Interview with Jack Burnford - Director of The Classic Car Show and Fifth Gear

Jack, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. 

My first question is what got you into cars?

JB: I think I’m really into cars because of my dad really. He’s always been a bit of a petrol head and it rubbed off on me at quite an early age. We used to go to the motorshow and car events together & then when i was 11 he bought a 1971 Porsche 914 for about £1100. I couldn't believe he actually owned a Porsche! It was a wreck but he did it up and I ‘helped'  - although looking back I probably didn't help at all, but that’s why I've got a 914 now and probably why i’m as into it as I am.

You have directed Fifth Gear and The Classic Car Show. How did you get into those jobs?

JB: Years and years of hard work! I started as work experience on Top Gear back in 2003 and made my way though the tv ranks a bit at the BBC and some independent companies. I left TV after a few years and did some corporate work then I managed to get on the 2006 Gumball Rally. Off the back of that I was given a shot at directing a test commercial for Addison Lee and that’s how i got into directing. I tried to do as much car stuff as possible but its super competitive - Then The Classic Car Show came along… the Series Producer was an ex colleague of mine from Top Gear, and someone I’d always kept in touch with. Working on that show you make a lot of good friends and it was him who gave me a break I might never have got otherwise. After finishing on TCCS my showreel was good enough to get me in front of the Series Producer of 5th Gear and they gave me a job there!

How were the cars, articles and locations chosen for The Classic Car Show as there are so many possibilities? Is this the same process as Fifth Gear?

JB: The good thing about making car shows is that your continually being given new things to make films about! But then obviously its hard having to think of new ways to show them…

On 5th Gear the majority of films are about high power cars so a track is the obvious place to test them.

On TCCS we wanted to try and keep a broad perspective - we wanted a cross section from £5k heroes to the Ferrari California and everything in between. We were aiming to make a show that would appeal to the Top Gear audience, petrol heads, classic enthusiasts and everyone in between. Obviously you cant please everyone but by having a very broad spectrum of classic cars and events we hoped we’d keep the appeal broad enough.

When you’ve decided on the car then a lot of time the location follows. The MGB for example was only ever going to be shot in the English Countryside. I struggled with what to do for the 911 however. I could have filmed that in an urban location at night (like Magnus Walker) or on a race track. It could go anywhere - so I decided to go for the Isle of Wight. Epic backgrounds- great roads. I remember being on the ferry home feeling a little guilty as we were a big crew and simply because I had made this one decision to film on the IoW then about 10 grown men had had to stay away from home for a couple of days, away from their families just because I thought it might look nice.  But then I saw the footage. And I thought it was worth it - I loved the 911 film.

Budget is also an issue - Top Gear can afford to do pretty much whatever they want. We can't - we can't afford to spend a morning at a track and then pay to go somewhere else or pay too much for location fees because we just don't have the budget. We also have to pay a lot of money for stock footage…

Have you had any problems with the cars during filming of The Classic Car Show?

JB: Unfortunately yes!! We had a couple of cars break down- the TR7 had engine trouble and the Lotus Esprit had brake problems, both of which could have being the end of the film.. However we use a tracking drive called Peter who is fantastic. He’s lso a trained mechanic so he has helped us out of trouble a load of times. Putting the 911 in place for the statics at The Needles on the IoW, behind a safety fence a few feet from a massive drop was very delicate work - but he managed it!

As an aside… an editor I worked with on 5th gear was on holiday on IoW and was riding the chair lift as QW was doing his piece to camera!!

Do you prefer classic cars or modern cars?

JB: Tough question - I love them both. I feel more self conscious driving a modern supercar. I drove the Lamborghini Huracan in South Africa and didn't feel that cool even though everyone looked at the car. It is extremely fast, and striking looking.. but I think i would have felt cooler in a classic Ferrari. There is also a friendliness that comes with classics. 9 out of 10 times when I fill up with petrol in my 914 someone will say something nice about the car, or come and have a chat about it. However - I also have Range Rover  and I love it. It is an incredible car, totally amazing. I don't think I would want to be a classic car daily driver.

How was it working with the presenters of 5th Gear and TCCS?

JB: One of the best things about my job is working with a range of really talented and cool people. It can be tough working with someone new for the first time, whether thats the cameraman, the soundman or the presenter but with all of them, once you get a feel for how they like to work then life gets easier. Its also a trust thing- especially with the presenters. Once you’ve made a few films with them that they like, they begin to trust you more (hopefully!) which means they are more relaxed and confident on camera as they know you are doing a good job behind the lens.  I dont think Jodie will ever let me forget telling her she wasn’t going home until I’d got 25 up and by’s in the Ferrari California - she brings that up pretty much every time I see her…

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions. 

I now invite the presenters of The Classic Car Show to be interviewed for my blog.

