This isn’t training..... This is Fast Train training (said in obligatory sexy M&S advert voice)

TV and radio training, it’s so expensive, isn’t it?  Just glancing at some of the courses I’d love to do on the BBC Academy website reveals prices of about £750 for a Radio features course.  On the Creative  Skillset website there is a Cannon XF305 camera course for just under £500. All a bit expensive for a freelancer just starting out with no money to his name.

Guess I’ll have continue without any extra training and just hope I get employed, at some point, by someone who is willing to foot the cost......right?

Well, no. You see there are these wonderful events, a few each year, called Fast Train. The BBC, Creative Skillset (the main industry body for training and funding), ITV and others work together to deliver a day of workshops and lectures for freelancers and it’s all free. Yep, completely and utterly free.    

How could I resist such an opportunity?

I eagerly selected the workshops I wanted. Not an easy task, I have the same problem in restaurants when trying to pick between three delicious sounding options on the menu, I just want them all. My choice was helped by the fact that some workshops had already sold out (note to self, book earlier next time) and I made my selection. I worked out I could fit in four workshops and the networking drinks at the end (very important that.... I’d barely left a gap in my schedule for lunch, and the food  and drink would be much needed by that point, and of course the chance to mingle with others in my industry is always worthwhile).

So on Tuesday morning I set off to Salford’s MediaCity. After last week’s Greater Manchester Road debacle (see “Foot in the door” blog from earlier this week) I was leaving no chances and left my house insanely early, arriving at my destination a good two and a half hours before my first  workshop.

But this at least gave me time to grab a coffee, say hello to Simon Wright (one of the people who run the BBC Production Talent Pool I am on), and take a quick jaunt in time and space.

Not only did I get to meet the TARDIS (yes ”meet”, it’s sentient you know) but before my first workshop I even won a raffle. My Prize? A Golden Ticket awarding me a £1500 training bursary through Creative Skillset. My day was off to an amazing start.

I went to my first workshop with a smile on my face and a coffee in my hand.

Now, obviously, you’re never going to learn as much on a 2 hour workshop as you would do on a full two day course, but you can get enough that you come away feeling you have learnt stuff you hadn’t known before.

My first workshop was an introduction to Pro-Tools, the industry standard audio editing package. For audio editing, I have always used Adobe Audition in the past but knowing that so much of the industry used Pro-Tools I have wanted to learn how to use it for a long time. unfortunately it tends to be another of those expensive courses.  So this was a workshop I jumped at the second I saw it. It was a chance to learn the basic tools in the programme so that if I was plonked at a desk in a job and told to edit something with it, I wouldn’t make a fool out of myself. 

Next, onto “Social Media and Second Screens”.  As well as professional interest here, I also had a hobbyist interest as I run the Twitter account of a local amateur theatre society and help with the Twitter account of my town’s volunteer-run theatre. Some good advice was imparted on finding your audience where they already are not trying to get them to come to your preferred platform.

Leaving me even less time to eat in my short lunch, I squeezed in doing a presenting screen test for the BBC academy. Who knows, one day it may be me introducing that clip of Anthea Turner getting her hair cooked extra crispy on the BBC health and safety training videos. 

In a Pitching workshop, one task we had to do was each read out a section of JFK’s presidential inaugural address. Being the eager amateur actor that I am, I did it in full American accent. No one else did.

Finally, I attended “Working with Radio Indies” which confirmed much of the advice I had gotten from indie people at last week’s Foot In The Door event, mainly that they want ideas and the best thing to do is just pitch them some. So I’ll be working on some ideas later today to send along to the helpful and friendly guys I met running this workshop.

.. I’m really pleased I went along to this event and I’m certainly eagerly awaiting the next one. In the meantime, I’m going to get shopping for a course on the Creative Skillsset website to spend my Golden ticket on. 

Foot in the door

“Getting your foot in the door” is a bit of a funny phrase if you think about it. It’s generally considered the goal when starting out in media. But the origins of the phrase relate to door stop sellers blocking the closing of a potential customer’s door with their foot. It’s quite aggressive really and I’m sure the people who couldn’t close their door were often quite annoyed.

Luckily the phrase has evolved somewhat since its inception. Most people in the media don’t want to close the door on people if they can help it, many try to actively help with advice, and most people trying to start out, if they want to get anywhere, don’t take the aggressive approach.

