Following the gripping conclusion of Being Human‘s fourth series on Sunday, CultBox caught up with the show’s Second Assistant Director, Derek Ritchie, to discuss his work on the show and his career…

 

How did you first get into the TV/film industry?

“I’d finished a degree in English Literature and Film and TV Studies at Glasgow University, which had been purely academic rather than practical, and sent my CV around pretty much everyone in the Scottish Film and TV industry.

“Luckily there were lots of productions shooting in Glasgow that year, and I got a few days’ work on a film as a daily runner. From there I got my next job through one of the crew I’d worked with on that shoot, and luckily it carried on like that until I was more established in the industry.

“I really loved working as a runner – it’s a great place to start, simply as you have an opportunity to understand how every department works and what they need to effectively contribute to a shoot. It’s a great learning experience!”

 

What are your favourite memories from your early days?

“One of my favourite memories from then was in fact my very first day on my first job. It was 5:30AM and after being a student, that was enough of a shock to the system. I’d just turned up, been shown the ropes and told to go and get a cup of tea. I got to the tea table and there was an old chap making a cuppa – ‘You wanna coffee?’ he said, and my jaw dropped – Robert Duvall wanted to make me a coffee! ACTUAL ROBERT DUVALL!!! I was pretty much sold on the business from that moment on!”

 

Was it a career that you’d always hoped to enter while growing up?

“I’d wanted to work in film and TV since I was a kid. I’d always been obsessed with it and what really inspired me was Doctor Who Magazine!

“They used to print a feature called the ‘Archive’ every month, where they took you – in painstaking detail – through the production of a classic story – from the start of the script-commissioning process, through rehearsals and shooting, to broadcast and merchandising. It was the bit I always read first every month, and it completely inspired me to work in the industry.

“Shows like Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Dark Season, The X-Files (and pretty much any cult or adventure TV I could get my hands on) were what I spent my youth watching and I’d always dreamt of working on new British cult TV.”

 

You’ve worked as Second Assistant Director on Being Human since the original pilot. Can you tell us a bit about what that job involves?

“As a Second Assistant Director you’re very much across both Production and the shoot, working at the Unit Base close to wherever that day’s filming location might be.

“It’s a Second’s responsibility to ensure that everyone and everything required for a day’s shoot is where it’s meant to be at the right time, and a big part of that is producing the daily call sheet which details what, where, and who is being shot that day and when everything is required on set.

“The Second liaises with all the departments to be across their various requirements for the shooting day, and is always planning ahead for future days and weeks of filming. I also have to manage cast and supporting artistes, keeping all of the actors across what we’re doing and when they’re required and helping them with the logistics of shooting.

“In prepping a shoot, you attend tone and production meetings, as well as location recces and read-throughs, to ensure you understand every element of what the Production is hoping to achieve.

“Perhaps one of the most creative parts of the job is casting and managing the supporting artistes – a bad extra can completely ruin a scene and it’s important that the casting reflects the content and tone of a particular scene or sequence.

“I always take great pleasure in doing a big casting at the start of a shoot to find interesting and talented individuals whose often unique skillsets I can then draw upon during a shoot, should a particular requirement come up in a script.

“So it’s a job which is both practical and creative. The down-side being that apart from the Locations and Facilities teams you’re often the first in and last out on a long shooting day!”

 

You also worked on Jamie Hewlett’s Phoo Action for BBC Three, which was commissioned for a series after its pilot but then cancelled just before production began. How close to production was the series and were you disappointed that it was never made?

“Production on Phoo Action did get pretty far down the line before the show was pulled. I think it was a week off shooting with crew prepping it, sets having been built, props hired and cast having travelled to the UK from the US.

“So money had been spent, and it was a big hit to the Scottish TV industry to lose a series like that when there wasn’t a huge amount of drama being shot north of the border at the time.

“Although the pilot was at times hit-and-miss in managing to achieve the tone of Jamie Hewlett’s fantastic comic book world, it was a very original concept and I would have liked to see a show like that finding its feet and growing in confidence as a series progressed.

“It was a very original cult TV concept, and I was disappointed it never had an opportunity to develop.”

What did you think of Being Human‘s fourth series? Let us know below…