lot, and prevents the team from making mistakes.
- Stamina: this is a multifaceted job that can be very demanding both mentally and physically, and the ability to keep going is valuable.
- Adventure: a shooting PD is the person face-to-face with the moments there to be captured, who loves human encounters, travel and new experiences. If you can capture on camera what you find interesting, exciting or unusual and make it work in the edit, then you are half of the way there.