Photo: Neymar Official
1. Consumers are dazzled by VJs
When I helped MTV Brasil I wasn’t the objective audience: I have been a 30-something music critic. In 2010 the network decided a different music show was needed. I managed to get to audition, and someone thought I was sufficient. I accepted the career simply because would i want to decide on the videos, and as a person who grew up watching MTV, it had become a suggestion too cool to feed up. It surprised me the number of people cared about MTV and presenters — those on-screen personas called VJs. Teenagers visited the network door so you can get autographs and selfies, sent gifts, started virtual fan clubs. It’s like as being a reporter but also a rock star.
2. None of us really cares about cool music
My first show at MTV was really a night club weekly called Goo, named after the classic Sonic Youth album and specialized in new alternative music. Zola Jesus was obviously a favourite, as was zef trio Die Antwoord and multiracial rap group Das Racist. I\’m always endeavoring to sneak in a seven-minute long instrumental piece by Explosions on the horizon. The very thought of airing alternative things which no-one knew about was super exciting, but crazy and required to fail. Goo was canceled after 8 months, so i was doomed to talk about music that individuals thought about, like Katy Perry and Maroon 5.
3. You can’t always get anything you want
You know while you buy tickets for an awesome music festival and therefore the time schedule forces you to decide which of your respective favourite bands you won’t see given that they play different stages at the same time? Well, imagine seeing a music festival and not dealing with go to whichever show because you must stay inside the press place to make 35 different interviews available as one day.
And it’s not like you’re partying with rock gods, because rock gods don’t want media people around. But what got in my small nerves was asking dumb stuff to incredible artists because network decided that\’s what people wanted. I had to ask Gal Costa (this lady, Brazil’s greatest singer) if she had seen the latest Batman film. She hadn’t.
4. You meet many cool people
Directors, writers, producers, executives, stylists, technical, camera and audio operators, designers, reporters, programmers…the public I received to use at MTV will still be several of the craziest, most creative, hard workers I’ve ever met. I married another VJ. And there’s also most of the musicians you can meet. Most likely they’re as professional and as nice as you’d expect — Jack White is due to this category. Then there’s the rare indie band who represents if they don’t prefer to communicate with you, the crazy singer-songwriter who talks a lot, the rapper who decides it’s a great idea to share Eric Hobsbawm together with you on camera. Oh, and Julian Casablancas said he liked my style.
5. It’s ego crushing
You’re being judged; it’s section of the job. But I’m not speaking about a teenage Rhianna fan ranting on Twitter since you didn’t praise Mother Monster enough that afternoon, or perhaps artist mocking an English grammar mistake. It’s more severe than that. There’s the colleague stealing a moment you considered yours. There’s the director who doesn’t communicate. There’s the secretly evil hair-stylist. There’s the target groups, where babies are invited to observe the shows off-air so they can express their strongest opinions over it.
Worst of, there’s the air-check sessions, after you must sit with the executives and directors to get your screen presence availed. Imagine soaking in an area with individuals saying to that person that you “look old” or you will “should not wear short skirts” or “the style you project is arrogant.” You might need a great number of confidence to settle sane.
6. It’s hard work
Sure, acquiring it front of any camera to talk about music videos isn’t exactly quantum physics. Nonetheless dare one to maintain your cool looking to interview a Japanese musician who doesn’t prefer to talk. In the grass of an EDM music festival. When in front of many screaming teenagers. While your director is urging you to definitely “Say something funny”. On camera. Live.
It enables you to create a number of respect for folks who work on screen. The anchor person doing nighttime live news from Monday to Friday? Awesome. Actors portraying emotion facing onlookers? Amazing. War correspondents? Superhumans.
7. People care a good deal about TV
Nothing beats TV concerning popularity. You may write a best seller, create a super famous YouTube channel, have your voice heard by millions on radio, but TV is what makes an aunt get the telephone and scream “I merely saw you!” I like to use this story as one example: I remember when i wrote an incredibly cool article for Brazil’s biggest newspaper. It was first page, Sunday edition. It was actually a big deal and of course I\’m super proud, so I called my grandparents to find out congratulations. What did I hear instead? “That’s lovely, dear. But you\’re you time for TV?”
8. It’s crazy fun
The first day\’s my first international assignment ended along with me sleeping beneath table of a strip club in Austin, Texas, watching for Har Mar Superstar’s show to arrive at a conclusion. I wasn’t drunk on the other hand also hadn’t slept in 36 hours.
My last holiday to MTV Brasil was the closing night, September 2019, in the event the company banned. The network went love 10 hours on to celebrate. A great deal of Brazilian musicians and all sorts of old VJs found visit, the network installed cameras throughout, MTV Brasil’s Twitter account was available to everyone tweet as to what happening, the doors were open and fans drove to the building to join the party. Everybody drank quite a bit, people danced on tables, cried, screamed, hugged, and then also all of us stayed during the bar downstairs, laughing until morning came. It was actually the best night in television history.
