Media Parents

Director / Producer Paul Leyshon writes about his move from S4C to network TV, and some CV tips he got at the Media Parents networking evening in Bristol, sponsored by BBC Bristol and RDF Television West.

Freelancers and employers, including Paul Leyshon, in the crowd at the Media Parents networking in Bristol.

There are times in life when we all need that little bit of parental guidance. That little tightening of the scarf, and the dreaded spit on the hanky and wipe across our chops before jumping on the school bus.

As a Director / Producer with ten years experience working for S4C in Wales, despite being top of the class and one of the big fish in my little pond, I can’t help but feel like the new Kid on his first day at Big school when it comes to applying for network jobs.

Bob Pugh – The ‘Game of Thrones’ actor not fully appreciating director Paul Leyshon's ‘photo bomb’.

For S4C in Wales I’m one of the channel’s main Lifestyle and Reality TV Directors. I’ll go so far as to say I’m probably the main Children’s Director having been UK and Welsh Bafta nominated in the past six years and annually responsible for delivering the most popular shows.

However with the big local companies almost becoming ‘closed shops’ due to recent budget constraints, the freelance landscape is that little bit harder.  In my first two years as a freelancer I worked relying only on my reputation and word of mouth. I now have to ‘chase’ work much more. With a spoon full of sugar to help the ‘pride’ go down it is something I have found pretty difficult up until now.

During the past 18 months I have been sending off my CV to a whole range of companies in England. 200+ jobs applied for through other recognized media websites with little or no luck.

For a reasonable £700 I had my show reel and website up and running and with references and clips from the likes of Alex Jones (The One Show) and Matt Johnson (This Morning) it is money well spent. However, hoping to break into London and Bristol, I still wasn’t getting a sniff of a job. When I did the replies were usually “you’re over qualified”, “you’re a jack of all trades” or “you haven’t worked outside Wales”.

Having recently joined ‘Media Parents’, I’ve received some useful feedback from Amy Walker. And this week I had the opportunity of coming to the Media Parents networking event in BBC Bristol.

I was very fortunate to speak to Jennie Macdiarmid, BBC Talent Manager, Richard Bowron, Exec Producer at Love Productions, and Emma Dowley, Production Executive at RDF West. All three gave great advice on where I was going wrong with the layout of my CV and plenty of hints and tips as to how I should be applying. In addition to this the evening was a good opportunity to chat to other talented freelancers and meet some interesting people.

Here are some of the CV tips I was given at the Media Parents event:

• “Say at the top what ‘I’ am looking for and want to do. Use present not past tense to say what I want and can bring to the table / what my ambitions are.”
• “All the content and experience is there – just not dynamic enough in presentation – grab attention in the first few lines”.
• “Too many credits – better to choose the main ones and stick to 2 rather than three pages.”
• I was told also it may even be worth having 3 CV’s tailored toward a certain genre / job that I’m going for.

I had reservations about S4C stuff not being seen as major broadcast credit but Richard Bowron quashed that straight away.

So having given away my CV (albeit one that needs changing) to several Execs and been given a number of contacts and email addresses, I came away with a lot more confidence and a clearer idea of what roles I should be applying for and the best way of doing so.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6085/paul-leyshon

As good a tool as my website is (and I would recommend the use of a website to anyone as an online show reel / biography), I was lazily hoping that Exec Producers would be taking a leisurely summer stroll through each page, browsing away like a holiday maker in ‘departures’ with way too much time on their hands. Not the case of course, and thanks to some advice from Media Parents I now have direct links to my website and youtube show reels straight from my CV.

Despite thinking I was practically perfect in every way, a Mary Poppins style clean up of my CV and approach is what was needed. And lo and behold on writing this I already have my first interview set up  through Media Parents since joining a couple of weeks ago.

I am more positive in my approach now and hopefully I can sell myself a little better in the big bad world of network television without needing an adult telling me to tie my shoe laces and to pull my socks up.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6085/paul-leyshon

Media Parents' next event is a Technical Catch Up in London on June 13th. Please email events@mediaparents.co.uk to reserve a place.

What is Media Parents?

www.mediaparents.co.uk is a jobs and social networking website for experienced media people.  The Media Parents site showcases experienced talent, lists flexible and standard TV contracts, it has an open source blog, a chat forum and a thriving network, like a mini LinkedIn for media.

What happens at the event?

Monday’s networking event will take place from at BBC Broadcasting House on Whiteladies Road in Bristol, you must be on the guest list to come along, see end of article for how to apply.  Execs introduce their companies and colleagues, and then station themselves at tables to chat with freelancers for approx 8 minute slots, or free network around the bar.

Freelancers bring CVs to discuss, and without the direct pressure of a job interview it’s a great opportunity to put a face to a name in a relatively informal setting.

