Thank you to everyone who attended our Bristol Media Parents CV Masterclass last week and made it such a worthwhile event. The feedback has been so great that we’re running the masterclass again ahead of our next company networking event so you can get your CV in the best possible shape – and if you’re a jobsharer you can benefit from our new jobshare double CV.

Media Parents Director Amy Walker with freelancers at a Media Parents event

Media Parents February CV Masterclass will take place in Central London on Monday February 1oth, kindly hosted by Clearcut Pictures. Further details and the guestlist link are on the Media Parents watercooler – not yet a member? Drop us a line through the contact button at www.mediaparents.co.uk. Amy Walker will present CV wizardry and there will be the opportunity to get hands on, individually tailored feedback too.

Producer Ginny Bing attended the Bristol CV event: "It was so useful to get a fresh perspective on my CV from Media Parents. We’ve all read our own CVs a million times but what came out of this event was that if you don’t make things clear and concise and if you don’t highlight all your skills, then you’re selling yourself short."

Producer Ginny Bing attended the Bristol CV event: “It was so useful to get a fresh perspective on my CV from Media Parents. We’ve all read our own CVs a million times but what came out of this event was that if you don’t make things clear and concise and if you don’t highlight all your skills, then you’re selling yourself short.”

Cardiff-based Production Coordinator Jess Gow said: “The Bristol CV Masterclass has inspired me to get my new and improved CV uploaded to Media Parents ASAP. The workshop was great because you don’t always see the glaringly obvious! It’s provided me with helpful practical examples and made me appreciate the importance of selling yourself. There were some great networking suggestions too.”

If you’d like to get a head start on your CV before the event, you can read Media Parents CV Tips here: https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2018/10/media-parents-cv-tips/

"Thank you for organising the Media Parents CV workshop, the session was excellent and gave me loads of great ideas" Melissa Bishop, AP / Researcher, Bristol & London

Our hosts, Clear Cut Group, comprising of three companies (Clear Cut Pictures, The Edit Store and Clear Motion) are renowned for providing highly creative post-production to a wide range of broadcasters. Offering full end-to-end post-production across four sites in London, plus location and regional services as needed, we offer 4K, HDR and SDR capabilities in bespoke solutions to deliver your content to screen.

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

I was directing some actors on a large day-for-night fight scene near the seaside, writes Editor-turned-Director Peter Chipping. There was a problem. It was midday in summer, and not remotely dark.

Peter Chipping directing a real blue screen scene at Pinewood

One of the giveaways of shooting this style is revealing the sky. You need to disguise the horizon. In many old cowboy films you see clouds floating in a dark blue sky. A dead giveaway. It was going to be hard to convince an audience I was shooting at night. On a camera monitor the blue sky just looked like a big blue screen. Maybe a chroma-key screen? I figured I could key in another colour – like black – and suddenly my actors would look like they were lit by the “moon” running against a night sky. It worked too. The knowledge had been acquired many years previously as I had been an editor and knew some editing trickery.

Editors often muse on how to get out of being shackled to their edit suites.  One skill editors often learn is making a story out of hundreds of hours of footage. It’s a lot of organisation. With a bit of know-how, that organisation can be applied to crews and productions.

I had learnt to operate cameras at college and after various diversions into multi camera studio directing, I gravitated towards factual. My camera and editing skills would come in handy, as what I shot actually made it through the edit. One thing that’s not taught to editors is writing. So I attended lots of courses, but what I learnt were beat sheets, inciting incidents, act breaks, inner and outer arcs. I discovered most writing is aimed at drama, not factual, but a class from the Exec Producer of The Apprentice, Patrick Uden, plus much trial and error, paid off.

I also discovered the structure of factual is often similar to drama. You still need protagonists and they still need a challenge, something to affect them and a battle to the end. It needs to be interesting with lots of “surprises”, otherwise known as: being “dramatic”. Quite often the act breaks became commercial breaks, but all those funky things such as themes, motifs etc can be used too. I learnt many mainstream directors start in factual and cross over, and have crossed back too. The biggest obstacle was convincing execs I could do it. So I wrote and shot a bundle of short dramas films. That lead to some police re-enactment videos being commissioned for The Police Federation and eventually a TV commission of documentary flanked by some drama. Fortunately, the American style drama/docs had budgets that dictated people with multi skills. The police films led to true crime that led to serial killers (In the USA, UK & Germany) and eventually war, which included another major serial killer: Adolf Hitler.

I found dealing with actors was not taught to editors either, so I took the plunge and did an actor’s class and even a stand-up comedy class. The former was helpful for more drama-centric productions, while the latter allowed me to see the funny side of my journey.

