I've spent the last week sleep deprived, all in preparation for my submission to get The Best Job in the World! For those of you who do not know about this, Tourism Queensland wants an "Island Caretaker" who will live on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months. The Chosen One -AKA me- (insert smiley face here) will write a weekly blog about their experiences discovering the amazing wildlife and activities on the GBR.
I think this job and I were made for each other.
They want a person to keep an updated blog, make videos, take photos, talk to the media, and be all around adventurous. Hmmm, let's see...
-I have a blog
-I'm training to be a video journalist and have all the skills necessary
-I've been a hobbyist photographer since I was 15 years old and studied it at college for 2 1/2 years
-I'm in broadcast journalism and train every day in writing and announcing techniques for radio, TV and online news
-I know what island life is like! I spend my summers on a small island off the coast of British Columbia that has no electricity and runs on a septic system. It is teeming with wildlife and it's gorgeous. I ADORE the water- I go swimming, snorkeling, kayaking and I know how to operate a boat.
-I've lived across Canada, in Japan and am well-travelled-- including some challenging places like Kyrgyzstan, Western China and Pakistan
-I always do what I set my mind to
See what I mean? This opportunity would be mutually beneficial!
HOW I MADE THE VIDEO
During my intensive full-time program (8 classes), I decided this opportunity was way too good to pass up and took on the added challenge of creating a video to submit.
I conceptualized, story-boarded, shot and edited the entire video myself. I shot it in about a day and 1/4 (I had to re-shoot one part). I used a Panasonic DVX-100 camera with a shotgun mic and sun gun. To shoot myself, I would frame the shot, flip the viewing screen, hit record and position myself within the frame and say my spiel. The editing took me more time because I had to learn the software Avid and do it after school hours. On Tuesday I spent 20 hours at school; on Thursday I was there for about 18 hours! But it will be SO WORTH IT!
It was a challenge creating a one minute video that had all the necessary requirements. The criteria was: for it to be creative; to demonstrate a knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef; to explain why you're the best person for the job.
I would have liked to have put more information about the GBR and included the fact that I have island life experience- but I opted for the creativity and laugh factor, since that's what they said mattered the most. The majority of the videos have been PowerPoint style, and I haven't seen one yet that has a storyline. I sincerely hope I made the right choice and managed to catch their attention!!!!
The deadline is February 22nd. They will make a shortlist of 50 people. Then the voting/rating begins. They wi
ll whittle it down to 10 people who will go to the GBR for an interview process. There will also be one "wild card" candidate who was the most popular on the website.When my video is up, I will post the link so that you can all go and VOTE for me!
Fingers crossed...
Photos courtesy of Tourism Queensland (from The Best Job In The World Website)