June 3rd is your chance to meet BBC Head of Documentaries, and BBC Head of Features, the PAN UK employers for BBC factual, docs, natural history and more, plus the RDF Television West team, as this event is kindly sponsored by both companies. We have an amazing event lining up for the evening at BBC Bristol, with RDF, Icon Films, Tigress and Indus Films attending too. We don’t have a restriction on numbers for this event, so if you are a Media Parents member and you apply you can come along, and we will be opening the event to non-members too. Here’s who’s coming from companies…

Aysha Rafaele, the BBC's Head of Documentaries

Aysha Rafaele, BBC Head of Documentaries

Head of In-House documentaries at the BBC, Ayesha was formerly documentaries commissioner at Channel 4, where her commissions included Coppers, The Hospital and Secret Millionaire. She began her career at the BBC and became an award-winning documentary maker, before taking a break from docs to be the lead director on Channel 4′s flagship drama series Skins.

Nick Patten, Head of In House Features, BBC

Nick Patten, Head of BBC In-house Features

Previously Nick was Head of Bristol and Birmingham Factual. The recently combined department makes a wide range of programmes from Countryfile to Antiques Roadshow, Nigel Slater’s Dish of the Day to DIY SOS: The Big Build, Hairy Bikers to Gardeners’ World, Bargain Hunt to Flog It! In addition to Bristol, Nick’s responsibilities extend to Features output produced in Belfast, where titles include Points Of View and Wanted down Under, Cardiff, home of Crimewatch and Crimewatch Roadshow, and London where Watchdog is based.

Prior to this, Nick was Head of Birmingham Factual where he managed a huge slate of output ranging from Daytime to some of the BBC’s crown jewels including Countryfile, Gardeners’ World, Trawlermen and Coast. Nick introduced the Hairy Bikers to in-house productions. Birmingham Factual made their recent series, Bakeation, and Bristol Factual is in production with Hairy Bikers Best Of British.

Head of Production Talent, Natural History, Features, & Documentaries Genres Christopher Hutchins meets Media Parents talent at a previous event

Christopher Hutchins, BBC Pan UK Head of Production Talent, Natural History, Features, & Documentaries Genres

He is a vocal advocate of flexible working, and spoke in favour of this at the Media Parents flexible working meeting in Bristol here:

https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2010/12/media-parents-flexible-working-meeting-bristol-–-who-said-what-1/

Helen Hagelthorn meets a Media Parents freelancer at a previous event

Helen Hagelthorn, Talent Manager, BBC Features Pan UK

Helen has worked as a Talent Manager and Talent Executive at Bristol BBC since 2009, looking after production talent for Factual/Features/Daytime as well as the NHU. Before this Helen worked at RDF West as Production Resources Manager, again hunting out the best freelance talent for productions. She has also worked as a Project Manager at post production house, Films @ 59.  Before Children, Helen was a South West based Assistant Producer working on a variety of output covering all topics : history, cookery, household management, child rearing and football!

Sas’s background is in Independent Factual companies, as a researcher and AP, in both London and Bristol.  After having children Sas worked as a development producer, then as a project manager for South West Screen and Skillset before moving to my current post at the BBC.

Gaynor Scattergood, Talent Manager, NHU, BBC Bristol

Jennie Macdiarmid, Talent Manager, BBC Television

Daisy Robertson, BBC Docs Talent Manager

Recently returned to the BBC, Daisy’s background is as a Production Manager in Docs & Specialist Factual working at a number of Indies and including a previous 4yr stint in BBC Arts.

Sarah Moors, Executive Producer, BBC Television

Sarah has worked for the BBC for over 18 years and has an extensive knowledge of television production. After working her way up the career ladder, for the last 6 years she has been an Executive Producer managing a broad range of titles including several long-running key BBC brands such as Gardeners’ World, Points of View, See Hear, Bargain Hunt and the landmark documentary series Around the World in 80 Gardens.

Gavin Henderson, Executive Producer, BBC Television

Gavin is unfortunately no longer able to attend.

Angela Oakhill, Head of Production, RDF Television West

Angela Oakhill, Head of Production, RDF Television West

Head of Production Angela is a practical advocate of flexible working and has employed flexibly through RDF West. (Biog to follow).

Jane Lomas, Executive Producer, RDF Television West

Jane Lomas, Executive Producer, RDF Television Wes

Jane joined RDF from Diverse where she was executive producer on Man vs. Wild (Discovery/Channel 4), Mission Everest (Discovery/Channel 4), Tribal Wives (BBC Two) and Mission Africa (BBC One). Prior to Diverse Lomas was at BBC Bristol from 1998 to 2004 with credits including; DIY SOS (BBC One), The Bachelor (BBC Three) and Flog It! (BBC Two).

