What it's like to work on daytime TV
Peter Carter studied Media Production at LJMU and has landed his dream job working on one of the most popular daytime programmes on television: Good Morning Britain.
After three years of hard graft at LJMU, Peter is thrilled to have made it into the fast-paced world of live daytime television. Using skills he gained on his course, his new role as programme assistant for Good Morning Britain involves dealing with bookings, prop buying and working with the Lorraine team.
“I’m someone who is a bit of a ‘telly geek’ and working within daytime programming was always my aim, particularly with ITV who have the best live daytime programmes. My career ambitions have always been to work in television but where, I didn’t know at the start. I now know after three years and a tremendous amount of support from a great group of tutors, that my goal is to work in production management or producing content for broadcast daytime shows.”
Peter chose to study Media Production at LJMU because of the diverse range of content covered in terms of both the theory behind the modern media landscape and also the production-based modules. The course enables students to get hands-on experience using professional filming equipment, industry-standard editing software and broadcast-ready television studios. Students are even able to experiment with virtual reality, social media storytelling and projection mapping.
“A lot of the modules overlap and intertwine making the learning experience feel seamless and I really felt as if I had been gaining knowledge as the time passed. The course also has amazing connections with lots of companies including Lime Pictures, BBC, ITV, and Envy Post Production, so most students are experiencing the workplace before they graduate.”
What aspects of your course best prepared you for working on Good Morning Britain?
“There are two modules which I can say have fully prepared me best for my new role and although during the module I might have complained just a little bit…in a jokey way, of course…I absolutely loved Creative Media Practice. The module explored numerous video making techniques including triptych, projection mapping and social media storytelling, but also it allowed me to play with new tech including augmented reality and virtual reality. I also loved the TV Studio Production module. The brief was so tailored to what I wanted to pursue as a career. This included creating a 15-minute as-live magazine show including an interview, live demonstration and performance which had to be filmed in one take with no editing permitted. Although it was a challenge, the task of sourcing content, producing items and networking with the public formed part of the skill set that I now need for my everyday role.”
“I’m someone who thrives off stress, which sounds strange. I used to have conversations with Alex Irving (my tutor) about how there are two types of stress: normal stress and TV stress!”
Do you think working on the student TV show at LJMU helped you gain your role at Good Morning Britain?
“One of the biggest things for me during my time at LJMU was the student TV show. I can leave knowing that for the first time in LJMU history I managed a team of students and produced LJMU’s first student TV show. My role varied from production management, so creating itineraries, bookings, recruitment of crew and admin-based tasks, to researching and producing content suited to LJMU students, but also the presenting aspect which was an amazing opportunity which I self-created. So I would say that working on the student TV show helped me towards my new role because I made it possible by putting in the hours, working through the stress and working in a production environment with a top team in front and behind the cameras. It gives me great pleasure to say that alongside my new role, I will also be mentoring a group of second year students to piece together a new student TV show, Study Break, which they will produce and I will support from a distance.””
What made you choose LJMU over another university?
“I chose to study at LJMU because I loved the feel of the University. I also chose LJMU because it was far enough to be independent and start to find myself, but close enough to Manchester to be able to whizz back when I needed to. Liverpool is the city of culture every year, regardless of the year. For some, Liverpool is defined by the amazing musical history, for me it’s the television and film history: This Morning originally broadcast from Liverpool’s Albert Dock, Hollyoaks is filmed in Childwall, Fantastic Beasts at St George’s Hall, the list goes on really. But all-in-all, a fantastic University which is in touch with reality.”
What will you miss most about LJMU?
“I couldn’t possibly say one thing. I’ll miss everything about the place. LJMU is a real community. LJMU is about the buildings, the courses, the disciplines, the people, the characters, the laughter and the good times. Most of all I’ll miss being here. I’ve had the greatest time in Liverpool. I’ve worked amazing roles, studied brilliantly insightful topics, made fantastic friends and although there has been lots of ups-and-downs, it has been the rollercoaster of a lifetime and I’d do it all over again in a flash!”
Interested in studying media? Take a look at the courses available at LJMU.
