Arrow Media x Media Parents Production Networking
Thursday July 14th 12 – 1:30pm online

Carrie Pennifer meets Media Parents Archivist Tracey Li at Media Parents previous networking

Arrow Media is partnering with Media Parents to meet PRODUCTION TALENT ONLINE on Thursday 14th July from Midday – please come.

If you are a Production Manager, PC, Production Exec or Line Producer in unscripted, available now, soon, or just keen to meet the Arrow team, please RSVP to events@mediaparents.com with your CV and availability by July 13th, the sooner the better, and we will send you zoom details.

Please title your email Arrow Media Parents Networking.

The Arrow team is keen to support flexible working and jobshare on their productions, so this is a great opportunity to discuss that and meet the team including Heads of Production Carrie Pennifer and Stephanie Mavropoulos, Head of Talent Julia Hardwell, Talent Coordinator Emily Charalambides, and Media Parents’ Amy Walker.

Arrow Media's Joint Head of Production Carrie Pennifer

Carrie Pennifer, Head of Production

Carrie joined Arrow in 2012 as Production Manager on the Discovery series Ultimate Warfare. She went on to manage numerous successful series and one-offs including three seasons of the global hit observational documentary Ultimate Airport Dubai for National Geographic before being made Production Executive in 2016.

During her near decade at Arrow, she has worked across Arrow Media and Arrow Picture’s entire slate of projects overseeing up to 70 hours in production simultaneously as well as those in development. These have been for all the major international broadcasters and include such iconic projects as Animal Fight Night, America in Color, See No Evil, Extreme Rescues, Speed, 9/11: Escape from the Towers and I, Sniper. In the run up to being made Co-Head of Production, Carrie has seen several projects successfully through the Pandemic. These include Arrow Media’s Shark Week documentary Rogue Tiger Shark: Hunt for Lagertha; and, for Arrow Pictures, the landmark feature documentary Generation 9/11 and Sky’s upcoming series on HIV/AIDS in Britain, Positive.

Arrow Media's joint Head of Production Stephanie Mavropoulos

Stephanie Mavropoulos, Head of Production

Stephanie Mavropoulos joined Arrow when it was formed by Tom Brisley, Iain Pelling and John Smithson in 2011, and has led its production teams for over a decade. Stephanie leads a project from commission to delivery, ensuring budgets are met while supporting the high editorial ambitions of the company.

She pioneered the production style that delivers returnable high-volume hits like the 20-parters of American Monster, See No Evil and Body Cam. Stephanie works across Arrow’s flagship feature length crime series, Mind of a Monster and is responsible for their new 3 x60 mini-series brands. She has also worked on notable series including two-hour event doc Live From Space for Channel 4 and National Geographic; and BBC2 and Smithsonian co-production 747: The Plane That Changed The World. In 2020 she was the Co-Producer for Arrow Media’s Emmy-nominated theatrical release feature, Under The Wire.

Head of Talent Julia Hardwell

Julia Hardwell, Head of Talent

Julia started her TV career on Children’s classics such as Art Attack, Newsround and Blue Peter. From Production Manager at the BBC, she moved into Talent Management at ITV and then Studio Management where she oversaw studio facilities for shiny floor live and pre-recorded productions such as Later with Jools Holland, Take Me Out and Catchphrase. In 2019, Julia joined Arrow as Talent Manager, working closely with Talent Consultant Dawn Beresford  across all aspects of recruitment, training and development. Recently armed with her CIPD HR qualification, Julia aspires to support all levels of talent with their career development at Arrow.

Talent Coordinator Emily Charalambides

Emily Charalambides, Talent Coordinator

Emily began her career in Television for the business news channel, CNBC Africa in South Africa.  The experience fuelled her desire to continue within the TV world and she made her move to London to expand her skillset.  She landed in Specialist Factual/Factual, starting out as an Executive Assistant before moving over to Production. She has experience working on flagship returning formats such as BBC2, Inside the Factory and BAFTA nominated, C4’s The Dog House.  Armed with transferable production skills, she recently joined Arrow International Media as Talent Coordinator and assists the Head of Talent, Julia Hardwell with recruitment across all roles.

Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk.

