14 weeks, 3 documentary episodes, each 30 minutes long. How did we do it? As part of the Television Program Production course, a group of K54 students from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication recently completed 3 educational documentary episodes, entirely produced by themselves.
Shocked upon receiving the topic.
These are the final projects for the course. The class was divided into three groups, each with 9 to 10 students, and three topics to develop into three episodes: The Profession of Television Presenter, The Process of Producing a Game Show, and Reality Television. “This was our first time making a film, and we were shocked when we were given the topic. Almost no one in our group had experience in filmmaking or editing; even making a short television documentary was difficult. We thought we wouldn't pass this semester because of this course,” shared Dang Mai, the assistant MC for the film “The Process of Producing a Game Show.” Nguyen Hong Nam, the director of the documentary series "The Profession of Television Presenter," said: "The film can't be self-written and self-directed; it's a documentary, and you need real people. That means we need people who work in television and understand the topic we're focusing on in our film. Television professionals are public figures, celebrities, presenters, editors, etc. We wondered if it was too unrealistic for the director to make this request of us – people who lacked experience, connections, and many skills."
Contacting the character… was truly “terrifying.”
The characters in the film are all famous people known to the public or have established positions in the television industry. Having to call, contact, discuss, or schedule interviews with them is something every student dreads. To confidently pick up the phone and call "public figures" like Quang Minh, Thao Van, Le Anh, etc., the students had to struggle quite a bit. Pham Thi Ngoan said: “The first time I called Tran Ngoc, the MC of 'Hãy chọn gia đúng' (a host I really admire), I had to do a lot of mental preparation and practice because I was so nervous. It took me five attempts before I finally mustered the courage to say: ‘Hello, are you MC Tran Ngoc? I am…’ “I was rejected by Ms. Thanh Huong, the deputy head of content at VTV3, on the first call because I kept stammering and didn’t know how to explain the purpose and content of our work to her,” Pham Thi Huong recalled.
To film a documentary, you need to be "healthy and thick-skinned."
Inviting the interviewees is only part of the job; you also have to follow them around while they film their programs. Outdoor or other filming locations are relatively easy, but filming at Vietnam Television is anything but. To get into the station, you need an employee ID or a guarantor, and you're not allowed in many people. Besides that, bringing cameras and filming equipment makes you less appealing to security and other people because they fear it will hinder their work. “We had to stay at the Hoang Mai Gymnasium for two days to film the 'Choose the Right Price' program. We weren't allowed to be around much – just one director, two cameramen, two on-location MCs, and one assistant – so we had more work to do. We filmed during the program and when the crew was on break, so we had to sneak in to interview them on-location and film during their breaks. Sometimes I felt like I was being a nuisance, but what could I do?” Tung Lam - the host of the film "Production Process of a Game Show" - shared his experience.
And the difficulties didn't stop there.
Making a film for the first time, being thrown into a real-world environment with countless unexpected problems, the students often felt discouraged. Although they were all classmates, knowing each other and hanging out together didn't guarantee good teamwork. "Even though we were all friends before, we still encountered many problems working together. Partly because in our fourth year, many of us had part-time jobs, and we weren't just studying television, so there were occasional disagreements. And if we weren't open-minded and easygoing, who knows what would have happened," said Hoang Thu Huyen, a reality TV film editor. In addition, working with equipment, post-production, recording voiceovers, filming short interviews, and navigating the setting also presented many difficulties for the crew due to their lack of experience and skills. "This difficulty is just a small part; we have much more than that," shared Vu Thanh, the director of the reality TV series, sparking curiosity about the three episodes.