The Classic Car Show - Channel 5 7pm 26th February 2015

Tonight's episode starts with Quentin Wilson's article about the Range Rover. Known as the best 4x4 by far it gave the driver the ability to drive off road in comfort and luxury that had not been put together before. The Range Rover evolved from the 1948 Tickford Land Rover. Flat sides, a tall roof, big glass windows and a tailgate that can drop down. Land Rover played with the design for 10 years but then they acquired the rights to a V8 from Buick that the project took off. Originally the Range Rover was not meant to be a pretty car, the interior was plastic so it could be hosed down, there were no electric windows or automatic gearbox. You were able to cruise on the motorway at 100mph, you could cross fields and deserts and climb hols with a 1:1 Gradient. The Range Rover has won several awards. Sales really picked up when Prince Phillip wax photographed standing on the split tailgate of a Range Rover. Land Rover then went up market offering a 4 door version with a leather and wood interior, electric windows, automatic gearbox and air conditioning. In the 1980's sales figures rocketed passed 100,000 and it soon had several imitators from Mercedes, Ford, BMW and Volvo. Quentin then puts the Range Rover up against the Lexus RX 450 in an off road test. Quentin drives the Range Rover and the Lexus IS driven by a trained 4x4 driver. Over the course of bumps and hills the Range Rover is better than the Lexus. In the 1990's BMW bought Land Rover and really took it upmarket giving it chrome a stunning interior and a 5 litre supercharged engine. The biggest irony for Range Rover is that most of them never go off road, people preferring to use it for the school run. They soon became a symbol for class hatred earning nicknames, one being the Chelsea Tractor. In 2012, Range Rover came out with its 4th generation Range Rover and it has good reviews. Currently selling 6000 a month with a year waiting list. The Range Rover also inspired every SUV on the market so it has an important place in history as an innovator.
Next up Jodie Kidd and Quentin Wilson travel to Monaco to visit the Historic Grand Prix. This event happens every two years. They travel to Monaco in a Citroen DS Decapotable, this car now makes around £150,000. They take the Citroen around the Monaco track but as racing is due to begin, they are soon ushered off the track. Quentin then goes to the COYS Auction room while Jodie takes a boat to the paddock. Walking around the paddock, Jodie walks past some old Ferrari's Jaguars and many others before meeting up with John Romano, a surgeon from Boston with a passion for classic cars. John will be racing a 1964 Brabham BT11 Climax. They have a chat about how he got into cars.Qualifying day and Jodie has a quick chat with John about how he's feeling and then leaves him to it. We find out ho he got on later in the show.
Alex Riley then does article about classic cars you can buy for £5,000. Today's subject is a Porsche 928. This was the car that was supposed to replace the Porsche 911. The 928 came equipped with a front mounted water cooled 4.5 litre V8. For die hard Porsche fans, this was a hard car to get to grips with although it was voted car of the year in 1978 , a year after its release. The 928 did not fit into a mold as it was too big to be a sports car and too small to be a GT car. Porsche made a lot of refinements to the car over it's 18 year life span to improvements. Alex is driving an S4, one of the later 928's. This comes with a 5 litre engine that produced 320 horse power that would take the car from 0-60 in under 6 seconds and a top speed of 168mph. The aluminium engine was in the front of the car and the gearbox in the back gave the car optimum weight distribution and balance. As for looks, the 928 is a pretty car, there are plenty of windows to light the cabin and a decent sized boot.
Bruno Senna is next with another lap in a classic car. Today Bruno will be driving a 1965 Mustang. This Mark 1 Mustang has been race prepared, with 350 Horse power, a 0-60 of just 5 seconds and a top speed of 145mph. Driving the car around the track, Bruno has to keep the rear end in line as the car has so much power. Power-sliding around corners looks great but it's not the fastest way around the track. At the halfway point the mustang is almost a second quicker than the Mercedes was last week. Bruno is able to keep the car in line without loosing the back end of the car. by the end of the lap he is over 2.5 seconds quicker that the Mercedes was.
We then have part 2 of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. We return to the qualifying where Jodie is acting as his timekeeper and sign holder. Red flags are then shown which means a big crash has happened. Jodie returns to the paddock to find John. He is OK. Qualifying then resumes as John posts a lap time of 2.06 the session ends. John is happy to have qualified for the race. It's race day and Jodie has a surprise for John. She takes him to a seated area where Sir Stirling Moss is waiting to chat to him about driving around Monaco. They talk for a while and then once finished, John thanks Stirling for taking the time to talk to him. On the Grid, John is in the car and Jodie has goosebumps. Once the race has started, we learn that John  is in 22nd place. as each lap passes, Johns confidence grows, lap times get quicker and he starts to make his way through the field. The winner of the race is Andy Middlehusrt driving Jim Clark's Lotus 25. John finishes in 17th place.
This has been another good episode of the show. I would like to have seen more of the cars at the auction but i understand that they only have an hour show to broadcast.

Below is a link to the episode

http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-classic-car-show