introducing media parents back to work scheme winner hannah williams

Scripted PM Hannah Williams will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by Merman

In 2003 I took my first steps into the world of television, writes returning PM Hannah Williams. A decade later I had built a career of BAFTA nominations, crew akin to family and exciting projects. I then took on my own exciting project. 3 of them in fact. My children are now 5, 3 and almost 1 and it has been a magical sabbatical, one that is hard to leave, but it is time to go back to work.

I am hoping that the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme will help me to find a balance. One that allows me to still experience my children growing up for half the week whilst I spend the other half continuing where I left off six years ago. I hope it will help me to find an inspirational company in which I can be creative, practical, and inspired again to make great television.

I am looking forward to using my brain in ways that I haven’t (continuously at least) since my life changed in 2013 with a small person who swept me into a happy (yet all-consuming) fog of sleep deprivation, nappies and utter devotion.

Most of all I am hoping to rebuild my confidence. I have worked on and off between babies but only on short contracts. This time I want to jump back into the industry and allow myself to find something that will develop my skills, challenge me and give me a career goal to work towards once more. The people I once worked next to (or above) seem to have gone so far, cameras have changed, systems have altered and I feel a little out-dated!

Being mentored by Merman will be an incredible experience. One to sooth the guilt of going back to work and rekindle a little bit of the old, ambitious me again!

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/11460/hannah-williams-lovell

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introducing media parents back to work scheme winner jenny madalura

Scripted Coordinator Jenny Madalura will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by Sister Pictures

I have been out of media work for over 10 years since working with the BBC, writes Jenny Madalura. Having a family, getting a law degree and working part-time as a LexisNexis copywriter, whilst being a full-time parent to my two children, Luke and Ocean kept me out.

My son, Luke, is now 21, with Aspergers. Despite this, he was given a place at Ravensbourne College, to do a degree in Film and TV Production two years ago.  Shortly after, he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Thankfully after nearly two years of extensive treatment and a bone marrow transplant, he’s now in remission and able to return to university.  My daughter Ocean just turned a year old, I feel I am ready to return to work and focus on my media career.

Eager to return to media work late last year I took part in some short practical back to work workshops thanks to Media Parents last October.  This gave me the confidence after such a long time out of a media career, to try and get back in.  Through Media Parents I was also fortunate to have been mentored by Leo Martin, from Fudge Park Productions, which was both insightful and promising. Thanks to my legal training I was offered assistant coordinating work, but due to unforeseen circumstances within the company, the offer to be taken on board was no longer viable. I am keen to try again.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15655/jenny-madalura

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introducing media parents back to work scheme winner melissa bishop

Unscripted AP / Researcher Melissa Bishop will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by Warner Bros

I’ve been out of full time work for around three years, as I am the primary carer for my Mother.  I am now able to hand over some of that responsibility to my sisters, so am very much looking forward to getting back to work. My passion is factual TV, specifically documentary programming. I am especially strong with finding and managing contributors, from all walks of life. I love engaging with people and building a rapport. I feel I still have a lot to offer and have not yet reached my full potential and have many years left to work in the industry.

I had my first job in a production company twelve years ago, and for the following four years worked happily in various fairly junior TV roles, mainly as a Researcher. I then moved sideways to work for Legal Network Television, a corporate company making educational factual programmes, and worked my way up to producer.

For the past eight months I have been studying for a Masters’ degree in Documentary Production at U.W.E., affiliated with the BBC in Bristol. I undertook this as, at the time, I was unable to commit to regular work as my mother was recovering from illness. I thought it would be beneficial to me to brush up on my production skills, and hopefully make myself more appealing to the industry.

I do feel reinvigorated and have gained new skills. In addition it has really encouraged me to think deeply about factual and documentary storytelling and what building blocks are needed to make up truly exception programming.

Melissa is being sponsored by Warner Bros. Many thanks to the Warner Bros team for sponsoring again this year. To follow Melissa’s progress please read this blog and tweets @mediaparents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14397/melissa-bishop

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introducing media parents back to work scheme winner geoff dibben

Scripted PM Geoff Dibben will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by ITV

I have worked in the film and TV industry since my early 20s, always in Production, writes Geoff Dibben.  I started as a Production Runner in drama, before moving onto ‘the floor’ as a 3^rd AD, 2^nd AD and 1^st AD before becoming a Production Manager and Production Supervisor on features including War Horse, Clash of the Titans and The Dark Knight.

In 2006 after the birth of my second child I decided continuing to work on foreign location feature films would be unsustainable, especially as my wife wanted to return to work as a university lecturer.

