African Footballer of the Year Awards
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I was I nvited up to the BBC TV Centre in Manchester (Media Village) in order to draw live caricatures on TV from photos while being filmed.
This was for the BBC African Footballer of the Year Awards which took place in Johannesburg.
The caricaturing process was straightforward. I simply had to draw the faces onto an A3 sheet under the constant scrutiny of a video camera hovering over my shoulder.
A caricaturist has to learn a few tricks in order to ensure a reasonable quality under such conditions. I had time before the actual shoots to draw each caricature at home and went equipped with light pencil outlines for the actual live drawing on the days.
Even then, certain difficulties creep in caused by standing in an awkward position at a vertical surface, contorting one’s body to allow a perfect view by the camera.
In general, I was happy with the results and am perfectly willing to put that down to the expert filming and editing. Once again, it is evidence that live drawing on TV can be really effective and encourages me to persevere with the development of my video chat show, Chattoon!
The experience of working in TV stations is always exciting. My past forays into the studios of Channel Four News and Channel Five News were ample preparation for this latest adventure. And actually travelling to Manchester to see the incredible Media City with all its buildings devoted to different parts of the BBC (and ITV) was a real treat.
You can see more about Live Cartoons and Caricatures HERE.
