Planning a Team Workshop Day in the Darker Months

Why the autumn weeks suit a group day

Mid autumn is when many newsrooms and college courses settle into their winter pattern. The summer rota of holiday cover has ended, new student cohorts have met each other, and the long run of dark afternoons is only just beginning. That makes it a sensible moment to take a whole team out of the daily schedule and put everyone in one room for a day of practice.

In our Shrewsbury classroom a group day is built around the people who turn up. I would rather spend an hour finding out how your team actually works than hand you a stock programme. Some groups arrive wanting sharper handheld shots, others want reporters who sound easier on camera, and many want both in the same session.

The darker months also help the teaching. Short daylight hours force a conversation about exposure, white balance and simple lighting that a bright July day never would, and the lessons carry straight into the winter shoots you will face.

Deciding what the day should cover

The first job is to choose a focus, and it is better to choose one or two than to try for everything. A team that spends a day on framing and handheld stability will leave with habits they can use the next morning. A team that tries to cover framing, interviews, live crossings and lighting will leave with a notebook full of half-remembered ideas.

Our workshops draw on the same material as our individual training: field camera operation, on-camera reporting, interview technique, live coverage, and audio and lighting for location. For a team day we pick from these and shape them to your group. A newsroom might ask for reporter and operator pairs to work through a crossing together, while a student cohort might need the basics of exposure and focus.

When you get in touch, tell us who is coming, what equipment they already use and what has gone wrong lately. A missed cue, a flat interview or wobbly footage from a windy car park all make useful starting points for the day.

• Choose one or two themes for the day
• Name the recent problems you want to fix
• List the kit your team already uses

Group size and who should be in the room

Small groups work best because every person gets time on the camera and in front of it. A classroom day is not a lecture. People film, review the footage together, adjust and film again, and that rhythm needs enough hands-on time for each learner.

If your team is large, consider splitting it across two days rather than squeezing everyone into one. Mixed groups of reporters and camera operators tend to be the most productive, because each side sees the other's difficulties. A reporter who has tried to hold a steady frame for ten minutes writes shorter, cleaner scripts afterwards.

Managers sometimes ask whether they should attend. I usually say yes for at least part of the day. When an editor has stood in front of the lens and felt how unforgiving it is, feedback in the newsroom afterwards becomes kinder and more specific. For student cohorts, a course leader in the room helps the learning carry on after we have gone.

Preparing the team before the date

A little preparation makes a large difference. Ask each person to bring one piece of their own recent work, whether a package, a piece to camera or a short interview. We watch these together early in the day, and they give us honest material to work from instead of invented exercises.

It also helps to tell people what the day involves. Anyone nervous about being filmed will feel better knowing that the footage is for the group's learning and is not kept for anything else. Reporters should bring a script or notes they have written recently, and operators should bring the camera settings they normally use.

Think about practical matters too. Wear clothes that suit a shoot rather than a meeting, and bring layers if you want to film outside the building. The weather in these months is changeable, and some of the best practice comes from working in whatever light the afternoon gives us.

• One piece of recent work per person
• A recent script or set of notes
• Layers and comfortable shoes for filming outside

How a workshop day tends to run

We usually begin with a short conversation and a review of the work people have brought. After that the day moves between short demonstrations and practical exercises. Nobody sits through long stretches of talk, because skills in this trade come from repetition and from seeing your own footage played back.

Mid-morning is often given to the main theme, such as framing and movement or delivery to the lens. After lunch the group applies it, usually by working in pairs or small crews on a mock assignment that resembles a real one. Late in the day we watch everything back and discuss what worked.

I try to finish with a short list for each person: two things to keep doing and one thing to change. Handing over something small and specific is more useful than a long report, and people tend to remember it. Tom Ellison, our course coordinator, keeps the timings and the room in order so the tutors can concentrate on teaching.

Booking and what to settle first

Group days are arranged through an enquiry on the contact page. Tell us the size of the group, the themes you have in mind and a few dates that suit you. We reply with a written quotation, and once you confirm it we send an invoice to be paid by bank transfer. Our prices page explains what a team day includes and what can change the cost.

Settle a few things on your side before you write. Check that the people you want can all be released on the same day, and think about whether the group needs to travel. Shrewsbury is easy to reach for many teams, but an early start is hard on anyone coming a long way.

It is worth deciding in advance what you want to be different on the Monday after the workshop. Having that answer ready lets us plan the day around a real result rather than a general wish to improve.

• Group size and preferred dates
• Themes and recent problems to address
• Who needs to attend all day or part of it