Television and Broadcasting

Hello, my name is Max Eagle. I'm a student studying Television and Broadcasting at the University of Portsmouth. I was set to graduate this year in July, but that's been suspended due to the Coronavirus, and I'm now set to graduate in January of next year. Certainly it wasn't the crescendo end that I was expecting, but I've adapted just the same as everybody else. 

So on my course, which is known as TVB, we have produced live and prerecorded TV over the last three years. I also took a year out on a placement working for Premier League Productions as a media coordinator, and that placement solidified in my mind that I wanted to look more towards the technical side of broadcasting rather than the more conventional areas such as producing and directing. 

So on my course, otherwise known as TVB, we've produced live and prerecorded television over the last three years of teaching. I also took a year out on a placement at Premier League Productions as a media coordinator. And on that placement, it solidified in my mind that I wanted to look more towards the technical side of broadcasting rather than more conventional areas such as producing and directing.

And in this year specifically, I focused on learning unit management and remote production in outside broadcasts. This area of television really reminded me why I wanted to go into broadcasting in the first place. I wanted to get stuck in. I wanted to get my hands dirty and do something more practical rather than writing essays or sitting at a desk for the rest of my life. 

The great thing about our course was being able to get involved in so many different productions and in so many different roles. There was producing, there was directing, there was camera operating, there was vision mixing, production management. The list goes on and it's completely endless. 

Over the last four years of my course, I learn everything and anything to do with TV and broadcasting in general. And with an industry that's looking for more multi-skilled people coming out of the lockdown, this will only become more important as time goes on. As remote production seems to be the way to go, I felt like I was slightly ahead of the curve when I started looking into these type of solutions for broadcasters. And while basing my final year project on solutions such as New Tech's NDI protocol and remote IP workflows, it feels like I've almost been learning in real time with the broadcasters, program makers, and facilities companies.

They've all had to adapt, and they've had to adapt fast. And our gallery at university turned into a remote IP gallery at the beginning of the academic year last September. And learning how audio, video, and metadata can be transmitted over a network—whether it be large or small—was incredibly interesting. It's really current and will only travel leaps and bounds in relevancy as we continue to find new ways of doing what we do. 

I also had the opportunity to help out at the Kit Plus Show, and while Simon, Mat, and John and I were furiously applying and doling out hand sanitiser, we had no clue of what was to come and how our industry would react.

In my opinion, I think remote solutions will become the norm, not just temporarily, but permanently, as the powers that be in the broadcasting industry slowly but surely shift their attitudes and understand that technology is the answer and that large OB trucks with uplinked dishes on sites are becoming a thing of the past. And spinning up and spinning down broadcasting servers from all over the world will become part of this new normal we all talk about.

Back to you guys in the remote studio. Good on you.

Hello, my name's Ethan. I am originally from just outside Cardiff in Wales, but I've just finished my second year studying Television and Broadcasting at the University of Portsmouth—and I'm here just to give you a rough overview of the journey that I've been on so far within the television industry. I'm hoping to share some of my experiences, the amazing experiences that I've had through the course, through some extra-curricular activities within the university, but also within the industry itself.

When I came onto this course, I came in with the ambition. I've still got the same ambition to work as a multi-camera director for really big music and entertainment programs. My ultimate TV dream is to one day direct the Eurovision Song Contest. Who knows? I think we're a bit of a way off there, but who knows? It's such an exciting course. I've been able to really practice those skills and really learn from the very best.

In my first year, I was given the opportunity to direct a short music magazine programme, and this year, my second year, I was given the chance to direct something a bit longer. So I've directed a half-an-hour quiz game show, and I was also given the chance to produce some children's TV as well. So a really great range of genres and formats that I've had the absolute privilege of being able to learn on and being able to develop my skills with.

I'm also the director at Portsmouth Football Club, where I manage up to eight sources, four different cameras, to bring the match to the big screen in the stadium for the 20,000 fans that go there on a weekly basis.

This year I was also working on directing a project for the Home Office with the Maritime Border Force. Unfortunately, because of obviously the current climate we're in, we had to postpone, but we're really confident that we're going to be able to pick up those skills again in the next year or two, and hopefully we'll be able to deliver the project to them.

