Hidden Camera Filming Top Six Tips
Hidden camera filming can be some of the most fun, exhilarating and terrifying work you do in your TV career.
At Flashlight we have filmed hidden camera. A lot. Any article purporting to be a litany of top tips for a certain genre needs at least to qualify their credentials so here we are before we get going. Our main DOP here Simon has been a stalwart camera op on every series of ITV’s Off Their Rockers. As well as this he has shot and rigged hidden camera set ups for Channel 4. Our main producer/writer Lee has worked as an AP on Off Their Rockers, Fool Britannia and a few other hidden camera pilots. he has also written on every series of Off Their Rockers, several broadcast pilots and even acted in a few too – including this one on Saturday Night Takeaway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDeJmzwjcdE
On top of this, many of our camera ops we employ are hardcore, coal faced, front line hidden camera warriors. Trust us when we say we know the perils of hidden camera set ups. Here be our top six tips for working on a hidden camera shoot.
Be inconspicuous
We’ll kick off with an easy one. The most important thing to remember when out and about is not to worry too much about members of the public ‘clocking’ you. As long as you don’t march around with a clapperboard and a C300 on your shoulder pointing at people and screaming ‘What about him? Lets get him’ you’ll be surprised how little people are bothered. Remember, this is the general British public. They really don’t tend, as a whole, to be too interested in sticking their noses into every rag tag bunch of people who they see wandering around. Once the mark is identified and the cameras start rolling, get to a safe distance and pretend to look at your phone until the hit has finished, then spring into action. Unless you are a camera or sound op. In which case once the hit starts you really should be doing your thing.
Cover
If your hidden camera crew are akin to The Fellowship from Lord of the RIngs, then your camera operators are basically hobbits. Vulnerable, open, and guarding the most important, vital One True Ring (lever). Ok we have stretched that analogy to death, but the point is the camera ops are the most exposed. If they are filming covertly, make sure they have enough cover as possible. Keep eyes all around them in case anyone approached them while filming. If they are filming more openly, try and cover them with other members of the crew standing in front of them.
One technique you could try if the production has no covers is to pretend the camera op is filming a news reporter, who is actually just a member of production. This way they can operate more openly and even be seen by the mark without arousing any real suspicion.
Remember, if the mark looks like they are twigging onto something, that is not the end of the world. If someone knocks into the camera or the op is otherwise disturbed, you will lose the shot.
Be Flexible.
Yes your lunch break may have been scheduled for 1230pm. But it is 1345, everyone is stood in the rain outside a pound shop in Watford, and there hasn’t been one hit yet. Recognise that it is REALLY important for everyone that you get just one in the bag before you all head to Pret. The mood of crew and production lives and breathes for this.
Don’t stop til you are told
Sometimes, whether you are shooting yourself, acting, or standing by, you will be absolutely 100% convinced that the mark has clocked onto what you are doing. Fair enough. You may be right. It may be unbearably awkward. The mark may be pretty much staring straight down your lens, or they may even ask you if you are filming something. Keep going. Someone thinking you are a bit suspicious is no reason for you to stop doing what you are doing.
Some of the best hits come from when marks think they have clocked on, then are gradually sucked back in until they are put out of their misery. Remember, no matter how awkward it is, it will all be over in a few minutes!
Hidden camera, a lot of the time, is about pushing on when you think there is nothing left. People are very unpredictable – remember that!
Don’t Overwhelm marks
So many times on location after a great hit, have we seen a familiar and disparaging sight. A bewildered mark walks off, not knowing what to make of whatever *hilarious* prank has just been committed, when all of a sudden they are pursued by a gaggle of production bods who have emerged like clipboard wielding ninjas from benches, doorways and phone boxes. It is very understandable.
The collective sigh of relief after the crew get a good hit in the bag is palpable. As is the genuine joy of the knowledge that the guy or girl walking off right now has just given us absolute gold. Everyone wants to be the first to tell them what has happened, so off goes the AP, the researcher, the runner, the work experience and sometimes even the actor, in pursuit of our unwitting screen legend. This is a mistake.
ONE person should approach the mark. EVER. It is overwhelming, confusing, yes sometimes even scary, for someone to be surrounded by gleeful TV folk all espousing how amazing they were, how they are going to be hilarious, and how they were the best ‘hit’ of the day. Remember, some people don’t want to be on TV. Some people are very shy. Some people just need a bit of time to let it sink in.
Approach them quietly, take them to one side, and inform them that the weird exchange they have just had is part of a TV show. The most important thing to reinforce with hidden camera marks is that THEY are not the ones who look foolish. They reacted exactly how a normal person would react to a bizarre scenario, and people are going to love them for it. Unless they reacted weirdly, in which case you can champion the positives of this reaction! Remember they are not aliens. They have probably seen a hidden camera show before.
If they are unsure, you can get your producer/director to come and have a word with them. Offer them your email address and phone number. Check first, but they may be able to watch some of it back to assuage their concerns. Assure them you have done the hit to a great deal of other people and it is working really well. Be polite, confident and most importantly be completely transparent with the marks after the hit.
Don’t Worry
The most important thing to remember though is this. Not everyone wants to be on TV. You WILL get a LOT of people refusing to sign. Some will be polite, others may well be rude or even aggressive. Do not be disheartened by this. As long as you have tried everything in your arsenal to convince them, it is fine.
Everyone on the production knows that when it comes to hidden camera there is a certain amount of wastage when it comes to hits. Some will be wasted because the mark reacted in an underwhelming or negative way. Some will be wasted because they or the actor blocked the shot. Some will be wasted because of in-continuity. Some will be wasted because they just were not funny. And some will be wasted by people not signing release forms Everyone knows this.
You will get times when three or four in a row are terrible, but don’t let your shoulder slump.
Treat every hit like it is about to be the best one of the day. Because when the show goes out and it is hit after hit after hit, no one will remember standing outside a pound shop in a thunderstorm in Watford.
Well, not everyone.