Harry Leask Research
Research carried out in person.
17. Height: 6ft 5". Weight: 90kg. Favourite colour: Lime green.
Applied to Leander and got the place so he moved from Edinburgh in August. Lodges in a house in Henley. Into rowing from his brother. Webt to George Heriots school and when he went to George Watsons he started rowing.
Rowed for GB under 16s two years ago when he was 15. Injured his back between then and now.
Raced at national championships.
Won junior 15 and junior 16 in the same year.
Rows in a skuller.
Wants to continue as a career as long as injury permits.
Given up everything at home to come and do this here.
Continues to under 23s and if he does well here he goes into Seniors - where he will hopefully make it big.
Started on rugby in the second row, but a lot more passionate and committed to rowing.
Trains 6 days a week for an hour and a half. Cycles a lot for training.
Trains on Ergos.
Works at Henley contractor when not rowing. Studies sports science at Henley college.
Comes in to college Monday Tuesday and Wednesday.
Rowed for Scotland since 15.
Comes back from injury by gradual training - lots of physiology etc.
£7,000 skuller fell off the racks in the wind and broke a month ago. It was insured.
Rowed in a quad during Henley Regatta last year.
Last year of being a junior.
Has 1 brother at home - he got a serious knee injury and has stopped rowing.
30 members of Leander. He's the 2nd youngest.
Hates football.
His hero is James Cracknell because not only is he a double Olympic gold medalist, he's also done stuff beyond rowing - e.g. he cycled across America, but mainly because he's had a lot of injuries that he's recovered from and he's never given up.
Eats a lot but doesn't have a strict diet.
Leander is strict - if you're not performing amazingly then you're not gonna be there very long.
17. Height: 6ft 5". Weight: 90kg. Favourite colour: Lime green.
Applied to Leander and got the place so he moved from Edinburgh in August. Lodges in a house in Henley. Into rowing from his brother. Webt to George Heriots school and when he went to George Watsons he started rowing.
Rowed for GB under 16s two years ago when he was 15. Injured his back between then and now.
Raced at national championships.
Won junior 15 and junior 16 in the same year.
Rows in a skuller.
Wants to continue as a career as long as injury permits.
Given up everything at home to come and do this here.
Continues to under 23s and if he does well here he goes into Seniors - where he will hopefully make it big.
Started on rugby in the second row, but a lot more passionate and committed to rowing.
Trains 6 days a week for an hour and a half. Cycles a lot for training.
Trains on Ergos.
Works at Henley contractor when not rowing. Studies sports science at Henley college.
Comes in to college Monday Tuesday and Wednesday.
Rowed for Scotland since 15.
Comes back from injury by gradual training - lots of physiology etc.
£7,000 skuller fell off the racks in the wind and broke a month ago. It was insured.
Rowed in a quad during Henley Regatta last year.
Last year of being a junior.
Has 1 brother at home - he got a serious knee injury and has stopped rowing.
30 members of Leander. He's the 2nd youngest.
Hates football.
His hero is James Cracknell because not only is he a double Olympic gold medalist, he's also done stuff beyond rowing - e.g. he cycled across America, but mainly because he's had a lot of injuries that he's recovered from and he's never given up.
Eats a lot but doesn't have a strict diet.
Leander is strict - if you're not performing amazingly then you're not gonna be there very long.
Written Interview
Interviewer: Zachary Mitchell
Interviewee: Robin Hill, Freelance Film Editor
Topic of Interview: Rob’s editing of the film Sightseers; Rob’s career as an editor.
“So, I heard that the making of Sightseers was quite quick – does that mean everything ran smoothly or was there some chaos involved?”
“Although yes, it was quite quick, there’s always chaos involved making films – or at least the way Ben Wheatley makes them anyway. I think he invites the chaos in a bit – it’s helpful. But yeah, it was a smooth shoot, very well produced, despite the awful weather. But with these things you have to be flexible, so we took it in our stride, because when filming in the Lake District you’re inevitably going to get some extreme weather.”
“You said that Ben invites the chaos in because it’s helpful – what does that mean exactly?”
“Ben takes the script as a sketch of what the whole movie might be rather than what it is going to be – and the process of film making is a process of finding out what the film is and through improvisation and editing the film gradually emerges, rather than knowing what it is on the outset. So although the process is very organised physically and logistically, creatively it’s quite liquid and freefall. It helps that Ben has a good taste of where to take things – if it isn’t working he won’t plough ahead as many might, he’ll go with it how he feels the film should go.”