Today David Postlethwaite (Pos), Head of Production, is remembered by friends and family with a service in Bristol, where he lived and worked. If you would like to watch the service online at 1pm on June 9th 2022, details are below. Pos supported Media Parents from its inception, was instrumental in returning hundreds of parents to TV, and in supporting many people’s families and dreams. He was a joy to work with, a kind and fair man, who could make you cry with laughter. He will be greatly missed.

Pos rose up through the ranks at the BBC, progressing rapidly from Unit Manager to Production Executive managing programmes including Country File, Ray Mears, 999, and, ironically considering the state of his second best Saab, Top Gear.

He moved from the BBC to work as Head of Production at award winning Natural History indie Icon Films, then to Touch Productions in Bath where he was Head of Production and responsible for finance, hiring staff and the smooth running of productions, often in the USA. In his own words, Pos ensured his teams functioned safely, effectively and happily in the office and on location. He was loved and respected by his teams for being a fair, hardworking, kind boss with a sense of humour that could get you through the longest of days.

Ultimately as well as a leader, he was a team player, a people person without compare – you always knew where you were with him, he was fiercely loyal and inspired fierce loyalty. If he wasn’t impressed by something he would let you know, and he was a master of pithy character description. (Still making me laugh now). Thank you Pos, for everything.

David is survived by his wife Pam Haddock and his children Shirran and Nick. The family would prefer that, rather than organising flowers for the funeral, you make a donation to a charity close to your heart.

Watch our blog for details of our event. Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk.

ITN Productions are delighted to invite Media Parents to a June Networking event. Please click the image below for the link to register if you work as a Series Producer, Director, AP, PC, PM, Editor or in Post Production.

June Event: ITN Networking, see our Media Parents blog. Watch our blog for details. Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk.

Happy International Women’s Day from us all at Media Parents. And huge congratulations to all the filmmakers whose work was screened at yesterday’s Hastings Women’s Film Festival. You can download the Hastings Women’s Film Festival Programme 2022 here, and the filmmakers’ bios and film links. Festival attendees also enjoyed an inspiring and entertaining Q&A session from SISTER CCO Jane Featherstone, chaired by Media Parents Director Amy Walker.

Hastings Women's Film Festival with Clare Holman, centre, and Jane Featherstone, far left.

Actor / Director / Writer Clare Holman‘s film Only the Lonely won this year’s Best in Show prize at HWFF. The film, directed by Clare Holman and written by Veronique Christie and Elaine Spires, is set in London and follows Anna Calder-Marshall as Elspeth, a woman on a journey of self-awareness and discovery. Hearty congratulations Clare, and great to see connections being made via Media Parents re further projects.

Anna Calder-Marshall in Director Clare Holman's film Only The Lonely. The film won Hastings Women's Film Festival Prize 2022

Director / DOP Diana Olifirova‘s film Quadrality was also given special mention by HWFF speaker Jane Featherstone, CCO SISTER, for its artistry and composition.

Ukrainian Director/ DOP Diana Olifirova's film Quadrality opened the programme at HWFF

And Michaela Hennessy-Vass‘s Face It: Leonie, also made in lockdown via a BBC/ Arts Council/ Culture in Quarantine bursary, was also singled out for praise.

Crystal Marshall in Michaela Hennessy-Vass's Face It: Leonie

Each of the filmmakers received a prize for entry courtesy of the generosity of Waitrose in Hawkhurst. Many thanks to Kino-Teatr for hosting the event. Happy International Women’s Day 2022.

Media Parents is running an online networking event with Naked, part of Fremantle as our next event. Watch our blog for details. Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk.

Hastings Women’s Film Festival is proud to present filmmakers whose films were screened at HWFF 2022 below. Thank you to all filmmakers who submitted films this year, we watched so many great films. Each filmmaker’s name is hyperlinked to their website.

Media Parents was delighted to welcome filmmakers including special guest, Executive Producer Jane Featherstone, to Hastings Women’s Film Festival this year. Sussex resident Jane took part in a Q&A session during the festival programme.

