TV/Film Production Assistant

Rebecca Kenyon is a TV/film production assistant with the local TV news programme BBC South East Today.

How would you outline your role?

I have three main roles: gallery production assistant (PA) in the production gallery, broadcast assistant (BA) in charge of the autocue and planning BA, sourcing and setting up stories and briefing reporters.

What are your main responsibilities?

I alternate my roles, week by week. As gallery PA I support the production gallery team in ensuring the programme goes out on air at the correct time and that everything runs smoothly. I begin by going through the running orders for the programmes and logging all the timings - when we're going on and off air and exact timings for any music we will use. It's also my job to ensure there are no spelling mistakes in the script and captions. Once we're on air I take control of timings. For example, when it's our main news bulletin we have just 12 seconds to opt in to the network and I count the gallery and presenter down to that exact timing.

As gallery PA your computer is your best friend. It counts down through the programme and tells you whether you are under or over your specified timings. It's about ensuring that we have the right amount of stories and chat taking the right amount of time. For instance, I might tell the producer we're overrunning by 45 seconds and they might then take that time off the weather presenter or cut down the reporter's timings. Throughout the programme I call out the order of the captions and when there's a pre-recorded videotape (VT), I'll call out '30 seconds left on package' so that the gallery knows when to switch back to the presenter in the studio. I'm constantly looking at screens working out, for example, when the end music needs to come in and when the presenters need to stop talking in time for the six-second 'sting' of music.

When I'm autocue BA my day begins with sorting out answerphone messages and checking the South East Today emails. If there's a possible story, I ring and find out more, noting upcoming stories in the online diary for our region. An important story goes straight to the producer, who might ask me to check it out and start setting it up. I'll also print out the script for the presenter and operate the autocue during the bulletins.

If I'm planning BA I print out the grid of potential stories for the next day's bulletins and the producer assigns stories to be investigated further. I then complete a briefing sheet for the reporter and cameraman, so they know what the story's about, where they have to go, who they'll be speaking to, contact details and any archive footage available, such as old TV episodes a celebrity was in (which I'll track down for the programme). You're always looking for stories in the local papers and online. There's quite a bit of administration to be done online too.

What hours do you work?

I start at 11.15am and work until about 7.15pm, five days a week, with a rota for one Sunday in three.

What is your working environment like?

I work mostly in the production gallery. It's quite cold, with low lighting and 48 TV screens.

Who do you work with?

I work with the producer, vision mixer, director, technical manager, sound engineer, presenter, broadcast journalists and floor manager.

What skills or qualities do you need?

You have to keep a cool head and remain focused. It can be frenetic. If you suddenly lose an outside broadcast story when you're on air, for instance, you have to quickly come up with something else to fill the time. You need to take criticism, especially during the debrief after each programme, where we go through anything that went wrong. You must be enthusiastic, ready with ideas, a quick thinker and good organiser.

Why did you choose this type of work?

I specialised in radio production in my last year at university and really enjoyed it.

What training have you done?

I had four months' training on the job when I first arrived and did a week's foundation course in broadcast journalism. There are also lots of BBC courses you can do to develop your skills.

Do you use any special tools or equipment?

I use lots of specialist gallery equipment such as a keyboard with switches to talk to presenters, another for captions and dials for volume. We use computer programmes to store programmes and reports, build our running orders and research stories.

What do you like/dislike about your job?

Coming from university, where I was writing, casting, editing and producing, I sometimes felt frustrated because I wanted to contribute more editorially. But the BBC is such a great place to work. You're always learning something new. You're encouraged to be creative.

What are the main challenges?

Making colleagues aware of the pressures you face, like getting them to provide you with details of any music they want to use as this needs to be cleared and logged.

How do you see your future?

I'd like to go into more research and producing and use my creative side more.

Rebecca's route

• 4-year MA Honours drama and theatre studies.
• Postgraduate degree in broadcast journalism.
• Broadcast assistant, South East Today.

Rebecca's tips

• Target the TV programme you're interested in.
• Go through the BBC's work experience website and find out the name of the person you need to contact.
• Know what makes good TV.
• Know your audience; what would they like to watch?