Monday 31 October 2011

Ultimate Sports Day overview

I'm conscious it's been a while since my last self indulgent rant so I thought it would be a good time to make an entry. Part of the reason I've been quiet is because up until last week I have not really had much on other than editing a few Attica related videos to the point where I'm lacking inspiration. The other reason is that I've been going through a bit of a shit time with things at home and my personal life. Without going in to too much detail I've been forced to take a good long look at myself and make an attitude adjustment. This is something I'm struggling with but need to do for my own good. Anyway, up until last week things were pretty shitty.

So what happened last week to change things? Well I got a weeks worth of work on a CBBC show called Ultimate Sports Day. Now there's a little story to go along with this and it started a couple of weeks earlier when I got a phone call from a member of the production office asking if I wanted to come in for an interview about being a runner on a childrens TV show. I didn't know anything about it at this point but it was work and that's all I cared about. So I went to the office later in the day and met with the production manager who explained a bit about the show. It came across as a kids reality TV show. It sounded okay but the production manager explained to me that they were wanting a runner to stay at a youth hostel with the kids 24/7 for 6 days. I wasn't keen on this idea for several reasons but most of all was the money they were offering was woefully inadequate for what they wanted me to do. The way I look at life is that the most valuable thing you have is time. I was not about to stick myself in exile for 6 nights for what more or less slave labour wages. So initially I turned down the job. I really hated doing this but I felt that the production manager saw that I was inexperienced and was looking to take advantage.

So fast forward a week and I got an unexpected call from one of my former colleagues on World War Z. He asked if was available to which I replied, "Sure, what's the job?" He went on to explain the job and guess what... It was the same fucking job. I told him this and explained that I already turned it down. He told me that the person they got walked out on the job and they needed a replacement. The deal I was being offered was much more to my liking. Still not great but definitely worth my time. Plus I knew and respected a couple of people on the project. I also found out that all the locations were withing 15 miles of my home so I wasn't going to get in at ridiculous times. So all of this taken in to account I agreed to do the job and boy am I glad I did.

I had so much fun working on this project and I felt like I learned a lot too. There was a fair amount of down time which was a great opportunity to pick the brains of some of the more experienced crew members. I also got to know a couple of new runners and hit it off with them. Life is so much easier when you get on with the people you work with. The programme was filmed between several locations in Lanarkshire, Ravenscraig Leisure Centre, Strathclyde Park, Wishaw Sports Centre and the Time Capsule. There was a lot of driving around and since my car was handy I was given a bit more responsibility, basically being the last one to leave the locations and making sure all was well. Another thing I liked about it was that I got to meet Barry McGuigan who turned out to be a really nice guy and is still in amazing shape for his age. It's really cool to see guys give the finger to getting old.

Overall, Ultimate Sports Day was well worth doing. It distracted me from my problems and introduced me to some new friends and co-workers. I also got paid which is always a plus. Awesome!