Who we are, how we teach and the working principles behind our television journalism training in Exeter.
obychnyfy began in Exeter in 2014 as a place where reporters and camera operators could learn television news practice from people who had done it. Today we teach field camera technique, on-camera reporting and live coverage in small classroom groups. Our tutors are former broadcast journalists.
Our tutors reported, shot and edited for regional television before they taught. That means exercises are drawn from tasks they actually faced: a tight deadline, a difficult location, a live report with little notice. We do not teach theory for its own sake. We teach the habits that make a day in a newsroom run smoothly, and we explain why each one matters when the pressure is on.
We run small groups so that every trainee spends real time behind the camera and in front of it. In a large class most people watch; here most people do. Tutors can stand beside you, see your framing or delivery as it happens and correct it straight away. It also means feedback is specific to you rather than general advice offered to the whole room.
Reporters and camera operators work as a pair, so we teach both sides. Camera trainees learn what a reporter needs from the pictures, and reporters learn what makes footage easy or hard to shoot. Understanding each other's job produces better stories and fewer problems on location. It is a simple idea, but it is rarely taught together, and it shapes how we plan our sessions.
Training does not end with the last session. We help trainees review their recorded work, put together a showreel or reporter portfolio, and prepare applications for broadcast roles. Our one-to-one portfolio coaching exists because good skills still need presenting well. We make no promises about outcomes, but we make sure your best work is easy for an employer to see.
Whatever the subject, our sessions follow the same pattern: short explanation, hands-on practice and honest review. These habits keep training useful and keep trainees working rather than watching.
Every session gets you handling the camera, writing to picture or delivering to a lens within minutes, so skills are built in practice rather than described.
Tasks carry realistic time limits, whether it is a package to cut or a report to prepare, so you learn to judge what matters when time is short.
We record what you do and review it with you, pointing to exact moments to keep or change, so improvement comes from evidence rather than impressions.
Television news leaves little room for carelessness. A badly framed shot, a wrong fact or an unprepared live report is noticed immediately by the audience. Our principles come from that reality, and they shape how we plan sessions, give feedback and judge whether a trainee is ready to move on.
Craft means treating the small details as the job. We spend time on how a shot is framed, how audio is monitored and how a script sits against the pictures. Tutors who worked in regional news know these details separate usable work from work that gets discarded, so we teach them patiently and repeatedly until they are habit.
Accuracy runs through every exercise. Trainees are expected to check facts, name sources correctly and make sure pictures and words agree. We correct errors plainly, because in a newsroom they cannot be hidden. A confident delivery is never allowed to excuse a weak or wrong script, and we say so directly.
Practice is how skills become reliable. Trainees repeat tasks such as pieces to camera, handheld shooting and live reports until they feel familiar. We record the attempts and review them together. Progress comes from doing the work again with a clear correction in mind, not from hearing the advice once.
obychnyfy
We are based at 14 Southernhay Lane in Exeter and have been training television journalists since 2014. Our trainees are aspiring and working reporters, camera operators and journalism students from across the UK. Teaching is led by three tutors, each with a regional newsroom background in reporting, camera work or editing.
Television journalism training in Exeter for reporters and camera operators: field technique, on-camera work and live coverage, taught by former broadcast journalists.
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