For the past few months I have been contributing as a writer to the RMIT TV’s program Offbeat, which has been a really great foot in the door to see how a television program as such is constructed and put together. As I have said so many times before, the reason for my coming to RMIT was largely because of more extensive work experience opportunities so I am always eager to take every one of these opportunities on board. Such a large component of the Media industry is based in networking so it’s pretty essential to facilitate these networks as early on as possible.
Following on from contributing to Offbeat, I’ve just signed up to contribute as a field producer for another RMIT TV program, Leaked which, for me, is a really exciting development. Leaked is a political satire in the form of a news panel which is definitely the sort of program I could envision myself working on long-term. Even though before I have talked about some pretty specific intentions to go down the route of documentary making (which is still the case), I’m also pretty open to exploring alternative (but yet closely related) avenues to open as many doors as possible.
Unlike working with Offbeat, working as a field producer for Leaked will give me a far greater ability to extend my skills and experience. While the role with Offbeat required mostly the arranging of content into a script appropriate for television, I had little scope to explore any other facets of media production. What’s so exciting about this new opportunity is that I’ll be able to get behind the camera myself and put into application some the skills that we’ve acquired in Media One over the last semester.
Being a “pic picture person” I never like too closely with fine detailed tasks, perhaps including filmmaking (and filmmaking only). Instead I much prefer to be tasked with overseeing a production in the broadest sense possible, being responsible for tying together ideas and executing them with the necessary logistics and organising of a shoot. The role also is far more autonomous than Offbeat and requires far more initiate, which I am more than willing to show.
There are two other specific aspects of the program that, for me personally, provide such an invaluable opportunity. Firstly, the whole idea of Leaked is to present a different angle to what alternative broadcasters are going to provide. I really identify with this persecutive and always try to apply it to my own work. Secondly, Leaked is a political satire, the first half of the season running as we approach this election. Not only do I love politics myself, I am considering changing my contextual strand to Politics and Economies communication next semester, as it’s far more relevant to the field that I want to enter in the future. Therefore working for the program will allow me to engage with this sort of content and to realise where my strengths do and don’t lie, prior to making this potential change.
