Kind: captions
Language: en
so there were two comments about when
you started it for first and when it
went in first of all when you started it
did you envision it going on for this
long and second of all I've seen it
described as the last of the series and
I feel this separation kind of anxiety I
don't it should be just the next episode
rather than the last episode so I'm
curious about your perspective when it
began and your perspective now as
apparently it is ending yeah I think I
don't know how Michael feels about I
definitely thought that we would
continue it on again I was kind of
influenced by Michael Apted and you know
he could do it so could we and I think
he was on 49 up or something like that
at that time so um so and as I say what
whether it's I mean right now we plan
that it's the last but that's very sad
and you never can really know what's
happening we felt that it was time to do
another episode now because when we left
these students in the last episode that
I don't know if any of you saw it it was
really kind of sad because they were for
the most part not in a good place and we
did those in a different way we actually
did each student separately and Michael
and I had many many arguments no not
arguments discussions about it we could
probably still go and discuss it about
whether a more chronological approach
was better than a biographical approach
I mean that's actually been one of the
most I mean this is I am proud of this
and proud of Michael because I this is
an amazingly technical feat of
filmmaking I mean just how to put this
damn thing together I mean we're pulling
our hair out and you know I still don't
know whether we did it the best way we
did it a way and it does seem to work
and how many hours should it be and I
mean just the the discussion and the
thinking and the doing it and undoing it
is is amazing so we're a little
exhausted actually I don't know Michael
what what do you think no I think I'm
actually the very first episode it had a
very difficult birth the series because
Sarah the very first program is one that
I hope actually never gets released on
cassette again if it really was a rail
and you know designed by a committee
because we I think I'd wanted to try and
make an observational film with no
commentary and but because there was a
an air date that we had to meet the
first year of medical school simply did
not provide us with enough sequences to
really fill that that are and so the
solution was to bring in a lot of
talking heads and some of them are quite
interesting talking heads but the film
had no integrity and it really did not
reflect what I think I the poor loyal
and I hope for and it was but we had to
get something on the air it was really
good fodder for the second year medical
students show so I but I think it did
grow from strength to strength and as I
say it was it was partially a lot of it
was serendipity but it was I think it
was just a I think we just established a
working relationship and in the end I
think that was the strength of the film
was was really the trust of the
participants that hopefully the mutual
trust that they would be treated in a
way that was not that going to be a
short-term hatchet job and I already say
something about the camera to say
cameraman is that the right word or they
the people who like walked around with a
sound and cameras which I see Steve in
the back and because they really you
know sometimes like Michael or Julia or
some of the other people who Peter had a
like duck out of the way it would just
be the camera the sound people and they
were really very I mean they really
really knew how to work well and they
are an unseen force so we have that the
cameramen here Steve McCarthy who's one
of our fantastic camera
and and also Peter Franken and Julia
cord who were I think associate
producers on the series it was there
anyone else that I'm missing and because
this took place over such a long period
of time but another thing is I actually
think this to ours is the best and and
III don't think that's necessarily
because of our skill I think that it's
the best because it has a real dramatic
art to it that you you start off with
and you have a bunch of kids and they
kind of are who they are and they're
nervous and cute and their problems or
problems but they're not that serious
yet and then they go into periods of
really intense intense pain just intense
and then they get lost in the wilderness
for a long time and they don't know what
they want to be when they grow up but
they don't want to be what they're doing
now and now I feel I mean I I like
movies with a happy ending and I think
for the most part this is this is a show
with a happy ending because i think that
the vast majority of our of our students
have their lives together both
professionally and personally and that
we're leaving them in a really good
place and so that's why i feel that
maybe this should be the end because
because I they are incredibly
interesting people who really opened up
to us people start to to get more
guarded as they get older I'm not sure
that they would say things of that
nature again or in 10 years and we did
have a harder time on this shoot not
necessarily with with jay well jay we
had a hard time
or Jane but with some of the others who
I don't think they were being
intentionally guarded I just think
that's that's the natural tendency of
human beings not to spill their guts
when they're 40 years old anymore the
way they did when they were 32 so I
think and I think when you see the whole
thing you'll see that when you get to
the end you think wow you know you're so
happy that they kind of came out of the
wilderness and got to a place that's
important for themselves and for society
that you know kind of why mess it up
with the reality of life