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Take the opportunities and see where they take you: a year as a �鶹Լ�� apprentice

2018-09-27T14:10:00+00:00

Hannah Wilcock has spent the past year as a �鶹Լ�� apprentice

I can’t easily put into words the past year because I don’t think I would do the experience justice.

I can say that I’ve enjoyed every moment, and it’s hard to describe the adrenaline of making live TV for a week or the excitement of friends and family seeing your end-of-programme credit when you know how much work the team put into one programme.

Even when in the office during a heatwave you don’t mind because, at the end of the day, you’re still making a TV programme and I, personally, think that’s pretty cool.

This time last year I was heading to Birmingham for my induction week. I expected cameras and screens, but this year has taught me that there is so much more to broadcasting.

I’ve spent the year learning, on the job, about the whole process of TV production. No textbook or tutorial could have better explained the process of making a television programme from an original idea to broadcast.

I’ve learnt how someone has an idea, develops it and gradually as more people get involved the idea becomes a programme.

Alongside this I’ve learnt how every shoot is meticulously planned to cater for unexpected eventualities and that whether you’re the person holding the camera or buying the snacks, you are critical to the television programme.

Autumnwatch and Countryfile

The process of making a live television programme like Autumnwatch, where the team rehearse for a live show, is incredibly different to shows like Countryfile where the programme is planned, location researched, filmed, edited and broadcast within a longer timescale.

Suddenly you see that every ounce of television has to be risk-assessed and budgeted and that, alas, people don’t just get to do the fun bit and turn up on the day to film.

It’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed when you join the �鶹Լ�� as an apprentice. Until last year I lived in a town where everyone knew each other, so to be suddenly in a new city working in an industry in which I had no experience took a while to get used to.

I found myself sitting with people who have worked for years in television making the programmes which I was used to watching in my living room.

Listen to advice

I’d say to any apprentice to try to have the confidence to ask these people questions and to really take their advice, and learn from them.

There have been a number of conversations I’ve had over the past year which I will remember and take note from forever.

�鶹Լ�� Academy has spoiled me with variety over the past year, and one thing I’ve noted is the power of television and how it has the ability to get people talking and to change their thinking.

I’ve been advised to take the opportunities and see where this industry takes me…and I think that’s as good advice as any.

Find out about �鶹Լ�� trainee schemes and apprenticeships here.

'The best thing I ever did': the story of an Autumnwatch, Winterwatch and Countryfile apprentice

2018-07-10T10:35:42+00:00

Working on Winterwatch as an apprentice in January

If you’d have told me last year that by now I’d have moved to Bristol and worked across some of the �鶹Լ��’s flagship programmes, I’d have told you, politely, not to say such crazy things.

It took around a month into the apprenticeship scheme for me to get my head around the opportunity I’d been given. On leaving sixth form I think deep down I knew I didn’t want those university places but I definitely knew that I loved television, and when Twitter directed me to the �鶹Լ�� Apprenticeships page, this seemed like the best opportunity for me. Two unsuccessful applications, an online application, a video and group assessment day later, here I am.

I must have looked like a deer in the headlights during Autumnwatch, which we filmed just three weeks into my apprenticeship. I had no idea, really, what was going on, but I loved it – it’s hard not to as you couldn’t ask for a nicer team and there’s such a great atmosphere during the live show days.

Joining as an apprentice, I assumed that I’d be shadowing people and maybe doing some simple, non-crucial tasks. My first experience of a television show was standing in a live studio behind the cameraman holding the cable which broadcast the show to the world. If I’d have tripped, we’d have been off air. No pressure, then.

Winterwatch in January meant that I’d experienced the live shows so could really get stuck in as I knew what was going on. From cutting out life-sized corvid props, to sourcing a taxidermy woodcock, no two days are the same. The best feeling was sitting in the gallery with the director and producers while the show went live – to be honest I’m just in awe of everyone. They work hard and, at times, it can be pressured but all remain in good spirits.

