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Hidden in plain sight Minicam specialist Dan Greenway talks hidden cameras, The Traitors: Uncloaked and Genius Game, an upcoming show with David Tennant playing host W ith 25 years of industry exposure, Dan Greenway (of Dan Greenway Ltd) locations, hidden galleries, often filming in buildings that aren’t made for filming – people’s homes or businesses,” explains
has seen his fair share of challenging projects, from reality shows requiring hidden cameras to commercials and corporate shoots. Miniature cameras and remote heads are ‘kind of my speciality’, he says, offering this equipment – plus select larger cameras, recorders, tracks and dollies – for hire. Given Greenway’s knowledge of the various models available, he and his team “spend quite a lot of time testing all these cameras and making sure that we recommend the right ones for the right projects.” The high-end PTZ market is currently booming, with recent additions – like the Panasonic UE160 and the Sony FR7 – ‘head and shoulders above all the other cameras out there’, according to Greenway. His job: to share information and expertise with clients so they can best utilise their chosen kit. Greenway primarily sources gear from CVP. “We’ve been using them for many years – since we started out in 2007,” he says. “They support us really well with equipment demos and using their camera testing facility. We’re good friends,” he summarises. Having the appropriate kit is especially invaluable on reality shows, which often employ hidden cameras. “Some of these shoots can have multiple rooms, multiple
Greenway. “Nearly always, you don’t have great lighting conditions, and the cameras are behind Perspex so you can’t see them moving around. You always want the camera that is best in low light, which is tricky because, really, you need a bigger camera.” He concludes: “There are lots of compromises.” Whodunnit, and how? Greenway plays a key role in bringing productions to life, with a portfolio including the Olympics, Channel 4’s Gogglebox , ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway and – most recently – the BBC’s The Traitors: Uncloaked . Hosted by comedian Ed Gamble and produced by Listen Entertainment, this visualised podcast goes behind the scenes of the hit game show, sharing exclusive insights from both the ‘banished’ and the ‘murdered’ contestants. “The BBC commissioned [Listen Entertainment] to make this podcast,” begins Greenway, “and they found this studio, but it is tiny. Even when you watch the podcasts, you really can’t get an idea of how small and tight that space was.” While this presented several obstacles, the most pressing task was to minimise the crew count. “The main thing we had
to do was keep numbers down because it was just so small.” Greenway suggested a solution: the Sony FR7. “You can get four or five of those cameras in a small space with only one operator,” he describes. “It was perfect.” Combined with a few ‘small- footprint’ tripods and ‘a little track and dolly system’ measuring about 3m, the crew achieved a ‘full multicam feel’ without compromising on surface area. The podcast’s DOP, James Green, ‘lit it brilliantly’, gushes Greenway. “It was a bit of a juggle getting all the lights just out of shot.” For the gallery, “we used smaller monitors, multi-views, and rigged it in quite a neat way,” he reveals. “We were
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