Hidden Talent

Posted February 04, 2022

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The television business, whether it is news or othewise, is a magnet for creative talent.

The people who go to work there are attracted there because it is a place where creative talent is nourished.

Alas, it is only nourished for a very small percentage of the staff.

This is a mistake.

Every media that we have ever experienced is a direct product of a piece of technology. There was no publishing before the printing press, there was no radio before Marconi, there was no TV before John Logie Baird, and there was no Internet before Tim Berners-Lee. In the world of the media, the tech comes first, the industry follows.

But that very technology that unleashes a new medium also carries within its DNA the architecture of how that medium will function.

In the case of television, the initial medium was so complicated and so expensive that only a very few employees of any network could possible be allowed to use that technology to create content.

That, of course, has changed.

The advent of the iPhone means that anyone and everyone now has a 4K broadcast quality camera, along with a video editing suite in their hands.

Alas, the restrictions on who may create content still remain in place.

When we run our bootcamps, we try very much to open the door to everyone, not just the 'usual suspects.'

The results can sometimes be surprising.

Below, two videos done by 'non journalists' during respective bootcamps. Bear in mind that these two videos were done by people who had NEVER TOUCHED A VIDEO CAMERA OR EDITED BEFORE IN THEIR LIVES.

This is the very first video work they have ever done - found the story, shot it, edited it, scriped it, tracked it and produced it - all in one day and all on their own.

Like I said in the title, there's lots of hidden talent inside your organization.

Nurture it.

THE BRIDGE

Rosie Gloyne - a researcher for The BBC Natural History Unit - Bristol