Professor Green reveals 7 tips for budding documentary makers

Charlie Sloth hosted a Q&A with Professor Green at the Radio 1 Academy in Hull, where the rapper and documentary maker had plenty of brilliant advice for aspiring programme makers.

"With Suicide and Me, although it was a documentary and there were parts of it which I had to present, because it was my story it wasn’t like me jumping into the world of journalism with both feet. The second programme Hidden and Homeless was my first real step into becoming a documentarian I suppose, and I guess it was just a progression with each one.

But I’m not going to lie - when I was doing the homelessness documentary I was scared because I was like… “How can I hold this programme? It’s not my job, I’m a rapper.” I never even know how to pronounce my ’t's and ‘h’s and I’ve got this pressure on me to speak properly when I’m doing a documentary. It’s why I don’t watch myself back."

"No because it’s someone else’s story, and the funny thing is, I’m shy. As inquisitive as I am in life, I don’t really like prying in other people’s lives, so it’s a difficult thing for me to have to do at times when I know I have to ask the hard question.

They’re two completely different things. I’m still a work in progress when it comes to making documentaries.

As much as I enjoy making documentaries, it’s me spending time in other people’s lives, it’s not me concentrating on my own - which is why I’m going to take a little break from documentaries and get back into the music. That’s my release, I need it."

"Do you know what, Radio 1 kicked that off in a sense. They asked me if I’d do a documentary on Radio 1 Stories called Suicide Survivors.

The response was quite bittersweet, because it’s not necessarily something you can enjoy the success of. On one hand you’ve got all of these people saying they’re so grateful to hear someone in my position speak out about it. But on the other, the only reason so many people identified was because they were suffering.

Then I was approached about doing a TV documentary on male suicide. It wasn’t meant to be my story, but that’s what it became. Having been aware of the response to the first documentary, and how important it was to use my voice for something other than just my own benefit, when I was asked I said yes. I kind of blindly walked into it."

"Making Suicide and Me was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever done because of what it brought to the surface. My Dad had taken his own life years ago and as far as I was aware I’d dealt with it, but…

I still haven’t watched it, I can’t man. I think if I have children I would watch it."

"Probably by making light of the dark in some instances, that’s definitely what I’ve done in my music. I may have got that through Biggie (The Notorious B.I.G) or just from being British. That’s what we’re best known for, our dark sense of humour.

I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it - but maybe that plays a part in it. Not over thinking it. Just being myself."

"Be human. I think one of the most important parts about making programmes like that is being able to empathise.

Walk into situations with an open mind, and just listen. It’s really easy to have a set of questions but the best stuff that I’ve got has just come from having conversations.

You’ve got to be decent, it’s a privilege really. The amount people have trusted me with is incredible and I think that just comes from not throwing people under the bus."

"The child poverty one is heartbreaking. I think people are going to be shocked and upset by what they see.

Then the cannabis documentary, people think it’s just going to be me smoking weed having a giggle, but that’s going to surprise people in a different way.

We discuss whether we should legalise it and what the positives and negatives are. And there are negatives, they’re plentiful. It’s not as straightforward as people might think."