Hey everyone, Daniel here! I just finished up an incredible week of work experience at Stream7, and let me tell you, it was way more than just watching people work.
Going in, I had some experience with video editing – mostly self-taught from messing around with my own YouTube channel – and I could recognize some of the equipment from stuff we did in school. But Stream7 blew that experience out of the water!
Day 1: Getting Oriented
My first day was pretty chill. The team at Stream7 showed me the ropes – what they do, how they operate – and I helped unpack and check in all the gear that had just come back from a weekend job. It was a good way to get familiar with the equipment and see how everything fit together.
Day 2: Tech Talk & Prepping for Action
Day two was all about learning from the technicians. They're the wizards behind the scenes, figuring out what equipment each job needs based on these diagrams called schematics. Plus, they showed me how to make sure everything was in tip-top shape for the next project.
Day 3: Hitting the Road!
Wednesday was the day I got to go on a real shoot with the technicians, Tom, Sam, and Pete. We headed up to Leeds, and Tom gave me a crash course in setting up the equipment – basically, "plug A goes into hole B, and this button does this which then controls this or that piece of kit." Later, Sam took me under his wing and showed me how to set up a broadcast camera, even letting me operate it during a conference they were filming! Apparently, they used the shots I took quite a bit – pretty cool, right?
Building My Brand (and Showreel!)
The last two days at Stream7 were awesome. Not only did I get to keep learning new stuff, but they also helped me contribute to the Stream7 brand itself, which felt amazing. Plus, they offered to help me edit a showreel, which is basically a highlight reel of my skills – a perfect tool to show off when I'm looking for jobs in the future!
The Final Cut: A Week Well Spent
Overall, my experience at Stream7 was incredible. It was hands-on, insightful, and gave me a real taste of what the TV and film industry is all about. The entire team was super welcoming and supportive throughout the week. I learned a ton about new equipment, got some amazing camera experience, and even walked away with a showreel, which is like gold in this industry. Big thanks to Stream7 for this amazing opportunity!
Darren Wain, Managing Director at Stream7, said: "It has been an absolute pleasure having Daniel with us in the office and at events for the week. At Stream7, it is really important to us to continually engage with the future workforce. The majority of our team started in the industry as apprentices and we recognise the value in being able to give young people like Daniel a real hands-on experience of what to expect working in the events industry."
