SCOTLAND’S Game is a four-part social history series about Scottish football, since the mid-1980s.
Episode one – I Play for Money – is being broadcast this evening (Thursday, August 25 2016), on BBC ONE Scotland, from 2100.
Here, Stuart Greig, the series producer, answers the questions…
Who commissioned the series?
David Harron and Ewan Angus – BBC Sport, BBC Scotland.
Explain the thinking behind the production’s ‘look and feel’
To bring a fresh look and a distinct ‘feel’ to the recent social history of football, we use the technology of today to enhance the technology of the past – microfiche presentation of newspaper headlines, audio montage of archive radio, and the news presentation of the day, all embedded in specially-shot footage accompanied by a carefully-crafted narration to guide the viewers through the complexities.
Who are the key personnel? How were they recruited?
Many of the key staff are BBC staffers who were invited to join the production after the brief was created.
The assistant producers – Martin Conaghan, Marion McNeil and Jamie Cole – were all from the sports department.
Graphics were by the BBC graphic designer, Stewart Ramsay, while the sound design and sound mix were by Lucy Watt and Bronek Korda.
BBC staffer, Colin Brown, was the archive and programme colour grader.
From the freelance world: film archivist Neil Sargent, story consultant Hazel Marshall, and music composer Chris Bradley.
What kit and software?
First, there was so much archive, in different formats, to work through.
As for the interviews – over 70 – we conducted, it was with a Canon C300 camera and a box of lenses.
Then, Baselight, Avid Pro Tools, etc.
What have been the main production challenges?
Honing the individual storylines into a coherent whole, across the four episodes.
The original brief was for a three-part series, but it quickly became apparent that the story would sit much better in four parts.
The other main challenge was harnessing the skills and talent of our team: some were unused to working on longer-format films.
What did you most learn and enjoy from the experience?
In every production I’ve worked on during the last 40 years (!), it’s the same answer: how to tell a story. As storytellers, we are always learning and that is what is enjoyable and keeps us all going… to lurch on to the next project.