“Okay, now let’s chat a little more about your part in all of this. For example, were there any times when you had to overcome major obstacles?”
“Well I mean moving around the north of England on a low budget production and moving the edit quite every few days – jumping between hotel rooms etc is potentially a ball ache but on a production like ours you have to roll the punches. Everyone’s in it together – but the crew are facing much worse – you can see it in the dailies. They’re up a mountain somewhere and it’s pissing with rain – you’ve got to feel sorry for them. For me the challenge was working with the amount of footage that was shot for that film - through improvisation in particular but also additional lines, scenes, ideas etc. Finding my way through all of that to get to the film underneath that I was making was difficult. And of course it only takes 1 bad line to make a whole scene seem bad, or one bad scene to make a whole film seem bad, and it’s the job of the editor to remove those bad lines and scenes, and it’s not always obvious. It works both ways though - there was one scene that was really great on its own but it just didn’t fit with the film, so it didn’t make it to the final cut.”
“So what interests you about your position – why are you freelance and not with a company?”
“Every job is completely varied. I’ll never do the same job twice unless I specifically want to – like a TV series for example. Basically because it keeps me doing new stuff all the time, and the money’s better in freelance as well. I’m at a position now professionally where I’m pretty much always in demand for work – so no fallow periods which is always a freelancer’s nightmare. It sounds like a massively egotistical thing to say but it answers your question.”
“But were you always freelance? Presumably you had to start somewhere more stable?”
“Yeah I learnt my trade in a full time position doing crappy corporate videos. I’ve had the most bizarre and cock-eyed career imaginable. I moved around between LA, Brighton and London, and it was in London where I started editing. Most editors start as runners in a film company – at the bottom of the food chain and gradually working their way up. I didn’t do that – I went from not being an editor to being an editor.”
“So what made you different?”
“Well I’ve been making films since I was a kid and I was a director first – then I went into project development so I knew about editing and I had worked with editors. I got commissioned to make a film but I couldn’t afford the editing so I bought the kit and did it myself, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. That’s what got the ball rolling. My first ever TV job - i.e. not corporate shit – I was one of the two editors because I knew the director, whereas most people have to work their way up for years and years. So it’s knowing all the right people, and having people know you, and being very professional. If I had gone into a TV company and tried to get a job editing television at that point I would have been laughed out of the door – so it was very much my lucky break – I knew the people and I was trusted. That was my first TV job working with Ben Wheatley – we started making our own home made stuff on the internet when we were 11 and gradually moved into doing it professionally. I’ve worked with him countless times since – three films, three TV series, maybe more, and endless virals and adverts etc.”
“You sound very passionate about it. How would you go about describing your understanding of editing?”
“Editing is both an art and a science – you have to know the equipment very intimately and know how to use it. The equipment is very available and easy to learn, so the science part if you like is quite commonplace. But then the art side is always unique because you’re making interesting, creative decisions about how to put it all together. What’s important about being an editor is not knowing how to do it, it’s how you choose to do it your own way. Any monkey can buy the stuff and learn it and make a film, but you’ve got to have the artistic side there too or it’s all useless.”
“So, with everything we’ve spoken about today in mind, is there any advice you could offer to young people who are interested in getting into the film industry?”
“There’s only one really good bit of advice you could give to anyone who want to be involved with the film and TV business – and that is to just make stuff. It’s become totally easy within the last 20 years – when I was a kid we could make the stuff, but couldn’t show it to everyone, only our mates, our families. With the Internet, there really is no excuse for people not to make stuff and get it out there. With technology and the Internet nowadays there is a straight line, a trodden path to doing what I do. Making stuff is the best way I can really think of to walk along that path.”
Interviewee: Robin Hill, Freelance Film Editor
Topic of Interview: Rob’s editing of the film Sightseers; Rob’s career as an editor.
“So, I heard that the making of Sightseers was quite quick – does that mean everything ran smoothly or was there some chaos involved?”
“Although yes, it was quite quick, there’s always chaos involved making films – or at least the way Ben Wheatley makes them anyway. I think he invites the chaos in a bit – it’s helpful. But yeah, it was a smooth shoot, very well produced, despite the awful weather. But with these things you have to be flexible, so we took it in our stride, because when filming in the Lake District you’re inevitably going to get some extreme weather.”
