Being a Working Parent

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:00:35 GMT

Juggling the commitment of a full time job whilst being a parent can be very difficult, and the same goes for when you are fostering. I am fortunate though to have the freedom to work my hours around my hectic life, due to the Flexi-time role that I have at Spectrecom.
As a foster mum I am passionate about the young children today and what the future holds for them; there is so much competition out there and fostering children gives me the pleasure to stand by and encourage the young ones to be everything they can be. My involvement with children also helps me with work experience candidates, as I am able to instantly make them feel at ease and give them a birds eye view on who we are and what we do.

In my spare time I’m also involved in number of charities and had the pleasure to actively support a charity called Mother of Peace, by cooking for around 200 people for a fund raising event with live bands (and it just so happens my brother and sisters group were one of the guests). An auction was being held at the event with all kinds of hand made artefacts, paintings and ceramics, and I was bidding for a painting that had caught my eye. I soon found myself bidding competitively with a mystery person in the crowd behind me, only to find out it was my sister! We bought it together in the end and it turned out to be a very good night and a lot of money was raised for a worthy cause.

One other interest that my flexi-time allows me to indulge in is Salsa. I have made a resolution this year to be more active and have decided to dance Salsa much more often. So far I have kept it up, even if I do always end up with aching feet!

From USA to UK

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:30:17 GMT

Let me introduce myself. My name is Lindsay. I am from New York, and I will be working at Spectrecom for a total of seven weeks as part of a work experience exchange program. I have been studying media in London since January of this year, and I have been at Spectrecom for three weeks.
My experience so far has been unreal. All the team members at Spectrecom have given me the wonderful opportunity of hands-on experience in every aspect of the film and production industry, which is, oddly enough, something that I hardly expected I would get before coming here. I had assumed that I’d be able to watch, perhaps stand in the background and try to stay out of everybody’s way, but my experience in my first two weeks has been so much more than that.

Within my first three days at Spectrecom, I did more than I expected was possible to do in my entire time here. My first official experience was accompanying Steve and Ben on a shoot at a local university, getting the full intake of an on-location shoot. I learned all about all the equipment used on a shoot and how to stick to a strict time schedule. I got to help a lot with the sound – putting microphones on our interviewees and acting as a boom operator. In the days following, I was a Runner on a studio shoot, meeting each person involved in the production (learning how they liked their tea) and witnessing the magic that occurs on set, something I had only dreamed about. Since then, I’ve helped out on other studio shoots, doing things such as operating the stereo system for a dancer and, again, operating the boom (boy, what an arm workout). I’ve also started fumbling around Final Cut Pro, and can’t wait to learn more about editing.

Along with the technical aspect of filmmaking, I’ve learned some practical skills as well. By now, I’m sure I brew a pretty mean cup of tea. Pearl and I had a nice time painting the studio, and I’m still teased about the day I had to polish candlesticks. Ah, the glamorous side of the film industry.

All joking aside, though, the most amazing aspect of my time at Spectrecom is working with the team. It seems that everyone here wants me to have the most wonderful work experience possible. Each Spectrecommer has so much to teach me, and in the next four weeks, I cannot wait to learn all that I possibly can.

Spectrecom Blog Entries - Pearl

Being a Working Parent

From USA to UK

Guest blog article written by Lindsay Milone.