Diana Olifirova, Director/ DOP

DOP Diana Olifrova's short will open Hastings Women's Film Festival 2022

Diana is a Ukrainian cinematographer based in London. She works in film, TV – We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4), Heartstopper (Netflix), The Baby (coming soon to SKY/ HBO) – commercials and music videos. Beyond that she creates art films – pieces that are statement of the time, place and sense of self.

Diana feels and fills her pieces with layers of metaphors, visions and moving soundscapes. She loves collaborating with other artists in fields of music, fashion, dance, theatre, film and poetry to create her work. Diana is fascinated by light, people, art, movement and real life. Open and bold, observant, enthusiastic, sincere and exciting. Winner of BSC Emerging Cinematographer Award.

watch quadrality here

Joanna Suchomska, director

Joanna Suchomska, TV Researcher and Matka / Polka Director

Joanna Suchomska is a Polish-born documentary filmmaker based in Brighton. In her work, heavily influenced by her identity as an immigrant, she is especially devoted to the subjects of social controversy and taboo, women’s issues and human rights. MATKA / POLKA is Joanna’s second documentary. She wants her films to evoke radical empathy, which she believes can lead to social change.

Joanna is a graduate of MA Media Practice for Development and Social Change at the University of Sussex, where she specialised in Short Documentary. Translating her love for documentaries into a career choice, she works in factual television as a Researcher.

A.D. Cooper, Writer/ Director

A.D. Cooper, Writer (photo: India Roper-Evans)

A. D. Cooper is a writer, director who’s created a slate of short films that have won multiple awards at international film festivals. In 2021, she completed the thriller Odds and the multi-award winning Put Away for Hurcheon Films. Towton Audio produced her radio drama What did you do in the war, Mama? as a podcast.

In recent years, A.D.’s presented her own stage plays at London fringe theatres, and taught on the LCC M.A. Screenwriting and at Ravensbourne University. She’s working with her agent to progress her many other script projects.

watch put away trailer here

Ellie Brent, Writer/ Director

Director Ellie Brent

Ellie Brent is a freelance, award-winning director; who has made a vast array of promos, commercials and idents across the globe. Her sharp eye for style and aesthetics, rhythm and movement, with subtle wit and sometimes dark humour; has made her short-form work unique.

When Ellie is not dreaming up ideas or watching drama and comedy, she will either be singing soul in her Brighton choir, enjoying cardio tennis and the outdoor life, or planning her next overseas adventure!

watch the possible here

Anna McNutt, Producer

Producer Anna McNutt

Anna McNutt is an award-winning producer and writer based in London, UK. Born in the United States and of Yugoslavian descent, McNutt attended high school in Budapest, Hungary before completing her BA in Media & Communications, specialising in Creative Writing, at Goldsmiths, University of London. She obtained an MA in Producing, with distinction, from the same university.

Known for her sardonic dark films, For Him (2019) and Baby Thump (2021), McNutt is currently in development for her next short film, The Reservoir, with director Anna Parcerisas on the subject of sexual abuse.

watch for him here

Sara Jordan, Writer/ Performer

Sara Jordan, Writer/ Performer

Sara Jordan is an actress, writer and director. Her films Pic & Mix, The Tea Break, Lady What Does (co written with Lisa Harmer) Eat The Chickens, Planning The Funeral, Stuck and Jitters have all done well at festivals winning several awards.  Planning The Funeral, Stuck and Jitters can be viewed on Amazon Prime.

Sara kicked off this year filming The Plunge by Adam Nelki as an actress, and is now in pre production on a new black comedy she has written about a headmistress who is trying to juggle the pressures of work with trying to spice up her love life.

watch planning the funeral here

Janet Hodgson

Digital Filmmaker Janet Hodgson

Janet Hodgson was drawn into filmmaking through her studies in Social Anthropology, after spending many years working in advertising and broadcast research. She works very closely with her subjects, bringing the tools of the anthropologist – immersive fieldwork, observation, sensitive questioning – to her creative practice. She has made films about knitting, moustaches, and World War II veterans.

