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28 Jan 2011 14:01:50
It was brunch time for final year TV Production students at the University of Bedfordshire as a delayed show finally went on air.
Called Brunch, the morning television show with a Christmas theme – which also included some location shoots – went ‘live’ on Tuesday, 11 January.
This was initially due to be shot a month earlier when TV Production level three students produced another show, Backstage Pass, in the afternoon. See here
For Brunch, as with Backstage Pass, the students started with a blank piece of paper in week one, and 11 weeks later, they had written and produced an exciting 15-minute show, recorded ‘as live’ from the TV studio at the Luton campus.
The 11 members of the student production team created the script, opening titles and graphics, researched, shot and edited the location inserts, planned the studio items, designed and built the set and found professional presenters.
Studio roles included Producer, Director, Vision Mixer, Sound Recordist, Gallery Production Assistant, Floor Manager, Cameras, Set and Lighting Design, and all students took on extra roles for the location shoots.
Kathryn Wolfe, a Senior Lecturer in Media Performance and Course Leader in TV Production, said: “Many elements of this programme were professional quality. There was a very good pulling together of skills and effort during the production.
“I am thrilled to see how the students have produced such high-quality productions with Brunch and Backstage Pass, bringing us closer to our goal of transmitting live from the TV studio this year.”
Brunch’s Student Producer, Rachel Langan, said: “The show is aimed at women 30 plus years who are either stay-at-home mums or housewives. I personally took an interest in many shows that were aimed at a similar audience and were offering the same type of entertainment as our show was intending to do. It was important to me that the show fulfilled its pitch and was done with a degree of authenticity.”
The show’s two guest presenters, both from North London, were recruited free of charge by the students themselves after adverts were posted on casting websites.
Dennie Morris, a senior radio producer for talkSPORT and a freelance television presenter, was joined on the presenters’ couch by Aussie Suriya Bala who has lived in England for the last seven years.
Suriya was forced to pull out of the initial date in December due to swine flu. They had both previously attended auditions and the pair were supported on the day by one of the University’s own as a fitness guru – mature student Noel Brown (TV Production level two), a semi-professional boxer.
Dennie said: “I’ve worked with Suriya before; she is seriously aspiring to be a television presenter, while I do jobs here and there and I just enjoy doing things like this.
“The set-up at the University is brilliant and it’s really impressive. The equipment is top notch and the students have all been very good. It’s been completely clear what I needed to do. Things are a lot more professional than some other jobs I’ve done in the past!”
Suriya has a musical background, including singing, and also presented shows back in her native Australia.
She said: “I’m really concentrating on presenting now and I’m hoping to make it full time. Hopefully I can start making a living from it.
“Presenters have a lot more opportunity to get seen and heard now because of the internet and social media. This opens doors and offers some worthwhile opportunities.
“Brunch is something to add to my showreel and you need to keep as active as you can in this industry. This goes from invites to universities to pilot shows. It’s really fun working with Dennie and to do this here.”
TV Production lecturer Anthony Greenbank added: “The effort the students put into finding their talent really paid dividends; Suriya and Dennie were a fantastic duo and perfect for the daytime magazine show format. They gave the show real added value and, like the graphic sequences, wouldn’t look out of place on mainstream television.”
Latest news» 2011» January» Xmas arrives late for Brunch crew
