Task 4: The Production Process

Pre-Production 1: Planning•Top Gear producers don’t usually have a rest in between episodes. According to an article by the Daily Telegraph Top Gear often go over their budget considerably. The 9 producers and 3 presenters all come up with different ideas with the younger ones going for stunts and the older ones making sensible decisions with regards to cost.•They will make the mini films of the show such as a race from one destination to another or showcasing a car before they film inside the studio.•The script has to be funny so they test out the script with a guest before airing and if the scrip isn’t funny they have to edit it quickly.

Pre-Production 2: On Location When filming on location for a mini film the BBC send the presenters and crew to the location with special cars fitted with crane camera’s. These camera’s are often protected with a special sheet to protect them from sand if they were filming on the beach. There is often repair crew’s on standby in case the vehicles break down whilst filming. If required they will use a helicopter to get Ariel shots of the presenters driving on the road.The preparation for each location will be different. For a domestic location visit, the process is simple and requires the transport of vehicles and crew. For a international visit, it is much more complex. Top Gear will need permission to film abroad and visa’s for all the cast and crew if filming outside the EU.When the crew went to Vietnam, they would have required vaccinations to ensure they did not catch any diseases like malaria. A local guide would have also been on hand to offer general advice.

Production 1: On Location

•Top Gear films on location with a car fitted with a special camera attached to a crane. The crew will usually follow the cars creating a tracking shot. If they are shooting on a road the camera car will usually drive with them for long parts of the journey only pulling over for fuel.• When the three are racing to a destination the outcome is not fake. There is a camera crew with each of the presenters to present a live race.•Top Gear edit these together slow paced at first by switching from one presenter to another but not altering their position in the race. When they are getting closer to their location the editing is more fast paced with non diegetic music to create a tense finish. •Usually these “mini film” races are in between the usual segments of Top Gear. The camera fades back to the studio and fades back to the ‘mini film’ later on.•The Top Gear presenters will then receive a script to narrate the mini film and is edited together.

Pre-Production 2: Studio•At Dunsfold, Surrey the crew already have a script which was written up by script writers several days before. The script is then rehearsed and changed if necessary.•The script is then put on a running VT which the presenters will directly read whilst looking into the camera’s.•The presenters go for hair and make up about 11 o’clock with the Celebrity guest arriving approximately 1 o’clock. The Celebrity guest will do his lap with the Stig before joining the presenters in the studio.•The studio will be prepared for about 12 o’clock with the audience coming in and being positioned by the assistant directors to get a nice range of: coloured clothes, age, and genders mixed in the audience. Instead of all girls at the front and boys at the back.

Production 2: Studio•After a countdown presenter Jeremy Clarkson will welcome the viewing audience to the show and give a brief to what is coming up on the show. This will be edited together with clips of mini films, races and whatever else is coming up on the show.•When he is finished speaking he will either go straight to a mini film by giving the audience a hint, or the camera will whip to another presenter to start the topic.•In the studio, a video of the ‘mini film’ will come on and when it is finished the audience will applaud leaving the presenters to make fun of what happened and making fun of each other.•This will be edited later so that the ‘mini film’ fades in and out at the correct moments. A lot of the banter the presenters have will be cut down to keep to the allocated time slot of 1 hour.•The editing will take place after the filming in a studio gallery and the editors will edit the ‘mini films’ and studio footage together with the narration.