Emma Dowley, Production Executive

Emma Dowley, Production Executive, RDF Television West

Production Executive for Emergency Bikers, Dickinson’s Real Deal and National Treasures, Emma started at RDF in 1999.

http://www.rdftelevision.com

Dick Colthurst, MD, Tigress

Dick Colthurst, MD, Tigress Productions

Dick Colthurst joined Tigress in 2005 from the BBC where he was an Executive Producer responsible for programmes including 999, Ray Mears’ Bushcraft and innovative projects like The Trench. At the time, Tigress was best known as a wildlife company and Dick’s brief was to develop an adventure slate which started with three series of Everest: Beyond the Limit for Discovery following ordinary people to the summit including, in the process, seven Tigress employees.

More series shot in remote parts of the world followed – Edge of Existence and Return of the Tribe for Five, Around the World in 80 Trades and Alone in the Wild for Channel 4 plus in 2011, a celebrity version of Alone in the World for Discovery featuring Freddie Flintoff, Jason Gardiner and Joe Pasquale among others. He has a particular enthusiasm for innovative and technically ambitious programmes like The Elephant: Life After Death and Hippo: Nature’s Wild Feast which helped reinvent natural history for Channel 4.

Jamie Balment, Head of Development, Indus Films

Jamie Balment, Head of Development, Indus Films

Before joining Indus Films, Jamie worked for IWC, Darlow Smithson and Century Films, before a spell as Head of Development – Documentaries, for the BBC. His debut film Break In: Make My Day (C4) looked at extreme home security enthusiasts. Since joining Indus Jamie’s commissions include: The Fisherman’s Apprentice (BBC2), The London Markets (BBC2), and Tales from the Wild Wood (BBC4). Jamie produced and directed Indus’s critically acclaimed BBC2 film ‘The Fish Market: Inside Billingsgate’. He watches a lot of television.

Richard Bowron, Executive Producer, Love Productions

Richard Bowron joined Love as its Head of Development, and is now Exec in Bristol. He joined from Shine where he was Head of Entertainment Development and won commissions across all broadcasters.

Richard is an experienced programme maker, having worked at the BBC as a series producer and head of development as well as for several independent production companies, including RDF and Darlow Smithson.

laura marshall, MD, Icon Films

Laura Marshall, MD, Icon Films

After leaving school I spent a year in Paris working for Henri and Martine Cartier-Bresson and on return went to work for the Toby Eady Literary Agency and the author and scientist Iain Douglas Hamilton.  In 1986 I got my first job in TV working for Roger Graef, of Films of Record.  I then spent two years at the Murray Pollinger Literary Agency.  In 1990 Harry and I decided we would try and work together. We’re still here. As Managing Director of Icon Films, I am responsible for the overall strategy of the company, personnel development and oversee marketing.

Andie Clare, Director of Production, Icon Films

Andie Clare, Director of Production, Icon Films

I grew up in enjoying the moss and moor of the Lancashire Pennines before heading further North to study zoology at Newcastle University. A decade of camera assisting and rescuing spectacled bears in South America followed and nurtured my passion for stories from the natural world. I joined Icon Films in Bristol in 1997 as an assistant producer and have grown with the company to become Director of Production. The Forest of Dean is where my husband, our three children and I enjoy an untamed home life of den building, vegetable growing and chainsaw sculpting.

Amy Walker, Media Parents' Director

Amy Walker, Director, Media Parents

If you would like to attend this event please follow the instructions on the Media Parents watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk or email events@mediaparents.co.uk ASAP. Look forward to seeing you there!

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events. Save the date of June 3rd for Media Parents networking in Bristol, June 13th tech catch up in London.

Your chance to meet the employers for BBC factual, docs, natural history and more, plus the RDF Television West team… We have an amazing event lining up for the evening of June 3^rd at BBC Bristol. We don’t have a restriction on numbers for this event, so if you are a Media Parents member and you apply you can come along. Here’s who’s coming from companies so far…

Late entries from Indus Films, Tigress and more to be added shortly!!

Christopher Hutchins, Head of Production Talent, Natural History, Features, & Documentaries Genres – that’s across the whole of the BBC, not just in Bristol.
Helen Hagelthorn, Talent Manager – BBC Features Pan UK
Sas Bonser, Talent Manager, Natural History Unit Features and Outdoor Features, BBC
Gaynor Scattergood, Talent Manager, Natural History Unit, BBC Bristol
Jennie Macdiarmid, Talent Manager at BBC
Daisy Robertson, BBC Docs Talent Manager
Sarah Moors, Executive Producer at BBC Television
Gavin Henderson, Executive Producer at BBC
Pete Lawrence, Executive Producer at BBC
Angela Oakhill, Head of Production at RDF Television West
Jane Lomas, Executive Producer at RDF Television West
Emma Dowley, Production Executive, RDF Television West

If you would like to apply please follow the instructions on the Media Parents watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events. Save the date of June 3rd for Media Parents networking in Bristol.

