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How To Make Bowls Interesting: I spent a day at ITV

We're in this entertainment business really to give people what they really want.
- Ice Cube

But sadly we don't always have all the action to play with...


  This week I returned to ITV Channel TV in Jersey to gain some more work experience. It's been another great opportunity to put my skills learnt both through my degree an previous experience into practice, where I've been operating TV studio cameras, assisting on location and edits, and subtitling packages for the evening broadcast.
Out on location and in the studio at ITV Channel TV (Source: own photos)

 During my time at ITV, I sat in on an edit of a package which introduced the nominees for the Channel Islands Sports Awards 2018. The line up for this year's Betway Sports Personality of the Year features stars from popular mainstream sports, such as England Netballer Serena Guthrie, and rugby Premiership giant Wasp's own Michael Le Bourgeois. I sat in with the editor whilst he compiled their nomination videos which were exciting and action packed - guaranteeing the audience would be intrigued to vote for their sporting achievements.
Sitting in on an edit for the Channel Islands Sports Awards (Source: own photo)

But... 

 Sadly not all sports can be this invigorating... and two of the nominees come from a sport far less in the public eye: Bowls.

Hmm... yes... 

 Now, I do not at all want to come across as I'm reducing the sport of bowls in any shape or means - if it's in the Olympics then I can't really slate it - but both ITV's editor and myself wholeheartedly agreed that it wasn't one of the most invigorating sports to watch and capture audience attention with. So, "how were we going to make it slightly more interesting to the public?" we asked ourselves.

 Looking back at previous features he had done on bowls for ITV, we found one from promotions for the Channel Islanders who competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The short film introducing bowls athletes Malcolm Du Sousa and Ross Davis was made entertaining by using a James Bond style narrative and dramatic music to make bowls just a bit more sexy: I want to see Daniel Craig get in on that action - well played ITV, well played.

Image result for lawn bowls
(Source: Seattlebowls.org)

 With inspiration from this, we came together to find some more animated shots of game play and awards ceremonies both nominees were featured in, with the outcome being pretty effective. It was especially impressive since the editor and sports correspondent (pictured above at their edit suite) only had a limited time to turn around the package ready for broadcast that evening.

 Seeing once again how fast paced the TV industry has to be to keep up with current affairs such as sports awards - especially in the light of all other major awards which are going on this week (Golden Globes, BAFTA, etc.) - I can really appreciate the rate at which TV broadcasters have to churn out their stories, regardless of how unexciting they may seem to the majority of the public. 

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