Work Experience: The London Studios

Through my dad, I managed to secure six days at the London Studios on the Southbank in London. Dad has worked at the studios for many years now and as a result I have been there several times. Each time I go however, I always maintain the same excitement as when I used to go as a kid.

I think there are several reasons for this. For starters, it’s an incredible place. It’s enormous and a labyrinth of corridors lined with celebrities faces. It has three of the largest television studios in Europe. Some of Britain’s most popular (and hated) programs are made there. On a more personal level and at an age where I can approach a situation with greater maturity and respect, it offers an insight in to what I may expect down the line in my life, a fun professional, exciting place to fulfill my career.

I went in with my Dad on the first day on the train (just half an hour from my house, might put that in my CV) and got my pass for the day...



After a behind the scenes journey to studio, I met with Sean Moon, head of vision control. (And the man that told dad that mum was going into labour with my brother ironically)
Sean is a really nice guy, he is outgoing and kind and I get the impression he understands when someone is nervous and knows how to make them feel welcome. He introduced me to Julie who I would be shadowing. Julie graduated from Ravensbourne two years ago and went on The London Studios twelve week summer course. I during the couple of days I worked with her we built quite a good relationship although, at the same time, I think I probably irritated the hell out of her with my questions! I also met another lovely vision controller called Sarah who was just as skilled as Julie and was also a Ravensbourne graduate. I also met a guy called Phil who was the lighting director for the show. He was a lovely guy who came from a background in theatre, so I’d like to think we shared a common interest and got along well.

I realise at this point that I haven’t actually told you (the reader) what show I was working on. I was working on ‘Loose Women’, a fantastic show packed with intelligent, witty banter presented by four female scholars from varying intellectual backgrounds ranging from the study of ancient makeup’s to PhDs in bitching about ex-boyfriends and fad celeb diets. (Some facts altered) I also observed vision control for one episode of the Paul O’Grady show.

A loose Woman

Back in ‘the gallery’ the television term for the hub of a studio program. The Gallery holds the directors, lighting, sound and visual aspects of a productions. All of these factors can be altered from this room without even entering the studio. It was approaching 12:30 and the studio was preparing to go to air. I cold hear over the talkback system the PA (Production Assistant) communicating with ITV control who were feeding her countdowns relating to various stages of the program schedule.

I wasn’t actually aware that the job of vision controller existed until I completed this work experience. Vision controlling is the art of making multiple camera images of the same subject look the same by altering certain values, black level, contrast, and colour are some of these values. I assumed that vision controlling was handles by the vision mixer and it wasn’t until I saw the studio operating during live broadcast that I found out it would be impossible for the vision mixer to handle mixing and controlling. The vision controller is also responsible for basic maintenance of visual technology in the gallery and on the studio floor.
As the countdown for air started, my excitement grew and I felt important and that at that moment, I belonged in a studio gallery. The whole experience in fact rejuvenated my thoughts regarding a career in the media.

The countdown finished and I heard the program’s theme tune start, a pleasant little ditty composed by Patrick Duffin. When the show actually started and the team burst into action, my brain went slightly apeshit. For the first thirty seconds or so, all I could hear were lots of people shouting numbers. I looked around the gallery everyone was staring either at the forty or so monitors in front of us or at their consoles.

'The Gallery, excuse crummy pic'

The first show was a bit of a blur to be honest. During the other four shows I observed I did start to pick up how vision controlling worked. The controller will look at all the monitors to see if a shot changes. They will then select a shot that has just changed and compare it to all the other shots. If the shot looks ok, it will be discarded and they will check the other cameras. If the shot needs to be altered, it will be. The amazing thing is that all the camera’s shots are used on a regular basis and due to efficient use of the space and cameras, the shots change all the time. Therefore, the vision controller has to monitor and change shots during the duration of the show and with split seconds to do it in. The shot obviously cannot be manipulated while on air as it would change in front of the viewer’s eyes.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The London Studios. Working in the gallery was fresh and exciting for me and it is an area of media I can see myself entering hopefully in the near future.
After my week in vision control, I spent a day shadowing the assistant floor manager also on Loose Women. I must admit this job did not appeal to me as much as vision control as it focused much more on the people than the equipment. That’s not to say that I’m not a people person, I just prefer the idea of creating using technology.