A few months ago, my school instructed us to find somewhere to do a week of external work experience in a field we were interested in for the future. As the film industry is very competitive, I applied early and secured placement with Take One TV. I came in beforehand to get an understanding of the business and what I would be doing. On my first day I was focusing a lot on admin, I added new members to the Chiltern Chambers website and experimented with PowToons to create welcome videos to put on Take One’s social media page.

On my second day of work experience, I got the opportunity to go to a photo shoot for MacIntyre School Prom, where they assist and educate students with special needs. As soon as we got there, we started setting up under the balloon arch which is when the Bentleys arrived and before anyone arrived, we got some really good shots of the cars. I spent most of the day with Grant, the photographer, logging the images taken and student’s names. This meant when I came back, I could easily log the pictures and who was in them.  The students were really excited about the cars and were so enthusiastic when taking the pictures with some legendary poses.

Once everyone had arrived, we moved inside where we took pictures of the students getting their certificates, everyone got one and we were able to get some great pictures of people receiving their certificates. Then the students jumped to the dance floor and Grant was able to catch the atmosphere with some shots of everyone dancing. By that point we’d taken all our pictures so we came back to Take One. On Wednesday I was able to use my notes from the day before the rename the shots so we knew who was in which shots and the shots specifically of the cars.

My main responsibility was logging the shots with Grant but I was also able to help set up a tripod and lighting stands, recommended some shot angles and general errand running. I found the day extremely useful as I got more of an understanding of Take One TV and the business side of the film industry, I was able to experience how professional photoshoots are organised and executed successfully. I enjoyed the experience because we were working in a team and the atmosphere of the whole event was lovely and it was great to be part of such a special event.

After the event we heard from Linda O’Kelly macintyrecharity.org saying “HUGE thanks for allowing the support of Grant, Emily and Steve at our Student Prom yesterday.  They were absolutely delightful and it was great to meet them.  We were and are incredibly grateful for the kindness and generosity you and your lovely team offered in supporting us.”

Steve Groves, Director at Take One TV said “We were delighted to host Emily on her work placement, she contributed to the team and fitted in well underling the value of work placements for building your experience, expanding your contacts, and developing transferable skills that will benefit you in any future career path.”

I especially enjoyed the day because the staff were so friendly and welcoming, they were really accommodating to the space and time we needed. I learned that this was the first time their school had organised a prom and I was delighted to be a small part in it. it seemed like everyone had an amazing time, and everyone put a lot of effort into the event.