Talk us through an average day in your role.
As I’m sure is true for most people in the industry, I don’t really have an average day. My job title is even split into two roles, so I can boil it down to both of those.
Half of my time is spent as an operational trainer. I specialise in Ross Video’s Carbonite production switchers (or vision mixers, depending on which part of the world you’re in) and OverDrive, our gallery automation system. A training day can be at one of our sites, online, or my favourite is to be at the customer site. My goal is to educate, of course, but also to make sure everyone really enjoys the course. People are so much more likely to retain information if they have a good time learning it.
The other half of my job involves demonstrating our products to prospective customers. That’s generally done at our facility, and I get to work alongside the sales team, which is fun. I like to find out what the customers are producing so I can tailor the demo to them and create content specific to their needs. We genuinely love our products so during demos I just get to show off for a few hours!
When I’m not doing either of those, I’m travelling, booking, prepping and representing Ross at trade shows.
How did you get started in the media industry?
I was very lucky and got into production straight out of university. I studied Documentary Film with a dream of working on natural history programmes. However, I soon realised I had way too much energy to do the required years of research before you get to go out on a shoot. But when I first found myself in a live gallery I was hooked. The buzz of live TV was all I wanted for many years, and I got to work on so many exciting programmes.
I started by doing entry-level roles and worked my way up to directing…but my favourite job was vision mixing and that’s how I ended up where I am now. I never would have thought I’d want to be a trainer when I first entered the industry but after 15 years (!) I really wanted a job where I could travel.
Why do you enjoy working in the industry?
I guess I’m a bit of an adrenalin junkie so for me it’s the variety, fast pace and continuous problem solving I’ve experienced across both production, and now, working for a global manufacturer. I love that each customer is different – that there are so many types of production and each one of those requires me to rewrite the generic training course I arrived with in real time.
So maybe it’s the challenge. There’s nothing better than being asked how to achieve a result you’ve never had to consider before. Thinking on my feet and offering up technical solutions until we find the one that fits perfectly is so rewarding.
And simply, I’m a TV nerd. I get to travel the world, nerding out with other TV nerds.
What advice would you offer someone exploring a similar role?
To be a trainer on broadcast equipment (and what kid doesn’t dream of that?!) I think you have to know the customers’ needs. That is only gained through industry experience. However, the best advice I ever received is relevant: work your way up and don’t skip any steps. The best directors have done every other role in the gallery and know that what they’re asking for is possible. Basically, try everything and it’s fine to leave some things behind as you move on, but you will learn from every step on the ladder.
Personally, I think I’ve benefited from being a ‘can-do’ person. I don’t fully believe in “fake it till you make it”, but I generally say yes (or probably) to most requests and then work out how to do it. It’s helped me with colleagues, with projects and now I will say the same during training: “Can we do this? Probably. Let’s find out!”
