Behind the scenes at thebigword studios:
The cameramen were unpacking their equipment, the director deliberated over the best location for the ‘shoot’, and the last dabs of make-up had been applied; it was almost time to get into character. I would be starring as myself, but was still surprisingly nervous.
We were recording a short film to be played at our annual conference, where senior staff from across the company discuss thebigword’s strategy over the next 12 months; and then at our annual awards ceremony to celebrate the individual achievements of thebigword’s talented people throughout our 8 global offices.
I used to make frequent TV and radio appearances and it’s amazing how quickly you get used to churning out stock replies to a range of questions. You soon find that the last-minute jitters become less noticeable, and before you know it you’re negotiating a longer rider and complaining about the size of your dressing-room - it’s all part of the diva mentality.
It’s well known that I occasionally get the irresistible urge to run down the length of the corridor and do my aeroplane impression (it’s pretty good). I know it might sound a bit odd, but I believe that work should be fun – especially when everybody is so busy with ongoing projects and a record number of new enquiries. After a little encouragement from an unnamed bystander I took off down the corridor and enjoyed seeing the smiles (and looks of disbelief) on people’s faces. The problem was that I hadn’t counted on having to do this more than once, and after the fourth take I was feeling uncomfortably warm and thinking that this probably wasn’t such a great idea after all.
After catching my breath I recorded a short summary of our impressive 40% year on year growth, making specific mention of the impressive development of our offices in Germany and Copenhagen, and thebigword’s Language Revolution which will culminate in the release of our cutting edge online platform, LanguageDirector 3 later this year.
The next part of filming involved various members of staff recording sound bites about their favourite aspects of working at thebigword. It was interesting to watch my colleagues being filmed and noticing how accents would become slightly more posh as the camera was pointed at them. But it was genuinely great to listen to their responses. The recurring message was that thebigword is a truly dynamic place to work and that it is the creativity and professionalism of our people that enable us to forge such strong relationships with our clients and continue to grow.
Our cameraman in the brave shirt prompted one participant to carry on speaking about anything they wanted for a profile shot by asking what his ideal advent calendar would look like: “31 pictures of Larry, some with a mohawk” was the response. Obviously I was flattered, but you’ll be disappointed to hear that I’m not planning on branching out into Larry Gould-branded merchandise just yet.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
We were recording a short film to be played at our annual conference, where senior staff from across the company discuss thebigword’s strategy over the next 12 months; and then at our annual awards ceremony to celebrate the individual achievements of thebigword’s talented people throughout our 8 global offices.
I used to make frequent TV and radio appearances and it’s amazing how quickly you get used to churning out stock replies to a range of questions. You soon find that the last-minute jitters become less noticeable, and before you know it you’re negotiating a longer rider and complaining about the size of your dressing-room - it’s all part of the diva mentality.
It’s well known that I occasionally get the irresistible urge to run down the length of the corridor and do my aeroplane impression (it’s pretty good). I know it might sound a bit odd, but I believe that work should be fun – especially when everybody is so busy with ongoing projects and a record number of new enquiries. After a little encouragement from an unnamed bystander I took off down the corridor and enjoyed seeing the smiles (and looks of disbelief) on people’s faces. The problem was that I hadn’t counted on having to do this more than once, and after the fourth take I was feeling uncomfortably warm and thinking that this probably wasn’t such a great idea after all.
After catching my breath I recorded a short summary of our impressive 40% year on year growth, making specific mention of the impressive development of our offices in Germany and Copenhagen, and thebigword’s Language Revolution which will culminate in the release of our cutting edge online platform, LanguageDirector 3 later this year.
The next part of filming involved various members of staff recording sound bites about their favourite aspects of working at thebigword. It was interesting to watch my colleagues being filmed and noticing how accents would become slightly more posh as the camera was pointed at them. But it was genuinely great to listen to their responses. The recurring message was that thebigword is a truly dynamic place to work and that it is the creativity and professionalism of our people that enable us to forge such strong relationships with our clients and continue to grow.
Our cameraman in the brave shirt prompted one participant to carry on speaking about anything they wanted for a profile shot by asking what his ideal advent calendar would look like: “31 pictures of Larry, some with a mohawk” was the response. Obviously I was flattered, but you’ll be disappointed to hear that I’m not planning on branching out into Larry Gould-branded merchandise just yet.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