It was late on a Tuesday evening in February when an email arrived from Media Parents. It announced the launch of a ‘Series Producer Training School’, which was being set up by the popular factual indie betty who wanted to invest in the training of a new generation of series producers, writes Louise Mason, a PD and Edit Producer who has found work through Media Parents. Louise’s article details the experiences of three people from Media Parents who were selected for the course, and is interspersed with tips on series producing from course leader Sarah Freethy.

Louise Mason is on Media Parents : http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/26/louise-mason

Such a course was music to my ears. As an experienced PD & Edit Producer I’d been offered the chance to ‘step up’ to Series Producer before but I’d turned the opportunities down – believing the jump upwards too big a leap without training. I’m the kind of person that needs to feel that I know what I’m doing – learning ‘on the job’ was easier to do when I was more junior, but with a role like SP I just didn’t want to take the risk. So the prospect of the training betty were offering was really exciting and incredibly welcome.

Tip Number 1 : Establish the look and feel of your series right at the start; the musical tone, the colour palette and the graphic feel should be in place before you start filming, to ensure there’s consistency throughout. Remember, you speak volumes with the font that you choose…

To be considered as a candidate, there was an application form to fill in which, as well as all the basics, asked searching questions such as what we thought made a good Series Producer, and why we believed we were SP material amongst other things. This was followed by a telephone interview a few weeks later and finally, a phone call to say I’d made the grade. I was over the moon.

Tip Number 2 : Try to write Job Specs for all your team; make sure you set them goals and let them know what’s expected of them. Most problems stem from a lack of clarity and communication within the team. This also applies to your crew; to get the best out of them make sure they have been briefed before a shoot about the characters, the stories and the set ups you want to film on the day.

There were 12 places in total, three of which went to Media Parents members. The course was to be run over two months, with sessions taking place in the evenings and at weekends. The training was thorough and extensive and we were lucky to have the most fantastic teacher in the form of Sarah Freethy, an executive producer who had worked at betty making series such as Country House Rescue, and The Food Hospital.

Tip Number 3 : Get your PDs to write shoot notes at the end of every day so that you can keep on top of everything that’s been shot and your story arcs in the edit. If you’re using Edit Producers then making time for a PD viewing is respectful of their work and will make sure that nothing has fallen through the cracks.

There were nine sessions, from ‘Where to Start’, moving through budgets and scheduling, casting and business affairs, leadership, compliance, the shoot, the edit, health & safety and the finishing touches such as dealing with press and publicity. As well as having access to the wisdom and experience of a lot of the senior staff at betty, experts came in for particular sessions – Jan Tomalin ran the compliance morning, and Sue Ahern gave an inspirational session on leadership.

Tip Number 4 :  You will always be asked for a Series Synopsis, Character Biogs, Episode Synopses and Billings for every show, as well as photographs that can illustrate the entire series, for press and Internationals  - don’t leave it all to the very end of the process, gather everything as you go along.

There was homework, which I loved doing but had the advantage of not having a fulltime job for the duration of the course. We were set tasks such as creating an editorial brief and a running order for a brand new series, or creating a compliance bible. Feedback would then be given to us individually. For the people who were producing and directing throughout, I think it was a bit more of a challenge to fit it in, but the opportunity we were being given was such a good one that everyone really embraced it wholeheartedly.

Tip Number 5 : Most casting for a primetime, network, Features, Fact Ent or Specialist Factual programme is a numbers game; make sure you work backwards from your filming date to set realistic goals for your casting team, so they know what’s expected of them. Top load your casting team to get the best leads, fast.

The final session ended with a ‘Question Time’ style panel of Liz Warner, Walter Iuzzolino and Tina Flintoff – where we got some amazing advice on series producing and what to do next to get our first break. Two of the students had in fact started their first SP contracts whilst the course was underway, which has to be testament to its enormous success.

All in all, the inaugural betty SP Training School was a fantastic thing to be a part of, and I’m so glad I was chosen. The course was truly brilliant and all credit must go to betty for having the insight to see the need for providing us with such valuable training – they really did us proud. Hopefully, this training will now be recognised by production companies and broadcasters and its ‘graduates’ taken seriously as new SP talent. We all had many years of experience as PDs / edit producers/ series directors between us, now we’ve got a solid training in how to be an excellent Series Producer on top.