She is the brains behind the marketing for a community opera project and made “It takes a town to make an Opera” about Bloom Britannia, shot between lockdowns in 2020. Filmed in Hastings, St. Leonards and Bexhill in December 2020, and made for Barefoot Opera, a music education charity based in Hastings/St. Leonards, the film also features footage from a rehearsal performance at the De La Warr Pavilion in 2019.

watch the film here

Lisa Harmer, Writer/ Performer

Festival Founder, Writer / Performer Lisa Harmer

Lisa has worked in theatre, tv and film since her late teens, when she was part of the Anna Scher youth theatre and management. She has appeared in many continuation dramas over the years including EastEnders and Casualty and the more controversial Channel 4 series Metrosexuality  as Peggy, written for her and directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair (MBE).

Since relocating from her South London roots to St Leonards on Sea, she has co written/produced and acted in an award winning short, Lady What Does, currently being developed in to a 6 part comedy series.  Having written and co produced her  latest film Pebbles with local cast, crew and director/producer  Leigh Shine, she is excited that it will get its premier in the event. Lisa loves combining her skills and champions fellow female film makers, and founded Hastings Women’s Film Festival in 2020.

Nicola Stuart-Hill, Writer/ Director/ Performer

Nicola Stuart-Hill, Writer/ Director / Actor

Nicola is an actor, writer, director with sixteen years in the biz. Since Bad Mother, she set up Muddy Dog Films and has been in script development on the company’s first feature, psychological horror Sundowning, a personal story about caring for an elderly parent with dementia; which she will also direct and act in.

watch Bad Mother here

Marnie Baxter, writer/ director/ performer

Marnie Baxter, Writer / Director / Actor

Marnie Baxter is an actress and director with 25 years experience in TV, film and theatre. In addition to Bad Mother, Marnie has directed 2 other shorts, ‘Do This For Me’ which will have its premiere at BFI Flare later this month, and ‘Hello, Muscles’ funded by Creative Scotland, and starring Kate Dickie, to be released later this year.

Emilie Cheung, Director

Emilie Cheung, Director

Emilie is a short-film director based in the UK. After training with the BFI Film Academy in 2016, she made her directorial debut at 17, with a commission from Channel 4’s ‘Random Acts’, for her short film ‘Pas De Deux’. She has since gone on to direct a variety of projects; from social media commercials for ‘Adolescent Content’, to narrative shorts, including Underwire-nominated ‘Walk of Shame’.

Emilie also worked as a Young Reporter for IntoFilm, giving her the opportunity to interview influential names, including Damien Chazelle, Richard Curtis & Millie Bobby Brown. She currently works as a Team Assistant at SISTER.

watch fish here

Clare Holman, Director

Director / Actor Clare Holman

Clare is an actor, writer and director based in Rye and London. She trained at Guildhall school of Music and Drama and has been acting for 30 years. She is most recognised for her role as Dr Laura Hobson in Lewis but her career has spanned all our major theatres in lead parts and has covered an expansive range of parts in both film and Television.(Little drummer Girl, Censor).

Clare has directed four short films, winning many awards, and has directed for the BBC on Doctors and Holby City. She was commissioned to write a feature film for Dan Films, and worked with Hat trick as a writer on an original series.

Michaela Hennessy-Vass, Producer

Michaela Hennessy-Vass, Producer

Michaela has created TV comedy and drama for more than 20 years and is a former ITV Comedy Commissioning Editor.  Credits include Face It, Benidorm, The Fattest Man in Britain, Ladies of Letters and Dara O Briain’s Go 8 Bit. She is executive producer for TellHerVision, an initiative to develop female writers’ rooms.

Known for nurturing and developing new talent from casting an unknown Robert Pattinson in a Catherine Tate comedy drama; developing an Edinburgh fringe show into a studio entertainment show to commissioning an unknown writer to create the runaway hit that was Benidorm.

watch face it: Leonie here

Jane Featherstone, Executive Producer/ CCO

As the former chief executive of Kudos and co-chairman of Shine UK, Jane’s pioneering vision brought quality drama to the mainstream whilst growing Kudos into one of the UK’s most recognisable and formidable indies. During her tenure, Featherstone oversaw the production of some of the UK’s most ground-breaking and best-loved dramas, from BAFTA-winning television series Broadchurch and Life on Mars, through to Spooks, The Hour and Utopia.

