CREWSDAY TUESDAY: SAYING ‘YES’ TO OPPORTUNITIES

This week’s Crewsday Tuesday turns the camera towards Pete Nance, a second assistant camera technician who has built a steady, skilled career across the Liverpool City Region by following his instincts, saying yes to opportunity and carving out his own path in the department. 

Pete didn’t jump straight into camera. He tried out several roles first – location marshal, additional AD, occasional stints in production offices – all helping him get a feel for how sets worked and where he might belong. The turning point came during a job at Liverpool Town Hall, when he spotted a call sheet from a drama filming the day before. Rather than ignore it, he followed the thread: “I rang the office number, mentioned a name I vaguely knew, and they said the camera trainee had quit that morning. Come in.” The next day he was meeting the camera team; the day after, he was on set for Foyle’s War. He’s still working with the same DOP a decade later.

Today, Pete works as a second AC, supporting the 1st AC and DOP, loading media, organising kit, managing slates and keeping the camera department running smoothly. “It’s a technical, hands-on grade,” he says. “The old path was simple: trainees learned the second AC job. Now trainees often cover video assist too, especially in TV drama. You really need both skillsets.” That dual responsibility, he adds, has become central to breaking into the department.

Across the last few years Pete has worked on an impressive list of regionally based productions. He’s spent time on both series of This City Is Ours, admiring the ambition and technical scope of the project. He also worked on A Gentleman in Moscow, which made striking use of Liverpool’s architecture and ITV’s Protection, filmed entirely in Liverpool.

For new entrants hoping to follow a similar path, Pete’s advice is straightforward but invaluable: show up, stay keen and follow through. “You don’t have to oversell yourself, just be clearly interested and available,” he says. “There are so many opportunities for people to join for a day or a week, but they miss out because they don’t follow up. I can get 20 or 30 names in a year and forget most within days. The ones who stay in touch are the ones who get the call.” His own instinct, even now, is to say yes first and figure out logistics later: “Opportunities don’t always come back.”

Currently residing in Runcorn, Pete sees why productions continue choosing the entire Liverpool City Region to film in. “You’ve got so much in such a small area, waterfront, period streets, countryside, distinct communities, all within minutes of each other. Logistically it’s brilliant, visually it’s brilliant.” He points to strong unit base options, emerging studio spaces and a robust network of set builds as growing advantages. But above all, he says, the city’s crew base is outstanding. “There are so many top-level people here. And with the Film Office supporting that, productions have everything they need.”

From trying on different roles to becoming a go‑to second AC across the region, Pete’s story is one of initiative, adaptability and taking the opportunities that present themselves. And as Liverpool’s production landscape continues to evolve, Pete’s clapper board is likely to keep sounding on sets across the region.