“You said that Ben invites the chaos in because it’s helpful – what does that mean exactly?”
“Ben takes the script as a sketch of what the whole movie might be rather than what it is going to be – and the process of film making is a process of finding out what the film is and through improvisation and editing the film gradually emerges, rather than knowing what it is on the outset. So although the process is very organised physically and logistically, creatively it’s quite liquid and freefall. It helps that Ben has a good taste of where to take things – if it isn’t working he won’t plough ahead as many might, he’ll go with it how he feels the film should go.”
“Okay, now let’s chat a little more about your part in all of this. For example, were there any times when you had to overcome major obstacles?”
“Well I mean moving around the north of England on a low budget production and moving the edit quite every few days – jumping between hotel rooms etc is potentially a ball ache but on a production like ours you have to roll the punches. Everyone’s in it together – but the crew are facing much worse – you can see it in the dailies. They’re up a mountain somewhere and it’s pissing with rain – you’ve got to feel sorry for them. For me the challenge was working with the amount of footage that was shot for that film - through improvisation in particular but also additional lines, scenes, ideas etc. Finding my way through all of that to get to the film underneath that I was making was difficult. And of course it only takes 1 bad line to make a whole scene seem bad, or one bad scene to make a whole film seem bad, and it’s the job of the editor to remove those bad lines and scenes, and it’s not always obvious. It works both ways though - there was one scene that was really great on its own but it just didn’t fit with the film, so it didn’t make it to the final cut.”
“So what interests you about your position – why are you freelance and not with a company?”
“Every job is completely varied. I’ll never do the same job twice unless I specifically want to – like a TV series for example. Basically because it keeps me doing new stuff all the time, and the money’s better in freelance as well. I’m at a position now professionally where I’m pretty much always in demand for work – so no fallow periods which is always a freelancer’s nightmare. It sounds like a massively egotistical thing to say but it answers your question.”
“But were you always freelance? Presumably you had to start somewhere more stable?”
“Yeah I learnt my trade in a full time position doing crappy corporate videos. I’ve had the most bizarre and cock-eyed career imaginable. I moved around between LA, Brighton and London, and it was in London where I started editing. Most editors start as runners in a film company – at the bottom of the food chain and gradually working their way up. I didn’t do that – I went from not being an editor to being an editor.”
“So what made you different?”
“Well I’ve been making films since I was a kid and I was a director first – then I went into project development so I knew about editing and I had worked with editors. I got commissioned to make a film but I couldn’t afford the editing so I bought the kit and did it myself, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. That’s what got the ball rolling. My first ever TV job - i.e. not corporate shit – I was one of the two editors because I knew the director, whereas most people have to work their way up for years and years. So it’s knowing all the right people, and having people know you, and being very professional. If I had gone into a TV company and tried to get a job editing television at that point I would have been laughed out of the door – so it was very much my lucky break – I knew the people and I was trusted. That was my first TV job working with Ben Wheatley – we started making our own home made stuff on the internet when we were 11 and gradually moved into doing it professionally. I’ve worked with him countless times since – three films, three TV series, maybe more, and endless virals and adverts etc.”
“You sound very passionate about it. How would you go about describing your understanding of editing?”
“Editing is both an art and a science – you have to know the equipment very intimately and know how to use it. The equipment is very available and easy to learn, so the science part if you like is quite commonplace. But then the art side is always unique because you’re making interesting, creative decisions about how to put it all together. What’s important about being an editor is not knowing how to do it, it’s how you choose to do it your own way. Any monkey can buy the stuff and learn it and make a film, but you’ve got to have the artistic side there too or it’s all useless.”
“So, with everything we’ve spoken about today in mind, is there any advice you could offer to young people who are interested in getting into the film industry?”
“There’s only one really good bit of advice you could give to anyone who want to be involved with the film and TV business – and that is to just make stuff. It’s become totally easy within the last 20 years – when I was a kid we could make the stuff, but couldn’t show it to everyone, only our mates, our families. With the Internet, there really is no excuse for people not to make stuff and get it out there. With technology and the Internet nowadays there is a straight line, a trodden path to doing what I do. Making stuff is the best way I can really think of to walk along that path.”