And as for the 12 of us who attended the course, we are planning on staying in touch and regularly meeting up to swap stories and give each other support, because it’s now down to us to get out into the world of series producing. For my part, I’m lucky enough to start my first Series Producer job on Tuesday and I simply can’t wait to get started, and put all that I’ve learnt into practice.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/26/louise-mason

Here are the thoughts of two of my lovely co-graduates, who are also Media Parents members:

Robin O’Sullivan:  http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/30/robin-osullivan

Betty’s SP course was one of those rare opportunities in television – a chance to test drive a role before being thrown in at the deep end.  Like many of you, I’ve always thought I had a good idea of what it means to be an SP but taking a comprehensive course – particularly one that was so hands on – opened my eyes to invaluable secrets, the kinds of things you’d only know once you’d done the job a few times.  The course leader and guest lecturers were open and inspiring, and the other attendees a wide mix of people I’d be excited to work with in the future.  I’ve come away with a cache of great contacts, a head brimming with ideas and a real excitement about the role.  Now I just need that first SP job (which I feel sure is to come soon)!

Emma Boswell: http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4821/emma-boswell

I was lucky enough to get one of the places on SP School so for the past 12 weeks, alongside my day job as lead producer on a new series for BBC One, I’ve been learning the ins and outs of what it takes to be a good SP. It was both an inspiring and daunting 12 weeks – with the emphasis on inspiring. We were given an extremely thorough instruction from EP Sarah Freethy guiding us through every aspect of series producing, from the ed spec to owning and nurturing a project more than anyone else on the team, knowing what to fight for and when to make compromises and how to manage relationships from Commissioning Editors and Execs to the day to day support of a team. We got a sense that SP-ing can be the most creatively rewarding and the most lonely place to be – Walter Iuzzolino’s words stick in my mind never to do a job unless you’re prepared to love it and become it – I wrote that in big letters!

The course leaves you with a lot of knowledge – as Sarah Freethy said, much of it we do know already from years working as PDs and making one offs, but what you learn on the job isn’t always the best way to do things so this has been just as much a course in how to be the best SP.

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events. Save the date of June 3rd for Media Parents networking in Bristol, more details to follow.

The challenges of balancing childcare with a career are relatively well-known; but what of those who find themselves caring for elderly or disabled relatives, whose needs increase with the passing years? asks Writer Ming Ho.

Writer Ming Ho, who writes here for Media Parents on being a carer. Photo: Simon Denton. http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/1121/ming-ho

During the 1990s I was script executive at Zenith Productions, working across a development slate of film and TV drama, including the series Hamish Macbeth (Robert Carlyle:  BBC) and Bodyguards (Sean Pertwee and Louise Lombard: ITV).  I left to pursue my own writing, and co-created a series for Ecosse/BBC Northern Ireland – McCready and Daughter – which was conceived as a vehicle for the late, great Tony Doyle.  (Tony sadly died two weeks before shooting the pilot; it was recast and became a different beast, but that’s another story…). As a contract writer on EastEnders, I was proud to work on some of the show’s most memorable storylines of the mid-2000s, such as Trevor Morgan’s domestic violence against timid Little Mo, resulting in her trial for attempted murder.  (I wrote Trevor’s manipulative evidence, in which he menaces poor Little Mo from the witness box in the guise of wronged victim.)   I went on to write for Heartbeat and Casualty, and life looked pretty good.  But ticking away in the background was a time-bomb: my mother’s dementia.

An only child, I had always been conscious that one day I would be responsible for care of my mum.  My dad had died when I was a student, so there had been just the two of us since the late 1980s.  Mum had been a classical singer in her youth and latterly a teacher: outgoing, warm and generous – much more extrovert than me!  However, she’d been an older mother and retired in 1990.  Arthritis troubled her and she had a knee replacement, which restored her get-up-and-go for a while; but falls continued to dog her over the years, the most serious resulting in six weeks’ recovery from a fractured pelvis.

At the time, I was working on Casualty (ironically enough!), and decamped to her house 100 miles away from my own home, until she was able to look after herself again.  When I went freelance as a writer, I had naively thought that the ability to work from anywhere on a lap-top would be the solution to any such emergencies – I had not reckoned with the relentless demands of a 24/7 production schedule…

Ming Ho and members of the Writers' Guild negotiating team, at New Broadcasting House, having just signed the new BBC TV Script Agreement in 2012. Photo: Anne Hogben.

Mum recovered her mobility, but was never quite the same.  I had been aware that, in tandem with her physical frailties, she had some other issues: she was increasingly repeating herself, and developed peculiar obsessions, rituals, and disproportionate emotional responses –  taking a violent dislike to people who had done nothing wrong – which were quite unlike her normal personality.   There were panic-stricken incidents of locking herself in or out of the house, being unable to remember her PIN number at the cash-point, and repeatedly losing her bank card.  On the surface, however, she seemed fine; friends who saw her maybe once a week for lunch or spoke to her on the phone would not have been aware there was anything much wrong.  I was often the only witness to her increasingly erratic behaviour – and, crucially, she herself did not acknowledge any problem.

