Being a part of the BBC Make It Digital Traineeship has its perks. You get to further your knowledge in the creative Industries but more importantly you get trips to the BBC offices. Me and the rest of the Make It Digital Trainees arrived in the Mailbox eager to dive in to the BBC offices are take a look around. After a long wait - we finally got started. It seems odd, but seeing Nick Owen in the flesh seemed exciting to me. Nick has been broadcasting with the BBC for 25 years, so I have heard is voice nearly every morning for as long as i can remember. I wanted to say hello - but after a quick thought, I didn't want to ruin his lunch break! We sat down for our focus group session. We were invited to a session on employability (basically what makes an individual easy to employ). We all introduced ourselves to Kris; the group got numbered up and split up into groups. Kris took lead on my group, he fired questions at us. They varied from CVs to interviews. As a group we let Kris know how we feel about each topic. Personally I find CVs great. Its a really good way to show off a individuals skill set and personality. The focus group session was interesting, we got great feedback which can help us all when we next need to tweak our CVs or when we are next applying for work. When then started the tour of the studio in Birmingham. When I was younger, I always believed that set behind the anchor is actually the BBC offices, my heart sank when I realised this isn't the case. When we walked into the room where the regional news is broadcasted from the whole group were confused. The room looks so much larger on television. Wide angle lenses are used to create the immersion that the room is bigger than it actually is. The weather girl can hi-five the news anchor! Surprising I know. The gallery was next. Here director sits with his team: Visual, Sound, Auto-Que and Graphics all sit behind the scenes making sure the broadcast runs smoothly. The Gallery was full of old knackered TV screens - nothing modern in sight! Remember those square televisions, they used those. But it ran like clockwork. If its not broken - don't fix it. Finally, we piled into the BBC WM radio section. We actually saw someone broadcasting live on air. Our guides let us loose on the BBC WM talk recording room. The equipment in the room looked top of the range so I was afraid to even breathe near one. We all took selfies of ourselves pretending that we were broadcasting to the masses - if only. As a group we'd make for a great radio show! I thought that the trip was great, It was a good break from learning in the Custard Factory and we got a great insight into what life is like working for the BBC. I even saw Nick Owen, I don't think I've mentioned that yet. We have been invited back for another focus group! Hopefully the wait won't be as long this time. Photo credit - @Tammy_Belinda
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At the start, the idea of a traineeship seemed wild and a step down from working and earning. At 18, I thought that I didn't have much time left to find employment. But ever since I began working with BBC Make It Digital I have already improved my skills and knowledge in the marketing and creative industries.
Its not just about the work, I have met people, that to be brutally honest, I would never speak to outside of a work environment. It a great mix of people from all different backgrounds coming together because they all have one thing in common, creativity. Having the chance to speak with actual marketers who have had experience in the real world of marketing has completely changed my view on how businesses market products and services. Week 1 and 2 were very much recapping sessions for me, as previously I had been working in Information Technology and Telecoms I have had a fair amount of experience in telephone support and marketing, so the topic of telephone etiquette seemed straight forward and rather basic. We also covered items such as different types of businesses and very basic coding - which again was very much a refresher for me. This is not a bad thing though, as at some points I found myself struggling and to have the refresher got my mind ticking over in the right way again. Week 3 brought new challenges, creating a personal brand for ourselves and beginning to create basic websites using WIX and Weebly proved a new challenge that some of the group had been looking and hoping for. Understanding what it takes to create a successful website proved vital for me, as I felt that I had a gap in my knowledge when creating websites. I know how to produce a website and maintain it, but I hadn't a clue about how to make it successful. Although photography and film making aren't really my passion, I have enjoyed covering the basics of them. Studying photography and film is key to a job in an creative industry learning about the 5 shot sequence and alignment in photography is completely new to me, so it was great to get a grasp on how it all works. I am now coming to the end of my third week and although I have thoroughly enjoyed what we have been discussing and learning in the sessions I am keen to get on with my work placement as I want to get a real taste for what marketing is like. Looking towards my placement I know I want to get into digital marketing and start learning about what it takes to be a part of a successful marketing company learning off possibly some of the best marketers in Birmingham. That is the aim and I am very determined to achieve it. 3 weeks in and I would recommend The BBC Make It Digital traineeship to anyone wanting to get into the creative industry. If you are interested, you can check BBC Make It Digital out here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/makeitdigital |
AuthorJack Rixon, currently a trainee studying the Creative Industry. Looking to gain experience in Digital Marketing to secure work in the future. ArchivesCategories |