The pitch for a video was originally put up on the LSFM Academy Facebook page, where information was being given out about Chris Packham coming to do the University of Lincoln’s first-ever BioBlitz event. I have notifications turned on for the LSFM page (coincidentally this is the most consistent tip I’d pass on to other students), some things may not apply but occasionally a job pops up and I’m usually one of the first to see it. BioBlitz is the term used to describe an area-wide survey of the life during a set time period. In this case it was a full day on 3rd October 2016 at Brayford Pool campus. We had a meeting with various staff at the School of Life Sciences – organisers of the event – and tutors from Lincoln School of Film & Media (LSFM). Here’s a BioBlitz short film with Visiting Professor, at the School of Life Sciences & LSFM, and naturalist presenter Chris Packham captured by a LSFM crew.

I am in my final year (Level 3 Media Production) at LSFM  – I’m also a freelance videographer – and in the team was Adam Canning (Level 3 Media Production), Dan Marnie (Level 3 Audio Production), Rob Wynne (Level 3 Audio Production), Sam Jenkins (Level 3 Audio Production), Georgia Preece (Level 3 Photography), Daisy Houston (Graduate) and Michelle Yates (MA in Photography).

I had originally set out a plan that would rotate us all round so we could experience each shooting condition, and not have a camera operator in one boring place all day. However this plan was quickly abandoned when we got to the labs and found that communication had not been the best between the two schools. Therefore we had no set idea, partly due to changes and partly due to Chris Packham running around erratically and getting excited about everything.

We stuck around recording until the day wrapped, when we followed Chris into a lecture he was giving to students and afterwards we got an interview with him. It was amazing – we had a list of questions to ask him, and he answered all of them before we could actually ask them. This meant that I could use his interview in the edit as a general narration for the day. A few weeks later, he returned to review the photos Georgia and Michelle had taken, and the video that I’d edited together. Unfortunately the rest of the team were not available, but Chris provided some brilliant and eye opening feedback about industry practice, that I am noticing more and more as I see work coming out of the BBC.