The first tranche of the Travel Channel staff will complete their bootcamp today.
It has been a liberating experience for them. Liberating in that they have now been empowered with the tools and the skills to create content in the business in which they work.
It’s a funny business -television. As the bootcamp has proven, the act of shooting video, editing it and uploading it is not the mysterious ‘dark art’ that a generation of ‘professional’ cameraman and production companies would have had them believe it is. Now they know. And now they are free to start making content themselves.
People come to work for a TV network because they have a love for the medium and a creative bent. Otherwise they would work for a law firm. There is a ton of creative potential in these walls, and now it’s going to be liberated.
The cost of producing has fallen through the floor, and so has the barrier to access.
All that remains now is to start making the content. Some of it will be good, some will be terrible, and perhaps there will be a whiff or two of genius along the way. We can only hope so. As Winston Churchill said, ‘it’s not the not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning’.
2 Comments
Laura Bateman June 12, 2008
Michael and all,
Just a quick note to tell you what a great time I (and everyone) had at the TCA. I walked away with new knowledge and piqued interest in shooting/editing, especially since I’m on the business side of TCM, and have had no prior experience in the field! I’ll let you know if my video wins me the trip to China!! Thanks again, and I’ll see you soon.
Peter Ralph May 31, 2008
you are right Mr Churchill did say those words, but you stopped a sentence or two short
…I have nothing to offer but blood, tears & sweat!
good to hear that your VJs are made of such stern stuff.