Sean Macnamara
I worked as a Producer, Assistant Camera, and Sound on both documentaries. Jannah discusses a family event told by Mohammed & Ali Al-Sader which takes place in 1960's Iraq. Un Paese per Vecchi is set in a small town in the south of Italy which is slowly becoming abandoned.
I worked as a Unit Manager on the two live broadcasts. Stand By Wrestling is a classic wrestling broadcast where William Degger tries to dethrone the reigning champ. Roots of Rhythm has a mix of both live music performances and interviews across the show.
My main objective across the documentaries was to support the director's vision by managing the logistical aspects. This primarily consisted of filling out paperwork, managing the budgets, and planning travel to the UK and Italy.
As a Unit Manager on the live shows, my role focused on rigging for each show and ensuring the broadcasts would run smoothly. While also working on my own tasks, I'd often help out amongst other departments.
I believe the final outcomes of the documentaries were extremely successful as both achieved what they set out to make. The story within Jannah was tough to piece together as we wished to include more footage and interviews within our Cornwall trip. We decided to focus solely on Mohammed & Ali Al-Sader's experience in Iraq which was possible due to the amount of archive Mohammed had. I am extremely pleased with the result of the film and the crew who worked on it.
Un Paese per Vecchi is a poetic documentary about the town of Pomarico, in southern Italy. The film uses walking interviews, sit-down interviews, and b-roll to convey a clear feeling within the town. I think this was done brilliantly through the storytelling by Michelle Sorriso, cinematography of Patrick Devereux, and sequencing by Lilla Petnehazi.
Stand By Wrestling and Roots of Rhythm were both incredibly successful and reinvented the student's perception for what could be created within the IADT studio. They were equally ambitious in their approach to the technical aspects, which the crew were able to deliver. Although problems arose, as they do in any broadcast, they were fixed quickly.
I am graduating with a BA (Hons) in Television where in my final year, I worked as a Producer on two documentaries and a Unit Manager on two broadcasts. I plan to continue working in the live broadcast industry with my main sector being sports. I am a trained VT operator and hope to explore different roles around the sector.
