Join Media Parents for Christmas drinks in a great atmosphere. An informal night without a CV in sight, Media Parents and Clear Cut cordially invite you to let your hair down with the industry’s funnest over a few drinks. Here are a few pics of our summer party with the Clear Cut team.

Media Parents' Amy Walker and Joanna Gretton with Maverick's Tamara Durnford

Danny Leitch and Alex Sunderland

Clear Cut Pictures is an award-winning post production facility with a 24 year history of providing full end to end post production bespoke services to all the major production companies for broadcasters both in UK and internationally. Rowan (above right) and her team look forward to welcoming you to Christmas drinks.

Thank you Rowan and her team, and to everyone who came and made it a great night - hope to see you at Wednesday's Christmas drinks!

See the watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk for guestlist details for our Christmas drinks on Wednesday 6th December. Please note that entry is by ticket only and numbers are limited so do return your ticket if you are unable to attend. Thanks – we look forward to raising a glass with you!

Media Parents - join now for brilliant jobs and events at www.mediaparents.co.uk

Media Parents holds annual drinks for returners to celebrate our Factual winners of the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme at Edinburgh TV Festival. This year we’re also celebrating the HETV Drama / Children’s Returners from the Media Parents Return to Work Programme funded by the HETV Levy, managed by Creative Skillset.

Media Parents Back to Work Team 2017 at Edinburgh TV Festival

Drinks take place on Thursday 16th Nov and will be attended by HOPs and MDs from Merman, Shine TV, Sugar Films, Hat Trick Productions, Fudge Park Productions, Sister Pictures, Amplify Productions, execs from Maverick, Curve Media, Shine TV, our sponsors S+O Media and Creative Skillset, the Media Parents team and, of course, many talented returners. If you would like to join us please contact us via the contact button at www.mediaparents.co.uk with your name, job title and company (and a CV if you are a freelance returner).

Media Parents HETV Drama Returners Paula Watkins and Fred Archer with Media Parents Director Amy Walker and Jenny Madalura, networking at BAFTA

Applications are open for returners to apply for our latest cohort of free HETV Drama / Children’s TV training until Friday 17^th November, please scroll down this blog for application details.

meet our event sponsors, S+O Media

S+O Media is a televisual crewing and facilities house based in West London. With over twenty years of production experience, S+O continue to provide the very best technical support and skill base of DoPs, Camera Ops, Sound Recordists, Gaffers and Sparks to the TV and Film industry.

Steph Keelan and Olly Wiggins set up S+O after the birth of their first daughter. With a background in production, Steph wanted to create a facilities house that was open and communicative, sharing knowledge and supporting clients to achieve the highest production value possible.

steph keelan, director S+O media

Now their children are older, Steph has returned to producing and directing, with her first documentary Swim the Channel airing last summer on BBC FOUR.

olly wiggins, DOP S+O Media

Olly is now an established Director of Photography, and continues to shoot and camera supervise for a variety of programming.

http://www.somedia.tv/

Media Parents HETV Drama and Children's Return to Work programme is open for applications until November 17th. Scroll down this blog for details. Media Parents - join now for brilliant jobs and events at www.mediaparents.co.uk

Media Parents Back to Work Winner 2017 Emma Sayce writes about being mentored by Shine MD Tanya Shaw. Both are attending Media Parents Returners Drinks next Thursday, 16^th November. See the Media Parents watercooler for details.

Emma Sayce with Endemol Shine Global HR Director Bella Lambourne from @mediaparents twitter feed. Emma used social media to generate job opportunities whilst on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme at Edinburgh TV Festival

Although I was looking forward to my first mentoring session with Tanya Shaw, writes Emma Sayce, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As a freelancer, I’m used to meeting people who are only interested in the next few weeks/months of my life, and in what I have to offer them. I had researched Tanya’s background enough to know that she has seen the industry from many angles and has risen to the top while juggling motherhood (see below). Via the Back to Work Scheme I had also drawn up a Back to Work Plan, with short- and long-term aims, and a list of contacts I planned to make.

One of the first things Tanya said – a top tip for anyone returning to work after a break – was “choose your jobs carefully. If you accept a job that entails working really long hours and makes logistics at home difficult, you’ll end up thinking TV and parenthood don’t go together. But they do. It’s a case of finding a way of working that is sustainable and won’t exhaust you.”

Shine TV MD, Tanya Shaw. Bio : http://www.shine.tv/team/

My Back to Work Plan is based on building up the work gradually. Tanya recommended using Edit Producing as a way to move around companies until I find a ‘home’ to settle in and push on to the next stage of my career. Companies have very different work cultures, with some being more genuinely supportive of working parents than others.

At Shine there is a wide array of flexible working arrangements for staff. They are trusted to decide when they work and when they can afford to take time out for family. It’s not a case of asking permission. Tanya has seen people working in different ways as she’s journeyed through the industry. Reduced hours, extra holiday, part-time – they’re all possible. And stick to whatever you’ve negotiated – for example, an early finish one day a week – you’ll earn your colleagues’ respect for doing so. Tanya said she often works outside normal working hours, but has a policy of making clear that she does not email replies at these times, to help promote respect for peoples’ lives outside the office.

Much of this tallied with something I’ve found since returning to work – that the attitudes and personalities of the people I work for matter a lot more now. It makes all the difference when you know you can rearrange your hours in order to attend morning assembly and watch your daughter mumble her way through ‘Nelly the Elephant’ without worrying that you might be judged.

“Once you find a work environment you’re comfortable in”, Tanya advised, “initiate those conversations about what you want to do in the longer term. In the TV industry, you have to make your intentions and ambitions clear. Think carefully about what your ambitions might be. And if you’re not sure, do some research to help you decide!”

I have to admit that, before I had children, my main criterion for taking on a project was the subject matter. Now, as a parent, I’m starting to think more long term and more strategically. And more laterally. Talking to Tanya, her overview of the industry made me realise that there are other career avenues in TV that could be worth exploring.

In addition to great advice and a lot of encouragement, Tanya was kind enough to look through the list of contacts I intend to follow up, comment on it, and offer to make some introductions. She left me with a lot to do and to think about before our next meeting. And now that I know what to expect, I’m looking forward to it even more!

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/13729/emma-sayce

Media Parents HETV Drama and Children's Return to Work programme is re-opening for applications until November 17th. Media Parents - join now for brilliant jobs and events at www.mediaparents.co.uk