Departing Kudos in 2015, Jane then founded Sister Pictures (in which Elisabeth Murdoch became a minority shareholder) in November 2015. In four years, the indie became one of the leading international drama producers, renowned for its phenomenal breadth of output including Landscapers (Sky/ HBO) Gangs of London (Pulse Films/ Sky Atlantic/ HBO), The Split S1/S2 (BBC One/ SundanceTV) Giri/Haji (BBC Two/ Netflix), Flowers(Channel 4) and This is Going to Hurt (BBC One/ AMC).

In October 2019 Jane joined forces with Elisabeth Murdoch and Stacey Snider to found SISTER, a global content company which produces and invests in visionary storytellers.

Forthcoming productions include The Split S3 (BBC One/ AMC) The Baby (HBO/ Sky), Gangs of London S2 (Pulse Films/ Sky Atlantic/ AMC), and The Power (Amazon). Chernobyl (HBO/ Sky Atlantic), the world-wide phenomenon and winner of multiple awards including 10 Emmy Awards, 2 Golden Globes and 9 BAFTAs adds to the critical and audience acclaim the company has achieved for its work.

Olga Mamonova, Artistic Director, Kino Teatr

Olga Mamonova, Artistic Director, Kino Teatr

Olga Mamonova is Artistic Director of Kino-Teatr. Born in Moscow, she studied philosophy and history at the State Moscow University. After moving to St. Leonards and starting a family in 1996, Olga obtained an M.A. from the University of Sussex and ran a gallery of Russian Art. In 2010 she organised an exhibition at the National gallery of Russia – The State Tretyakov Gallery – of Russian/British artist Oleg Prokofiev, and made a documentary ‘Oleg Prokofiev. The Return’, which was filmed in England and Russia.

In 2015, together with her husband, artist Russell Baker, Olga transformed and re-opened a 1913 Kinema (now Kino-Teatr), and has been in charge of its film programming, live events and festivals. Olga is author of three non-fiction books on Russian art and history.

Amy Walker

Amy Walker, Director, Media Parents (photo: Robert Ludovic)

Media Parents Director Amy Walker has made hundreds of hours of network television as a producer, director and series producer. A passionate champion of diverse talent she has been Head of Talent for several factual indies.

In 2019 she was the Channel 4 Scholar at HULT Business School, where she was awarded an Executive MBA and won the university prize for most innovative idea. Amy is now Head of Talent for drama doc indie Dorothy St Pictures, and has been Talent Exec at SISTER since 2021. She co-presented HWFF with founder Lisa Harmer.

Media Parents is running an online networking event with Naked, part of Fremantle as our next event. Watch our blog for details. Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk.

A wave from the sidelines writes returning Production Manager Katie Bevell – I’d love to come back now please!

Returning Production Manager Katie Bevell is looking for a job share partner https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15146/katie-bevell

I’m sure I’m a story that is echoed all over. I thoroughly enjoyed my early production career, working my way up the ladder in drama and film, a bit of documentary thrown in. It was hard work, long hours but I loved it. Then having children made me rethink and step away, but now, thanks to a refresher course from ScreenSkills, I’m looking to get back in, and find a job share partner, writes Katie Bevell.

How did I get here? After a full-on career working up from production coordinator on EastEnders, to production manager on acclaimed BBC drama Five Daughters, I hit decision making time. Being a woman of a certain age, I decided that segwaying into post production might make it easier on family life. From post supervisor in drama, to post production manager on Songs of Praise, I still got the buzz although I missed production.

We moved to the High Peak, accessing work in and around Manchester for both my props husband and me in post production. The facility post producer door closed as hours were just too inflexible with a toddler plus my second came along. It was hugely challenging – I dotted around various unconnected freelance roles with a plan to concentrate on my career again once the children started school.

And then the pandemic.

Hats off to all during that time. Working parents, those furloughed, those with no income for five months all with school children at home trying to support learning. I salute all of you. I put my career plans on hold, and did a little super flexible sidetrack info festival management.