I've had so many amazing experiences within the television industry itself because of the CV and career guidance that I've had through staff at the University of Portsmouth. And I've got a really great number of credits under my belt as a runner working on some really amazing productions like 'Craig David Rocks Big Ben Live' on New Year's Eve in London, the EE BAFTA Film Awards most recently, and BBC Young Musician, the Voice Kids producer store, just to name a few of some of the amazing things that I've had the absolute privilege of being able to work on, and some amazing people that I've met through doing that as well.

I've also been able to try my hand at presenting: something that I really enjoy and something that I found comes fairly naturally to me. And that's something I've been able to develop within the course, little things like being able to learn how to read off an autocue, how to use an IFP earpiece, and cancel out the noise of everybody chatting in a gallery and being able to focus on into or a piece of camera, whatever that may be.

And during this lockdown, I've had the chance to develop some other skills as well, including editing, which I've been responsible for editing. One of my local churches, they've moved their services to online. So I've had the absolute privilege of being able to edit a half-hour service or kids' TV show, if you like, every week. And I've also had the chance to play with some great kit. I'm filming this now on the DJI Osmo 4 K, which I'm just having so much fun playing around with. It's absolutely something great that I can invest my time into learning how to use.

So I really hope that that's given you a little overview of my journey in the television industry so far, and I really hope there's a journey that will continue for a long time to come.

[‘Graduate Show 2020’]

Presenter 1: You're watching—

Presenters 1 and 2: This is Portsmouth.

Presenter 3: The show that keeps you up to date on all the latest Pompey-based news on sports, fashion, culture, and so much more.

['This is Sport']

Ethan: Start with football. Let's kick off with football. That's the—

Presenter 4: Very good, very good.

Presenter 5: We got to see a closer look at the opportunities students have had at Portsmouth Football Club.

Football coach: It's all a student team, totally student team from this course, I think, and some other courses as well. All predominantly gaining great experience at Fratton Park.

Fitness instructor: We do loads of running on the spot where you shake everything and you woo at the same time. That is the favourite.

Presenter 2: Will we get to do that later?

Fitness instructor: We are going to do that later. We'll be trying this later.

Presenter 3: We promised you a breakdancing battle and we're giving you a breakdancing battle.

['This is Food']

Cook: [Inaudible] to do with that is to add some apple or satsuma pieces in there. It gives it more tang to it.

Presenter 6: I am super excited to give this vegan Pancake recipe a try.

['This is Culture']

Musician: I write all sorts of different music. I adore performing live, whether it's a covers gig, whether I'm performing my own music to people.

Les: The good thing about being in a Portsmouth band is that there are loads of other Portsmouth bands who are really good and they're really sociable.

Presenter 3: Here to play us out is Redemption Soul with her song More no More.

['This is Community']

Presenter 7: We're down at the climate action protest at Guildhall Square today, where we've got protests coming down here.

Portsmouth historian: That's a lovely view of the New Theatre Royal with the tram stop. This is turn of the century. The New Theatre Royal was opened in 1900.

Ethan: So who are Men's Sheds? Well, they're a group dedicated to helping people connect, converse, and create.

Men's Sheds owner: It's a hobby shop. You don't have to do anything. It's split into two halves. One half is social, the other half is woodworking section.

Ethan: Why is this organisation so important to you?

Men's Sheds owner: My aim is to combat loneliness, which is the biggest male killer in the country.

['This is Education']

Presenter 1: We're about to get involved in some yoga.

Yoga instructor: The feeling at the end of a class, you're just so relaxed. Everything feels okay.

['This is Halloween']

Face painter: Today I'm going to be doing a neon skull.

Presenter 3: We are going to be making these little origami pumpkins.

Presenter 8: Great job, guys.

['This is Portsmouth']

Ethan: Thanks so much for tuning in. In the audience, in Guildhall Square, and of course, online.

Presenter 9: That's all from us.

All: Bye.

['BSc (Hons) Television & Broadcasting']