ALICE WASS
Exploring Media

This week has been very different from any other so far on my placement. I have had the opportunity to learn a whole host of new skills, and worked on projects that I would never have imagined being part of.

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Starting with the regular parts of my job role, I have organised five new interviews for Ruth to go on her mid-morning show. These range from authors to people working with charities and on new upcoming projects. I believe I have massively improved my skills and effectiveness at organising these interviews, as I now know the best way to phrase the information. Ruth and I have worked out effective methods of communicating between ourselves so we both know who is on the show when. I already feel I have a high level of skill when it comes to research, but now I am working on being more discerning when it comes to what I find out, to make sure all of the content fits in with both the UCB values and Ruth’s show. This is a skill I am sure will continue to grow over the coming weeks, so that I can be confident about the interviews that I have found and chosen to be on the show.

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I have continued editing content for Soundcloud, which means I am now editing multiple pieces daily. With all of this practice I am becoming much quicker at the editing and uploading process and believe the quality of work I am producing is also increasing. I would now say that I am confident in using Adobe Audition and I will be using it more in the future, not just for editing audio but for any future video work I do, ensuring the audio is the best that it can be. I have now started using these editing skills to start editing the Impact Stories which I have recorded. It does use different skills as I have to find the best content within the interview and then once it is selected, edit it down into a fluid short audio piece.

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A new project I am about to start working on is helping Anne, the breakfast presenter on UCB2, with recording, editing, and uploading her Prayer Wall pieces. This week I sat in with Anne whilst she recorded two of her pieces. It is similar to recording an Impact Story, in relation to the equipment and software being used. However, the structure of the pieces is completely different. Anne has to encourage the person by speaking to them until they feel comfortable to share their answered prayer, while Anne remains silent. This gives the person being recorded has space to say whatever they want. Then the pieces are edited and uploaded to Soundcloud. I am excited to start working on this new project as it is using the skills I have developed in a new way.

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The reason this week was different was that I went with the TV team to London to record the TV show ‘Facing The Canon’. The show is hosted by J John and his guest was Francine Rivers, a Christian author. We left on Tuesday afternoon to travel to London, the shoot took all day Wednesday then we travelled back Thursday morning. On the shoot I learnt all about the professional equipment that they were using. I helped to put together cameras, tripods, the vision mixer and helped to complete, communication, sound, and visual checks. I then learnt how to use the camera, as I was a camera operator for camera two, taking the wide shots. This meant learning the different shot types and how they should look, before completing camera drills with Dave the director telling us the shots he wanted and us quickly getting into position. I had never been a camera operator for a TV show before, and this was definitely a dive into the deep end. I was nervous before the show started but once it got under way my confidence increased and I ended up being a successful camera operator for the show. I would love to do more camera work on ‘Facing The Canon’ in the future if there is space for me to go with the TV team again. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the thrill of recording the TV show. During the trip Dave the head of TV also explained to me the different roles that the producer would be doing. This has helped me to gain a better understanding of a job I am considering doing in the future.

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Due to the TV trip I think this has been my favourite week on my placement so far. I was fascinated with this completely new experience and learnt so many skills whilst being on set. As TV is something I am considering as a future profession, getting real experience on set and with the equipment was my first taste of what it would be like, and I loved it.