The EPTV crew arrives at Barking Dog Studios and prepares to set up for the shoot. The crew consists of Paul on lights, Art on sound, Chris on camera, Nazanin as interviewer, Vic as director and myself as tag along. The day begins with a survey of office space to find suitable locations to shoot. It is amusing to sit back and watch as the Barking Dog staff scatters as soon as they see a camera; most of us in the video game industry have little desire to appear on film. Vic moves from room to room with the crew, discussing lighting and space issues and sending programmers running for cover. Finally three areas are decided on for shooting.

Location decided, everyone gets busy as Vic hands out and explains release forms, the crew begins setting up for the first shoot and Nazanin begins talking with the Barking Dog staff to get an overall feel for the interviews. Initial lighting is set and agreed upon then completely altered once Nazanin is brought onto the set, then again once Peter is positioned. Shot angles are discussed with Chris and all of the lighting is once again reset to meet Vic’s vision. With the lighting finally set, Nazanin and Peter take position and the opening of the segment is shot, multiple times, in order to get a smooth pan shot from the office door to the neon Barking Dog sign and then onto Nazanin and Peter (this time-consuming shot eventually hits the edit room floor). Finally, the interview begins.

Nazanin introduces herself and begins asking her first questions, the tape rolls for a few minutes, then Vic calls for a cut, taking a break to discuss the wording of questions and allowing Peter to properly phrase his answers. The discussion completed, shooting begins again, this time the questions and answers flowing much smoother, as Nazanin and Peter continue to discuss the game. A second break is taken as Nazanin’s questions begin to move outside of Peter’s involvement with the game, so a discussion ensues on which questions should be asked now and which should be saved for later members of the staff. With new direction the interview begins again and is almost immediately halted as the battery dies on the camera. Without losing a beat, the unplanned break is used to alter some of the questions and move the interview in a new direction, following a new concept for the interview.

The shoot begins again with battery power restored and gradually comes to a close, or so we all think. Vic has picked up on Nazanin’s energy and desire to perform, leading to a completely different idea on how to shoot the introduction. It is obvious that such changes in direction are common as only Peter and I looked shocked when Vic decides to reshoot entire sections of the interview. A short break, and without a second thought the crew starts again, total shooting time one and a half hours, total TV time fifty-seven seconds.

As the morning progresses, the crew sets up the second location, an office which quickly shrinks in size as we manage to cram three Barking Dog employees, the entire crew, Nazanin and Marcel into the small area. The temperature in the office immediately starts to rise and by the time the shoot begins two of the programmers have managed to sneak out and we are left only with Stuart in the background of the shot. The interview with Marcel moves along in a broken fashion as Vic spends time talking with Marcel and easing his nerves, giving Marcel time to think about his responses and rephrase his answers. The interview progresses quickly once nerves have subsided and Vic decides it is time to shoot some outtake footage for the show. General silliness follows (Stuart isn’t just acting grumpy) as different gags are experimented with; only the hula dancing shots make it into the final cut. Content and humour (everything seems so much more amusing when crammed into an overheated and tiny office) achieved, Vic calls a wrap and the crew moves onto the next set up. Total shooting time one hour, total TV time twenty-eight seconds.

Glen Barnes is our last victim….errrr….interviewee on the shoot and by this time everything is running more smoothly. Lighting takes almost no time as Paul has gotten a feel for the lighting in the office and is craving a cigarette, Nazanin is feeling much more comfortable and chats with Glen about her questions and Chris moves around determining how to shoot the final piece, while Art, always on the move adjusts Nazanin’s microphone (he seems to do that quite a bit…hmmm) and checks for proper sound levels. The interview goes smoothly, filled with Vic adding comments, calling for cuts and changing questions until he feels the objective is reached and calls for a wrap. More time is then taken to shoot different outtakes, record background noise and ensure that we have all of the footage we require. Total shooting time one and a half hours, total TV time forty seconds.

So, for a two minute segment of EPTV, without even considering the studio shoot where Tommy will do the introduction or the time spent editing video and sound as well as adding the special effects to the segment, over four hours were spent gathering content to fill a two minute segment of the show. Everything just seems so much shorter now.