Hello Darlink and Feedback.

Hello Darlink and Feedback

By Alaine Bailey-Bentley Campus

I arrived a little early to the Hello Darlink Talkshow shoot today incase there were any problems and also just so I could take in all the setup of media equipment. It was quite fascinating watching Rex and his son Matthew (the two camera men of the day) rearrange the Medaesthetics office into a space that they could film an interview. It took many small adjusts to get the cameras in different positions to ensure all desirable angles where captured.

When Barbara arrived she quickly went off with Doctor Ehsan Jadoon to go over the interview questions to ensure he was happy with all language that was being used. This left me to chat with Rex who I found to be very friendly and well informed of PR. He began explaining the best ways to interview people and gave me tips to use if I was ever working in a business that experienced a crisis and I were then required to address the media. He also explained the different reasons for setting up furniture and cameras in certain places-something I found interesting, as I had wanted to be a part of the media industry because I chose to pursue PR.

All went smoothly during the filming of the interview; Rex at one point did blatantly stop Barbara if she couldn't be understood or hesitated too long. Seeing the way Barbara was unfazed by his constructive criticism really impressed me because it showed me even someone as experienced as Barbara still needs direction some time, and she was more than willing to hear to Rex’s suggestions-and most importantly-listen to them.

Once the interview was finished and Ehsan had to leave to go to an appointment, we had to pack up as quickly as possible and go to our next location –Robbie’s bouquet in Subiaco where the second interview would be taking place. The moment we got there Barbara headed straight for the change rooms, inspiring Robbie to change his plain top to a black sparkly one. She came out in a completely different outfit (cream two piece) that looked amazing on her. She even found a handbag at the bouquet to match her outfit (while also giving Robbie some small bit of business as a token of respect and appreciation for allowing her to interview him). Barbara had asked if Robbie would like to run through the questions before hand just like Ehsan but he had opted to hear it while being filmed so it was raw and natural rather than staged if he had to answer the questions over and over.

The interview went uninterrupted, except when buses and motorbikes zoomed past the store and Rex had to call a halt to the interview until they passed so the sound levels wouldn't be interrupted.

The next few days at Momentum Forum were just comprised of more research. I must admit it has become a bit tedious and my research standards had begun to drop- something I had not picked up on. But as I went in on Tuesday after the public holiday Stacey sat down with me and addressed this with me. She told me my research has to be more specific as there were many gaps. I was confused by what she meant ‘gaps’ but as I asked, she clarified that some names were missing to contact. I then explained that I could not find those names and therefore that is why they weren’t listed. She quickly understood, nodding her head and told me to make sure to clarify and write ‘no name’ if I could not find any on their website.

I think I was still at the stage where I was thinking this was a university course where everything I do will be marked, and acknowledged but nothing would really come from it after completing it. Stacey’s talk with me definitely made me realize that everything I do must be clear and to a high standard. I can’t expect people to read my mind and understand that the missing information is due to me being unable to locate the information; they will instead interpret it as laziness and sloppiness.

Other tasks that I was asked to help complete included:

-       Double checking VIP guest names before they were printed

-       Writing an introduction for Barbara to read out when awarding Rabia Siddique the Most Inspiring Women of 2016 in the community category for International Women’s Day

-       Creating social media posts for different Facebook pages to celebrate Internationals Women’s Day

-       Helping edit and write an AV sheet for the event.

I am excited and nervous for the actual event, which is in three days time (on Friday)!