I decided to take a sideways move into commercials and short-form corporate work which I was able to do from home, allowing me to spend time with my young family. The hope was I would be able to return to full-time production once the children were older, however this has proved harder than anticipated.

My children are now older and will both be at Secondary school so I am looking for a way into UK high-end TV drama production. I feel I have a great deal to offer not just an employer but the wider industry.  I have done everything from low-budget to super-high budgets and everything between. I have scheduled productions, budgeted productions and delivered productions, so have an extensive knowledge of physical production and post-production.

I am look to reinvigorate my career and get some mentoring, advice and relevant recent experience to get into high end TV drama productions as either a Production Manager or Line Producer or maybe as an in-house Production Executive.

I hope the scheme will introduce me to Heads of Production and Producers within Production Companies and allow me to demonstrate my skills and knowledge as well as my enthusiasm for the industry.

Geoff is being sponsored by ITV. Many thanks to the Endemol Shine team for sponsoring again this year. To follow Geoff’s progress please read this blog and tweets @mediaparents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14864/geoff-dibben

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introducing media parents back to work scheme winner jo larmer

Edit Producer Jo Larmer will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by Endemol Shine

I am an experienced live and edit Entertainment Producer with a huge desire to find the perfect work/family balance, writes Jo Larmer. I am particularly keen to pursue roles in the Edit or in the support side of production, such as licensing, marketing or talent management.

My main experience has been in very fast turn-around live studio shows – working with and managing a team to generate content, and script writing. I have also been responsible for cutting down studio shows with extremely tight deadlines. Consequently it’s fair to say I work very well under pressure! I also enjoy becoming part of a new team.

In recent years I’ve seen a more business-focussed side of television, having produced some events for BBC Worldwide’s Formats team. I have found this hugely interesting and have learnt a great deal from these roles.

Since having my children six years ago and being widowed 18 months ago, I have taken on several very short-term part-time contracts, but I am now looking to return to work part-time on a permanent or longer contract. My intention is to carve out a more definite career path that enables me to use my experience in and love of TV production to support my family financially, whilst maintaining a stable presence for them at home.

I am an extremely hard worker and firmly believe that since becoming a mother I work even more productively and efficiently than ever before.

Outside of work and looking after small people I enjoy running (I completed a marathon earlier this year), British Military Fitness, yoga and reading. I have also spent some time since my husband died fundraising for the Institute of Cancer Research and have raised over £60,000 to date. And I dabble enthusiastically but fairly unsuccessfully in arts and crafts and baking!

Jo is being sponsored by Endemol Shine. Many thanks to the Endemol Shine team for sponsoring again this year. To follow Jo’s progress please read this blog and tweets @mediaparents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15676/jo-larmer

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introducing media parents back to work scheme

winner katie walmsley

Returning PM Katie Walmsley will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by All3Media

Before my career break I was a successful Production Executive with 20 years of television experience under my belt, writes Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner Katie Walmsley. I will be looking for flexible PM work on my return, having worked my way up from Coordinating for the Natural History Unit in Bristol to running and overseeing a team of Production Managers across a diverse range of programming as Production Executive, dealing with major budgets and setting up and running productions at STV in Glasgow.

When I became pregnant with my first little girl, we relocated from Glasgow to London to be nearer family. I now have two beautiful girls, Mia and Olivia, born 17 months apart. Following Olivia’s rather dramatic arrival into the world, my husband and I took the decision that I would take the role of a stay at home mum, but I have always missed the cut and thrust of my career and have been itching to get back to work.

I’ve kept myself busy with a few smaller local projects, most recently being Events Co-ordinator for the Royal Windsor Flower Show, however television is my passion.

With the girls now settled and happy, my ambition is to forge new contacts and find a great company and that will recognize and bolster my skills whilst supporting my need to remain a part-time mum. I am realistic and would be happy to come back as a Production Manager to show a new team what I can do.

Thank you to the team at All3Media for sponsoring Katie. To follow Katie’s progress please read this blog and tweets @mediaparents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15643/katie-walmsley

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introducing media parents back to work scheme winner Elena Mourey

Returning Unscripted Producer Elena Mourey will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by Raw TV

Taking a year off work to have my daughter has allowed me to refocus my ambitions and consider new career trajectories, writes returning Producer Elena Mourey. I am now excited to return to my TV career and the opportunity to go to Edinburgh to explore new ideas and the support of a mentor will certainly help get me reacquainted with the industry.

In the immediate future, I’d like to continue to make programmes I’m proud to say I’ve worked on, whether that’s something that sparks a national debate or more light-hearted programmes. I’d also like more responsibility in my future roles, working as a senior producer, so I can learn how to manage larger teams of people and build on those people skills that make me a good producer in the first place.

