First day/week/fortnight-day at the BBC! Very exciting.
After initially worrying that I may have arrived later that I should have, it turns out that I arrived just in time. From the start I was assured that there was no problem, which in turn reassured me that the staff (and my supervisors) would be most welcoming.
I met Mike Buttery, a colleague of Daryl Wintle (Ops Organiser), and he took me on a quick tour of the building, just for basic health and safety (entrances and fire exits, etc). Straight afterwards I met Kevin, who was to supervise my time in the studio. He expanded on the building tour by showing me the facilities of the production areas (studio, gallery, hub, secondary gallery, etc), and it was at the editing area I met Faith; I was keen ask about editing suites and how the programme contents are organised (and of course, how the colour-coded keyboards work!) After a brief overview, I believe Faith recognised my interest in the editing area; she told me that it's definitely worth letting Kevin know and perhaps I could look into it and spend some practical time in the area to learn more. Unfortunately, as of this posting, I have not yet found a good opportunity to talk to him more about it (he has been either busy with other people or busy with other work, etc). Through touring the facilities, I did feel that I had learned a good deal about the general logistics of how the different areas work and work together.
In the look North Studio (which is surprisingly smaller than it seems on the TV), where the bulk of my day took place, Kevin showed me, and talked me through, the shot list for the 1235 broadcast. The sheet was split into several columns and rows, filled with abbreviations and technical jargon as a very snappy short-hand. Of course it had to be explained which ones were which and what they all mean...! However I was familiar with some of the shot/framing terminology (MCU, CU, etc). Interestingly enough, Kevin also pointed out that in other places, some of the jargon will differ slightly from place to place. It seemed that he was confident that once you've got the basics, it should be straight-forward.
I also got to have a detailed talk through the cameras and how they operate. With clips and weights and bundles of wires and cables sticking out of nearly every socket, the cameras in the studio look incredibly complex (especially if you're not familiar with cameras). But it turns out that they just look more busy than they should be. According to Kevin, they used to have dedicated camera operators/maintenance jobs, but due to cutbacks, many staff-members perform a variety of roles throughout the building. This means that virtually any of them can be called upon to grab a camera if they're not too busy.
By the time it was approaching 1300, the studio was preparing for lunchtime broadcast. This was my first experience of being within a studio of a live news broadcast. The presenter is brought in to run through headlines and for sound checks. I listened in on the chatter during then and then throughout the broadcast. I found it fascinating following the result as regular viewers would see whilst listening to the instructions directing all the different graphics and images and video clips as well. All the time it felt like I was really being trained for work as Kevin would frequently explain things that I wouldn't have been familiar with. He'd also occasionally give me advice on exceeding in this type of work environment.
After lunch (in which I 'compared notes' with Carly and Jake), there was a production meeting at 1530 that I was allowed to sit in during. The meeting is to go through what the plan will be for the 1835 broadcast, arguably the busiest and most important part of the schedule. Of course a lot of the data and jargon were lost on me (I only really followed the actual stories which were to be reported), but hopefully I'll be able to follow it with more understanding in the future.
Next, we went back to the studio where I was shown more of the camera mechanics as we 'took them for a spin'. Encouragingly, Kevin gave me shot exercises to do, reflecting how certain shots are performed for particular elements of a report (stating what shots go best with what news item, etc). This was one of my most favourite parts of the day as I got to physically be in control of the camera for hands-on learning. As we went through the different movements (crab, pan, ped up/down, etc), it felt as though I was really getting into the mechanics of how the camera stand/base operated as well...Certainly learned a lot at this time!
After a good session, I felt that it was important to get to grips with the shot list(s), so I took time to go through the shot sheets to (try to) familiarise myself more with the directions. Helpfully, when it was time for the 1835 programme, all I did was observe; not only did I get a sense of how a fully-functioning news studio works, but following the shot list was easier as it happened in front of you!
On reflection, my first day at the BBC was a most enjoyable experience. I felt as though I learned a lot about TV production, even though information came so fast that I missed some of it...! Oh well, at least next time I'll be able to expand on what I learned by learning what I missed!
As for long-term goals (whilst in the studio), I have a few; I want to be able to follow a shot list clearly, I want to be able to be in control of a camera during a broadcast and if then, be able to follow instructions in the studio from the gallery (I've been told that it's a challenge as the director, who you need to hear, is quieter than the producer).
As we finished our first day, it felt like we had been received positively; many of whom we met were asking when we'd be back...I only wished I could tell them it was the following day.
AM
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