THE BRIEF

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Mentorn Media took on the challenge for Channel 4 of filming a fixed-rig documentary series in a popular London Chicken Shop in order to examine the lives of the staff and customers who pass through it.

They approached The Complete Camera Company to see if it was possible to take the template of a traditional fixed-rig show, reduce the size of it and make it work in a much smaller, more restricted location. This is where one of the first ever mini-fixed-rigs came to fruition.

​​​The Fried Chicken Shop began its life as an original one-off cutting-edge documentary, and following its success was re-commissioned by Channel 4 as a full series.

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THE CHALLENGES

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‘Roosters Spot’ in Clapham was chosen; a busy, lively Chicken Shop in the heart of London with a wide variety of customers. As expected, it was a very small space with limited options for rigging and filming.

The first hurdle to overcome was safety; it was crucial that The CCC made sure that when the shop was busy, the cameras, cabling and customers were all safe, despite there being a

great deal of equipment in a limited area.

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​​The CCC and Mentorn agreed that Panasonic AWE PTZ cameras, and a mixture of atmospheric mics and Sennheiser personal mics would be used. Due to the nature of the business and the speed of service, the production company would need to make quick decisions in the gallery, especially late at night when the shop was busiest, about which staff or customers they would be featuring. ​​​

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Under normal circumstances, when shooting a fixed-rig documentary, the gallery for the crew would be situated nearby in portacabins, or in an OB vehicle with plenty of space for people and equipment. In this case, the challenge was to find a way of fitting a vision mixer, sound desk, and hot-head camera operator, a producer, series director, all the technical decks and a data-wrangling station into a small room above the chicken shop itself. To facilitate this, The Complete Camera Company invested in, and developed, new kit that would deliver the same high-quality results but that could be compressed

into a smaller package to give everyone more space.

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​​​THE RESULTS

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When it aired, The Fried Chicken Shop received a wonderfully warm reception from audiences across the UK, and spread across social media far quicker than anyone could have predicted. The characters introduced, from the daytime regulars to the hilarious drunks, were genuine representations of everyday life. The various relationships that developed between the staff and the customers were truly heart-warming.

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FACTS & FIGURES

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Filmed: April/May 2013
Aired: Autumn 2013
Channel: Channel 4
Location: Clapham, London
Viewers: 1.49 Million
Cameras: 9

 

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

"The result is brilliant – not really about what we eat, but about who we are in Britain today."

The Guardian

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"All credit to the filmmakers for calmly and cannily drawing us into their lives."

The Telegraph

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"Who knew such vulnerability could be found in a fried-chicken shop…

it morphed into something textured, tender, and poignant."

The Independent

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"It’s all touching, funny, a bit gross sometimes and very much right here, right now."

The Radio Times