After much contemplation, I’ve concluded that my long term career goal is to become a series producer (I hadn’t previously allowed myself to admit this), because running a series, managing a creative production team and handling crises when they arise, is where a lot of my raw skills lie. Setting the challenge of this goal has reignited the passion for my career and I’m looking forward to the future.

I’m striving for more edit experience. I found edit producing on People Like Us, BBC3 and The Job Interview, C4, incredibly creative – not to mention vitally important for the roles I take outside the edit.

I’m enthusiastic about returning to work, but I can’t deny feeling trepidation too. It can be incredibly hard moving up in TV, even without having time off. Parenting teaches you militant time-management, precise and quick decision-making, crisis troubleshooting, all skills I know will be helpful in any TV role. But most importantly, I now have an undeniably new and fresh perspective on my career moving forward.

Elena is being sponsored by Raw TV on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme. Thank you to everyone at Raw TV for supporting the scheme. To follow Elena’s progress please read this blog and tweets @mediaparents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/13955/elena-mourey

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introducing media parents back to work scheme winner emma bodger

Returning Director Emma Bodger will be sponsored on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by Channel 4

Having directed many hours of British TV drama, I suffered an accident and subsequent disability, writes returning Director and Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner Emma Bodger. During a debilitating recovery period, I found it impossible to get work in the UK as a director, which sent me on a challenging (and quite inspirational) path through different ways of storytelling in Asia and Africa. I would like to harness that experience as a positive on the way back to directing full-time again in the UK.

The Media Parents Back to Work Scheme will provide a forward-facing structure to build on my strengths and past achievements which include an RTS award and an International Emmy.

I believe my career trajectory would have led to me to directing High End drama naturally years ago if I had not had the accident. I will relish the opportunity to network, make and rebuild the connections I need to achieve this career progression now.

As a female director who has found barriers to progression around diversity, sexuality and disability, I would love to bring a different and unique voice to the new rounds of British commissioning.

Emma is being sponsored by Channel 4 on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme. Thank you to everyone at Channel 4 for supporting the scheme again this year. To follow Emma’s progress please read this blog and tweets @mediaparents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14708/emma-bodger

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Ahead of this year’s Media Parents Back to Work Scheme winners being chosen to attend Edinburgh TV Festival, Nicola Kingscote, one of last year’s Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winners look back at last year’s festival and how to get the most out of it.

Sugar Films' Pat Younge with Nicola Kingscote at Edinburgh TV Festival 2017

As I crawled out of bed at 4am to catch the flight from Bristol to Edinburgh for the TV Festival I reflected on the fact that (weirdly) during my 18 years with the BBC as a director and Series Producer, I had never made it to the event. The day job always took priority. My recent decision to volunteer for redundancy had given me the clear headspace to find the Media Parents Back to Work scheme, and I was thrilled to be sponsored by TwoFour in Cardiff to attend. When I arrived at the EICC the speed meeting sessions were underway, enabling any festival delegate to book a face-to-face slot with a variety of talent managers from broadcasters and indies. It was great to meet with Zoe Rushton from BBC Cardiff, Fintan Maguire, an Exec Producer from Spun Gold (now at Rumpus Media), and with Pat Younge, MD of Sugar Films. All were generous with their advice and time. Pat was very keen for me to add a showreel to my CV, to really emphasise some of the well known series that I have worked on to potential employers.

Media Parents Back to Work Winners 2017 : Scripted Director Kate Cheeseman, SP Nicola Kingscote, PD Josie Besbrode & Edit Producer Emma Sayce

The first panel discussion I attended was “Tantrums and Tabloids – how to survive a production crisis”. In the old days, after transmission, we just worried about the overnight figures. This cleverly dramatised debate revealed what could happen if a contributor is hounded and humiliated on social media. Thought-provoking in terms of our duty of care to contributors, and how we as programme makers need to brief and fully prepare them honestly for what “can” happen if they are targeted on social media. For a BBC lifer, hearing from other channel heads was also fascinating. Ben Frow from Channel 5 (affectionately referred to by his team as Chairman Frow) submitted himself to a filmed “In Therapy” session which he shared with us, so that we would better understand him and what he wants for the channel. (Click here to watch Ben Frow speak at Edinburgh). His unapologetic honesty was so refreshing. In this and other sessions I got a great sense of the varied cultures at other channels and I felt very excited about the future as a freelancer. The Jewel in the festival’s crown however, was Jon Snow’s moving McTaggart Lecture.

