When the Antiques Roadshow visited Bath in april, I arranged to shadow one of the Directors and find out how the show is put together.

All of the crew, OB (outside broadcast)Trucks, scenery and technical staff arrive the day before the shoot to get the location ready for shooting.
The location manager produces a map of the location showing exactly where people will queue, where items will be filmed, camera locations, parking, toilets and everything else the crew will need to know. The queueing is designed specifically alongside the camera locations so there is always a group of people on the background for the items.

Lighting has been redesigned for this series and now they are going for a flood of soft light - which can be controlled from the lighting desk - so that gives the freedom to film anywhere in the location and not have to move lights.

The Sound man works from his own station in the OB truck and has 8 radio mics for the presenters and contributors which transmit back to a receiver base station in the main hall. Buzz track is recorded on 2 shotgun mics then all of the sound is sent back to the truck via multicore.

great experience and I really learned a lot from watching the teams working, I'll be looking to get more of this kind of experience in future.

BC2006 - work experience - promotional video

Another self-generated project is this promotional video for former Olympic mogul skiier Hugh Hutchison. Hugh now works as a marketing consultant and motivational speaker and needed a video to help promote his work.

I felt it would be great experience for me to work with someone of his profile and as he has done a lot of commentating work for BBC & Sky Sports, he is calm and comfortable in front of the camera.

BC2006 - work experience - Boom Operator

I have been subscribing to production base for some time and was lucky enough to be offered a job as a freelance boom operator for Reelmedia digital productions.
I've worked for the company 3 times now, twice for a Devon County Council training film and one for the QCA in manchester.

I've learned a lot about working with a cameraman from the shoots and how important it is to take direction on boom placement when shooting. You have to consider shadows, keep the boom out of shot but also get close enough to capture good sound - which can be difficult, especially when you are joined together by the umbilical cord of the mic lead !

BC2006 - work experience - Talking Issues

I volunteered to go for work experience at Talking Issues in Bath and I'm glad that I did !

Talking Issues produce Audio Books and Magazines at their headquarters in Bath and given my interest and background in audio editing and recording studios the opportunity was too good to pass up.

The company has a production office, 3 voice studios and an editing suite an is a very vibrant, friendly and busy place to work. The Company was started by Jennifer Howard who was previously at BBC Audiobooks and they have quickly grown into a major player in the Audiobook market, as well as being the first company to produce a full word-by-word audio version of a major magazine title.



I spent my first day shadowing the process of producing the weekly audio version of 'the Economist' magazine, from casting and producing copy, working with the producers in the studio, shadowing the editors and then finally proofing the finshed articles.
The workload on the day is high and the place buzzes with people - all working together to turn around recording, editing and proofing a whole magazine in one day. This is quite a feat of scheduling and the production team have to work hard all day to make sure that everything is done quickly, professionally and most importantly accurately.

This really opened my eyes to the way people co-work in the media and is a great example of team work in a production environment.

Talking Issues were impressed with my attitude and contribution and I have been working for them as a freelance proofer & editor since march.

BC2006 - work experience - Sl Music

Another self-generated project - a promotional video for SL Music Productions.

Hill is a good friend of mine who will shortly be releasing a Jazz / Soul album. I've also done a lot of Recording work and training in Hill's Studio and he has given me a great deal of help and encouragement with my studies. He has also done a lot of TV and video work so he had some great ideas to contribute.





I learned a lot from working with Hill and he had the idea of filming from slightly above so that he was not talking down to the camera, which would put the person watching more at ease.
This also gave a much better shot of the desk and the surroundings and make the environment look good on screen.

BC2006 - work experience - Jera Books

After visiting the Paintworks facility and seeing how the 3rd year of the course would work, I realised that I would need to be very self-motivated and create a lot of self-generated work to make the sure I got the most out of it.

I realised that I would need work experience with production companies, but also would need to work on projects myself and approach them as if was a freelancer producing a video for a client.

The project for Jera books was given to me by Phil Purves who had been contacted by the company. I volunteered to take the project on and managed every aspect from the initial production meetings, to equipment and location booking, shooting, editing and post production.

Here's the finished result ;




I have had some very positive feedback from the company about the project and I personally learned a great deal about myself, my abilities, time management and conflicting deadlines from doing it - good preparation for the freelance world !

BC2003 - Bath Spa Media Event - careers

I discussed careers opportunites in the media with numerous people at the careers fair that was held in students union in march.

they gave me some good contacts within the media sector and some great websites to follow up on.

I've also visited the Careers Office and Job Shop to research opportunities for relevant summer work and have received a number of opportunities to apply for.