Last week I attended the Radio Academy’s “Foot in the door” event at the Radio festival in Salford, Just across from Media City UK. It was well worth the stress of getting there (a bit of road in Greater Manchester that should have taken 10 minuets to drive took an hour and a half. Crazy)

For those that haven’t heard of the event, the format is that those just starting out in the industry get a chance to move from table of guest speakers to table of guest speakers to ply them for advice. It’s basically speed dating but instead of a date you get advice.

The tables are themed on topics to kick off the conversation; “How do I get on air”, “Freelancing in Radio”, “What is station branding?”, with two to four relevant speakers on each. You don’t have their undivided attention of course; There are 5 other delegates to a table. Not every table may be relevant to your career ambitions. I personally don’t have much interest in working on the news teams at a radio station but I still found my time on the table about journalism interesting, if only to learn more about the other areas of the industry I hope to forge my career in.

Networking is one of the key necessities of getting into the media industry. I’ve been to a few networking events this year, some organised by the BBC for those on the Talent Pool scheme, others structured like a show where speakers are interviewed on stage. The format of “Foot in the door” has been particularly useful for getting the directed advice individuals are seeking. I picked up lots of useful tips that will hopefully  help me along my path, met some really interesting people who, one day, I may get the chance to work with and I even ran into a few of my old university tutors so got the nostalgic factor in there as well.

If you’re looking to get into radio I’d seriously recommend going to this event next year. It’s one of the more affordable elements of the Radio Festival (only £24 for Radio Academy members, some of the other events at the festival can be eye-watering at hundreds of pounds a ticket)

If you didn't make it this year but wish you had perhaps I can help by paraphrasing the advice I personally found most useful from it.

• Don’t stop making content – Always have something you’ve just done and something you’re working on so you have stuff you can talk about with potential employers.
• Best way to approach independent companies is with ideas. Pitch them something, if they like it you may just find you’ve got yourself a job.
• Don’t be pushy, don’t make the first thing you e-mail a company a plee for a job. Ask if you can meet for coffee because you would appreciate their advice. Coffee is king in media land.

Best.Movember.Attempt.Ever

Do you NaNoWriMo?

......or to give it its full name National Novel Writing Month. It is an annual event taking place every November to encourage those writers who always procrastinate; those who maybe start but never get around to finishing a whole novel.... which describes me quite well.

The idea is to write a whole novel in a month, just hammer it out without worry about editing or tweaking as you go. Just get the story down; beginning, middle and end (editing can come in December) 50,000 words is the target. The theory is that with thousands of people joining in and doing the same this will spur you on. There are online communities and even organised writing meetings in local coffee shops throughout the month to encourage you.

I’ve known about this event for the last few years but have always wimped out of giving it a try. “You don’t have the time” I told myself “With your full time Job, acting hobby and actually spending time with your fiancée you’ll be lucky to get 5,000 words down in a month, let alone 50,000”.

It was a poor excuse really. People who get novels published are people who find the time to write no matter how busy they are. Even if it’s just that half an hour a day before bed, or the 10 minutes between breakfast and leaving for work.

As I’ve previously stated on here I promised myself that 2012 would be the year I would try to achieve my creative aims, A career in the media is the main thrust of that but my passion for writing is also a part of it. It’s why I started this blog.

So I’m giving NaNoWriMo a go. I’m a day behind already as I didn’t really get inspired to take part this year until I saw others I knew on twitter mention it, but I’ve already got my first 1000 words down.

It would be great to make it to the 50,000 word mark. Great to finish my first novel in the space of one month, but even if I don’t, even if I only make it to 20,000 words by the 30^th November I’ll still be a lot further along in a novel than I ever have before and that in itself has to be worth taking part for.

Plus given the choice between this or a certain other November event, one that requires the growing of above the top lip facial hair, I know which I’d prefer.

Film Review: SkyFall

“The Best Bond ever!” I’d heard the reviews say. That’s a lot of hype to live up to. Hype like that can end up spoiling a film you may otherwise have enjoyed just from expecting too much from it.

So I was cautious when I went into the cinema, trying to hold back my expectations just a bit so that if it wasn’t the best Bond ever, but was still an enjoyable Bond, I wouldn’t be too disappointed.

Maybe I should declare allegiances from the start. I already thought Daniel Craig has been the best Bond of the series. This probably has more to do with the tone of his movies than the actor. They are much more dark and gritty than most other Bond films (My second favourite Bond is Timothy Dalton whose films also toyed with taking the series in a more gritty direction).

I had loved the fact that Quantum of Solace picked up the plot thread from Casino Royal and really hope the Quantum organisation will feature in future movies (not every movie, it was wise for them to not play a part in Skyfall  but I think they can pop up every so often).

