From Newsletters to Pitbull: Lilly’s Week at Chapter 81

This week we welcomed Lilly to Chapter 81 for work experience. Over five days she uploaded articles to a website, wrote newsletters, sat in on a podcast recording, edited two full episodes, toured a venue in progress and finished the week watching soundchecks at Roundhay Festival. Not a bad first week in the industry. We asked her to keep a diary of it all, and what follows is entirely her own work. She has been a star from day one, curious about everything and quick to pick things up. Over to you, Lilly.

Over this past week at Chapter 81, I have learnt so much about PR, podcasting and marketing, and I have had such a good time, and I plan to take the skills I have learnt and develop them further by creating my own blog. Before coming to Chapter 81, I had no idea how websites worked; I didn’t know how to write a newsletter. I certainly didn’t know how to edit a long clip. I had only very basic, limited knowledge in all of these areas; now I can step away and say I am confident that I have a good understanding of them.

On Monday, I learnt how to work with and upload articles and items to a website. Before Chapter 81, I had no idea how to structure and create a website; I had no clue and was not confident about how to upload items onto a website. I assumed that you could only do this if you had extensive knowledge of coding and if you were an IT genius, and I knew I am not one! But with the help of Chapter 81, I tackled my uncertainty about coding and realised that creating a website and uploading articles can be much easier than coding. When I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed learning and expanding my knowledge.

On Tuesday, I learnt how to write a successful and persuasive newsletter. I had limited understanding and confidence in how to write with the aim of drawing people in. I also got the chance to be behind the scenes of a podcast. I really enjoyed this because it gave me a chance to watch and understand how the equipment that was used to film the podcast works. The people hosting the podcast were lovely; I had some really nice chats with them. Just watching everyone get into the podcast and the content was amazing.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go and visit and get a tour of the Testbed; this was particularly interesting because I had no idea how much planning would go into creating a successful space. I assumed that you find a space and just renovate it a little, but in reality it’s so much more than that. You need to take into consideration where facilities are placed and where particular sections would be located, and how much thought would have to go into the backstage area. Also, getting a tour of the building was so cool because you could see how things would come together to create such a spacious and special venue. I also learnt how companies can place ads in newspapers without making them look like ads; that was interesting because I would never have known if it hadn’t been pointed out.

On Thursday, I edited two podcasts; I went through about 40–50 minutes of content for each podcast I edited. Depending on who was talking or reacting, I adjusted the camera angles. I found this really enjoyable; I could have done it all day! I learnt how lighting can affect the overall mood and look of a podcast; if the lighting is colourless, it will have much less effect on the audience. I also learnt that cameras have different Kelvin levels, which can affect the overall appearance of an image. I also learned that AI can be used to make voice isolation on a clip more efficient and of better quality. The range of equipment you can use to edit a podcast is insane! You have special consoles you can use to edit the light, sound, and pretty much anything else you want.

Today (Friday), I went to the press tour for Roundhay Festival. I saw Pitbull’s band do soundchecks, and honestly, it was amazing! We had free pastries and could play games. So I had the time of my life at Roundhay. I’m so upset I don’t have tickets to see Pitbull, but seeing the band perform their soundchecks is good enough for me! But to all my friends who are going tonight, I’m very jealous of you, and I hope you enjoy it!

Overall, I have really enjoyed my work experience placement. I have learnt so much and developed such useful skills that I can use in the future. I am very proud to tell people that I have work experience with Chapter 81, and I have been behind the scenes of a podcast, and I can actually add articles to a website, because not many people I know can do that. I have enjoyed my week so much, and I am very grateful I got this amazing opportunity.