Inside the BBC with BBC Young Reporter: What's it like to work on EastEnders?

My name is Josh Codner and I work on EastEnders as a trainee camera operator.

So, right now we're on the EastEnders lot outside the Walford East tube station, it's on the District and Hammersmith and City line.

When I was at school I studied for my GCSEs, I studied quite a wide variety of subjects. Then coming to A-levels, I studied Physics, History, and IT. So, all not really relating to my job now, but whereas my subjects didn't really relate too much to my job, they still come in very handy down the line, in the future. Outside of school I used to do a lot of filming with my own camera and I'd just invest my time in learning new skills, just keeping myself busy.

I started off in the industry doing some work experience on The One Show and, off the back of that, I was offered a job by one of the cameramen who was there. He trained me up with all the basics, got me going. And then probably about nine months ago I saw there was a job opening up on EastEnders for a trainee camera operator and so applied to that and due to my past experience and a lot of the work I'd also done outside of the TV industry with my own camera just going out to different local businesses andcreating videos, that allowed me to build up the skills to then get the job here.

Each day we start work at eight o'clock. I usually get here a little bit early to beat the traffic and then at eight o'clock sharp I get thekit ready for the day. I look through what we are going to be shooting and I have a think about what we'll need and the mainthing is not to hold up the shoot. So, then probably about half past eight once all the cameras are lined up and we're ready to go we'll speak to the director who will talk us through what we are going to be doing and what we do is we are able to work with the cast and refine all the different positions and just get everything nailed down, ready to go for rehearsal. We then run through the whole scene once without recording it, then just final checks, then we hit the record button and we get going. Hopefully we do it in one take and then we pretty much do that again and again all day. We usually finish around half-six, seven o'clock, and then pack up all the cameras again and put them away ready for the next day of shooting.

There are so many different ways to get into the TV industry and it's open to so many different people. So, I personally didn't go touniversity. I went down the route of doing work experience, because for me the academic side of it, it's just not my thing. And so I prefer to learn on the job. However, there are options available if that's what you like. There are lots of university courses and film school places for a variety of different people.

So, if I was to give people one tip for how to get into the TV industry, it's all about the experience. All you need is a camera togo out and shoot stuff. What I did was I'd just go out with my friends, we'd shoot little videos just for the sake of it really and that allowed me to build up the experience to then apply for the positions in the industry and show that I had done somethingbefore.

My name is Zack Morris and we are here in the famous Albert Square. I play Keegan Baker in EastEnders.

At school, I would say, I'm going to say, I'm going to put it politely and say cheeky! Ha ha! Um, but I did take school quite seriouslybecause I knew what I wanted to do I knew from a young age, that I did want to act and for me getting in trouble and stuff, it wasalways at the back of my mind, I don't want this to affect my acting later on down the line.

The school I went to was just a normal comprehensive school near where I live. I didn't go to performing arts school. Just a standard, everyday school with everyday students. I found being around just normal working class people, that really helped when getting cast for roles like Keegan, roles as the working class kid because I am that and I can really relate to that and I can really channel that. I still trained on the weekends, but it was nice for me to have my two lives. I had normal everyday school life and then on a Saturday I had my day where I'd done my drama and my dance and all that kind of stuff and then I went back to school on Monday and it was back to normal again and for me, I liked that it was a hobby that turned into a passion, that has then turned into a career.

So, if you are someone who wants to be an actor and you wanna be on screen, you want to make films, you want to make TV shows, or you want to be on stage, anything like that, the few things that I would say to start doing… One, start watching stuff and I mean really watching stuff. Stuff like films, actors who you love in films, or if you like watching theatre shows go and watch shows and study what those people are doing. What you want to start doing is really pinpointing performance, and pinpointing what people do, and if someone's sad and emotional, how do they get to that place? If someone's happy and they're excited, how do they do that? And start being really detailed with how you watch things, analyse things, and learn from it. And then, when you start to read scripts, and say if you go to acting classes, which is another thing I would highly recommend, you don't have to spend millions of pounds, you can go to a local drama class.

Another thing I would mention, as we know it's a hard industry to get into, so always have some sort of back up. Whether that's another skill within performing or if it's something completely separate, have something else. And the way I treated it was my hobby, my passion and my dream. So, have the dream. Have something else that can either fund that dream or something else that can assist that dream, but have it as a dream. So, then when that comes true you're good to go.

My name is Kyri and I am the story editor on EastEnders.

So, at school, at GCSE, I did Drama and English Literature and I really enjoyed both of those. The sort of student I was, I hadsubjects I liked and subjects I didn't like and the subjects I didn't like I didn't really pay much attention in most classes, but it was fine because the things I did like I really excelled at and that's all that mattered. But, yeah, I enjoyed school, I had fun and that's the main thing.

So, I started out in the industry by becoming a runner and I started doing that for a bit and eventually ended up getting a job as arunner at an independent company. So, from that independent company, I worked there for about five years. So, I was a runnerand then became an assistant, then I became a development assistant and then an assistant script editor and then eventually Ijoined EastEnders as the archivist and then a story liner and then a script editor and then my current job as story editor.

