Bonjour ! My name’s Jack and I’m the Audio Visual Production Coordinator at Coffee Break Languages. I joined the company full-time in October 2021 after doing undergraduate degrees in Economics at the University of Aberdeen and Filmmaking and Screenwriting at the University of the West of Scotland. Although I was born in Scotland, I grew up in Belgium and Luxembourg where I went to the European School of Luxembourg, so I am fluent in both English and French I even know a little bit of Spanish from studying it at school and university too.
What is your role in Coffee Break?
The main part of my job involves editing our videos and podcasts so I spend most of my time at work editing, receiving feedback and then making corrections before sending it off for uploading. I also spend 1-2 days per week working on The Club and other video content in our Ayr office, where I do everything from adjusting cameras and lighting to sound checking and vision mixing on our state-of-the-art mixing board. Finally, I also occasionally help out with the creation of Coffee Break French content.
What experience have you had speaking and learning other languages?
Growing up in Belgium and then in Luxembourg, French was the language I would use day-to-day, while speaking English at home, so I essentially grew up bilingual. About half of my classes were also taught in French while I was at the European School of Luxembourg and it was also mandatory to do a 3rd language for at least 3 years during high school. So I studied French and used it in casual conversation everyday, and studied Spanish as a third language. I then studied Spanish for a year while I was at the University of Aberdeen and I have friends from Spain and France who I keep in regular contact with and I always relish any opportunity to speak French or Spanish when I meet a native speaker.
What are your favourite memories of working with Coffee Break?
As I edit a lot of our content, I get to see the “bloopers” that the audience doesn’t, so it’s always funny to see and hear some of the flubs and goofy faces our presenters make when they’re a little flustered. One of my first days in the office was filming Club content with Pierre-Benoît and I can assure you, he is just as flamboyant off-camera as he is on it!
Where would your ideal coffee break be, and with whom?
If I could pick one person to share a cup of tea with (I’m actually not a coffee drinker, don’t tell Mark), it would probably have to be one of my favourite filmmakers. Maybe someone like Denis Villeneuve who I could talk French to as well, although Quebecois is it’s own unique language if you ask me!
Quickfire round
- Favourite languages: French, Spanish
- Favourite word/phrase in French: Nom de Dieu !
- Favourite film / TV show: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Mighty Boosh
- Favourite destination: My two favourite places that I’ve visited (outside of Scotland) are Holland and Quebec, but I’ve also always wanted to visit New Zealand and recently have been looking into a holiday in Newfoundland or Patagonia in Argentina.
Do you have a message for the Coffee Break Community?
One great way I’ve found to help me practise my French and Spanish is watching football or rugby matches with the commentary in that language. If you understand the sport, then you can understand what the commentators are talking about in context and learn new words and phrases as a result.
