Guy Lloyd on making exciting TV and shopping for shirts
GETTING CREATIVE
Well, I’ve had a couple of weeks on the telly now and I’m really enjoying it. There’s much work to do on the show, but we are tweaking all the time and the show is evolving like a prehistoric animal. I think it’s been a learning curve for us all and will continue to be for a good while yet. We are getting some very positive feedback, however, and the good people of Brighton and beyond seem to be enjoying it so far.
It’s been a very challenging time for us all. The big channels (BBC1, ITV, Channel Four, etc) do pilots, test them, put them on air, improve them or just ditch them, never to be seen in public. It’s a different operation in local TV and at Latest. We are putting our pilots out there for all to see, way before they’re fully cooked, served and ready to eat. We are putting out our pilots in the public eye and sitting back and reacting to the feedback. And that’s a scary thing.
But it’s also exhilarating and exciting. Yes, I was watching myself through my hands over my face on that first show, but it was always going to be like that.
What I love about Latest TV and my work in general, on telly, radio, comedy and baking a cake (I don’t bake, but you get my drift) is the freedom to create. Creativity is so important to me. If I’m not being creative or thinking creative thoughts, I’m more or less dead. I’m even creating when I’m asleep. I get so many ideas for the radio at 4am (many don’t make the cut by 5am).
What we are doing with Latest TV is creating. And then we sit back and watch our creation and we look at ways we can create something better. That’s a very exciting thing to be a part of.
And I feel lucky to have a boss and a team that are open to change and pushing things along until we get to a place where we’re happy. But we’ll still be creating, even after that.
That’s the other thing I find about creativity. It doesn’t, and you shouldn’t, stand still.
It should be constantly changing and moving, like life itself.
Which moves me nicely on to this: one thing I haven’t changed so much and people are starting to notice, is my shirts. I have a limited selection (I hate shopping for clothes) and to make matters worse, we all received a memo saying we couldn’t wear shirts that have lines or are checked, as they would go wobbly on screen. That one email ruled out my whole wardrobe within seconds.
So although I’m banging on about creativity and evolving, what I actually need to do is organise a trip to TK Maxx (other under-priced clothing shops are available, but I’ve yet to find them).
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