Peter Chipping’s drama can be seen this year (2020) in 4 episodes of “Nazi Megastructures: America’s War” on Channel 4, plus two episodes of “Autopsy, the last hours of..” for Potato/ITV which airs in America on REELZ.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15880/peter-chipping

Join us for Media Parents events, jobs and training at www.mediaparents.co.uk Media Parents' January event is a CV seminar in Bristol - see our watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk for details

Jessica Sharkey, Joint Director of Production, Hat Trick

Jessica Sharkey, Joint Director of Production at Hat Trick has been working with Media Parents since 2010

A big thank you to Hat Trick’s Joint Director of Production, Jessica Sharkey, for mentoring Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner Jessica Farrow, who has been working as a JPM since her return to work via Media Parents’ scheme.

Jessica Sharkey and Laura Djanogly oversee the whole range of programme output from the Hat Trick Group from initial development and budget negotiations, through production to delivery.

Jessica joined Hat Trick as Joint Head of Production in 2004, and has been jobsharing ever since, sharing her experience of job share for the benefit of Media Parents members. Hat Trick also considers job share and flexible working in all jobs listed on Media Parents. Prior to joining Hat Trick, Jessica was Production Executive at Alomo Productions, a role which followed 14 years in the freelance production world working in Drama, Comedy, Children’s and Documentary.

Jessica Farrow, B2W JPM

Since winning the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme in 2019 I’ve been JPM at Wild Blue Media, working on a 3-part documentary for Channel 4/Discovery about tribes in the Amazon.

Wild Blue have asked me stay to see this project through post, and also to help on another programme for Nat Geo until I go on mat leave at the end of March. Jessica Sharkey has very kindly agreed to stick with me longer term as a mentor, and suggested that our next meet up should be a month or so before I want to go back which will be this time next year, as I’ll be looking to return to work Jan 2021.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14788/jessica-farrow

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

Here’s wishing you and yours a Happy and Healthy Christmas, and a Prosperous 2020. We look forward to working with you next year, and hope to see you at one of our brilliant events. Here are some photos from this year’s Media Parents Drinks, and some highlights from the year too.

Back to Work Winner Scripted Director Candida Scott Knight celebrates her return to directing with PD Julia Rooke at the RGS drinks

In true Media Parents style, PD Clare Richards brought her mum along to Christmas Drinks - cheers!

Got to love this one! https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/collaborator/3533/sunita-shroff

The lovely team at www.take1.tv invited Media Parents freelancers along to Christmas Drinks in soho. Back to Work Winners PM Hannah Williams Lovell and PC Jenny Madalura are pictured here with Take1 Founder Dom Bourne - cheers Take1!

Hannah & Jenny with Take1 CEO Louise Tapia - cheers ladies!

Take 1's Marketing Manager Emma Kemp is hoping to run an event with Media Parents in the new year!

january 2019

Petal Felix (pictured here with Media Parents' Joanna Gretton at Back to Work Drinks) wrote for the blog asking TV to be more diverse in 2019: https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/01/5-minutes-with-petal-felix-on-diversity-in-tv/

January event: Maverick TV's HoP Maria French (pictured here with the jobsharing Edit Producer she employed through Media Parents) and Spelthorne TV's Jude Winstanley joined Media Parents' Amy Walker for a masterclass in Negotiating

February 2019

Ginny Bing, PD blogged about juggling TV, kids and property developing https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/02/5-minutes-with-ginny-bing-producer-directoredit-producer/

march 2019

We celebrated International Women's Day with a flexible working survey - we all want it and there are many ways we are doing it! We're delighted that flexible working has made it into the 2019 Queen's Speech

April 2019

Easter break.

May 2019

Thank you to sponsors Outline Productions and Films at 59, Christopher Hutchins, Rob and Jasmine at BBC Bristol Club, and Clare Adams for all their help at the Media Parents Bristol Flexible working event in May

June 2019

At our summer party BBC Scripted Head of Talent Jacqui Taunton Fenton (now at ScreenSkills) had a good laugh with BBC Children's Exec Ros Attille and freelancers https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/06/media-parents-summer-party-photos/ Thanks to ClearCut for hosting!

Hannah Williams, one of 2018's Media Parents Back to Work Scheme winners blogged about her successful return to work at Merman https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/06/5-minutes-with-returning-pm-hannah-williams/ and PM Natalie Brook-Reynolds crossed over from theatre to TV https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/06/5-minutes-with-pm-natalie-brook-reynolds/

july 2019

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme applications opened. West Digital hosted Media Parents' job share event which resulted in Media Parents' Back to Work Winner Joanna Gretton finding a job share partner - and ultimately getting back to work as a job share!