My job as a story editor is, I work on a four-week rota, so week one is story planning where we have a conference with the producers, writers and the story team and we all go away into the individual groups and we come up with stories for each character and family. We come back, we pitch it back to the room, we see what everybody likes and then, from there, me and my team, we go away and we start planning how we're gonna map that out across the month and it's either we decide which stories can be big across the month what's going to be small, which stories we need to start building for the next block. A block is how we work, so it's four weeks. That's the block for the month. Week two is when we all start writing our stories up. So, we each get an individual strand and then we go away and we do them. Then week three is when I start working and editing those weeks and putting them together into episodes and across the whole month and when I'm happy with that it goes to the story producer and when he's happy with that he goes to the producers, the exec producers, and then from there we get notes back, we tidy it all up, make sure all the notes are done from scheduling, production, everything you can think of, costume, anything like that and then from there we publish it and it goes out to the entire team and they'll start making them into bigger episodes.

So, there are certain stories where obviously you want to play them slowly so they can get the correct build and that way it doesn't feel too rushed for the audience. Also there are other stories which you don't wanna drag out for too long. So, it's our job to sort of plan out what we're doing month by month and across the whole year to make sure that all the arcs make sense and they're all perfectly executed.

So, some of the key skills you need for this job is the ability to meet deadlines. We work on a really tight system and schedule.Obviously, the story document is the start of the process and so we need to make sure we are ready in time and that goes out toproduction so the whole show can keep going. Also you need to be quite resilient. Obviously, you are pitching stories which you think in your head might work and they might not and you're pitching it to a big room full of people and you have to be open to criticism and that's fine because you learn from that and it's something you actually learn when you're giving feedback to other people as well. So, I say they're two good skills to have.

One tip I would have when you're starting out in the industry is to keep an open mind. You don't have to decide at the beginning what it is you want to do. That's the whole point of an entry job, something like a runner, you can explore, you can try things out,you can meet different people. There are so many different areas of production that you can try out before you decide what you want to do. So, don't rush, don't be scared – try bit of everything and you will eventually find your place.

My name's John and I'm a vision supervisor trainee for EastEnders and we're here on Turpin Road outside Beale's Fish and Chips!

At school I was really in to sort of Maths, Science and Engineering. For me the only thing I really enjoyed in school was being part of an amateur dramatics group. And I used to help out in all the backstage roles there. And that was something I really enjoyeddoing whilst I was there.

So, yeah, I really enjoyed being involved in backstage at school, but it didn't really feel that was a proper job or something I couldpursue as a career, but I sort of ignored the instinct, which was to fall back on Engineering and IT and get a normal job and I went to college and studied Production Arts and then I learned all the different areas of backstage and how to use that as a trade andthen decided I wanted to specialise in lighting particularly so I did that at drama school for three years. And then whilst at dramaschool, I decided I wanted to go into television and that led me here.

So, the job of a vision supervisor is sort of, I could summarise it as being the second pair of eyes for the lighting director and that sort of comes in two element: the operational side of the job where we look at controlling the lighting within the studio. So, the lighting rig overhead. We balance the lighting to make it look as natural as possible within the studio environment to make it look like a real world. And we also do what's called racking on the cameras and racking is where we match the cameras to look the same so when you cut between the different angles there isn't a difference in how things look, so one camera's not brighter than the other.

Yeah, quality wise, I was quite a perfectionist and I really enjoyed looking at those fine details. So I think that comes in really usefulas a vision supervisor because part of our job is to spot anything like boom shadows or camera equipment or anything that theviewers shouldn't see or would distract the viewer, so that comes in really useful. And knowing when you're happy with something and when something is just not good enough for you, that's really good.

So, for anyone that's interested in pursuing a career in lighting in particular in the television industry, I would suggest your bestapproach is to get involved. Even if it's at a very basic level just observing local amateur dramatic societies, stuff like that. Just ringthem up or email them and see if you can come and shadow them for a day. Also lighting designers for theatre. Theatre was a great way for me to get into television because I learnt the performance side and dramatic side and then I added in cameras and that was a really nice progression for me.

I am Pippa, I am production accountant on EastEnders and I've been in the role for about ten years. So, this is one of the playgrounds on EastEnders, where many a meaningful moment has happened on the Square and I think my favourite thing is the phone box at the community library. So yeah, here we are.

I was not a good student. Just, you know, I did what I had to do, I got reasonable O-levels. I am that old. I didn't go on to do A-levels. I just didn't, as I said, I didn't see the point of school. Um, so I went out, I started work for a trade association. Did a bit ofaccounting there, but not much, lots of other things. And then fell into television. Was a production coordinator, production manager, went up that route and then eventually someone said "why not be an accountant?" and I was like "Oh, OK, yeah. Let's be an accountant".

So, my background as a production manager, production coordinator, really helped because I knew how productions ran. Iknew their rhythms. I knew the spend and things like that. So, it really helped when I came into the role. So, I don't have any formalaccounting qualifications, but I do, you know, I have picked things up. I've had lots of training from the BBC. But other people, I'vehad others in my team who have had much more formal accounting training. So, if you have that, welcome, come on in.

