Blair’s out, Brown’s in and I’m off (form that is).

Wednesday 27/06/07 

Story:   Blair’s out, Brown’s in and I am off (form that is).

0600 into Downing Street. Already the street is bustling with camera crews, photographers and reporters doing lives for the various morning news programmes. The scafolding is not full yet but all space on it has been marked out and claimed by various colours of masking tape. I took a position somewhere along the media fences and set up my tripod and steps and began the wait.

Nothing much went on until some members of a group who had lost sons in Iraq or Afghanistan where allowed into Downing Street and began shouting for Mr Blair not to be a coward and to come out and face them.

At 1115, about 30 minutes earlier than usual, Mr Blair left for PMQ’s.

Whilst he was away I took the opportunity to go and film a slightly larger anti-war demo on Whitehall, where people had placards, orange prison suits and were chanting “troops out now”.

My correspondent turned up but was not allowed into Downing Street until Blair’s car had brought him back from his standing ovation at the Commons.

When he finally got in to the busy street it was to take his piece to camera reports amongst the throng of the media. One pattern was to involve Blair and another to involve Brown. Although I managed to get a usable take in both patterns I also suffered some trouble in both patterns, as outlined below.

(1) However I moved, left, right, up, down I just could not eliminate some light flare across my shot and unfortunately also on my correspondent’s face. The shot was a zoom back from ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family on the steps of No.10 to my correspondent.

(2) I just couldn’t hit the focus in time on the zoom in from my correspondent to the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. The most frustrating and annoying thing was that whilst waiting for Brown’s arrival I had rehearsed the shot several times and had managed to hit the focus on the microphone stand that had been set up for him to speak at. This mistake can happen, not very often but when it does it is noticed and is not good.