Y11 Media students visit Sky Studios

With their own private bus service on site for staff, their own Waitrose and a string of celebrity names on the staff wage sheet, Sky Studios is a hugely impressive company. 32 Y11 media studies students and I booked a coach down to Sky studios in order to plan, script, shoot and edit our own news segment.

Prior to arrival, we had to select a theme for our news segment – ‘our planet’ being the order of the day. We then had to script our news programme on an ipad and then set up the cameras with the right people in the right places. Using an autocue is harder than it looks… Smiling to the camera and looking into the lens whilst using your peripheral vision to read the lines is quite a skill but one that us Vandykers achieved quickly and professionally.

Knowing the correct language and tone is important when delivering a news programme, too. You have to introduce the story succinctly and clearly whilst delivering the main headline in a formal and forthright way. Our students did a fantastic job. After editing our news segments, we all sat down and enjoyed a premiere on the big screen followed by a tour of the Sky sports studios. They allowed us to see a live sports broadcast with the presenter moving around the set, looking directly into the camera and delivering the lines with precision. It is a skill that television makes look easy.

The opportunity to get out of school for the day and to see the inner workings of an enterprise such as Sky Studios is invaluable. There is a huge job deficit in the creative industries that need filling. Visiting a place like Sky shows you just how many roles are needed in television and sports journalism. Let’s get applying.