As her faculties declined, I gradually assumed responsibility for all aspects of her daily life: finances, admin, shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, household maintenance, appointments with doctor, dentist, optician, chiropodist, hairdresser – all crammed into my fortnightly weekend visits or longer stays between contracts, with daily management by phone or email in between.  At one point, I supervised nearly two months of major building works to remedy subsidence, while juggling commissions for EastEnders and Heartbeat and shuttling the 200-mile round trip sometimes twice a week.  Through all this, mum continued to believe that she was 100% independent and rejected all suggestions of outside domestic help.

That’s the thing with dementia – lack of insight can itself be a major symptom, leaving the person unaware of their own vulnerability and often hostile to intervention.  Eventually, total loss of short-term memory robbed her of the ability to complete even basic tasks unaided, such as making a cup of tea or washing her hands, as well as capacity to follow instructions or reminders. It made her feel constantly abandoned, because she couldn’t imagine the proximity of anyone out of sight and had no sense of time to recall when they were last there.  And by 2011, mum could no longer recognise her own home.

I had to go behind her back to get a referral to social services and a consultant psychiatrist who could give official diagnosis, in order for me to gain a Court of Protection Deputy’s order to formally manage her affairs.  All my life, I had dreaded having to put her into residential care, but when things finally came to a head, (in a crisis I have detailed on my blog, Dementia Just Ain’t Sexy, link below), I knew I had no choice.

Writer Ming Ho with her mum.

I found support online and have met a wonderful community of new people – carers, medics, social care professionals and politicians – whom I would not otherwise have encountered.  Wanting to do something positive with my experience, I joined Uniting Carers, Dementia UK’s network of family carers, who form a pool of educators, media spokespeople, and campaigners on dementia issues.

Former Care Minister, Paul Burstow MP, approached me via Twitter, and invited me to contribute a case history to ‘Delivering Dilnot’, a Centre Forum report he edited, looking at options for funding of the Dilnot recommendations – I spoke at the House of Commons launch on 8 January, and was quoted in the Backbench Dementia Debate a couple of days later!

I’ve recently started a blog sharing personal insight and analysis of the impact of dementia, which has been read in over 50 countries to date, as diverse as Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, South Korea, Brazil, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia.  Dementia is, sadly, a universal issue.

As mum’s needs increased, I found it hard to commit to the full-on schedule of long-running series TV; but I kept up my involvement with the Writers’ Guild, taking part in forum negotiations with the BBC and ITV as Writers’ Rep from the TV Committee, and I’m currently Deputy Chair, with a mission to increase our public presence.

And, of course, I continued to write – I’ve almost completed the first draft of a novel inspired by research I undertook for a spec film script, and have new ideas to pitch.  Now that mum’s safely in care, I’m keen to return to my own work in drama and also to explore journalism and factual, using my first-hand knowledge of dementia and social care.  It’s all good material!

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/1121/ming-ho

http://dementiajustaintsexy.blogspot.co.uk/

http://dementiajustaintsexy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-crisis-we-all-dread_8629.html

Writer Ming Ho with Camera Operator Hazel Palmer at the Tiger Aspect Meets Media Parents networking event. Photo: Leila Amanpour.

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events. Save the date of June 3rd for Media Parents networking in Bristol, more details to follow.

Congratulations to Lay-Ee Quah, PM on Dara O Brian: School of Hard sums that premieres tonight at 8pm on Dave.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4175/lay-ee-quah

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events.

Did you know that childbirth is STILL the biggest killer of young women in the world? Shocking isn’t it? If you aren’t shocked by that fact, you’d better check that you are still breathing – I’d put a pound to a penny that you are an actual member of the walking dead. Take a moment. Let it sink in. Imagine all of the human talent that is lost, bringing the next generation into the world, writes Radica Anikpe, who attended International Women’s Day celebrations on London’s South Bank, on behalf of Media Parents.

Radica is a scriptwriter, presenter and v/o artist who has worked for BBC3, MTV and Radio 4. She is currently looking for work.

Celebrity mums, Helen Lederer, Gaby Roslin and Anna Chancellor, on behalf of the White Ribbon Alliance gathered a room full of people to discuss maternity around the world. The idea is to eventually publish a book filled with upbeat tales of maternity and motherhood.

What did we learn? Well, I was a little late to the Southbank Centre, so all hail the lovely security guard, who, sensing my rising panic, escorted me under the belly of the concrete beast, depositing me a mere lift ride away from the venue. So the first thing we learned was not to panic on route. Oh, and don’t imagine, just because the venue is a hop, skip and a jump from your house, that you will actually be able to get anywhere on a Friday night. Stagger, wait, wait and run, would be more accurate.

