On Saturday 15th March, I signed up to a TV presenting course, courtesy of Youth Media Agency.
As the start of 2014 was the year that I would be moving onto a whole different level being TV (watch my beginning of 2014 vlog HERE), I started it off by constructing my very own documentary. The planning went well and when it came to interviewing the homeless man in 'Homeless in London', I noticed the feedback given regarding my interview technique included comments such as; I was confident, well spoken, passionate, informative, and made the man that I was interviewing feel more relaxed.
I didn't realise how much these skills would be highly aided in this training day at the YMA! We were in a group of no more than 12 people, and gave mini introductions about ourselves and what we do. What really made this workshop stand out SO much for me, was the fact that the group consisted of ethnic minorities - staying headstrong and focused on reaching their career as budding journalists. We all had so much in common, yet were full of such different and initiative ideas.
As well as gaining an extremely helpful amount of information about the two-year-old company reaching out to young people aspiring to become a part of the media industry, and then we took out exercises. The first was to quickly find a story in an issue of The Metro, find 3 facts, and then present it in a 60 second news report. Sounds easy? It wasn't! I wrote a few lines in a notebook, so whilst being filmed I had to repeatedly look at it, as well as holding a microphone and concentrating on the camera! Multitasking at its finest.
I was confident, and judging by the feedback, I knew that if I had been given a little more time, I would've been able to prep myself a little more, and plus; I was the first up in the group!! We should always try to the best of our abilities with any task that we have been asked to partake, so I'm glad that I tried and fell through with it
The second exercise was the big one; the interview! We had to build a scenario around interviewing the ambassador of the YMA. We had to construct a clear introduction, well informed clean and tidy interview, and good ending. Looking at interviews at events like The Grammy's where presenters will interview people of interest always looks effortlessly easy, but the steps to get to that level of professionalism when conducting an interview is CHALLENGING! Learning and gaining those tips and word of advice was certainly rewarding. It just shows you that no matter how easy the presenter's role may look, it is actually incredibly difficult. And the fact that they've made it look so easy shows how devoted and good they are at their job!
I can honestly say that I need more work and practice in order to reach to that level (of course), and I knew the exact place where I would gain these skills from; experience! Experience that will train and sometimes challenge me as a journalist, and I am more than ready for that - stay tuned ;)
It felt inspiring, yet daunting and scary! Hearing different stories about how hard and difficult their experience was when trying to get into the industry was a real reality jerker. It definitely won't be easy - but I guess the attitude and drive you put forward is what what will really define you as a person.
I exchanged contacts, and have honestly never felt so impacted leaving a workshop with such creative budding journalists. Even having discussions about recent grad jobs that we've applied for; the world is small!
#INSPIRED
