LSU Executive Elections 2020

Each year, Loughborough Students’ Union hold elections for their next Sabbatical ‘Executive’ Officers. LSUTV provide full coverage of these elections, with multiple live shows and pre-recorded news bulletins.

As Station Manager, it was my responsibility to produce the coverage, the process for which started back in Autumn 2019 with initial decisions made on shows, dates and locations. As 2020 started, decisions were made on formats and presenters, which required leasing with staff in the Union and current Executive Officers.

The week started with the ‘Live Reveal’ of candidates, a show which I put a large amount of focus on in production. Scaling the show up from previous years with a live audience and multiple locations worked incredibly well, with both those in attendance on the day, and those watching from home praising the show.

The show was an hour in length, and required the organisation of an external location, 5 cameras, 3 presenters and 15 crew members. I also managed the renovation of our studio space, to ensure its suitability for the Elections.

The Soapbox is one of the core shows of the election period. The Students’ Union are mandated to provide coverage of the election itself and the candidates, and this is outsourced to us in the form of the Soapbox Debates. Over two days, the candidates are subjected to a grilling from our interviewer (this year, Ed Radford), who ensures that the candidates and their manifestos are held to account.

This year, the show comprised of two days of filming, with each day being around 5 hours in length, with three locations – an interview studio, a panel in a public Piazza space, and one of the LCR Radio studios, who I liaised with to present part of the show. With 50 crew positions to fill over both days, it was an intense schedule, and pre-production was a challenging task.

Overall, the show was extremely well-received by audiences and the Union’s management. With a brand new graphics pack and a new studio set-up on show, the show looked polished and clean. I worked with the presenter on the questions in the weeks before the show, and his performance was exceptional. On each day, I directed the show from the gallery.

The final show of the elections period is the Results Night, which we broadcast live in its entirety. With four locations, 23 members of crew and an enormous amount of setup, it’s one of the biggest and most complex shows that we conduct each year. Through liaising with the Technical Services and Venue Departments we were able to secure a fantastic setup for the stage, and produce a brilliant show.

As producer, I was responsible for ensuring that the crew were in place for the show, as well as for venues being booked. I also devised the running order, was the key point of contact for the entire show.