tele-visual differences

I have been finding the cultural and language barriers between myself and the film-crew difficult to negotiate at times. However, we are working very well together as a team, and have produced some excellent results. Friday consisted of four interviews. All of which were challenging for different reasons, from the person who was reluctant to speak to the one who was reluctant to commit themselves on camera, although they had been very willing to be blunt beforehand. There's nothing startling about that, it just struck me that there are barriers involved once people know they are speaking to a wider audience. I also notice that if you ask a person the same question a second time for the camera, perhaps because there was a background noise or interuption that they are far more likely to tone down the second reply.

In filming I have also been intrigued between the stylistic differences of the crew compared with the bits and pieces I have seen of filming in the UK. The pace at which the crew I am with operates is phenomenal: and the desire to stop and pause for a tea break here or there is non-existent, it is me who is always clamouring for a ten minute time out or a proper break at lunchtime. These are not unpleasant differences, just intriguing, and educational. My knowledge of how TV is made in the UK is fairly limited though, so I'm interested what Roy will think of the quantity of material and its quality. We do have about four to five hours of footage, including ninety minutes of interviews and pieces to camera, so I guess there ought to be enough there for making a start on the educational DVD and, of course, the 10 minute pilot documentary.