In Sierra Leone, a pregnant woman keeps her news of the impending arrival to herself, for as long as she can. A Bangladeshi doctor described her first pregnancy being joyfully celebrated at seven months – once the pregnancy is passed any trickiness. Interestingly, a lot of what would be considered “old wives tales” are generally borne out by science: the notion that a baby shouldn’t be allowed to bond with its mother until the placenta is out because a lot of women die during this time, has been proven by science.

The room was full of goodwill and warmth, and I was full of wine and mini sausages. At the end of the chats, we were all asked if we wanted to take a picture with a speech balloon that said; “hello mum”. I went home and kissed my sleeping mother on the head, but if your mama is further away right at this second, give her a call. Go on. She went to hell and back to get you here, least you can do is say hello.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4077/radica-anikpe

Radica is a scriptwriter, presenter and v/o artist who has penned words for Davina McCall, Kate Thornton and Cat Deeley, presented for MTV and BBC Three and voiced programmes on BBC2, the World Service and Radio 4. She is returning to work after time out, toiling in the domestic sphere, and is happy to consider any interesting offers.

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events. To take part in ITN's corporate networking event please email us through www.mediaparents.co.uk ASAP

I originally studied film and photography at the Polytechnic of Central London, now the University of Westminster, writes James O’Hara. At the time, it was the only degree course in film and photography in the country. I thought I would be a stills photographer, but soon after I graduated I got the opportunity to work at the University of Sheffield’s educational television production unit as a photographer and film assistant, working with 16mm, where the seeds of my producing / directing career were sown.

College days, James O'Hara second from left. http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4555/james-ohara

From Sheffield I moved to Manchester and joined Multivision. This was a large audiovisual and live events production company slowly taking its first, tentative steps into something new called ‘corporate video’ in the early ‘80s. Although I didn’t know a much about film and video production, I knew a lot more than many senior staff. At least I knew what an exotic shot called a ‘cutaway’ was and why it was needed. It was sink or swim and I’ve always been a swimmer, so I made sure I learnt a lot more about video production, very quickly.

In my early days in Manchester I was P/D on shoots crewed by freelance technicians 20 or 30 years older than me. They’d been DPs, cameramen, soundies, grips and sparks on some of Granada’s biggest dramas – Brideshead Revisited, Jewel in the Crown, Sherlock Holmes. I still dine out on the stories where freelancers never let the facts spoil a good story. I learnt so much from those freelancers; we all did. Manchester still has a rich pool of creative talent and many of the people I work with today learnt their craft working with the Granada old timers.

Directing and interviewing on EU Funding in the North West, Blackpool Pier. Mike Wood on camera and Martin Alimundo sound.

When I first arrived in Manchester we had one daughter, Natalie, and shortly after the move Lauren was born. I feel a bit of a fraud belonging to Media Parents because both my daughters are now in their twenties. They witnessed the long, long hours demanded by the media industry, and the days and nights away from home filming. Despite that, and despite my valiant attempts to persuade them otherwise, both my daughters now work in the media – Natalie is a writer, Lauren a stylist and designer. It must be genetic.

James O'Hara with his daughter Natalie many moons ago!

My career as a P/D – now freelance for over 10 years – continues. Working from home has its advantages, and the advent of post-production software that runs on laptops plus broadband, means my freelance editors and animators have also been able to work from home. In the last couple of weeks I’ve pitched for a short film for one of the world’s most scientifically advanced biotechnology companies, which would mean filming and interviewing Nobel-winning scientists and surgeons around the globe – so fingers crossed.  Next week I’ll be filming and interviewing politicians in Westminster, and we’re about to start casting for a short drama.

I’ve always believed you make about 90% of your own luck. Manchester’s been the other 10%, and I’ve been fortunate to work on some great projects. I’ve filmed and interviewed hundreds of people, from Prime Ministers and Secretaries of State to long-term unemployed and homeless people. I’ve made films for museum and heritage centres, including dramas recreating the Industrial Revolution and a film about John Ruskin.

I’ve been P/D on films and videos for some of the world’s leading brands and biggest business corporations. Along the way, I’ve written pitches and scripts, made presentations, chosen production teams, run shoots of international crews all over the world, directed graphics, animation and edits, always trying to squeeze more and more out of budgets that seem to get smaller every year. As we all do, I’ve juggled multiple jobs, conflicting deadlines and sometimes dealt with impossible client demands, and (most of the time) kept smiling.

James O'Hara directing a shoot for Scholl at the Pie Factory, MediaCity. Ferdia de Buitléar and Ben Tranfield on camera, Mike Mullen sound.

Manchester has always been a city of firsts: cradle of the Industrial Revolution; where scientists first split the atom and developed the first stored-program computer; the most visited city in England outside London…

The media have always had a home in Manchester – we’re far enough away from London to have developed as a true media city. Global ad agencies JWT and McCanns have had offices here forever and, of course, we have Granada/ITV and the BBC, plus some large, successful corporate communications companies specialising in video, live events and digital media.

