Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022
9 August 2022
Our Commonwealth Games bootcamp boosts career opportunities for local talent
The Games is over and we’ve seen some amazing achievements from the athletes, but there were some amazing achievements behind the scenes too!
Sunset+Vine, the leading sports television production company and Host Broadcaster of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, partnered with Create Central, WMCA and Solihull College to deliver the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Host Broadcast Training Initiative (HBTI).
The HBTI offered a series of training bootcamps targeting live TV skills and work experience placements on Sunset+Vine’s Broadcasts and Studio productions allowing ‘campers to apply for an opportunity to use those skills within the Host Broadcast team in a professional capacity at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Chelsea, was one of our fantastic HBTI ‘campers working on the live broadcast of the Games.
"Throughout the HBTI, I was working as a Live Gallery PA on the B2022 Games Athletics events. I was part of the Field B mixer team, which covered the Opening Ceremony, long jump events and shot-put events.
I was nervous at the start of The Games, but I quickly realised how much support surrounded me, with Helen Kuttner (our Integrated and Track Director), veteran PA Sue Boyd (Opening Ceremony and Field Mixer C) and veteran PA Norma (Integrated and Track) by my side. They gave me and Abigail (fellow trainee PA) so much insight and clarity into our roles and responsibilities that it helped to manage my expectations better and reduce my anxiety.
By the morning of my first day of the Athletics events, I felt comfortable and confident that I was ready. I had found my groove, and by the end of the long day, my Team was impressed with how at ease, confident and proactive I had been throughout an incredible evening of sport.
I know this is only the beginning of my career as a Live Gallery PA and I’m really happy that the HBTI put trainees like me right in the thick of it, because we can’t really learn until we do it!"
David Tippett, managing director of Sunset+Vine, said: “The HBTI is the jewel in Sunset+Vine’s Commonwealth Games legacy for the Midlands. We’re thrilled to have completed training and offered real-world industry experience to over 200 trainees, with 150 of them [gaining]…paid roles on the Games.
“The lack of diversity in sports broadcasting is an ongoing issue and this scheme is one way we are looking to play our part in addressing that - and we’re thrilled that over 60% of our trainees are from underrepresented groups within our industry.”
Another HBTI ‘camper was Ahmed, born in Cardiff before being brought up in Yemen and returning to the UK in 2008. He worked in the industry before, as a television presenter for two Arabic TV channels in London, but now lives in Birmingham.
For the Games, he worked as a vision mixer at the NEC, helping to bring badminton, table tennis and netball onto viewers’ television screens.
“I was so pleased when I was offered the vision mixer role as it was one of the jobs I wanted to do. I was based in the gallery, working with the director and the VT operators making sure that viewers see the right action at the right time. It’s a job that needs 100% attention because if you’re too late to get to a good bit of action, you’ve missed it entirely. It kept me on my toes, but I’m really excited to be part of this massive sporting event. Having this opportunity and being able to put it on my CV is priceless and I hope it will help me to be offered a job in TV, whether with Sunset+Vine or with another broadcaster, but I had no doubt it would be an unforgettable experience.”
More about the Bootcamp
Throughout the bootcamp, ‘campers learnt an essential overview of live television production, in particular sports broadcasting. They were able to visit a sports venue, learn how live sport is produced, work with community sports organisations to record events, learn how to log footage, the responsibilities of the different roles available on the games and take part in work experience with Sunset+Vine.
On completion of the bootcamp, they had the opportunity to apply for a role at the Commonwealth Games in a professional capacity, as part of the Host Broadcast production team in 2022.
Games Time roles included Content Creators, Media Managers, Camera Operators, Edit Assistants, Digital Clippers, Live Gallery PAs, Assistant Floor Managers and Technical Support Engineers across every discipline in television production.
Follow-up support was also provided with CV development, network building and advice in how to look for the next role within television.
Thanks to Sunset+Vine, Chelsea and Ahmed, and Broadcast.