We may or may not be out of the woods yet, but it feels like schools are stable now and, later than planned, I’m here and working out my plan to come back. I got in touch with Amy at Media Parents and magically landed an interview…

I’m very aware I’ve been out of the game a while. My organisational skills are still there but I feel rusty so I was really excited to find a ScreenSkills course, aimed at production people returning after a career break, and looking to expand their co-ordinating skills into unscripted. The paid placements designed to solidify that training seem sensible with just one catch…. they’re full time as right now that’s the norm in production coordinating. Ok… that’s impossible with my home responsibilities…

I’m working with ScreenSkills and the lovely people at Media Parents to see how someone like me could access this training and paid placements. Part time if a production company can facilitate it, but one option is a job share situation. I’ve put the word out – if anyone out there is like me and interested in this Manchester course but needs part time – please get in touch via Media Parents!!! (Applications are now closed but maybe together…)

Katie Bevell

Production, Post Production and mum of two….

Media Parents is running an online networking event with Naked, part of Fremantle on March 9th, scroll our blog for details. Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk.

After the success of our Women’s Film Festival on IWD 2020, Hastings Women’s Film Festival is back in the auditorium to screen more movies made by women. This year we are delighted to be welcoming SISTER Chief Creative Officer Jane Featherstone as guest speaker.

Media Parents is proud to sponsor the event and the doors are open NOW to female talent across the South East. We will be reigniting the energy created just before the world paused and our hair grew longer than ever before, writes Lisa Harmer.

Winners and presenters take the stage at Hastings Women's Film Festival 2020, sponsored by Media Parents

When: Sunday 6th March from 2pm

Where: Kino Teatr, Norman Road St Leonard’s On Sea, East Sussex TN38 OEG

The Event:

Women writers / directors/ performers / producers / crew are invited to showcase their work in a beautiful Art Deco seaside cinema in celebration of International Women’s Day. Media Parents is sponsoring the event, empowering more women in the business with a platform to celebrate their creativity and dedication to film.  Along with special guests, we kick off the week building up to International Women’s Day with an afternoon celebrating women’s films.

Sponsored by MEDIA PARENTS and curated by their Director Amy Walker and Hastings writer/ performer Lisa Harmer, in association with Kino-Teatr, the event aims to champion talent along the South Coast and in the South East.

submissions:

Are now closed, so please book tickets to see the wonderful films in the festival below:

tickets:

https://www.kino-teatr.co.uk scroll down, book now to avoid disappointment!

Back in September 2020 I put a post out on LinkedIn saying I was available for work and one of my old series producer friends from The One Show, Gareth Collett, got in touch with me about cutting a taster promo for a new series about Matt Baker’s family farm in Durham.

Media Parents Editor Daren Tiley edited the More4 Series from his home edit suite

After 4 days of shooting and 8 days of editing in the Daren Tiley Editing Suite we had produced an amazing 18 minute taster promo to take to the channels to sell!! Both Matt Baker and Gareth Collett were really excited by the cut and I had a hunch we had something very genuine and special which could be made into a possible series. After a couple of weeks I got the phone call from Matt saying Channel 4 really liked the 18 minute taster promo and wanted to commission a 4 part series for More4 !! Great news!! But even better news was they wanted me DT Editing to proceed with the whole post production process to channel delivery if possible!!

Editor Daren Tiley with Presenter Sunita Shroff, Media Parents Director Amy Walker and Scripted Director Peter Chipping at Media Parents YouCanFreeUs Christmas drinks at the RGS

I naturally said yes and the production started straight away in mid October. There were 3 filming blocks of 10 day shoots and after the final block was filmed in early December post production started straight away. There was over 130 hours of rushes to be digitised and transcoded for a second Avid suite at the production companies office Big Circus Media which I helped build for them via installation company Altered Images.

After 12 weeks of Offline editing at DT Editing and 12 weeks of offline editing at Big Circus Media’s production office we finally had all 4 episodes picture locked. Not an easy time as we were all in lockdown and sharing Avid sequences between the 2 locations and having many zoom editing sessions with Matt & Gareth.
I was holding about 20 TB of storage for the series as I usually work with everything at full resolution.
With the looming TX date fast approaching the grade was done and I was to start the online’s of all 4 episodes followed by the audio dub by a fiend of mine who also has his own remote dubbing suite. Once  everything was done it I exported the final master sequences for QC and channel delivery.
An epic journey and many many long hours in the DT Editing suite but at least it has kept me sane during lockdown 3 though plus this time I am getting not only my name credit but also a facilities credit too!!
All episodes are currently Tx’ing on More4 so enjoy all!! Keep watching – the figures have been great!!
I will be available from mid May onwards so give me a buzz if your looking for an editor in the coming months ahead www.dtediting.com

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9614/daren-tiley

Watch Matt Baker Our Farm in the Dales now on More4

Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk. Our next event will be company networking online, see this blog for details.

