Pre Production - Current Contributor Profiles

This blog will explain the main character profiles in our project at the time of writing (They are subject to change as the script adapts). We will have myself as the presenter/contributor but also other key characters that will help move the documentaries narrative along.

Myself - Presenter/Contributor

It is important to clarify why I want to be the presenter of this project and why we are not hiring someone in to do this job.

Motorsport has been a part of my life since I was 5 or 6 years old. My father always used to watch it on the Television and this meant I started watching it and found interest in the sport as well. Every weekend we would watch some sort of motorsport and in 2005 I went to see my first ever motor race at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Ever since I have been attending events all over England and recently I have made the trip abroad to watch large saloon car races and Formula One races. My interests in motorsport didn't stop at watching it on TV and visiting events. Very early on I started filming the races with my little camcorder and put together little montages in my spare time. Over time I started to film more and more and in 2011 I started posting these videos to YouTube.

Along with other motorsport content, I started to grow a community around my videos and turned my hobby into content that people started enjoying. This thoroughly has involved me in the world of motorsport since it is a massive passion of mine and one I don't think will ever leave me.

Recently I have started presenting pieces and conducting interviews with motorsport drivers and I found I also enjoyed this side of the subject as well. Motorsport has engulfed me and is now my main hobby and interest away from University and filming.

The reason why I think now is the correct time to do this documentary, is I have grown my social media side up to a point where I am happy and I am looking for new challenges. I have always wanted to race a car but have never put the plans and money together to make it happen. With a little forward thinking, I put the money aside to help make this dream a reality.


This story will be a great personal journey for myself, as when commentating and giving opinions on motorsport, you sometimes forget how hard the sport is. This documentary will help prove to myself and others what an incredible athlete you have to be to be one of the top motor racing drivers.

This documentary would be a great personal journey and means a lot to me, which is why I think a journey like this needs to be undertaken by someone who has a true passion for the subject. This way we can capture real emotions and show what it really means to me as the presenter. If we hired in a presenter, it is unlikely they would have the same passion for motorsport that I do, meaning they may not give a great "performance" as they don't find the subject matter interesting.

As the presenter, I will lead the documentary and there will be obstacles placed in front of me that I need to complete before my first race. The documentary will broadcast how I overcome these and the stresses and emotions it brings out in me. I think as I have a big passion for the sport, using flashbacks with the help of archive material will help consolidate how much this subject matter means to me.

Sam McKee - Co-driver 

Sam owns and drives the car that I will be sharing in this documentary during the main race. In doing so, he will be a big part of the documentary and his thoughts and opinions will be broadcast, especially in the second half of the documentary as the race becomes closer.

He will help guide me into performing at my best race day and his voice will be one that is heard more than any other contributor in this documentary. After meeting Sam on several occasions, not only is he a good driver but a great character at the same time. His energy and enthusiasm will help, especially if I get into a situation in the documentary where I am nervous and worried.

Sam won't have any scripted lines, but the camera operator may ask Sam a few questions while I am on track so that we can hear his opinions and get to know him more as a character. I would like the viewers to get to know Sam well as he will be a great attribute to this project.

From research, it is clear to see that documentary viewers do not want to hear the same person speaking throughout the documentary. We need to be able to connect to different characters so that the documentary is not biased just to one opinion.
Sam is looking forward to the process of this Documentary and I am looking forward to working with him. As the script adapts I want to find ways to enable him to show his personality and enable him to have a voice.


Bruno Spengler

Bruno will be the third main character in the documentary. He is a winner of Europe's top Touring car series and a factory driver for BMW. I have been lucky enough to work with Bruno before on separate projects and we kept in contact and we arranged some filming days over the summer. As a professional level driver, he will be able to give me insight about the ups and downs of motorsport and what to look for when I go to race for the first time.

Bruno also gave me some technical knowledge about what to do in certain situations when the car is behaving in a certain way, how to deal with how to effectively start the car off the grid. He also gave us an in-depth look at his safety equipment which is vital in keeping the driver safe while at the wheel. Bruno will be our Expert through the documentary and we aim for him to appear on multiple occasions when I need advice on a specific topic.

I am happy to have built up a friendship with someone who has accomplished so much in motorsport, and the fact he wanted to stay in contact and help means a lot to me for this documentary. It adds a level of authenticity which it may have not had if no professional drivers were included.

Other Motor racing drivers


Bruno will be the main source of information when it comes to the technicalities of motorsport, but over the summer I was lucky enough to attend Three DTM (German Touring Car) events and I conducted interviews at all three with questions relevant to this unit.

I asked around 10 top professional drivers their advice in specific situations in motorsport and they also gave me advice on what I should be doing when preparing. I asked different questions, depending on the driver, to make sure I had a broad range of topics and opinions covered. Like Bruno, these add a level of professionalism to the documentary, as we have a number of high-figure drivers included in the documentary which helps give the subject matter and documentary credibility.


 Friends and Family

I don't expect my friends and family to have a major role in this documentary but there is a strong possibility that they may be included in reaction shots or short one line quotes throughout the documentary. It is important to note they could be included, but not in a major way. I would like to speak in the documentary with my Dad, as he is the person who got me into motorsport. But I understand that he really doesn't like being on camera so that probably won't happen. I hope that a few people will be involved in the project just because it adds another level of proof about how much this subject means to me. When I start to lay out the script properly it will enable mt to see which scenarios would be good for a small sequence with a family member or friend.

As the script evolves I may decide to further include my family members if it helps the viewer to be immersed in my journey. Knowing my Dad, we would have to find a way for him to be part of the documentary without him having a camera in his face. There are ways we can get around this, use of a long lens or a go pro in a car. We will see how the script evolves and understand then how much of a role my parents will have.