My final placement took me onto the mighty Countryfile which is where I am still based. It’s perfectly normal on Countryfile to find yourself standing ankle-deep in mud holding expensive camera kit, and I was lucky enough to see a wild beaver too.

I’m often asked by non-telly people what we do when in the office – we organise shoots, complete risk assessments, and research programme content. It’s the less glamourous side of the job, but it’s interesting, and it’s really helped me to learn how television works.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to work on the Chelsea Flower Show and soon on the Antiques Roadshow thanks to my manager putting these opportunities my way. I think what I’ve enjoyed the most about this scheme is the people that I’ve been able to meet and talk to as they have countless interesting stories and fantastic advice for working your way through the industry.

Anyone thinking of applying to the scheme should go for it, as it really is the best thing I ever did. There have been many moments where I can’t believe that this is my job and that’s down to those who run the scheme and provide the opportunities for you.

I don’t have a degree, I’m just someone who really loves telly and talking to people. To have these opportunities so early on in my career is something for which I have to pinch myself on a daily basis.

From no plans for the future to working on Sunday Politics: the story of a �鶹Լ�� Scotland apprentice

2018-06-28T12:47:19+00:00

The first thing I did when I found out I got a position as an apprentice for the �鶹Լ�� was cry and call my dad. Then my friends came over, and we opened a bottle of champagne I got for my 18th birthday which I was saving for a special occasion, and we ate chocolate cake and I cried some more.

Before I applied to the �鶹Լ��, I felt frustration at the stalemate I found my life at. I had survived university for the entirety of four months, left, was now working in a job I despised, and had no clue what to do next. I told myself that if I couldn’t find something within a year, I was to return to university. An idea that, frankly, nauseated me.

That was, at least, until I remember something I was told during my week’s work experience placement at �鶹Լ�� Scotland two years before: ‘We do apprenticeships, you know. You could apply for one.’

When I began to look into it, I was so compelled by what I read. I had the opportunity to travel, to be educated, and to be thrown in the deep end in the best possible way.

The application process was begun, for me, somewhat hesitantly, as I truly believed I wouldn’t get in. Until I got through to the next stage, and the one after that, all the way up until that fateful day when I got a phone call offering me the position.

Now, one year on, my amazement hasn’t subsided. The �鶹Լ�� does not hold back on opportunities to expand your training and learn something new. Within my first two months of being part of the team, I completed training in Birmingham, Salford, and Evesham and began college studies in Newcastle.

Most recently, I was the sound operator for the 2018 SNP annual conference, particularly for the First Minister’s speech. I’ve also had the chance to vision engineer programs like Reporting Scotland and Sunday Politics, which has allowed me to conclude that this is a job that I want to do at the end of it all.

At college, meanwhile, I’ve gained technical qualifications and am currently studying towards one in coding. These are things I never once thought I would have the capability of doing, but the �鶹Լ�� gives you that chance.

There are challenges, and everyone faces different ones, whether it be the balance of college and work, or hesitation with travelling a lot. Mine, however, was the worry that my 12 fellow apprentices and I would fail to get along, especially considering how much time we spend together, but I’m continually proven wrong in that regard. Every single one of them is talented, caring and extraordinary in their own particular way. Not only are they my co-workers, but they are my friends.

Now that applications are due to open up for the next intake of apprentices and trainees, I would like to implore any of those reading this to take the plunge and send your application in.

The �鶹Լ�� doesn’t need nor necessarily want people with A* qualifications and an endless CV. They want exceptional and authentic people who can rise to a challenge, grab an opportunity and, very importantly, have fun doing so.

I now use as much of my knowledge as I can to reach out to potential recruits through a blog I write.

The �鶹Լ�� helped me change from a 19-year-old who had left university with no plan for the future, to someone with, in my not entirely modest opinion, a great career ahead of them.

That could be you.

Applications for 2019's Broadcast and Communications Operator Apprenticeship open this September.