October 11, 2007 - Thursday 17:43
Being There
Penultimate day for the Internship, I remain invisible. My boss didn't show up this morning, I ended up browsing the net for hours and I continue to do so for the afternoon. The assistant told me that he would be in this afternoon, I said ok, like I really cared. What difference does it make? I don't need the key to enter the office because my PC is in the editing room and I have nothing to do besides being here. There is no montage this afternoon anyway, I am designed to be idle.
Tired of waiting, waiting for others to tie up their ends. I have done my part and now the most frustrating moments have arrived. I don't mind working, I don't like to wait. I should be content, but I don't want to lie to myself. The fall is here, even winter began to give signs. I like to stroll down the streets with gigantic trees on the side walk. Some of them are completely red now. I run my boots through the fallen leaves.I dress in black although my life is nowhere close to be monotonic. Why such misleading?
Good journalism offers the whole pictures and different aspects of one event, not just taking pieces from here and there and sell them on the Internet. I am mute and invisible in my Internship but I knowhow manipulative media is and the importance of checking more than one source to obtain any kind of information.
In a slightly more personal side, I have given up certain anticipations. There are people I shall stop waiting and maybe should not have trusted in the first place. But why does it matter now? The reason have changed, old leaves have fallen. I stroll down the riverside on the fallen leaves.
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October 3, 2007 - Wednesday 09:51
Internship...
Manly weekend. That means currywurst and French fries with Mayonnaise. 7 hours of sitting in a sports bar with beer (endless beer), plume shots, apple shots and 3 soccer matches in a roll. On Saturday, the final of World Cup Woman's took place in Shanghai: Germany vs. Brazil. Germany won at 2:0 and you can imagine the atmosphere in such environment where soccer is a religion. Smoke. The France 2 studio is nicotine saturated, my hostel is nicotine saturated, and of course, the sport bar is no exception. I am having a sore throat and I reckon this has everything to do with my fuming surroundings and maybe the weather didn't help either. There is only one toilette and shower in the hostel (guest house) for more than 32 rooms. So, cross your fingers when you need the bathroom. You need a key to get in the bathroom, and there is no toilette paper.
I started the Internship yesterday. Until yesterday afternoon I didn't know there is no time limit in this job. People come in about 9 or 10 in the morning and they leave when they are done with their reports, which means 8 or 9 at night. I left about 7PM last night because we finished the projects earlier. It is amazing how much it takes to produce a one minute and 47 seconds news. Going through all the tapes, cutting images, mixing sounds, translating etc. The precision is down to mini. Seconds, for example, the first image is 2:16 SECONDS and the text goes with it has to be the same length, so choosing the vocabulary is crucial and the accuracy of translation is impressive. It is necessary to understand every word one says and play psychologist. Some videos can't be on national TV because of the interviewer's way of speaking or the position that s/he is standing. It took them 4 hours to produce a 1 minute 47.21 second news and I had the images in my head all night because we watched them over and over again.
Many media companies share this building in the center of Berlin, including Arte, RAI, CinePlus. There are at least hundreds of people working in this building but no one knows anyone else. Since ever body's got a deadline, even crossing the hallway becomes jogging and we nod head when we encounter another person but no words are exchanged. When I was here at 8AM yesterday and I asked a woman France 2 was which floor, she told me that she didn't know what France 2 was. She works downstairs for a law firm.
Lunch time is… well, coffee break really. We take lunch after finishing one project, it matters not how long it takes. We had our lunch at about 2:30 in the afternoon and we were back in the office at 3PM. 45 Minutes for lunch max. Reminds me to go to supermarket to pick up some food, I forgot about it again last night and I didn't have time for breakfast this morning.
Tomorrow is Independence Day, so we have to be here at 7AM for the direct live news. Usually every Friday we have a direct from the studio here at 7AM. They are going out for some interviews on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I am tagging along. And, there is no real weekend, if you watch news on Sunday or Monday, there is someone working on Saturday and Sunday.
Gosh I am hungry…
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