Classroom to CrossFit: Behind the Scenes at the Rogue Invitational

Working in the film and TV industry always seems like such a far-fetched dream, like some unattainable wish that so many people have. NESCol have proved this wrong to me time and time again – and one of the best pieces of evidence I have to prove it is the fact at the ripe old age of 19, I got to work on the live set of the biggest CrossFit and strongman tournament in the world.

The opportunity allowed for one of the best opportunities I’ve ever been lucky enough to be a part of. The team at Rogue were informative, kind, understanding and encouraging, and set us all up with roles that allowed us to experience different aspects of working on a live TV set. From runner duties to assistant work, interview set up to communication with the talent, we got to work alongside the pros and learn exactly what it takes to work in the industry.

My role on the day

I was lucky enough to have received the position of setting up interviews with the first heat winners of each contest. I was given an earpiece and a radio connected to the editing suite where the Rogue team would communicate to me which athlete they needed me to grab, and as they exited the field I would talk them through the process and take them over to the camera for their post-match interview. Getting to chat away and converse with these athletic stars was such an amazing moment and made me appreciate how although people hold stars so highly, at the end of the day, they’re humans like us who are just as kind and welcoming as we are.

My other job, helping the sideline interviewer, was a lot more active. I was often tasked with searching the stands for audience members that I thought looked invested and excited by the event and my job was to talk to them and see if they were interested in partaking in games during the break periods of the show. It was a test of my judgement of character to look at someone and determine whether they would be comfortable and do well in front of a camera, and for the most part I was quite happy with my judgement. I got to be a judge for some of the games too, and it was nice to get to use my people skills to talk to members of the public and see their excitement to be a part of the broadcast I was helping run.

Both jobs were quite full-on and required me to exercise good people skills, work under pressure while on a tight schedule and had me pushing myself outside my comfort zone. By the end of the event, it all became almost natural, and from start to finish it was an incredibly enjoyable and genuinely informative experience. I now have a much greater understanding of what live TV takes, and it was incredible to see the size of the team it took to run a production as big as this. From start to finish, the entire experience has been super memorable as my first introduction to the very real world of film and TV.

Favourite memories

Some of my favourite memories were meeting Hathor Bjornson (The Mountain from Game of Thrones!) and realising just how massive he truly is (he was about double the width of me and he towered above everybody).

Another part that will always be a core memory for me was working with Lauren (the sideline interviewer) to help two young boys start a Mexican wave around the stadium which continued on and on around the stands multiple times over. Seeing how much the two boys loved it and seeing the audience get involved was such a gratifying and fun thing to be a part of. The fact that I got to experience this whole thing was a memory in itself and I cannot praise NESCol enough for giving us this chance.

What I learned

Being a part of a large TV crew teaches you a lot – the more passion and dedication and energy you put into your role, the more you’ll get back from it. Because I showed my love for the industry and was constantly seeing what I could do to help, it meant my efforts were recognised and the team understood they could trust me with more and more tasks. I’ve learned that it really does take an army when it comes to live TV production and that everybody’s role is vital when it comes to setting up and taking down pieces as well as backstage runner duties and general organisational tasks.

Final thoughts

The NextGen Television course has supplied me with rare and in-depth opportunities — and to anybody considering this course I could not encourage it enough. If you have the drive and a passion for the industry, you will never feel more rewarded for your efforts than on this course. And hey, with Rogue coming back in 2025, who’s to say you won’t get another chance at working alongside such an amazing team and experiencing the live TV adventure? Working in the industry may seem unattainable, but I was thinking exactly the same thing and now here I am thinking completely the opposite.