Pukka Presenting
Kathryn Wolfe - author of "So You Want To Be A TV Presenter?"
Press
The Archer – December 2010
Article in East Finchley newspaper about Kathryn Wolfe’s author talk at Black Gull Books.
“TV presenters have never been more in demand. Last month, anyone with ambitions in that direction should have been at the Black Gull Bookshop where Hampstead Garden Suburb resident Kathryn Wolfe was promoting her book,So You Want To Be A TV Presenter?”
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Jnet radio – Danny Steele interviews Kathryn Wolfe – October 2010
Kathryn Wolfe talks about TV Presenting and her book ‘So You Want to be a TV Presenter?’
Listen to the full interview (wma file)
Teaching Drama – So You Want To… book review – October 2010
“Kathryn Wolfe, author of So You Want to be a TV Presenter? knows her stuff. This practical, informative book – full of exercises and check-lists – takes the reader through how to read from a prompt and use an in-ear talkback, talk to camera and to time, cope with live, recorded, studio and location shots, present for specialist channels (such as children’s, shopping or weather) and how to sell your skills via a successful CV and convincing showreel. The expert tips and case studies are helpful too.”
Read page 1 (pdf file)
Teaching Drama – So You Want To… book review – October 2010
Read the second page of “Teaching Drama – So You want To… book review”.
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Expert tips on how to become a presenter – Spotlight Podcast – September 2010
“John Byrne, career adviser to ‘The Stage’ newspaper, and Kathryn Wolfe, Senior Lecturer in media performance at the University of Bedfordshire and author of ‘So You Want To Be a TV Presenter?’, give their top tips on how to start a career as a presenter.”
Listen to the full podcast (mp3 file)
TwelvePoint – “The Write Pitch” – July 2010
“Kathryn Wolfe, having worn different hats over the years as a television producer and director, author and lecturer, has come to realise that all those roles involved written and verbal pitching skills, skills that are not only transferable but can be used in all walks of life.”
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WestLondonLiving.com Interview – July 2010
“You have recently published So you want to be a TV presenter ? Could you tell us about your book?
It’s a highly practical book of TV presenter-training and advice based on my TV industry and teaching experience. The book is an accessible, no-nonsense guide to the skills and techniques required to become a TV presenter, including how to talk to the camera, read from a prompt, ad lib to time, create a convincing showreel, write a TV presenting CV and how to find and get TV presenting jobs. As I’ve trained literally hundreds of presenters – and kept in touch with most of them – the book is also packed with their anecdotes and up-to-date experiences ranging from auditions to TV presenting work.”
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The Stage – July 2010 – “Dear John” with David McClelland
“David McClelland trained as an actor at Guildford School of Acting in the nineties and since leaving has worked in many areas of the business as an actor and director on tours, in the West End and abroad. Shows he has worked on include Blood Brothers and Beauty and the Beast. However, his priorities changed recently when he became a dad, and – with training from Kathryn Wolfe – he has started to make a very conscious move towards a career in presenting.”
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The Stage – July 2010 – Book Review
“With a background in TV directing (Breakfast Time, The Clothes Show, Record Breakers and the Tweenies) and working with and training presenters, Kathryn Wolfe knows her stuff. This practical, informative book – full of exercises and check lists – takes the reader through how to read from a prompt and use an in-ear talkback, talk to camera and to time, cope with live, recorded studio and location shots, present for specialist channels (such as children’s, shopping or weather) and how to sell your skills via a successful CV and convincing showreel. The expert tips and case studies are helpful too.”
Read the full article (pdf file)
The Stage – July 2010 – TV Presenting supplement
“Kathryn Wolfe, a TV producer, director of the Pukka Presenting training company and author of So You Want to be a TV Presenter? has worked with numerous actors turned presenters. She sees the two types of training as compatible but also complementary, especially in relation to that essential showreel. ‘An acting showreel should show you in character through
and through, whereas in a presenting showreel you should not play a role, not pretend to be a presenter – your own personality should shine. Acting showreels may contain scripted material from classics to modern, theatre plays to TV drama. But for a successful TV presenting reel take your inspiration from TV broadcasting or web presenting items, rather than drama. If you write your own pieces base them on your own personality and interests, making the reel unique to you. Don’t mix the two genres of acting and presenting – make two different reels if you are seeking work in both worlds.”
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The Stage – July 2010 – “Dear John”
“When you start presenting you may need to undo most of your acting for camera training – replace ‘be in character and don’t look at the camera’ with ‘be yourself and look directly at the lens’. For screen acting, you might only address the camera during a soliloquy, but when TV presenting, you speak to the viewer, via the camera, almost all of the time. TV presenting is about having the confidence to be yourself, maybe a heightened version for the camera, but you are not playing a role. Screen actors relate to the other performers in the scene, but the TV presenter communicates to a camera on a tripod. How can you make it real for an audience you cannot physically see?”
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University of Bedfordshire – “Kathryn’s Tips for the Top as a TV Presenter” – May 2010
So you want to be a TV presenter? Then Kathryn Wolfe from the University of Bedfordshire has some vital tips for you. Kathryn, Senior Lecturer in Media Performance and Course Leader TV Production, has launched a new book on this topic. So You Want To Be A TV Presenter? has received some high-profile backing with the foreword by Chris Tarrant and a back cover quote by Tony Robinson of Blackadder and Time Team fame. The book had a glitzy launch on Thursday night (13 May) at The Actors Centre in London’s Covent Garden. Giving their support on the night were contributors to the book, actors, television presenters trained by Kathryn herself such as Seema Pathan from BBC’s Sportsround and TV industry producers.
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Hot Courses – March/April 2010 – Course Review: Children’s TV Presenting
“Sometimes here at Hotcourses we have the good luck of being able to attend all sorts of weird and wonderful courses. Having some background in drama, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Children’s TV Presenting course at City Lit, although I was quite apprehensive about what it might involve. I had some idea about the energy and constant high spirits needed to be a successful children’s TV presenter and I was a bit nervous about the fact that I would probably have to practise in front of a camera…”
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The Stage – July 2009 – “Life Through A Lens”
“TV presenting is more than looking good and reading autocue. To make yourself as employable as possible, you will need to develop a journalistic brain. This does not necessarily mean taking a journalism course, although that is incredibly useful, but you should be able to research information, assimilate it, tease out the most important points and communicate them to the viewer. Common presenter tasks are to script links, prepare interview questions, shape material on the spur of the moment and make sense when you do not have a script.”
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The Stage – May 2009 – “Dear John”
“Your showreel is your calling card – the reel itself may not get you the job, but it should open doors and at least get you a screen test or an interview. It should leave the viewer wanting to see more and showcase your talents, rather than those of the camera operator or editor. Remember that a heavily edited reel does not tell the producer or agent how many takes you needed and can disguise several short recordings stitched together to create a longer item.”
Read the full article (pdf file)