Students at King’s Cross Centre enter the world of live TV with talks from ITV professionals

Professional camera operators from broadcaster ITV deliver inspiring and insightful talks about opportunities and careers within the film and TV industry.

Capital City College (CCC) students from a number of Film, Media and Business courses attended an ITV event at the college’s King’s Cross centre.

The ITV Talks event, which took place on 27 November, welcomed 50 CCC students to learn more about how live and pre-recorded TV programmes are produced. Students were able to develop their understanding of Film and TV language as well as key techniques while hearing inspiring first-hand accounts from industry professionals.

The event was led by two ITV Camera Operators with a wealth of TV production experience, Mark Hackett and Kathryn Webster. Marc Hackett is a Camera Operator who has worked on a number of popular shows including Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning, Loose Women as well as channels F1 TV and QVC. Kathryn Webster was the first female Camera Operator and Jib Operator at ITV Daytime, where she still works. Kathryn was part of the team working at the London 2012 Olympics and has worked on a number of shows including Big Brother, This Morning, Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Loose Women.

Mark and Katherine shared their personal journeys into the industry and highlighted key learning moments and information about existing career and training opportunities. The event was organised by A Level lecturers Nick Lawrie and Joe Barry in conjunction with ITV’s outreach team.

During the event, students also took part in an interactive activity where they analysed the studio cameras used on the show Good Morning. They also had the opportunity to learn more about the range of roles involved in Live TV Production from the professionals at the event. The students particularly enjoyed watching a detailed breakdown of a live musical performance. They saw how seven different cameras followed continuous instructions from the producer to focus on particular viewpoints during a live broadcast promoting a West End musical, creating a seamless piece of footage for viewers to enjoy.

Tiarna Lescott-Newton, an A Level Film Studies student, said: “It was fascinating to see how a camera team operates together under the pressures of broadcasting live programmes. I also enjoyed learning about the techniques they use to create a smooth viewing experience.”

Laura Scougall, Head of the ITV Academy said: “ITV Academy is working closely with sixth form colleges on their media and content creation courses to bring industry standard working practices to life for students by doing in-person guest lectures, talks and insight days at our studios. Our hope is that students leave these events both inspired and more informed about the vast careers and pathways there are in the television industry.”

If you’re interested in working in TV, take a look at our extensive range of Film courses and Media courses and apply today!

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