A former Sidmouth College student has had the ‘amazing experience’ of working on the live TV coverage of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Charlotte Hadfield spent five days as live gallery production assistant (PA), and had a separate volunteer role as part of the lighting crew for the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.
She said the experience has given her a ‘real taste’ for live TV and she hopes to find a job in production after completing her degree in drama and theatre arts at Birmingham University.
Charlotte, who left Sidmouth College in 2019 after her A-levels, gained the live PA role through an initiative by the host broadcaster for the Games, Sunset + Vine, to train and hire 150 young people for various broadcasting roles during the event. She won a place on the scheme after a six-month application process and two interviews.
The lighting crew work came about through a volunteer programme which led to 10,000 people being taken on for unpaid roles during the Games.
She said: “At the opening ceremony we each operated a follow spot (spotlight) up in boxes around the top of the Alexander Stadium. We rehearsed with the performers for a week and then, with the majority of us having never touched a stage lantern before, we lit key talent and performers during the ceremony, which was broadcast to over a billion people across the world.
“I never thought that they would allow volunteers to touch such expensive high-tech equipment and trust us to light such an important event, but the team were so patient with us and taught us exactly what to do. It was such an amazing experience and one of the best seats to watch and immerse ourselves within the ceremony.”
The live gallery PA role involved working closely with the director and producer in an outside broadcast truck as they kept the programme running to time and communicated with all the international TV channels and streaming services taking the live feed of the Games.
Charlotte said: “I was responsible for counting in and out of different camera shots, segments and recorded media and ensuring that none of the live action was missed and the live event finishes when it is supposed to and doesn’t fall off air.
“I really loved my time at Smithfield, the games were amazing especially the finals and I learnt so much on the job and got a real taste for live TV.”
Charlotte now plans to explore more roles and opportunities as a PA after she graduates next year.
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