THE BRIEF

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The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds was a huge, award-winning success, so The Complete Camera Company were delighted to team up with RDF again to follow it up with a second series. This fixed-rig documentary received such a fantastic audience response in 2015, and to rejoin a team that had worked

so well together originally was a pleasure.

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​THE CHALLENGES

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One of the biggest challenges in choosing the right school location for the series is finding

one that has both a suitable indoor and outdoor area which are connected so that

the children can be filmed moving between both spaces.

A school in Shepherd’s Bush provided the ideal set-up and gave the casting team the ability to

reach out to a diverse group of children. However, there was a catch… It was a listed building,

making the planning and execution of the rig and the shoot much more complex.

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The CCC did three site visits alongside the RDF production team, first to assess the feasibility of the shoot, then technical visits followed. We needed to assess how the fixed-rig would be powered,

the cabling routes, the layout of our kit, the gallery location

and any building work that would need to be done.

A third visit was organised to finalise the camera and microphone positions.

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A classroom close by was selected for the production gallery and the shoot dates were fixed for the 6 weeks of the summer holidays so we didn’t have to interrupt the children’s school attendance.

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Our 10-strong rigging crew brought the technical kit into the school. The building itself was designed by architect Erno Goldfinger in 1949 and remains Grade II* listed. Apart from making very specific choices about where anything was attached or screwed in, it was important that every member of the team was extremely careful when rigging cameras and cabling on the walls. There were restrictions that would not have existed in public buildings, and The CCC needed to find solutions that would preserve the integrity of the school, while ensuring the successful capture of content.

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​The most important part of filming children in a school is safety, so it was vital that everything was rigged with this in mind. The children needed to be able to run around without being aware of any of the equipment, and the crew needed to ensure there was absolutely nothing in their way that could cause them any harm. Cameras were rigged outside and inside, utilising a range of PTZ remote cameras and fixed minicams. As per Series 1, the cameras were rigged at children’s eye level; a specific choice made by the production team which made the content even more engaging.

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​THE RESULT

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The final series consisted of 6 x 60 minute programmes, and was a moving, hilarious look at childhood relationships. Huge thanks to the fantastic casting team who are undoubtedly at the core of this show’s success, and to the unwavering passion from the production team at RDF.

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FACTS & FIGURES

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Filmed: July/August
Aired: Winter 2016
Channel: Channel 4
Location: Shepherd’s Bush, London
Viewers: 2.44 Million
Cameras: 27

 

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

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"...fascinating and hilarious"

The Guardian

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"The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds: Adorable coleslaw moment dubbed the 'TV highlight of 2016'"

The Express

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"Viewers of The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds quickly fell in love"

OK Magazine