If anyone told me five years ago that I would at some point in life, learn how to produce a TV show or a short film for that matter, it would sound gibberish and crazy. As much as I like watching TV shows as a way to relax and enjoy alone time, I have never thought for a second that I would be learning to create one. I particularly love documentaries and films based on real-life events, their creators are pure genius. The shows are not only educational, but they have a way of letting you into people’s realities. And they are always so emotional; the soundtracks, scenes, shots – that make them so real.

This week’s lecture on TV production was really insightful. We had Dr Davina, a TV producer from the BBC giving us first-hand experience of what goes into the creation of one of TV’s biggest shows. I could tell she was experienced and enjoyed her work – and get this; she is a scientist too. A neuroscientist!!!. Again, its these encounters in this class, that make me feel like I can be anyone in this world. Anyway, back to the point, she talked about the steps that go into TV production and the different roles played by the team that create these shows. First, is the planning stage; based on a subject, a group of researchers, writers and producers gather information about the topic, write scripts, plan shoots and locations of the shots. The planning session is critical in driving a successful and smooth production. However, she emphasised things might not go to plan for various reasons. And as producers, they should anticipate these and be able to make changes even during the shooting stage.

The shooting stage a very critical step in telling your story is a reflection of the plan. We learnt the different shot types that go into shooting a scene. Close up shots show important detail while wide shots introduce views and allow us to see the entire scene-setting. We can shoot a scene more than one from different shot sizes to capture all angles that will be useful in bringing out the story. An essential part of keeping in mind during shooting is the general views used to get in and out of scenes and also allow for commentating or voice-overs shots. These views are applied during interviews or when experimentally demonstrating an aspect of the subject. Non-synch wide shots are great shots that show an interview set up but you can’t see the lip movements of either person in the interview. They allow for voice-overs as well. An exciting and fun concept applied in short films is the vox pops which are brief Q&A sessions with members of the public to get opinions of your topic from the public. It is useful in illustrating a point. The final stage in TV production will be editing the video to make the stories we see on TV. We will be able to learn more about this in our next lecture.

After this lecture, I caught myself a few times pointing out the different shots on a Netflix documentary series I was watching. I find the concepts from the lecture very relatable and applicable now when I take pictures with my friends or videos when we hang out. As I prepare for the vodcast, I know I will get to apply most of what I learnt and try to put it all together to create something.