CME Content Academy student - Tereza Vlčeková
Tereza Vlčeková spent much time in front of the TV cameras as a professional dancer. She smiled, followed the director’s cues, and performed for the audience. “Then one day, I just realized maybe it’s better to be behind the camera,” she said. And thus began the journey that led Tereza to the CME Content Academy. The academy is designed to develop talented newcomers into the scriptwriters, showrunners, and TV producers of tomorrow. TV Markíza and TV Nova created CME Content Academy together with The Television Institute to train students in the television industry and allow them to work long-term for the two broadcasters.
Tereza, 26, has been obsessed with TV since she was a child in Bratislava, Slovakia.
“Even my initials are TV,” she laughed. “People always talk about how I love TV and my initials are the same.”
On set as a dancer, Tereza gradually gained the confidence to assist with some camera work. Then she started noticing bad camera angles and making suggestions to the photographers.
At that point, Tereza began studying media and received her bachelor’s degree in Media Design and her master’s degree in Mass Media and Marketing Communications.
“The audio/visual classes really got me,” she said. “It gave me something more to bring out emotion. I would be so happy for the audience to feel the same way I’m feeling when I’m performing.”
TV Markíza CEO Matthias Settele said that Terezka’s work as a performer was one of the reasons she was chosen as a CME Academy inaugural student.
“Tereza brings a completely different perspective as a performer in front of the cameras,” he said. “She already has a strong sense of what appeals to an audience. We’re going to help her build on that and develop all the skills she needs to succeed.”
Tereza was away at school when her mother saw the ad for the Content Academy.
“My mom said, ‘I think this is an opportunity for you.’ Then when I came home I was unpacking my luggage and there it was on TV – CME Academy,” she said. “The day I returned.”
Tereza had five days before the deadline to apply. She submitted a script she’d written in Malta. She got the idea while waiting in the car for her boyfriend each day. There, she saw an old woman sitting in the same place every day.
“I was observing her and making up stories – like she was in the Mafia,” Tereza said. “Then one day I realized she was blind. I thought she saw and knew everything, but it was the opposite.” That was all Tereza needed to develop a story.
Tereza was thrilled when she made it to the second round of interviews for the academy. She was also terrified.
“I thought there’d be maybe four or five people,” she said. “But no, there were 12 or 13. They weren’t just interested in my career and education – they were interested in my character and my soul.”
Tereza said she is very excited to work with the renowned professionals that will be teaching at CME.
“I’ve never done content before but I’m so into it. My teachers were like, ‘this is for you.’ That’s why I’m so glad the pros are here for us,” she said.
Tereza would like to bring original content to the screen, particularly for viewers in their 20s and 30s.
“Be creative!” she said. “Do something more than we’ve done in Poland or England. Risk more. What is the point of TV? Of content? We have to educate people.”
Right now, Tereza is most looking forward to working in reality TV. Five years from now, she sees herself at TV Markiza working on big projects or shows. She’d also like to help open doors for other artists who can’t get access to the television industry.
“I think reality TV is for me because I know the process. I’ve done it before and this is something I love,” she said. “I’d like to make space for shows with makeup artists, hairstylists – to really bring an artistic view to television.”