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Steph R, Roving reporter

NYW blog #4: I'm on the Telly!

I’ve been to LA. I’ve seen the stars on the footpath and the handprints in the concrete. I thought that was the closest I’d ever come to fame.

Well, cue the day I got an email letting me know I was invited to go to Sydney to meet with Channel [V]. I never applied for this National Youth Week position with the intention of getting my face on TV. Being part of the biggest celebration of young people across the country? Yes. Meeting lots of people? Yes. Getting to challenge myself in a new role? Yes. Learning more about policies and politics? Yes. Encouraging young people to be active and involved in the decisions that will affect them? Yes. But not TV. Never TV.

Hangin' with the Celebs

Yet, some of you have met me and you know I love a flair for the dramatic in life. So when I found out I was going to Sydney to film some material to make a promo video for National Youth Week, I updated my Facebook status instantly. I then got several offers from people willing to accompany me, and one of my friends said he’d be Eric to my Vince (Entourage reference, obviously).

If you’ve hit up the NYW website (new window), you will have seen the list of celeb and high-achiever ambassadors who are also filming some promo spots. I was secretly hoping Sally Fitzgibbons would be there, but alas she filmed far earlier and on location (I know this because my Twitter feed let me know, and by the way I still can’t get her to follow me!). I did get to meet Jessica Watson and… wait. I'm getting ahead of myself.

How Long Does It Take to Get to Sydney Anyway?

Let’s start with the 5am alarm that I had to set. If that’s not stupid o’clock, I don’t know what is. Drove out to the airport, barely had time to get to the gate (I even used the flat escalator things that I could never figure out the point of, and it really didn’t save me much time). Then Sydney’s weather decided to be a jerk and no flights could land for half an hour, delaying my flight while I was in the air. If I never do another 100km lap in the airspace above Sydney, it will still be too soon.

When I finally landed, I took off through the terminal (luckily I only had carry-on luggage) because I was late. And so I sat through getting my make-up done, waiting in line for a taxi trying not to get rained on, and then travelling through Sydney’s million tunnels. If Canberra has roundabouts, then Sydney has tunnels.

I finally get to the Foxtel building, and walk past the SKY NEWS being filmed. I head up the lift and get to the Channel [V] floor. I thought I decorated my desk at work well. I haven’t. Not compared to the entire Channel [V] office. Forget the awesome vintage posters and musical memorabilia covering every inch of the wall space, each desk has a TV with Channel [V] playing, there’s a DJ desk set up in the middle, and Chupa Chups everywhere.

Is it Hot in Here?

Then there was some waiting around because Ross, the Federal Young Member, got delayed flying in from Canberra. Then, it was lights, camera, action. Actually, there was mostly lights. You know the expression "getting hot under the spotlight"? Well, it's not actually a lie. That light was seriously heating up the room.

At first I thought I was nervous, but I found out later that I was legitimate in my claims of "is it hot in here?" After practicing our lines, doing a few run-throughs, we were filming. First some wide angle shots, then mid-range, then close up, then profile, then angled with us looking off into the distance. Then the air con got turned on because the said spotlight literally heated up the studio that much, but the air con messed with the sound quality so it was turned off. At least, there were attempts to turn it off. How many people does it take to turn off the air con? More than the people that were there obviously, since building maintenance got called.

Nod Your Head and Smile

Since the studio wasn’t able to be used for a moment, we were directed to head out to a table and conduct a "meeting". It's really distracting trying to talk to people while you’re getting told to nod your head, nod your head and smile, hold your smile, look at the paper, now point to something, point more gently, do something interesting with your hands, now give the paper to someone, now nod some more, etc, etc. It surprised me as to how hard it actually was to follow directions, know your lines and smile so much. My cheeks still hurt now.

Once the filming was wrapped up, I stuck around to watch Jess Watson do her promo. She had more lines than me, and messed up even less than I did. I also think I acted more like a diva the whole day than her, so that says something as to how down-to-earth a girl who circumnavigated the world and broke records can be.

Apparently Justice Crew were filming the next day. They’re lucky, I think, because I would have challenged them to a dance-off.

The crew at Channel [V] and our media liasons from Haystac were amazing. They looked after us so well the whole day. After leaving Channel [V] it was all boring compared to the hours beforehand. Back to the airport, delayed again, long trip home and then I think I didn’t just fall straight to sleep - I think I was actually unconscious before my head hit the pillow.

Now there’s just some editing to do, and hopefully you’ll see all the promos hit the screen somewhere towards the end of this month. They’ll be on Channel [V] if you’ve got Foxtel, otherwise go to the Channel [V] website (new window) because they’ve got an awesome social media presence and you can get to their Facebook and Twitter from there. Now is a good time to do it, because they’re a major partner for NYW 2012 and their sites will be the ones to be on if you want to be part of NYW.

NYW 2012 in Victoria

I’m in talks with the Office for Youth to figure out what happens between now and the chaotic 10 days that is NYW. I think I’ll be heading out to visit a few of the groups that are organizing NYW events, and I’m trying to map out my tour of duty (as I keep calling it) so I can get to as many NYW events as I can.

The National launch is in Sydney’s Circular Quay, and then there’s heaps on around Victoria. If you go on the NYW website (new window), there’s a calendar of events around the country, and youthcentral are putting one together just for Victoria. So, there’s no excuse not to get involved, because there will be something happening near you!

Don’t forget to go to my Facebook (new window) and follow me on Twitter (new window) to see more photos from the filming at Channel [V] and keep up to date with everything NYW-2012-related.

Also, that way, you’ll be one of the first to know when I get a call from Hollywood.

For more about NYW in Victoria, check out Steph's profile and www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/nyw.

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