On the 1st of December, me and my Media Studies class headed off on the train with Ms Hood and Mrs Park to take a tour around the BBC studios in Cardiff so that we could find out about the potential fields we could go into within the creative and media industries. We started by going into the main studio in the atrium where they film a lot of sports shows, like Match of the Day and Scrum V. Whilst we were in there, we learnt about how all the cameras and lights operate and why they are needed within the studio. We also were taught about how AR (Augmented reality) and AI (Artificial intelligence) are used in their studios, especially for shows like Strictly Come Dancing.
We then moved on and looked at where their radio shows are made; how many roles there are within this part of the industry; about all the equipment; and also how much research goes into their radio shows as they try to find the most engaging stories for their audience.
We visited the huge newsroom to see where all the journalists work and the studio where the news presenters go live. We met the BBC Wales news presenter Lucy Owen just a few minutes before she was going to go live for the lunchtime news. We also met the sign language interpreter, Tony and learnt what he does. After that, we were shown the gallery which shows what’s happening live on lots of TV screens. After that, we went to meet the continuity announcer, who explained what his role is and why it's so important. The continuity announcer needs to make sure all the shows are running as they have been scheduled and if there's an issue and a show stops running, they will need to act very quickly and explain why, so viewing isn’t disrupted for the audience at home.
Our tour guide also explained that the BBC Wales building next to Cardiff Central is one of the top ten most sustainable buildings in the UK. Overall, the tour was fascinating and informative, especially for someone who would like a career in the industry. I found it really educational and now intend to carry on with Media Studies after GCSE.
Sophie Osolinski