One thing that always bugged me about old Bond was how self contained each film was. Events in one film very rarely had effect on future films (there were a couple of exceptions). Today’s audience expect more from their film series. They want to become emotionally involved in a character and see them grow over several films.

This doesn’t have to be in such a direct way as Quantum did it though, and SkyFall, I think, manages this in a way that leaves the film completely accessible even if you’ve never seen a Bond film before. There are events in this film that will have an effect on the status quo in future films. Both on Bond’s character and the wider fictional universe he inhabits. I can’t mention what they all are, of course, without spoiling the film.

One thing I can mention though (It’s been in all the trailers after all) is that Q has finally been introduced into this rebooted Bond universe, and he’s played to perfection by Ben Whishaw. He may be young (Bond comments on his spots) but he plays it as a mature man trapped in a young man’s body. He may be a computer wiz but he’s no teenage hacker stereotype, much preferring a cup of Earl Grey to a can of energy drink and this works really well for his character and his chemistry with James.

 

Chemistry is a bit lacking with the traditional “Bond Girls” though.  His fellow agent, Eve, lacks the usually fiz you get between Bond and his leading ladies and the only character with lines we actually see him bed, Sévérine, is in and out of the picture so quickly she’s hardly worth mentioning.

You get the feeling these women were only included to fulfil the requirements of the bond formula after all the real leading lady of this movie is Judi Dench’s M.

Never before has Bond’s boss featured so much or as such a crucial part of the plot in a Bond film. Her past comes back to haunt her in the form of an ex-agent who’s a bit bitter about how he parted company with his employment.  Judi Dench has always made the most interesting on screen M, from her first appearance back in Goldeneye. The fact that she was the only actor to carry on into the reboot shows just how valued her performances have been in the short bits of each film she has featured in.  Here she really gets to shine though. She is in the film almost continuously from the half way point. Trying new twists to the formula like this is what the series needs to keep doing to remain fresh.

 

The Villian of the piece, Silva, played by Javier Bardem is probably the only villain in Bond’s recent history with any depth of character. Javier’s performance complements the script to allow you to believe in the character and his motivations. Other bond villains have wanted money or power but Silva wants revenge. It’s personal and that always makes for better viewing.

 

You’ve probably heard, but this year marks the 50^th Anniversary since the release of the first Bond film “Dr No”. Skyfall film was littered with references to celebrate that fact, lines about old gadgets “What were you expecting? An exploding pen? We don’t really go in for that sort of stuff anymore”

To the appearance of a certain classic Bond car (complete with Gadgets)

 

It also references the source material. Unlike the books the films have never really gone into Bond’s history, until now. Particularly in reference to Bond’s childhood in Scotland (see, The role of Bond was one where Sean Connery’s accent wasn’t as misplaced as you might of thought... unlike when he was a Russian submarine captain with a Scottish accent) all these references are nice touches to reward the long-time bond fans.

 

So was it the “Best Bond ever!”? It’s actually hard to tell. There are a LOT of bond films. Some of which I haven’t seen in about 15 years so I think it might be unfair to proclaim this without doing a marathon of all Bond films first. I will however say it’s defiantly Daniel Craig’s best Bond film and it also beats all of Pierce Brosnon’s films. That’s as far as I’m willing to commit for now.

 

Maybe I’ll try and do a Bond marathon  at some point and get back to you with a definitive answer.

On the next exciting episode!.....

"Oh quitting your job to pursue a media career? With no guarantee of work? That's nice."

I sensed sarcasm.

"At least  at the bare minimum you'll have lots of time to catch up on those TV box sets you haven't watched yet"

Yep, that was definitely sarcasm.

Three months ago I quit my day job. The one that had supplied me with money both to pay bills and have a bit of a social life for the last three years (oh and pay for my wedding), to take a place in the BBC’s  Production Talent Pool.... Which didn't guarantee any work.

It was a gamble, as people liked to remind me in conversations like the one above. But I had promised myself that 2012 was the year I would make one final stab at doing what I loved.... Plus, you know, I might just get that box set of Doctor Who Season 5 watched.

As it turns out, I didn't manage to catch up on the box set. I've been far too busy. Not always with paid work but often with non-paid but very exciting projects. Firstly there is the play I was directing at an amateur dramatics society which, as well as rehearsal time, it also took up days at a time working on designing and organising the publicity for the show.

