LOUISE ON THE CREW FOR YORKSHIRE TV'S "EMMERDALE" - December 2008

Louise writes: "Having grown up watching Emmerdale, getting the opportunity to do some work experience on it, I jumped! I spent 2 weeks both in studio and on location training as a 3rd Assistant Director. After the first day, I was left to be the 3rd AD on set rather than shadowing the other. Given the responsibility of being on set while the soap was being shot was fantastic. The early starts at 7am didn't particularly bother me - which is crazy as I'm not really a morning person, but in this case there was something to wake up for.
 
During my 2 weeks, I met some fantastic people. Both cast and crew made me feel welcome. A huge thing that scared me when starting my Work experience was the possibility of getting star struck, but from the very second I stepped into the studio, any fears had gone. I felt well in my comfort zone.
 
Confidence is a huge thing in being an Assistant Director, my only worry in this was having to shout for everyone to be quiet. I struggled with this as I can sometimes be a quiet mouse (no jokes Andrew), but the other elements to the job I thought I had done well. I was even left to sort out the extras in the background. I was very excited about this, and will be watching out for the episode on which I did this.
 
Getting this work experience was totally off my own back. I think Roy and Andrew were as shocked as me when I got the comfirmation. I originally sent an e-mail to Leeds Studios, where my e-mail was passed on a couple of times until it got to an AD at Emmerdale who requested my CV. After sending my CV and cover letter, a couple of weeks later I got a phone call asking me to go up to Leeds for a little chat. After this, I was then asked if i minded starting two weeks work experience the following Monday, I was so excited! Although this opportunity cost me a bomb, with two weeks living in Leeds, and driving expenses, I felt that it was well worth it. Working at Emmerdale has built my confidence up so much. I loved it there, and would really like to go back for more work.
 
During my final week, I even recieved a message from a lady at YTV asking if I was available for some paid running work for a script writing event called TAPS, which was run by Keith Richardson. Another chance I jumped at!"