Media Parents Director Amy Walker will be in conversation with Emily Gale, Ex Head of Talent at Fremantle, discussing returning to TV on April 1st at midday.

Emily Gale hosting Media Parents x Fremantle Returners Event in 2019

You have great TV experience, so what’s holding you back from returning to TV? Confidence? Contacts? Something else? This confidence boosting online event is an opportunity to put your questions to Emily Gale and Amy Walker, whilst picking up tips on returning.

2019 Media Parents Returners event at Fremantle with then Head of Talent Emily Gale, Media Parents Director Amy Walker, and then Talent Coordinator Jenny Spader. Thank you ladies!

Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk. Our next event will be company networking online, see this blog for details.

In order to maximise your opportunity in an online interview, make everything as easy as possible for a potentially tired, zoomed out, busy employer, writes Zoe Russell-Stretten, Head of Talent at Brinkworth. Ahead of Media Parents’ How to Ace a Job Interview Online workshop this Friday, Zoe has kindly shared some tips on online interviews.

Zoe Russell-Stretten from Brinkworth (left) at Media Parents CV Event in the days when we could all go out

We always interview people in pairs at Brinkworth, or even sometimes in threes. An interview with an AP or more junior will last approximately half an hour. Anyone more senior is typically an hour.

Tech:

Almost everyone uses either Zoom or Teams. If you don’t have a basic working knowledge of both, practise using the features before the interview. Always download the application prior to the interview, so you don’t waste the first ten minutes of precious time. It will work!

Maximise your broadband. There’s nothing more frustrating than a poor quality picture, one that is lagging, out of sync or other symptom of poor broadband. This is your first impression, and the interviewer should be able to both see and hear you in real time. Some people do genuinely suffer from poor broadband speeds, but often, this can be improved. Turn off the wifi on all of your other devices in the house; your mobile, other laptops, possibly your TV, an Alexa or Google hub. Beg or bribe other householders to withhold from using the internet for that one sacred hour. If an employer has to work extra hard to connect with you, it’s hard to make a good impression. Test this with a friend beforehand.

Audio. Again, do a test beforehand. Turn off radios. Shut windows. Explain to children, partners or housemates that there’s a lot of chocolate in this for them if they don’t make a noise for an hour. If your audio is unreliable, learn how to use the mute function. Mute yourself when you’re not speaking, to avoid the speaker getting feedback. To avoid most problems, it’s usually easier to use headphones.

Presentation:

Because we’re all at home now, you are technically inviting a prospective employer into your home. So take a look at what the employer can see. Laundry? Clutter all over the carpet? Questionable art on the wall? Something on the shelf (eg that BBC interview)? A lot of people have their home workstation set up in their bedroom. If all else fails, use a filter on your background but make it a professional looking one.

Even if your CV is brilliant, if your house presents as a mess, employers might be worried about entrusting a complex project to someone who can’t present a sense of order and calm. Unfortunately, first impressions really do count, and your home/environment says so much about you.

Also – unless absolutely necessary, avoid taking the call on your mobile. Wherever possible, use a static device. An hour of watching someone’s own shaky hand-cam is extremely draining (especially when you’re doing it hour after hour).

Lighting! We work in a visual industry. If you are anything above a researcher, you should be able to demonstrate that your mind considers things in a visual way. So make sure you’re not backlit, that your face can be seen clearly, and that again, the interviewer isn’t having to mentally work hard to piece together information about you because you’ve set up your interview poorly. It’s amazing the number of shooting PDs who interview for a job but fail to think about setting up the shot of their own face!

