What it's like being an F1 presenter and producer

Hi guys,

I hope you enjoyed this weekend's show. I'm writing this blog entry in the production office at 1am on Monday in Singapore (about three hours after the grand prix finished).

We stay on European time for the Singapore GP which means out of bed at 1pm, and into bed at 4am, which is strange but seems to work for the media and the teams.

Anyway, to this week's blog.

I remember as a TV-obsessed kid wondering what happened when the presenters weren't on screen, so I decided to show you!

I know lots of you are keen to get as close to F1 and the BBC's coverage as possible, which is why I love doing the blogs and the tweets. But this weekend I've decided to up the ante.

I asked the director Richard if it was possible to record the talkback and the three camera feeds along with our actual output.

The result is embedded below. It is about as close as you'll get to being an F1 presenter without actually doing it.

You can hear exactly what I hear as the show gets going. You'll also spot the transmission on the bottom right as well as the three cameras we use.

Now, the start of the show is notoriously much easier than the end.

For the race build-up, we know pretty much what we're going to do and who we'll speak to. By contrast, after the programme we generally have 30-50 minutes to fill without any script or running order.

I'd love to know what you make of the video. You can hear last minute changes of shot, the plan unfolding inside the McLaren garage and how we make late, swift decisions to try to make the show as dynamic, exciting and entertaining as possible.

I should point out, by the way, that as the video was filmed within the confines of the Singapore track, it is only available to UK users.

Anyway, enough words, watch the video and let me know what you think!

Jake

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2010/09/what_its_like_being_an_f1_pres.html

George Follmer