iPhone Filmmaker Lands His Own BBC Series

iPhone Filmmaker Lands His Own BBC Series

BBC documentary series Canal Boat Diaries was shot entirely (apart from a few drone and GoPro shots) using an iPhone X. It’s a 5 part series produced by Stuart Woodman for BBC Four. The show features British YouTuber Robbie Cumming, who is “determined to cruise every mile of our inland waterways and document life on board his narrowboat.”

During 2019 Robbie took a 300 mile journey around the Midlands and north of England, filming his adventures for the BBC Four.

“Jump aboard with Robbie Cumming as he embarks on a 300-mile journey across the Midlands and northern England in his narrowboat.” Canal Boat Diaries, BBC

The BBC say unlike previous programs this show aims to give you the full experience of life on a canal boat. Rather than gloss of the hardships, this show includes them. For that reason, they decided to film in a different way.

Minimal kit

In an article on the BBC website, series Producer Stuart Woodman explains more:

“The camera kit for this series was minimal. Robbie used an iPhone X with 256GB which offered enough memory to film one episode. We then transferred the media to portable hard drives via a MacBook. I went to shoot with Robbie at least once a week and collected the media.

“We started off using FiLMiC Pro but switched to Pro Camera as this seemed to fire up quickly and Robbie found it easier to use. Picture quality on an iPhone X isn’t an issue – it’s amazing.”

Robbie and Stuart used the Pro Camera camera app (for photo & video, iOS only) to shoot at 25fps. The reason for doing this was not for the film look so much as 30fps is a problem for British TV.

Good audio & lighting & tripods

Robbie says capturing good quality audio was one of their major challenges. Narrow boat engines are noisy, especially when within one of the canals’ many locks. In the end, the went with a simple and inexpensive wired Rode lavalier microphone set up.

Most of the time they used available daylight. But for the diary sections of the show they used a mini battery-powered panel light. For tripods, they used the basic, cheap bendy-leg variety.

Producer Stuart says, “There were no rigged cameras on the boat, so the style is fluid and evolves. This isn’t glamorous TV. There are umpteen problems Robbie battles throughout the series. Everything from running aground to oil leaks on the boat, all caught on camera.

“From the start Robbie’s narrowboat played a crucial role. It was the main means of transport, an edit suite for rough cuts, a recording studio for the soundtrack and a place where Robbie shared his boating experiences in the ‘diary chair’.

“This type of television is incredibly cost effective – but that didn’t mean quality was compromised.” Says Stuart, “The advantage is that the end result feels more immediate, more punchy. You see something interesting on the journey and you pick up the phone and talk about it.”

A Series Developed on YouTube

As I mentioned above, Robbie Cumming is a YouTuber. For the previous 4.5 years, Robbie had been travelling around the UK and documenting his experiences via his YouTube channel. then one day the BBC took notice and came knocking.

“What I’m most excited about is this is groundbreaking. Not just because it’s someone living on a boat. There’s loads of people living on a boat, doing what I do. But… we’re showing the real side of boating.” Robbie Cumming

You can see Robbie announcing his BBC series in this video on his channel, which he’s rather excited about.

Robbie says they even used music that he’d written in the show.

“It’s been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It’s been fantastic for me, just learning more about filmmaking.” Robbie, about the BBC series

Aside from being a great story about a YouTuber who ends up with his own BBC series, this informs us on the future of filmmaking. As I spoke about previously, the constant content model of filmmaking has brought Robbie to the attention of BBC producers. So that’s something for all aspiring filmmakers to take on board (pun intended).

If you live in the UK (and have a TV license) you can stream the show via the BBC’s iPlayer platform. Although it will only be available for a limited time (24 more days at time of writing).

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