What Do You Do?

So what do you do?

I stared at the young lad who had come to rent my camera and my mind struggled for a few seconds. It was the first time I’d been asked that question by a total stranger since graduating from university. I find myself in a position difficult to describe; on one hand I am an intern at WalltoWall productions whilst on the other I am a soon to be freelance researcher for ITV, if all goes according to plan. The election madness at ITV was like a crash course into how TV is made when it comes to tight deadlines and intense pressure. I felt like I proved my ability to cope with the demands of TV which was why I was incredibly lucky to be asked to come back for 10 weeks. So once my internship is over, I will be entering the freelance universe.

My internship however is a complete different world. The way in which a video production company operates is not at all similar to how a newsroom or a current affairs team works. They have the luxury of knowing what they are working on months in advance and so they are able to plan in greater depth. They also have more time to decide how they want the programme to look on screen, which means more time to make it look ‘slick.’ As an intern however, it feels like I’ve taken a little step back in terms of responsibilities. Understandably it will take time to be handed more tasks and so the day can feel a little empty at times. Compared to the hustle and bustle of current affairs and election madness and the excitement of it all, it is, as one of my ITV colleagues aptly put it, almost like being on holiday. I mean, a whole hour for lunch?

I am currently working on an interesting factual/science entertainment show to do with aging and it is in its initial production stages. This means that they have the researchers doing their work and the executive producer and series producer drawing out the main ideas, crewing up and fleshing out the programme. As the weeks go by it will become more intense but the main madness will truly start when they begin filming on location. So there will be hectic times, but they haven’t arrived just yet. The same however can be said about working in current affairs, they aren’t always super busy and downtime is possible, although more rare! Working in a video production company gives you the best of both worlds I guess, time to work on your programmes and time to spend with your friends and family. That is a perk I will probably not fully appreciate until a few years down the line.

It is certainly interesting and amazing to be working at WalltoWall and to see another side of the television world, but in the meantime, let me call myself a freelance researcher 😉

Until Next Time

A Worried Student