- In Archive
- 2013-10-20 19:00:21
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A group of journalism students learned how to operate a production studio and received some invaluable advice on how to succeed in their career from some of the most qualified professionals in the fields of journalism and TV production in Bulgaria: Venelin Petkov and Borislav Chouchkov on Friday, Oct 18.
The Documentary Movie Club, under the supervision of Professor Melody Gilbert, organized a field trip to the Chouchkov Brothers’ studio and the BTV television station, one of the biggest privately owned TV channels in Bulgaria. The bus with 20 enthusiastic students headed to Chouchkov Brothers’ studio around noon. The purpose of visiting the studio was to learn some basic techniques of leading a big successful production company and to find out what obstacles can a producer meet on the way to success. Luckily, students got a chance to hear the information from a producer Borislav Chouchkov himself.
According to Chouchkov, who is leading a company along with his family, in order to succeed journalists should be able to work in various directions. “You need to learn how to do many activities at the same time,” Chouchkov said. He pointed out that the studio has not always been one of the major companies in Bulgaria. It experienced both ups and downs, was on the edge of bankruptcy as well as on its peak of success. Thus, students, who are planning to work for a big company in the future, should be prepared for stress and failures. Chouchkov also mentioned that participation in training programs and festivals is crucial, since it is not only a good practice, but a great way of building contacts. “Never stop going to training programs and exploring the international market,” Chouchkov said. Angel Ivanov, a former AUBG student, who currently works for the Chouchkov Brothers studio did not miss a chance to mention that the studio is always open for new interns from the American University in Bulgaria.
[caption id="attachment_16287" align="alignleft" width="310" caption="Photo by Igor Myakotin"]
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“It would be easier to work with Bulgarian-speaking interns, since all the messages and correspondence we receive is in Bulgarian. However, we have worked with international students as well. So it is not impossible,” Ivanov said. Before leaving the studio, each student received a personal copy of TILT- a movie, produced and directed by Chouchkov brothers, which was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
The field trip continued with a visit to BTV station, where AUBGers received tips from Venelin Petkov himself on how to become first-class journalists. “If you ever want to be journalists, you should never be late! You cannot disregard deadlines!” Petkov said. In two hours students managed not only to explore the inside of the news room, but also got a chance to meet famous Bulgarian news anchor Gena Traykova. Talking to reporters and watching the live news were the highlights of the experience for them. Some students even sneaked into the control room, where producers basically operate the news flow.
“It was really exciting to watch reporters typing their stories in Microsoft Office Word before the evening news. It looked like what we, students, do here. It is great to see real journalists in action,” Anna-Maria Ivanova, an AUBG student, said. After spending some time in the news room, surrounded by real reporters, producers and anchors, students were convinced that journalists’ life is way more hectic and nerve-racking than it seems. “As a reporter, you have to start working on your story as soon as possible. You have to go for shooting in the morning, finish it early, come back, write a story, edit it, get out of here and live your life!” Petkov said.
[caption id="attachment_16288" align="alignright" width="285" caption="Photo by Igor Myakotin"]
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The most exciting part of the field trip for most students was the opportunity of watching the news live broadcast, right from inside the studio. Even according to non-Bulgarian speakers, that was the most thrilling news they have ever watched. “I thought it was exciting to see where we will all end up professionally,” Ethan Tremblay, an exchange student from University of Maine in the United States, pointed out.
After the broadcast, the enthusiastic group of students, inspired by the incredible job of the anchors, producers and journalists they met, returned to Blagoevgrad.
The Documentary Movie Club, under the supervision of Professor Melody Gilbert, organized a field trip to the Chouchkov Brothers’ studio and the BTV television station, one of the biggest privately owned TV channels in Bulgaria. The bus with 20 enthusiastic students headed to Chouchkov Brothers’ studio around noon. The purpose of visiting the studio was to learn some basic techniques of leading a big successful production company and to find out what obstacles can a producer meet on the way to success. Luckily, students got a chance to hear the information from a producer Borislav Chouchkov himself.
According to Chouchkov, who is leading a company along with his family, in order to succeed journalists should be able to work in various directions. “You need to learn how to do many activities at the same time,” Chouchkov said. He pointed out that the studio has not always been one of the major companies in Bulgaria. It experienced both ups and downs, was on the edge of bankruptcy as well as on its peak of success. Thus, students, who are planning to work for a big company in the future, should be prepared for stress and failures. Chouchkov also mentioned that participation in training programs and festivals is crucial, since it is not only a good practice, but a great way of building contacts. “Never stop going to training programs and exploring the international market,” Chouchkov said. Angel Ivanov, a former AUBG student, who currently works for the Chouchkov Brothers studio did not miss a chance to mention that the studio is always open for new interns from the American University in Bulgaria.
[caption id="attachment_16287" align="alignleft" width="310" caption="Photo by Igor Myakotin"][/caption]
“It would be easier to work with Bulgarian-speaking interns, since all the messages and correspondence we receive is in Bulgarian. However, we have worked with international students as well. So it is not impossible,” Ivanov said. Before leaving the studio, each student received a personal copy of TILT- a movie, produced and directed by Chouchkov brothers, which was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
The field trip continued with a visit to BTV station, where AUBGers received tips from Venelin Petkov himself on how to become first-class journalists. “If you ever want to be journalists, you should never be late! You cannot disregard deadlines!” Petkov said. In two hours students managed not only to explore the inside of the news room, but also got a chance to meet famous Bulgarian news anchor Gena Traykova. Talking to reporters and watching the live news were the highlights of the experience for them. Some students even sneaked into the control room, where producers basically operate the news flow.
“It was really exciting to watch reporters typing their stories in Microsoft Office Word before the evening news. It looked like what we, students, do here. It is great to see real journalists in action,” Anna-Maria Ivanova, an AUBG student, said. After spending some time in the news room, surrounded by real reporters, producers and anchors, students were convinced that journalists’ life is way more hectic and nerve-racking than it seems. “As a reporter, you have to start working on your story as soon as possible. You have to go for shooting in the morning, finish it early, come back, write a story, edit it, get out of here and live your life!” Petkov said.
[caption id="attachment_16288" align="alignright" width="285" caption="Photo by Igor Myakotin"][/caption]
The most exciting part of the field trip for most students was the opportunity of watching the news live broadcast, right from inside the studio. Even according to non-Bulgarian speakers, that was the most thrilling news they have ever watched. “I thought it was exciting to see where we will all end up professionally,” Ethan Tremblay, an exchange student from University of Maine in the United States, pointed out.
After the broadcast, the enthusiastic group of students, inspired by the incredible job of the anchors, producers and journalists they met, returned to Blagoevgrad.