Sunday 22 November 2009

My internet tv debut

I was asked in early summer to do a tv segrment for an internet channel called Positive tv. They do a weekly 20 minute show (called Solutions) which is intended to showcase positive ideas for living and be a contrast to the negative news which goes on media outlets. News stories include stories about ecology, healing plants you can find in your environment, tantric sex etc.
I was asked to talk about positive approaches within psychology to a general audience who may not know anything about academic psychology- so academic jargon was a no no.
Filming was scheduled at quite short notice as they wanted to get good weather (the sun always shines on positive tv). It was an absolutely fabulous day and filming took place on the beech.
I went down to the beach with Director/Cameraperson Amber (and the interviewer/presenter whose name I have forgotten). She was very skillfull in setting up shots and managing to make an artificial situation seem totally relaxed and natural.
I decided to focus on humanistic type approaches and how they could help people to improve their lives. I also talked about current social problems such as racism and how psychology can help us to understand and combat these issues.
There is quite a lot of lead-in time for this sort of thing and I forgot all about it. It was only when I contacted Amber about something else a few days ago that I found out that the item had already aired.
Watching it now gave me some very mixed feelings. On one hand it is a kind of swan song for a career that I have probably left for good. I really enjoyed communicating ideas and I probably won't get so many opportunities to do it in the future. On the other hand, I have actually put in practice some of the ideas I talk about in the segment- taking control of my own life and demonstrating self-efficacy.
If you want to see the show then follow this link http://www.positivetv.tv/
That will take you to web site. My segment is the second half of the show entitled Solutions 32. You can either flip through the 'more shows' option (not easy) or do a search on the website for positive psychology. This will take you to Solutions 32 which lasts for 20 minutes and I am in the second half.