I think a lot of people think accountants are kind of dull, stuck in offices, just with their calculators counting beans. It's not allabout that. We work with the production. We're really at the heart of it. And we are there to make sure that they stay on budget andthat actually we try and help them get as much money on the screen as possible. So, it's about knowing how many people theyneed in the art department, things like that. Everything the production does comes across your desk.

So, my day, what's it look like? It can be different every day. Some days I'm doing payroll. I can do purchase orders. Another day, Imight be doing the cost report. So, that meeting happens once a month. So, the rest of the time, I'm kind of corralling figures to let the HODs, head of departments, so I'll talk to costume, to design, to make-up, and say "OK, your budget is looking good" or "you've spent a bit too much there" so you are just as involved as you want to make yourself. You can hide away in your office, but it's much better to come out and talk to people and find out what they do, be interested in what they do, and then you'll find out all the bits that you need to know that could have an impact on your budget.

I suppose if you want to get in and you want to do a bit of groundwork first have a look at yourself, run your own accounts and then maybe join a club and be the treasurer and work out what they need, where they're spending their money, can you help them? Can you suggest ways they can save money? Just try. Try numbers get involved with them. They're not scary. You don't need to knowall the sine, cosine, all that algebra and stuff that you were taught at school. Not for production accounting. You just need to come in with a with a good eye for a figure.

So, my name's Elizabeth and I am a trainee script editor at EastEnders.

I must say I was a bit of a cheeky student. I loved talking, but I really enjoyed essay subjects. So, English, History, Religious Studies and just subjects where you can make an argument, you can make a point, and you can explore different and interesting topics.

So, the way I got into EastEnders was I graduated in the pandemic, and it was quite difficult to find a job. So the most important thing I did, which helped me, was talking to people. I would send out many emails to people within the TV industry cos that's where I knew I wanted to go to and I introduced myself. I asked questions, I asked for advice, and I found myself being put forward for a job interview at EastEnders so I had to do all the prep and, you know, making sure I could show my skills and I was successful enough and I got the job.

So, being a script editor is, you have to have an eye for detail, you have to be thorough. You have to be on the ball and make sure that you're able to deliver solutions for problems or issues as well. It varies, sometimes you're working from home, sometimes you're working in the office. When working from home I tend to start quite early because you know it's just easier. So I'd start around 8.30 and the morning is mainly emails and a bit of admin. Then, depending on what stage you're at in your editing, you might have some notes to give back to writers. You might have a bit of free time to catch up on the scripts that have come after your block or before your block. So, a lot of reading and making sure that you're on the ball, you know where a story is heading. So, you know, before lunch, it's a mixture of admin, things you need to do, reading if you have some time. You have a lot of responsibility and you have to be very careful to make sure that scripts are going to the right place and you're not jeopardising the secretive stories and things coming up that are yet to be transmitted and shown on TV.

If you're particularly interested in script editing, one thing you can do and one place that has a lot of resources is the BBC Writersroom. They put scripts up of various popular shows that are shown on the BBC and you have that access to reading scripts. Anyone has access and I think that is a great tool for understanding what a script is, how script comes together, the different elements and components. Yeah, I think from any age, anyone from any age has access to some really useful BBC resources. I find that's a great place to start.

Hi, my name is Shakeelah Archibald and I'm currently working on EastEnders as a junior prop hand. I've previously worked in the artdepartment and locations department.

When I was in primary school, I was a very quiet student. But when I entered secondary school and college I actually found my voice, that's what my mum said, and in doing that in secondary school, I actually studied Media and a lot of creative subjects. And going forward to college I'd done a BTEC diploma in film making.

When I was at university I was introduced to an organisation that allowed me to find out more about the roles that I wanted to workin in the TV and film industry. I attended a CV clinic which really helped me. Once my CV was in good shape, I took the courage to apply and luckily I got the traineeship role. And as you can see, all smiles!

A prop is something that is seen on screen. It's something that adds a lot of value to the story. For example, it could be a poster. And that's something that I would source. So, this could be 'action props'. 'Action props' are something that actor holds or touches. 'Dressing props' are something that's actually seen around us. And that's very important because that's visually pleasing. That's something that the director has had a lot of input into.

A day in my life, once I arrive, I start at 7am or a little bit after depending on the day. The first thing I check is my breakdown and Ijust make sure I have all the props needed for that day. The props that I've now brought to set, those are the props that are going to be used during filming. So, it's very important that I have these props ready to hand. During this time we're filming in a COVID-safeenvironment, so I have to make sure that I sanitise each prop carefully. And, once filming has ended, I bring all the props to theprop store where it's kept nice and safely.

There's a lot more to this job than you'd think. So, we're in the Walford East Station and when someone taps their Oyster, this ishow we actually open the barriers. Open and closed.

If you have an interview coming up, don't be afraid to practise with your dum or dad. Or even by improving your communication –instead of texting, call your aunty, call your mum and just keep practising with saying who you are and what your skills arebecause there are a lot of skills you do have and there are a lot of skills that you going to find out that you didn't know you had.