Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Dr Sanjida O'Connel - Presenter, Director, Writer


We recently met Sanjida O'Connel who is a very accomplished person in several fields of the media alongside this she has a background in zoology and a PhD in Psycology. She has worked on various shows but mainly focuses on scientific programmes.

Her media career started as an assistant producer on Tomorrow's World and since then she has woven her way through directing, presenting and she is a respected colombist and writer. She came in to talk mainly about presenting and talked candidly about the pros and cons of that career choice.

Here are some tips she suggested for budding presenters:
  • Passion - Sanjida talked about passion in two ways. She said that she loved presenting because it was a way to convey her passion about topics such as nature, the environment and science. Passion is also important when it comes to long, tiersome shoots. It is no good if there are problems and set backs and then when the camera is finally in position to shoot you lack the entusiasm or commitment to get the shot the crew are desperate for.
  • Resilliance - There are going to be knock backs, comments on your performance, the way your hair is. Also long days with not much action are pretty normal.
  • Commitment and Willingness- Learn the lines, be professional. Prove to the crew that you were hired for the right reasons and allow them to work smoothly around you.
  • People skills - Sanjida mentioned that she has worked with some presenters that lacked this core skill, but it is a joy when the presenter mucks in and is generally a nice person to spend a shoot with.

Sanjida's recent work:
Documentries - (producing or directing)
Presenting

Sanjida's website



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