“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
The transition from being a student to work life is probably one of the biggest transitions that I look forward to facing. The first step towards learning to be independent, and as daunting as it is, I am really excited. It all began with an internship that I was really lucky to get in 2012. Probably one of the best work experiences I have ever had.
Internship was quite a struggle for me at the very beginning because there was quite a few jobs/ companies I wanted to intern with in Melbourne but I would always have to go back in the summer. However, I managed to network with a media company back in Malaysia, more specifically Sarawak, Kuching – 4CG productions ( For Common Good Productions). The company is affiliated to Faradale Media, the mother company, a larger media company that mainly focuses on government jobs. ( I was offered another internship with that company to organize and ‘design’ a public exhibition for Sarawak’s 50th anniversary). My work with 4CG Productions began when BBC UK decided to make a feature documentary of Sarawak, in conjunction with Sarawak’s Tourism Board. They invited Ben Fogle, (an English adventurer, best known for his presenting roles with Channel 5 UK, BBC, and National Geographic). I was given the role of Production Manager and worked together with my fellow colleague Cateeja Bolhassan to produce schedules, arrange transport, manage all forms of communication, acquiring permits and ultimately overseeing finances.
Reflection
I was very excited but I also felt quite incompetent as I only just finished my first year of Uni as a Media and Communication student. However, the clients and my colleague had enough faith in me and also they needed someone they was affluent in English, which thankfully I am. (English is my first language despite being of Chinese descent). Prior to this project, I have had some experience with event management and was quite used to the exchange of professional emails and phone conversations which I found to be quite strenuous towards the end as not everyone would cooperate every time.
Up to a month before the actual shooting, the Sarawakian media crew ( 4CG Production) began our side of the job. We has to discuss the overall budget for the production and then proceeded to scout good locations, confirm interviewees, acquire filming permits and shoot enough forages to pitch to the BBC media team and edit out rough cuts. We had to hire runners and equipment Handlers, we also spent quite a fair bit of time drawing out storyboards and the director of photography/ film would brief the camera crew on the types of shots he wanted. The director, Ian Salang and the sound director, Kayzee Cortez were the managers (CEO) of 4CG Productions, together with their camera operators Migiel Faylona and Jarvis, whom are also the main editors and animators. Elton headed the equipment manager with the help of our runners Kattina, Illeana, Ryan and Kelvin. Overall, it was quite a small crew because we needed to move quite quickly and efficiently. Within the first few days after the first group meeting, where rules and roles were set and made clear, I proceeded to make all the phone calls and submit our filming permits request. Most of the work was done just within the office while there were quite a number of meetings done with the Faradale head office as well as representatives from the Sarawak tourism Board. The meetings discussed the main spots that we were requested to highlight and also the different sectors we would focus on. The project was also semi-sponsors by Airasia, so we had to script the promotional and advertisement work for the project.
Reflection
Your working environment really affects the quality of your work. I found this to be very true. I was constantly inspired when working with the crew. They were always so creative and spontaneous. The office that we worked in had a very different vibe from traditional work environments. They rarely are moments of silence, someone is always cracking a joke or listening to fast paced music or watching a funny video during the breaks. I was not used to working long hours and due to falling sick (change of weather. Malaysian weather is literally like a desert), I occasionally would have to work from home, which I personally dreaded. This made me realize that I actually loved my work and I that I really want to pursue a career in something like this in which I could wake up everyday to and be excited for.
Strengths and weaknesses
After all the phone calls were made, I realised towards the end of the second week that some of the permit application and location managers were not responding or were processing at too slow a pace. I continued to chats then up as much as I could but found it to be slightly pointless. It was through this process I learnt some of my strengths and weaknesses. In this industry, I realised it is quite important to be ‘thick-skin’ and to stand up for yourself. I was initially very foreign to this concept and would tend to take the blame for misunderstanding / miscommunication whether it was my fault or not. I also was not firm enough with my wants when communicating with clients and often offence when receiving negative feedback. However, in terms of my strengths, I would never do something half-heartedly but always to the best of my abilities. I am ready to learn and am responsible for the things under my supervision. I also realised that I am empowered when working together with people instead of working alone.
THE SHOOT
The plane from UK to Malaysia got delayed quite a bit on the actual day, we then scrambled to shift the remaining activities to a later hour or possibly reschedule. I ended up frantically making last minute calls while heading to the hotel for the first briefing session. We met with the entire BBC crew (insert names), Ben Fogle and his PR agent. We immediately went on to continue our shoot. There was quite a lot of equipment to handle, so the crew were given 30 minutes set up time while Ben Fogle was fed information go one of the tour guides whom used to work as a broadcaster with RTM Malaysia ( a radio station). The afternoon shots continued for about 3 hours before we switched locations to a local restaurant for dinner. Prior to moving locations, my job would be to notify the managers for the next location and also to gather the crew before leaving (they are given a certain timeframe to work around). Most of the days start at 6.30 a.m when we gather at the front of the hotel lobby. The media crews for both the Malaysia and UK team then are briefed regarding the schedule for that day. The long hours were very gruelling and occasionally tempers were lost and tantrums were thrown. However, it all served as a very realistic experience for me because ultimately this was what work is like. Professionalism exist but so does personalities and I used to think it was all limited to university students and that everyone automatically snaps into ‘professional made’ the moment that enter the workforce.
Reflection
Over a span of 2 weeks (pre, post shooting), there were a lot of late nights spent transferring and naming footage. I was able to witness first hand the importance of orderly filing and systemic housekeeping. We had some malfunction with one of the sound recordings and had to schedule another shoot which was faulty inconvenient. Through the entire process I definitely learnt a lot, thanks to the BBC crew that were very patient and helpful in terms of constructive criticism in scenarios where I fell short. Most importantly, they were very encouraging and supportive which really pushed me to strive for excellence. The project ended (shooting section) and the remaining parts were left to pre-production. I mainly helped with footage transference as I was still incapable of editing such footages unsupervised but the time spent in the office watching the ‘pros’ do it was really eye opening.
Overall, I was paid quite a lump sum of money but the most precious thing regarding the project was definitely the experience. It proved to me that this was exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.
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