Conestoga broadcasting alumni Shivangi Sharma was behind the camera covering TIFF 2024, recording and interviewing stars on the red carpet.
Shivangi Sharma, graduate of the Broadcasting - Television and Independent Production program, interviewed stars on the red carpet at TIFF 2024.
The 2023 graduate of the Broadcasting - Television and Independent Production program filmed the Toronto International Film Festival in early September in her role as video journalist at Global News in Toronto. Sharma is part of Global’s online video team, but has long been interested in entertainment reporting and asked her manager for a shot at covering TIFF. A camera shortage was not going to deter her nor her lack of experience with entertainment reporting.
Her pitch was simple: “Send me with my phone. I don’t even need a camera. I’ll cover it and if you like it, I’ll continue it and if you don’t, I’ll pull the plug. Just let me try it.”
Equipped with just her phone and small microphone, Sharma did so well that her video was not only shared on the media outlet’s online platforms, but also made it to broadcast.
“After that I was covering three red carpets a day,” Sharma said. “It was like a dream come true.”
That spirit of being eager and willing to try anything serves Sharma well, starting as a broadcast student at Conestoga.
“While you are doing the course, don’t think that you are going to college. Think of this as your unpaid internship because everything you are doing is training you to do your actual job,” Sharma said.
While just in her second term, Sharma got herself a freelance gig at Global and continued working there throughout her studies and while doing her co-op placement in the final term. Various roles there include archiving and control room technician before being hired shortly after graduating as a video journalist.
“I always wanted to be in front of the camera, that was the goal always. But I wanted to make sure that I have all the skills,” Sharma said.
Her advice to students is to create connections by talking to people in the industry at any chance, be open to trying new things to build abilities and experience, and don’t be afraid to ask.
“It’s good to wait for opportunities, but sometimes you have to create your own opportunities. And sometimes you just have to make it happen,” Sharma said.
The taste of entertainment reporting has her thinking about a shift from breaking news.
“I am open to exploring everything because I never know what I’m going to love next,” Sharma said.
Conestoga’s Broadcasting - Television and Independent Production program teaches how to write, perform, shoot and edit content in a variety of formats. Using industry standard equipment and software, storytelling skills are enhanced through lighting, sound design and post-production finishing. The fourth term of this innovative two-year program is split between a field placement working in the broadcast and production industry, and a final capstone project to integrate the skills learned throughout the program.
The program is delivered by the School of Creative Industries.