Framing. Test with a friend how your framing works. Set your monitor or laptop up so that it’s level with your face. So many people look down into their computer – and it gives the interviewer an excellent view up your nose.  Also, learn how far back you should be to your screen – another frustration is people who sit too close and you are left interviewing their forehead, or just the top half of their face. It’s just extra mental work for the interviewer, and in the TV industry, isn’t really a great first impression. Everyone should be able to frame a basic shot.

Our next event, How to Ace a Job Interview Online, is on Friday 3rd March, email via the contact button above for details

Personal Presentation:

Just because this is an interview taking place in your home, it doesn’t mean that you should dress like you’re at home. Think about how you personally present, and apply the same rules that you would if you were meeting in an office. Dress the part, secure your hair off your face, don’t wear dodgy slogan clothing or something that a child or pet has just been sick upon.

A note about make up – depending upon your camera – some more modern cameras allow a lot of detail. So it can mean a little less is more. One of the strange things about online interviews is you can literally see yourself and how you come across, and if you have any insecurities about your appearance, this can be really distracting. You want to be able to stay confident and focused on what you’re saying. Both Zoom and Teams have filters that allow you to optimise your image (not cat filters, just gentle improvements). If you’re feeling a bit less confident in your appearance (as so many of us do right now!), then these filters are well worth knowing about as they can give just a little boost of self-confidence and stop people from focusing too much on their own face.

Prep:

Now that we are all stuck at home, but with tools to access all of the information on the planet literally sitting in our pockets, there’s just no excuse for not preparing for an interview. Watch. The. Employer’s. Output. This isn’t the early naughties – everything is available on demand, and if it’s not, it will be somewhere on YouTube or Vimeo or similar. Familiarise yourself with the style of programmes. It will empower you so much more in an interview, and there may be opportunities to demonstrate that you’re so invested in getting the job, that you’ve taken time out of your day to do this kind of research. It really really impresses. Every time.

Also – come prepared with questions. Thoughtful, editorially focused questions. Try to make sure they don’t sound critical of the employer or previous output. Practical, logistical and rate-related questions relating to the job itself can be dealt with post interview with either the TM or PM, so don’t waste this opportunity by asking ‘how much will I get paid’ at this juncture. Ask about editorial steer, tone, use of music, access, casting, overall production schedule etc… anything that shows that you’re thinking the way you would if you were already in the job. This is just another way to show that you care about getting the job.

Etiquette:

There may be some people on the call that don’t do much speaking. The people that don’t speak are doing a lot of thinking… and almost definitely they are there because their opinions about you impact on your ability to get the job. So don’t forget to acknowledge them or include them in your greeting, farewell, and of course – if the opportunity arises to reference something they may have said or be involved in. If you’re really at a loss, just use your eyeline to make sure you’re looking at everyone at different stages in the call. Most often, they can see that you’re doing this and that you’re being inclusive.  Regardless of your level of seniority, this portrays you as a respectful team member, and everyone wants that!

Back in the good old days of offices, this same rule applied. People who failed to acknowledge others in the meeting performed poorly, and were less likely to get the job as it was an indication as to how they perceived a) their own status and b) how they would behave on a team.

Some Positives:

Online interviews, and homeworking, are brilliant for opening up more opportunities to work. As a Talent Exec, I can now hire people based purely on their skills, without having to take their geographical locations into consideration. I can hire people who are juggling childcare, or other caring responsibilities – where previously more exceptions would have needed to have been made, these issues are no longer something to be ‘solved’ or agreed upon. People can work far more flexibly.

The same goes for access in general – for those with other access to work challenges. The removal of a commute to an office instantly broadens the talent pool in a positive and exciting way. We have always tried to make jobs as accessible as possible, but we are able to do so with far more ease and success now.

And finally…

Just a general note for interviews in any situation. Please don’t tell me that you’re great. Just be great. The individuals that are at great pains to describe themselves using the adjectives on their personal statements on their CV come across as insincere – and I sometimes suspect they are doing it out of nervousness. Try not to let nerves get in the way, but if they’re there, it’s much more acceptable to acknowledge those by saying ‘ah… it doesn’t matter how many years I’ve been in this job, I still get nervous in interviews!’. That shows you care. Going hard the other way to cover up your fears is off putting and makes it very hard for the interviewer to see through the self-advertising which can come over as egotistical.

Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk. Our latest event is on Friday 5th March