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THE BRIEF

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The Complete Camera Company were delighted to be asked to make this fixed-rig documentary series following the huge success of its pilot show The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds. However, Channel 4 and RDF wanted to make the series in a way that had less impact on the children and gave leading scientists and child psychologists the opportunity to observe the children in a way they had never been able to before.

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THE CHALLENGES

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Fixed-rig was the obvious option, and The CCC embarked on the complex task of rigging a Nursery School suitable for

4, 5 and 6 year-olds, in an unobtrusive manner which captured full coverage of the children’s interactions.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

Having recce’d various sites to rig the show, RDF and The CCC collectively agreed on a school in South London, and shot the series over the Summer Holidays in order to maximise on space and access.

Filming concentrated on the playground and the playroom, using Panasonic PTZ cameras and around 5km of cable.

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Channel 4 and RDF were very specific about how the look of the show. They wanted to be ‘in the children’s world’ rather than looking down on them, so The CCC rigged each camera on an adjustable mount to be able to shoot on the differing eyelines of each child. This gave us a unique look to the show, as whenever the teachers were in frame

we had the classic ‘Tom and Jerry’ shot.

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The CCC also rigged a backstage observation area for the scientists and psychologists, with access to individual microphones so that, for the first time in their professional lives, they could really observe children in their natural environment without being in the same room.

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THE RESULTS

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Filmed over a period of 6 weeks, it was an incredibly exciting series, marked by a wonderful variety of tasks that the children engaged in. Capturing the big moments and more subtle, intimate aspects was vital. Camera positioning and vision-mixing were more important than ever, as children’s interactions are incredibly quick and random!​

It remains one of the most talked about projects The CCC has ever worked on, engaging an enormous range of viewers with its humour and heart, whilst providing a genuinely new insight into the ways in which children make and break relationships, as they learn about themselves and those around them.

 

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

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"This is groundbreaking stuff… gripping yet harrowing"

– The Telegraph

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"Hilarious and tear-jerking antics."

– The Daily Mail

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"The combination of excitement and terror made it a most exquisite sort of torture."

– Gabriel Tate

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"If anyone needed reminding how wonderful and fascinating the world of a small child is (this) is a brilliant reminder"

– The Mirror