Channel 4's Jon Snow photobombs the Media Parents Back to Work Team at Edinburgh TV Fest 2018. Nicola Kingscote second from right

The following day emotions ran high again on a panel discussion  called “I’m A Producer, Get These Celebrities Out of Here” hosted by the TV presenter Anna Richardson, which focused on the difficulties that can occur between the production and onscreen talent. Anna herself recalled agreeing to take a fertility test for a TV series when she was in her early thirties, and the utter shock and devastation she felt when the results revealed that she was infertile. As I flew back to Bristol armed with a notebook full of useful ideas and contacts, I realised that the most memorable and impressive festival moments for me were those when someone bravely risked making themselves vulnerable in front of their peers. Food for thought for anyone returning to work, because every single time, the risk was rewarded with supportive applause. The Scheme really helped my confidence in two ways. I was a parent with 18 years of TV experience who had taken a year out, but had also left the security of the BBC behind at the same time, to become a freelancer. I was moving into a new world and the back to work scheme really helped me with that transition. It demystified the freelance world for me in a way that has been hugely beneficial. The three other women on the scheme have also become great friends and we continue to support each other and remain in contact, often with tips on how to streamline our work lives to have more quality time with our family or just to have a general moan about things! It’s great to have that network with people who are not direct competition with each other, but who totally get what it is like to parent in the TV world.

Click here to view Nicola Kingscote’s profile.

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2018 is underway, see our blog for details. Join Media Parents www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, training and events.

It’s nearly a year since I won a place on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme with a bunch of other lovely talented returners, and what a year! writes Scripted Director Kate Cheeseman who was mentored by Channel 4. Read here about Kate’s journey to directing Call the Midwife. The scheme has helped us all back to work – Nicola Kingscote has Series Produced after a two year break, Josie Besbrode has been working flexibly as a PD, and Emma Sayce job shared prior to her current role. Emma is now “back in” after working sporadic short contracts to keep her hand in since maternity leave four years ago. This year’s Media Parents Back to Work Scheme is open for applications until tomorrow, so spread the word – it works!

Congratulations to the Back to Work Winners from 2017 for returning successfully

When I first tried to return to directing, despite hundreds of letters and applications, it was impossible. I had not worked in TV for some years. However, in the last few years people have woken up to some of the problems, and organisations like Media Parents, Raising Films and Directors UK have been spearheading change.

To help bridge my gap, last year I made my fourth short. It’s a great way of showing what you can do, of meeting people and just keeping up with technology and working practices. I linked up with a great team who were looking for a director and had a brilliant script. The schedule was tight, but we found an equally wonderful cast and crew.

Shortly after the shoot, I won a place on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme. Showing willing despite not having professional credits for a while won me the place. I was off to Edinburgh TV festival.  It was a great boost as I felt that I’d had so many rejections it was becoming difficult to carry on! It was really encouraging for someone to actually believe in me.

Myself and the other returners all made the most of the festival, going to some great talks and meeting fantastic contacts.  Everyone who is anyone in TV goes!  I emailed lots of the people I wanted to meet before the festival and though I didn’t have a huge response, the few that I did hear from were well worth the effort.  One of those contacts recently helped me get a fantastic agent at ITG.

Media Parents Back to Work Team 2017 at Edinburgh TV Festival

Back in London my Channel Four mentor Chloe Tucker encouraged me to keep going. To some extent getting work is a numbers game.  No meeting is wasted either, even if it ends in a rejection it might lead to something further down the line. Being on the Back to Work scheme I felt I had something to tell people about rather than just asking for work. One of my meetings shortly after Edinburgh was with an executive producer I had known before my break and though she had no work at the time, she suggested I met with the producer on Call the Midwife.

In the autumn, I set about editing my short, What Happened to Evie. Post for shorts is tricky as you usually don’t have much money, so have to wait for people.  In the end I edited the film myself, which I wouldn’t normally recommend but we had such a tight script that it wasn’t too bad.  Finishing the film gave me something to show people and when I finally had the interview with Call the Midwife, I am sure this helped show I could direct actors. I also watched all the seasons of the show again. Several boxes of tissues later I met with the lovely producer and chatted about the programme. A few months later I was offered the finale of the next season. I can’t tell you how happy I felt.

Many of the contacts that I met through the Back to Work Scheme have been really helpful with advice and contacts, so, another plus for the scheme and great ongoing contacts for me. All in all, it’s been an incredible year, kicked off by getting on this fab scheme, and I hope just the start of lots of new journeys.

Congratulations Kate!

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/12997/kate-cheeseman

To apply for the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2018, click here.

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2018 is open for applications, see our blog for details. Join Media Parents www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, training and events.