Last week our production team had the pleasure of shooting with Gail Porter , the presenter for our Career Focus TV site. This site is a step-by-step guide into a new career, with entertaining and amusing videos. On a baking hot Tuesday morning, our production team was excited to meet Gail and see her bring our careers scripts to life. We set up the camera, green-screen and autocues and were ready to roll when we met Gail. Sometimes it can be awkward meeting someone who’s well-known. I once met Simon Beaufoy, who won an Oscar for writing Slumdog Millionaire. Whilst, chatting to him, he passed me his Oscar statue, and I somehow managed to dislodge the plating on the bottom of it. Thankfully meeting Gail went a lot better, and the only thing that was quickly broken was the ice. She is a bundle of energy and immediately entertained us with an anecdote about someone she encountered that morning. After introductions were made, coffee drunk and mics were readied, we started filming. Gail presented the scripts which we’d written for our programmes and then we moved onto the scripts for our Career Focus TV site. Gail’s energy and enthusiasm...

We recently ventured out of London to Witney, near Oxford. We were completing our Responsible Transportation programme by filming Media Fleet . Media Fleet is one the UK’s leading fleet livery and branding specialists. “What’s a livery?” I hear you cry. It’s a bespoke form of mobile advertising, where adverts are wrapped onto fleets of vehicles. Media Fleet’s clients include EON, Scottish Power and Babcock. They design, print and wrap vehicles, all from their large base here. Upon entering we met their friendly team and even friendlier dog. We were informed that a tray of sandwiches and cakes waited for us- not by the dog, he couldn’t speak. An excellent start to a shoot, and for once I managed not to spill my coffee. After a quick tour of the offices, warehouses and printing rooms we set up the cameras and I interviewed Account Executive Georgina Pulo . She was fun, energetic and her answers were detailed and flowed nicely. This made my job easy. Georgina Pulo, Account Executive, Media Fleet Later, I interviewed the company’s owner Barnaby Smith in their warehouse and he gave some interesting background to the company . It was great to see how passionate...

As a working writer I’ve interviewed people professionally in a number of different styles. I think that interviewing, or at least asking people questions, is an important part of being a writer. Writers are curious folk, or nosey some might say, but having an interest in people is essential to any form of writing. Sam Shervill, Marketing Manager at Silent Gliss Writers tend to be listeners rather than talkers, which is a useful start in interviewing. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of writers who just want to arrogantly boast about their work. I’ve met many at networking events, believe me. Interviewing relies on the ability to listen to what the interviewee is saying and working out what they are trying to say. Sometimes an interviewee may not quite say what are trying to say. Whether they’re a CEO on a six-figure salary or an intern just starting out, everyone can get flustered during an interview. There’s something about cameras that can have that effect on people. As an interviewer it is your job to ease the interviewee through and help them to give the answer that they want to. Sometimes it will be as simple as...

Recently we filmed Silent Gliss at their Kent office in Broadstairs. Silent Gliss is a leading, global supplier of high-end blinds and curtain tracks. Their impressive client list includes The Shard , Hugo Boss and Wembley Stadium. Entering their large building, I was immediately struck by how spacious and elegant it looked. They had a huge work of art on the wall several floors up. Marketing Manager Sam Shervill explained what a logistical nightmare this was to install. The picture was dramatically unveiled to their employees and it was covered with one of their curtains on an electric rail. We met the Managing Director Hugh Gage and the Warehouse Manager Simon Waller, and were given a guided tour of the building. What immediately became clear was the passion these three longstanding employees had for Silent Gliss. We were shown into one of their board rooms, which had a range of their blind and curtain installations on display for us. I never really gave much thought to the huge range of possibilities within blind and curtain installation. Whilst I mused over this the production team set up the equipment for the interviews. Hugh Gage, MD of Silent Gliss UK We...

Collaborative Media have been producing films for clients across the UK for over 5 years. We have recently produced films focusing on industries like manufacturing, technology and transportation. Kit Wisdom, Head of Corporate Mobility, Alphabet (GB) for our transportation programme Our 30 minute programmes give an overview of an industry, and show the unique challenges it faces. We create a wider understanding of the sector by providing a platform for industry leaders to share expertise on the latest news, developments and opportunities. Our programmes feature several industry leading companies who we interview to demonstrate their contribution to the industry. So why should you contribute to our programmes? Our programmes are broadcast on Sky TV and BBC/ITV Freesat to a large, business focussed audience. The broadcast channel is Information TV, which is dedicated to commercial programming and receives viewing figures around 200,000. This platform can dramatically improve your brand reach and start the industry talking about you. By featuring on our programmes you will be seen as an industry leading company. You will be given around 7 minutes of air time to explain what your company does better than anyone else. Our experienced production team takes care of the entire...