How My iPad Helped Land a Job with a Major UK TV Broadcaster

Lovanna

Jun 10

In a world with over 7 billion people and 12,000+ career options, it can take a while for us to figure out exactly what career path we wish to take in life. But for others, it starts in childhood.

Sam Evans, 19 from Whiston, United Kingdom was just eight years old when he decided that he wanted to work in the television industry.

Sam's passion for television came from British TV soap operas such as 'Eastenders' and 'Coronation Street'. He comments, 'Stunts. British Soap's love to throw characters down the stairs and blow stuff up. Having parents who would watch these programmes, they were always on in the background and I found myself searching for the behind the scenes of how they filmed the stunts for these shows and was fascinated by the amount of people it took and the equipment they would use to shoot it'.

It was those behind the scenes videos that made Sam realise that filming television programmes was a genuine career he could pursue.

Sam continues, '2011 was the year I got my first ever iPad. I was just eight years old… Alongside smart technology, social media was also fresh on the scene and we certainly didn't have 'influencers' as we know of today'.

Having an iPad provided Sam with the opportunity to create content of his own and be as creative as he wanted to be. He would experiment with special effects, editing, camera tricks and invest hours into watching YouTube videos of how to create this content without a Hollywood budget. He reflects, 'Apps allowed me to create content without needing a professional camera, an expensive laptop and fancy editing equipment - it was all there in the palm of my hands'.

Sam would often post the content he made to YouTube for family and friends to see.

'As time went on, I outgrew creating content on my iPad and eventually switched to using a pocket camera to film with and a laptop to edit on, when I was around 12 years old'.

Creating content led Sam to wonder if being in-front of the camera could be the avenue for him - so he gave it a try.

In 2016 (at age 13), Sam explored the third world living in South-East Asia with BBC presenter and filmmaker Stacey Dooley, in a documentary series for CBBC.

'Filming this programme was the best thing I could have done- it really helped me to understand television in a new way'. Sam continues, 'I am definitely not opposed to being on screen, even if I was going through puberty and had an irritatingly high pitched, breaking voice on national TV, it was still a lot of fun! It was seeing how the producers and camera operators worked on this factual programme that made me realise that when I got older, that was the role I aspired to have'.

So… Sam continued to create content. He built experience in filming his own projects and doing work experience on a set of locally filmed programmes in order to build up a portfolio of not only experience but passion.

"When you have been creating content since eight years old, you really don't see any other career fit for you other than the one you set your eyes on before you hit double figures in age. I genuinely don't have any other interest that compares to how I feel about creating content. I have created numerous projects under my production company 'Glass Object Productions' all being factual content as that is the genre I work best in. Unscripted is a genre that gives me an opportunity to showcase real people and tell interesting stories without the use of a script."

Sam entered the world of television after years of hard work at the age of 18, after finding it hard to get any work under 18 due to the common email response from employers 'Sorry, we can't allow you on our shoot for insurance purposes'.

Sam now works at one of the UK's largest broadcasters helping to create content for younger audiences.

At 19 years old, Sam continues to create his own content outside of his work in television. He is currently sharing all of his projects on the YouTube channel 'Truu+' which delivers factual content for a wide range of audiences. His first commission airs June 24.

He adds, 'The one piece of advice I would give to any young person who knows what they want to do for a career would be, keep pushing'.

'Use anything you have access to, to enable you to take steps that correlate with what you want to do in your future. Want to be a graphic designer? Get your smart device out and look for beginner graphic design apps. Want to be a footballer? Join a football club/team and learn some new tricks. To show passion on your CV when entering the working world is vital. You won't be expected to have job experience so illustrating your passion is key to landing that dream job. And trust me, if you are passionate about something and never give up, you will be successful and entering that dream career may be much easier than you think!'

You can keep up to date with Sam's work through following his Instagram: @samevansvisuals

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