And yet, over the past twenty years or so, Manchester has transformed and reinvented itself. One of the catalysts was the 1996 bombing, when on a Saturday morning, the IRA planted a huge 3,000 pound bomb outside Marks and Spencer in the city centre.  It was the day before Father’s Day and England was hosting the Euro Cup finals; Russia was playing Germany the following day at Old Trafford. So, not only was the city centre bustling with shoppers it was also full with football fans, many from abroad. Manchester Police estimate 75,000 – 80,000 people were in the city centre that morning. In the explosion, two hundred and twelve people were injured, but amazingly there were no fatalities.  Many buildings were damaged, some beyond repair. Subsequently, millions if not billions of pounds were invested in new buildings and infrastructure and Manchester had a new-found confidence. (Germany won 3-0 by the way).

Now Manchester’s media industry is driving more change, with MediaCity encouraging the BBC to move more key departments to the North West.   As someone who’s lived here quite a few years, it’s become noticeable that Manchester and Salford are becoming almost interchangeable city terms. Actually, MediaCity is in Salford. Manchester and Salford merge into each other, and it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins!

James O’Hara, PD and corporate producer can be found in the Media Parents TALENT section, link below.

• Highly experienced in all aspects of production and direction

• Excellent project management, organisation and communication skills

• Making presentations, writing tenders, concepts and treatments

• Fast and accurate budgeting

• Directing shoots of all sizes, on all camera formats, from the Arri Super 16 to the Arri Alexa, most Sony and Panasonic cameras, Canon DSLRs, Red Epic and Scarlet, high speed camera systems

• Interviewing and establishing a rapport with people from all walks of life including Prime Ministers, business leaders, people with complex medical problems, the young and elderly, homeless, disabled and long-term unemployed people

• Managing complex projects with numbers of films and videos simultaneously going through production; multiple shoots, edit suites and graphic designers

• Arranging and directing location filming across the globe including most of mainland Europe, the United States, the Middle East, India and Japan

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4555/james-ohara

If you have 3+ years TV experience please join us at www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, networking and events. To take part in ITN's corporate networking event please email us through www.mediaparents.co.uk ASAP

Seven Ways to Rise Above Your Research By Emma Lindley

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/5471/emma-lindley

Factual research for a work of fiction is a two edged sword. What you learn can be fascinating but it can also feel like you’ve dumped a big pile of rubbish all over your story that you now need to wade through and decide what’s useful and what’s trash. So how do you rise above your research and find the truth of your own story?

1. DON’T JUST CUT AND PASTE

It’s tempting when you find a juicy story or piece of information to plonk it straight into your script. Consider first how you want to use it, or why it is attractive to you? Does it fit with the story you are writing? If not, bin it.

2. TAKE TIME TO PROCESS

A lot of new information can be overwhelming. It could completely change the direction of your story.  This could be a good thing – or a huge distraction.   Don’t be intimidated.  Wait and see which facts resonate with you and emerge in your writing naturally.

3. CHECK THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FACTS

Special interest groups and their campaigns can be a great resource.  But check your facts are coming from an unbiased source or at least understand the bias at play.

4. LOOK AT BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT

Don’t just read research that confirms your own world view.  How can you write your antagonist if you don’t know what they believe and why?  You might find something that surprises you and adds credibility to your story.

5. YOU DON’T OWE ANYONE ANYTHING

Your greatest strength as a writer is your independence. Maintain it at all costs and don’t ‘get into bed with’ activists, governments or even people you interview who naturally enough have their own outlook on life.  Stay true to yourself and your story.

6. BUT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for yourself and your writing.  Be accurate and truthful in your portrayals of events and characters in the world you’ve created, especially if your story is based on real events.

7. FOLLOW YOUR INTEGRITY when you write and trust yourself to find your own truth behind the lines.

What’s the strangest fact you have uncovered and how did it change your story?

You can follow my blog at www.emmalindley.net/blog, contact me on the MediaParents site or tweet me @emlin32 on Twitter.

Happy Writing!

I am an award-winning film and TV director, writer and producer with fifteen years experience. My UK director credits include the popular ITV children’s comedy series, ‘My Parents are Aliens’ (RTS nomination), ITV teen drama ’24Seven’ (Prix Jeunesse nomination) and BBC factual series ‘My Life’ and ‘Who are We?’

My US producer/director credits include ‘Anatomy of a Closet’  a one hour fashion doc, and factual entertainment series ‘In Search of Food’ for Ovation TV, both nominated for CableFAX awards. I have written a commissioned feature script for Met Film, ‘The Misfit Club’, and am currently writing my second feature, a detective story set in Arizona.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/5471/emma-lindley