Then there is the ever continuous networking, it really does never stop (more on the good, bad and ugly of this in a later blog). Even when there isn’t an organised event to go to (like the great Telly Talk events) there is e-mailing potential contacts and keeping up with current ones.... After all, you don't want them to forget you are there at that crucial moment they might know of a job you could do.

I also do love to plan and organise stuff. As one area of media i've always been interested in is radio, and I knew there were a few others in the Production Talent Pool (or the PTPeeps, as we’ve come to call ourselves) who also had an interest in the audio side of the media, it seemed a good idea to organise some way we could show off our interest and skills. A Podcast seemed the best way to do this and I’m pleased to say we’re nearing completion on our first episode.

Next up on the organising front a few of us radio lovers who attended the Telly Talk: London event thought it would be good to hold a similar event for radio. This is still in the early planning stages but keep tuned in for more information at a later date.

Then at some point, between all this some paid employment happened as well. One month-long contract through the BBC scheme so far and a few runner jobs in TV with other companies.

It’s still far too early to know if the gamble has paid off, but one thing’s for certain, it’s better to try and fail than to regret never having tried.

I may be married but I’m still at a point in life when I don’t have any fixed financial burdens. No mortgage, no children.  If I’m ever going to do it, it has to be now so why not give it a go.

And it’s certainly keeping me busy. Too busy to watch that box set at least.

"Previously on ...The Adventures of Phil"

When I was a young child I played make-believe, as many children indeed do. What I’m not so sure most children do, however, is structure their make-believe sessions in their head as if they were a TV show. Every time I went out to play it was another episode in the continuing narrative of “The Adventures of Phil” (terrible title, but then I was 8). Each “episode” had to continue from the last, I couldn't just jump from being a superhero to a spy without an in-story reason for the change; I had story arcs, “seasons” of the show,  I would even occasionally kill off a supporting character who had been in “episodes” for a couple of years. At this point I should have realised I wanted to work in media and the creative industries.

However, it took me a lot longer than that. Through me and my best friend recording radio shows on an old cassette recorder, through my almost constant writing of the first chapters of novels and even a whole pantomime script (again I was 8, it wasn't very good), through me even planning out the fictional schedule of my own TV channel (a mix of bought in programming and original shows) I still didn't realise until I came across the Media Production degree.

It happened quite by chance. Flicking through prospectus for universities, the only firm idea I had about a career was that I quite liked the sound of being a teacher.  Maybe because that had seemed like the most fun “safe” idea, something there was a clear route into. The exciting creative worlds of writing, TV and radio work were something so out of reach in my head I hadn't considered them until I saw courses in them in these prospectus.

My first instinct was actually Journalism, and when I went to Uni open days that was the course I was looking at. What put me off this course, however, was sitting in a talk at the University of Lincoln open day to hear the Journalism lecturer say, “Don’t do Journalism here, it’s shit”, which.... well... kinda put me off the course.  I did, while I was there, however, happen to wander into the on-campus TV studio. The array of buttons in the Gallery astounded me and my only question was “which course do I have to do to play with this cool stuff” and that’s how I ended up on the Media Production course at Lincoln University.

For the first time I had access to the equipment to make the radio and TV shows I had played at as a kid sound good. Gone were the clunky cassette recorder with the bad quality in-built mic and in was the professionally equipped studio.  Gone was my parents' Sony camcorder with which I used to make “tour videos” of our house and in were big professional cameras and editing software! It may sound sad but, oh how I loved the editing software. I’d never encountered it before uni.  

Those three years were definitely the best three years of my life, (It helps that I also met my now wife in that time).

However, the excitement of uni quickly slipped away after graduating and reality kicked in. I worked in a low paid job promoting a radio station at events while trying to do as much work experience as I could, but after six months I was heavily in debt, my girlfriend had moved to the other side of the country for work and all the news was about the freshly hit Credit Crunch. I decided I had to get an ok paid job to pay off my debts. Alas this was not a creative one.

Four years later, after two non-media jobs (one lasting three years), after paying off debts and paying for my wedding, I decided it was now or never. Time to take the plunge back into the media world.

.....Which is where this blog comes in (well technically I've stopped this story at a point a few months ago, I’ll catch you up on the rest soon).  I’ll chart my experience and musings in everything I do creatively. From TV and Radio work, amateur dramatics, creative writing, photography or anything else I get an interest in.

Might throw in some theatre and film reviews from time to time as well.

It’s hopefully going to be an exciting journey.  I'm sure 8 year old me, playing at his TV show world, would think so.