Somerset College

After already having two successful Fine Art degree exhibitions and with another one on the way at Bristol Paintworks, 7th-11th July (no plug intended) how do some students like to relax?...By appearing on ITV's '60 Minute Makeover of course, and believe me it's anything but relaxing!

On Friday June 27th I and my friend (recently graduated Fine Art student) Martin Joiner embarked on an adventure of a days experience working on a TV programme. In case you were wondering or are far to busy to watch day time television then '60 Minute Makeover' is an interior design/decorating programme where a group of professionals and volunteers (like me and Martin although we are also extremely professional) work to decorate a few rooms of someone's house. It's meant to be a surprise for one person whose house it is with their partner organising and helping to do some of the work. Finally, however the most important thing being that it is all supposed to happen within sixty minutes.

Exciting stuff! Whilst all the decorating and placing of furniture does in fact happen in sixty minutes the preparation happens from around 7am. So there I found myself at 7 in the morning in someone's garden in Somerset Avenue, Taunton constructing a flat pack bedside cabinet. I was also hoping it was going to stop raining soon.

On saying that though it was all incredibly good fun, meeting new people, seeing how a television programme is filmed and even appearing in a few scenes myself. When the makeover actually began I found myself lost in a sea of people, rollers and wall paper. It was sheer madness. When you watch the programme on TV it looks busy and crowded but you forget that there are an extra two bodies in there; namely the camera man and sound man as well as possibly a producer or director. This means it is an incredible squish but is also incredibly funny and I have to say it was the quickest two lots of thirty minutes of my life! During the second half of the sixty minutes (it's broken into two half and an hour slots with a lunch break in between to let the paint dry a little) I was dragging up parts of a king-size bed into a room whilst another two beds were going up the stairs at the same time.

Amidst all this chaos though it was very exciting to work as a team and by the end see some interesting results. You will have to watch the programme and see for yourself what you think of the results when it airs in September time.

Overall it was an exhausting day but really great fun. I really enjoyed the challenge and seeing what it was like to film a TV programme (continuity errors and all!).

One question remains, anyone for a sixty minute art exhibition!? I definitely don't think so! lol

Natalie Parsley