Confetti students got to mix with the stars and help deliver a special live BBC show at Confetti X on our Nottingham campus. Dedicated to the power of gaming and how it can help people overcome challenges, Game On! was beamed nationwide on BBC Three, coupled with a 5-hour Pudsey Games livestream on TikTok, with our students getting valuable ‘Do It For Real’ experience.
Over 60 budding professionals supported the BBC production, studying on a range of degree courses including Film Production, TV Production, Event Production, Esports Production and more.
Right in the thick of the action, students worked as vision mixers, camera ops, autocue operators and lighting operators. They also ran the production for both the HADO arena and F1 23 sim racing. Several of our Content Creation students even got the chance to produce content for the official BBC Children In Need social channels and worked alongside the TikTok teams on the live broadcast. That’s without mentioning the 200 students who provided the live studio audience, with learners getting front row seats to all the action, and a unique opportunity to observe a live professional broadcast in full swing!
Working alongside experienced BBC and TikTok crews provided students a greater understanding of both traditional and new-age media. We caught up with a few of the students involved to hear their key takeaways:
Owain Godfrey, BSc (Hons) Esports Production student
“My role has been the in-game director/head observer for the F1 coverage for BBC Children In Need’s Game On. So, my main role involves taking calls from the BBC director and producers and relaying that to the other two observers. I also have to flick between all the players to see where the best shots are coming to help tell the story to the audience and deliver the best angles.
“It’s a new game for me and to actually be able to work on an F1 esports production is really cool and it’s a huge opportunity to be working with the BBC!
“The stuff we do here at Confetti, compared to anywhere else in the UK, is just unbelievable…you can see how much esports is growing into the mainstream and we can only go onwards and upwards from here.
“This work experience shows that the skills we’re learning on our course may be tailored to esports right now, but in the future, we can take these skills into other industries like TV and Film production.”
Erin Whiteman, BSc (Hons) Event Production student
“I’ve been setting up the lights on the main TikTok stage and it’s been amazing because this is one of my first live broadcast events, and so it’s given me a proper insight into what happens at these events, especially one of this scale!”
“It’s been a great experience working with the BBC. I can’t wait for lots more opportunities like these as part of my course.”
Ria Reddy, BA (Hons) Content Creation student
Our favourite local news channel, Notts TV went behind the scenes of The Pudsey Games TikTok livestream, joining up with one of our Content Creation degree students, Ria Reddy, and popular influencers, Young Philly and Harry Pinero, YouTuber basteson87, and TikToker Callum Ryan. Reacting to the experience of producing content for BBC Children In Need, Ria said:
“When I say exhilarating, I mean exhilarating! Working with such big names in the industry and actually being able to work behind the scenes and see how everything gets set up and comes together is just so so cool. Everyone’s been so friendly and we’ve been able to network with some amazing people and produce a great show for an incredible cause. Exhilarating!”
Find out more and watch back the recent Notts Today report on the Notts TV website.
Joe Storm, BBC Operations Engineer
We were proud to welcome back one of our Confetti alumni, Joe Storm, who was part of the crew supporting the special Game On! For BBC Children In Need live show. Joe studied with us on a Level 3 Film and TV course from 2012 to 2014 and after completing his studies, he went on to complete a BBC apprenticeship in Broadcast Engineering. The rest, they say, is history – Joe’s now been working for the BBC for over 9 years during which time he’s travelled across the world supporting on high-profile broadcasts including Glastonbury, the Queens Funeral and the King’s Coronation! Joe credits Confetti with helping him learn the ropes and providing a solid foundation of knowledge into media production and background into the industry, which ultimately set him up for what came next, he said:
“What you take from here is, you learn how to be professional. You learn the world of the industry and that’s really the gamechanger. Confetti taught me everything I needed to know to start my career, including the biggest thing of all, problem solving. My entire job is problem solving and troubleshooting and that’s what happens here at Confetti. It enabled me to succeed in my apprenticeship and break into industry.”
A Nottingham local now living in London, this was the first time Joe got to see how our Nottingham campus has evolved over the past decade:
“This is a real nostalgia trip for me – back when I was at Confetti there was only one building, now there’s Space2, Metronome, and working in Confetti X today, it’s incredible! The kit that they have here, I mean the proof is in the pudding that we [the BBC] can just walk in and use everything as it is and not want for anything. Confetti’s always been industry-standard, way back when I was here, it’s fantastic that it’s moving with the times – the scope of the technologies and facilities on offer here now are staggering. It has made the production a lot simpler for me and my colleagues.”
Supervising Confetti students on the production was Chris Hallam, Course Leader for our Film Production degree course, who also taught Joe back when he was a student:
“We joked earlier about a lesson all those years ago where I got a bucket of wires and tipped them out and said this is what I need you to do, here’s a bunch of wires, figure out how to do it.”
Joe added:
“That is literally my job now. There is just a room full of kit and millions of cables and every job’s different, you have to build it and there is no template.”
Chris continued:
“It’s like, you know the film Apollo 13, where they have to solve how they’re going to get from A to B using only what they have, that’s Joe’s job! It’s those invaluable problem solving and trouble shooting skills that our students take away.”
In total, our students racked up an incredible 3000 ‘Do It For Real’ hours supporting this year’s BBC Children In Need campaign! Thank you to everyone involved and to our partners at the BBC, TikTok and Connect Management for providing this valuable and rewarding experience.
You can relive all the action now on BBC iPlayer and TikTok, and be sure to tune in for the annual telethon on Friday 17 November on BBC One from 7pm.
Are you interested in being part of high-profile industry events and getting hands-on experience as part of your studies? Book onto an Open Day to find out more about all the opportunities on offer here at Confetti.
