Case studies: Freelance television floor manager: Michael

Michael worked in many different areas such as Panorama, Good Food Live and Ladette to Lady before becoming a freelance television floor manager.

I worked in a number of different areas before starting work in television and I found that my unusual career route was really helpful in gaining the variety of key skills I need to be a successful floor manager.

A degree or other qualification is not essential to work as a floor manager. What you really need to work in this field is experience gained in the industry. A typical entry point is as a runner and from there it is important to meet as many people and to get as much experience as possible.

Being a floor manager is a cross between being in a circus and working as a sergeant major! You need to be able to keep a number of different balls in the air at any one time. The key skills you need in this job are communication skills - you need to be able to work with people really well. You also need to be very practical and hands on, with the ability to think quickly and to resolve problems - you need to be a fixer and sorter! I think if you can organise a really good party and get everyone going home happy, you could probably make a good floor manager.

I have worked on a number of different programmes. I spent a lot of time working in a foreign language for Arab broadcasters and I gained a great deal of cultural knowledge through this experience. Other programmes I have worked on include Panorama, Good Food Live and Ladette to Lady - so quite a lot of variety really!

One of the best parts of my job is the access it brings to a wide range of events. There are not many jobs that can see you standing on the side of the stage while Mick Jagger performs a few metres away, or watching Wimbledon from the best seat in the house! It’s a huge adrenaline buzz to work on a big programme and to watch it all come together.

The downside of my job is that a lot of work in television can actually be very repetitive. There can be a lot of standing around and waiting. As a floor manager you are also responsible for resolving mistakes that other people have made, which can result in you having to think very quickly on your feet or take the blame.

To get into this area of work it’s really important that you build up practical work experience, for example working as a runner, and that you prove yourself. It’s not the sort of work that a degree will qualify you for. It can be very difficult to get work in TV, especially as a floor manager: there are only a handful of staff positions in organisations like the BBC and the rest of the work is freelance. In order to get work as a freelance floor manager, you need to build up a good deal of experience and get to know a lot of people working in TV.