Learning from Masterclasses

HUGO PETTITT

Hugo Pettitt is a film producer and sound engineer. As a producer, his role primarily involves overseeing the entire film production from pre to post-production. Hugo is responsible for pitching ideas to television networks, managing a film’s logistics during production, and marketing it to other companies for distribution. He built his career by pitching ideas to different television networks and gaining practical experience as an assistant producer. Hugo currently works at the BBC and is known for the show ‘Drugsland’, an observational documentary series on the BBC that he produced about the world of drugs following users, dealers, and professionals. This series was nominated for a BAFTA twice. He has also created a series called ‘School’ exploring life in schools over a year from students and faculty’s experiences.

Hugo Pettitt is a very talented producer and has spent most of his career producing documentary, observational series. One of his focal points of interest is crime. For example, he worked on the BBC series Drugsland and a Channel 4 series investigating crime in America. Interestingly, during the lockdown in 2020, he produced a TV program titled ‘NHS Heroes: Fighting to Save Our Lives’. He produced this program remotely and explained in the masterclass how he had to collaborate with his production team, and the NHS staff members featured, to work around the strict lockdown regulations.

Hugo expressed that the favourite part of his role is the opportunity to meet new, exciting people as they have allowed him to gain different perspectives about the world. He also explained how extensive film production could be as he often spent months, and years, developing his documentary series. For example, the series ‘Drugsland’ was produced over two years due to the difficulties in getting access to information and interview subjects. From his masterclass, I learnt the importance of doing sufficient, comprehensive research into your chosen topic before starting a film project. It is crucial, especially in documentary filmmaking, to accurately portray the people’s experiences or history and places featured. I also learned how personal experiences could help a producer create original, captivating pitches. The motivation for film production ideas is in your surroundings.