Here at Confetti, we’ve just announced a new partnership with Nottingham Forest FC which will see students given the opportunity to work with the media team. The launch sees our TV Production student Kyle Smith join as part of the club’s official matchday photography team. We caught up with him to hear about this opportunity of a lifetime…
Tell us a bit about yourself and the course you studied on?
Born and raised in Mansfield, I always had the idea of making my own shows or films but never really showed my stuff. I wanted to be able to film anything and everything nearly every day because I enjoy every part of it, especially as a potential job. Studying a television course really helped me get a wider grasp of this particular industry, pros and cons, ins and outs of the sector, learning about the infinite amount of roles one person could carry to deliver the final product.
What influenced your decision to choose Confetti and the course?
I chose Confetti because of multiple reasons, one reason would be because I wanted to see the city and not be stuck in the same old town my whole life. Another was because I genuinely thought Confetti had all the possibilities to find a spot for me within the industry and meet some creative people in my life who I could learn from and grow my skillset. I decided to take a course in television production because I knew that I would have a better chance at finding a job which would lead to contracts and have multiple hours of working in a day, my type of work, always moving!
What did you enjoy most about Confetti?
I actually have a few different best memories, but I think my favourite would be directing the final product and assessed television show during first year at university which gave me all sorts of roles to watch over and keep the engine running throughout the entire 3 hour segment session. I earned a distinction because of my efforts, leading the team and communicating all throughout which gave me lots of adrenaline and nerve-wracking moments which I will never forget!
What type of tasks are you going to be working on with Nottingham Forest?
Pretty much everything photo related! Taking photos of the team, the stadium, dressing room, coaching staff, fans – everything you can think of! They need all these photos to shove onto social media as quickly as possible, including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds. The social media guys demand lots of photos and always ask for the best photos too. The job is timely and you need to be in the right place at the right time however, the rush is incredible and the atmosphere is the best feeling.
What are you looking forward to most about the new job?
Travelling the country, visiting the stadiums and adapting to a new location every time. I’m most looking forward to the cup tournaments too because of the possibility of visiting larger stadiums, which would be an unbelievable experience.
Did you work on anything during your studies that will help you in your new role?
I took part in Splendour festival, two years in a row, which has improved my ability to adapt to new roles and camera positions, especially when focusing on a singular target, something I should learn during my time at Forest when taking pictures of new transfers or important moments in the game, for example, celebrations or goal scoring moments.
If you could give your first year self any advice, what would it be and why?
Talk, talk, talk. Get as many contacts as you can to get a better chance at grabbing the best opportunities going. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and work with different talented people, the same as going to meet up events to talk to business contacts. I wish I did this more often during my time at college and university, especially to improve my portfolio and showreel material, which would make it much easier to sell myself to a client.
Our partnership with Nottingham Forest will provide our TV students opportunities to work with the football club every match day, giving them valuable experience in digital content creation.
If you’re interested in TV, video or content creation, we’ve still got places available on our FdSc TV Production and BSc (Hons) TV Production degrees. Call the Clearing hotline on 0115 848 6000 where the Admissions team at NTU will help!
