Our Broadcast Professional's
Andrew Davis
With Maddogs since 2004 he has been supporting self-shooters with technical support even
before he started shooting himself. From minicams guy to camera assistant, camera and jimmy jib
operator, now director of photography who has been surrounded by kit ever since he arrived at
Maddogs and he cut his teeth on documentary, reality and entertainment shows. A multi-cam
shooter and experienced single camera operator with over 20 years experience of shooting
broadcast content. Graduate of Bournemouth Uni 2004 Film & Television BA Hons.
James Bailey
Blessed with superb technical knowledge and an eye for detail. James has been guiding crews and clients for years on complex shooting techniques. Specilisting in DIT and Data management on complex long term projects he’s also an expert at timelapse, a seasoned multi-cam shooter and director of photography. James is both a camera operator and technical supervisor with a vast array of broadcast credits. Graduate of Southampton Solent 2007 Television and Video production BA Hons
Craig Hale
Began as an assistant to Andy and James putting in years of training and shadowing other
operators he is now a fully-fledged camera operator and earning his first director of photography
credits. He frequently mixes it up between camera, gimbal and drone work these days having gained
extensive knowledge of equipment and shooting techniques. Graduate of Bournemouth Uni 2012
Video production BA Hons
What to expect with us
3 hours of guidance with a professional broadcast camera operator
Practical hands on with one of our Sony broadcast camera kits
Become confident shooting GVs (B-Roll) and interviews
Practice your skills in a non-pressured environment
Essentials of audio capture, getting the best sound as a single operator
Bring your own kit if you wish to get the most out of it
Hover Box Element
The worlds most tacky transition. I think not!
How the course will run
Part 1 – An Introduction to Camera equipment
Camera – Don’t be afraid they are all the same really!
– White balance
– Exposure
– Lens fitting
– ND
Lenses – what do different lenses do?
– F – stop
– Focal lengths
– Depth of field
Sound – “I am not a sound recordist but I am doing my own sound, help!”
– Know your limits, how many radio mics can I manage? Inputs and how to monitor levels.
– What is Line, Mic and Mic +48v and why is it important?
– How to setup radio mics, what is frequency, attenuation and gain?
– Mic placement and clean audio, which should I prioritise?
– Fault finding on location
Some hands on ‘play time’ to practice what you have learned.
A short break – Tea and biscuits!
Part 2 – An Introduction to shooting techniques
Shooting GVs
– Holding your start and end frames
– Up and Bys, letting action leave your frame
– Focus pulls, using peaking correctly & what F stop should I be at.
– Cut aways and POVs – why are these so important
– Find some foreground interest
– What is a polarizer?
Shooting Vox pops and testimonials
– Getting the eyeline correct
– Switching the composition
– When to reframe
Some more hands on play time to practice the above techniques.
We will finish with a Q and A session.


