Media students broadcast shows from Nescot's television studio

Nescot’s Creative Media students broadcast their own talk shows this week, live from the college’s television studio.

Second-year students on the Level 3 Film and Broadcasting qualification worked in two crews to create their 20-minute programmes, each anchored by a presenter and featuring three pre-recorded sections.

One show focussed on current affairs, including domestic politics and the cost of living crisis, while the other was themed around Halloween.

“We designed this project to replicate what our students will be doing in the industry,” said Louise Gaskin, Nescot’s Head of Creative Arts.

“It’s a great way of bringing together the technical skills our students have developed already, as well as giving them the opportunity to use new equipment, like our industry-standard vision mixer.

“The project is also planned as a way of introducing students to a different working environment, so that they can learn more about the roles involved and the skills they will need.”

One crew went live today (Thursday), amending their current affairs show Never Mind the Politics at the last minute following the resignation of Liz Truss as Prime Minster.

The other group broadcast their Halloween-themed show yesterday, with their pre-recorded sections including a parkour chase and spooky baking.

The teams were tutored by teachers including Jess Taylor, a former Nescot student who won silver in WorldSkills UK and who has worked on live television shows including The X-Factor.

Student Adam Rose, who is currently preparing to represent Nescot in the national WorldSkills UK final next month, said he had learnt a lot from his role as graphic designer in the project.

“I used Adobe After Effects to do the visual effects and motion graphics,” he said. “I haven’t used it before, but the teachers showed me how it works. It’s a really useful skill to have.”

Kaiya Jackson, who is also preparing for WorldSkills UK, took the role of producer for her team, and said the project has taught her a lot about the television industry.

“I really liked the project, because it was a good mix of improving the things we can already do, like operating a camera, as well as learning new things,” she said.

“The broadcast didn’t go totally to plan, but the tutors helped us see how that was actually a useful experience, because you learn to think on your feet and that makes you feel more confident.”

Nescot offers Creative Media qualifications for school leavers at Level 1, 2 and 3, as well as Digital Art and Esports and Digital Marketing, and university-level study.