This winter I’ve been working as a Producer making up to a hundred short films for the launch of a brand new BBC website aimed at the TV and Radio production community – www.bbc.co.uk/collegeofproduction

The videos are tips-based and short and sweet. Some are made by trainers, giving practical advice on such skills as self-shooting or recording; others offer personal insight to the various production jobs you can do, like a Production Manager or 2nd Assistant Director.

I worked with a small team of self-shooting directors to bulk up the video content. In focus groups for the website it was revealed that more and more people like to watch video content on websites rather than text-based information.

One of the areas we were keen to include at launch were videos on director’s skills. As a director myself, I knew several films we could make that would offer good advice. I asked a couple of former colleagues from BBC Two’s The Culture Show to front a few on Working with Crews, Directing PTCs (Presenter’s pieces-to-camera) and Interviewing Techniques.

I knew that a little film offering advice on basic preparation for the edit should be there too. Directors waste a lot of time in the edit if they don’t know where their material is, or if they have to wade through interviews to find a particular quote. A film giving basic advice that would make your script clear to yourself and your editor would be a good thing.

Unfortunately I found it hard to get someone to present this film in the time I had to make it. It needed to be a proper Producer/Director, not a trainer, someone currently working in the industry.

To cut to the chase...It ended up being me. I didn’t give myself the job, I was suggested for it after others had backed down.

So just prior to Christmas, Jonathan McLeod filmed me saying a few lines to camera about working through a camera script, watching tapes, finding additional material such as music. Obvious stuff but important to remember, especially if just starting out.

Delivering the lines to a small camera felt weird. I tried my best to deliver the lines as naturally as possible (I’m usually on the other foot, remember, directing the presenter) but it’s hard to do that when you’re simply not used to it. A presenter’s job is not easy. Even the act of walking down a corridor makes you think about how you walk. The trick is to not think too much!

In the end, I’m not the star of this short film. It’s the advice that needs to stand out. I just got on with it. However, I don’t think I’m going to watch it again. All I can see is my double-chin, scrappy hair, muffin top, mouthing my camera script as I type them out - all the things I look like every day and do in the course of my work. It is me. I’m not a glamorous presenter, but I tried my best to look like a very regular Producer/Director which I am.

Click here to watch the film.