August 2019

Media Parents five Back to Work Scheme Winners 2019 announced and head to Edinburgh. https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/08/ Thanks to Hat Trick and Raw TV for sponsoring the scheme this year.

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winners Laura Martin-Robinson, Candida Scott Knight and Joanna Gretton

PC Kirsti Davidson returned to work on BBC2's Gone Fishing at Owl Power

Jess Farrow returned to work as a JPM at Wild Blue Media

Employers, returners and freelancers celebrated with Back to Work Drinks in September. Thanks to S+O Media for sponsoring, and ENVY for hosting.

october 2019

Mentoring for the Back to Work Scheme began in October. Media Parents would like to thank BBC Docs Commissioning Editor Emma Loach for mentoring Cardiff-based PD Laura Martin-Robinson; Piers Vellacott, MD at Raw TV for mentoring PC Kirsti Davidson; Jessica Sharkey, Hat Trick Director of Production for mentoring JPM Jess Farrow; Endemol Shine’s Director of Factual Kim Shillinglaw for mentoring Casting Producer Joanna Gretton; Exec Coach Sam Jukes-Adams for mentoring Scripted Director Candida Scott Knight.

BBC Commissioning Editor Emma Loach is kindly mentoring for Media Parents Back to Work Scheme

november 2019

Media Parents would like to thank Fremantle’s talent team Emily Gale and Jenny Spader for hosting a returners lunch supported by ITV, the BBC, The Garden Productions, Nutopia and Multistory. Click here to see more.

december 2019

Romesh Ranganathan & Celebrity Island Composer Stefan Fletcher wrote for Media Parents blog, as did PM Helen Landeau.

If you are a company or freelancer who would like to blog for Media Parents, or a company who would like to sponsor a Media Parents event in 2020 please contact us via the contact button above. Many thanks to everyone who has supported Media Parents in 2019 by attending or sponsoring events, and employing great Media Parents talent. We look forward to working with you in 2020.

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

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

Piers Vellacott, MD, Raw TV

A big thank you to Piers Vellacott, MD of RAW TV, one of the sponsors of this year’s Media Parents Back to Work Scheme for not only sponsoring but also mentoring. Having mentored Elena Mourey on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2018, Piers has been mentoring returner Kirsti Davidson, who left as an AP and successfully returned as a PC in 2019 after a substantial break.

Piers himself left four years of law school and decided to become a television producer! He joined RAW in September 2008 having previously worked as a Producer and Line Producer on over 50 hours of television programming across a range of genres. He is as conversant in US production and business affairs as he is in Europe, and has been across over 500 hrs of programming whilst at RAW.

Kirsti Davidson, B2W Production Coordinator

I recently finished a full time two month Production Coordinator contract with Owl Power on Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing. We were working on three shoots for Series 3, with the remaining three to be shot next year. I really enjoyed the process of production and it was a small and friendly team.

It was a bit strange at first being a PC after my last job in TV was as an AP 12 years ago, but it was a really useful experience.

I’ve now taken more illustration work, so I’m not available until end of February / beg of March. I’m looking to find something part time in spring which would be more manageable for my family.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/16237/kirsti-davidson

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

I am a freelance music composer for television, writes Stefan Fletcher, so far specialising in factual entertainment and documentaries, and I’m available now. I recently wrote the music for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan (BBC2) and my credits and television placements include: Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls (Channel 4), Curiosity (BBC1), House of Extraordinary People (Channel 5) and 21 Kids and Counting (Channel 4), The Yorkshire Vet (ITV) and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here (ITV). Click here to listen to my reel.

Composer Stefan Fletcher https://www.stefanfletchermusic.com/ Photo credit: Helena Dolby

I joined Media Parents because networking plays a crucial role in my line of work. Media Parents seems like an excellent platform to reach out to those in your industry.

I got into music through learning the guitar at an early age and eventually went on to study Creative Music Technology (BMus) at Surrey University, a course specifically designed for writing music to picture.

Stylistically, I am very diverse, ranging from minimal piano and orchestra (suitable for documentaries) to high-impact trailer music (appropriate for tension and ad campaigns.) Whilst I do specialise in factual entertainment and documentaries, my music experience has covered lots of other areas too including: adverts, orchestration, metadata, computer games, production, mixing and more.

I would love to connect with editors, edit producers, executive producers, directors – anyone who has a say when sourcing music for television, be it bespoke or library.

Stefan Fletcher. Photo credit: Helena Dolby

https://www.stefanfletchermusic.com/

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

I’m excited to invite you to a screening of my Oscar and BAFTA shortlisted film Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl) – it’s finally here in London! writes Media Parents PD Elena Andreicheva. Please join us this Friday, December 20th at 6pm, at The Cinema Museum in Kennington. There’ll be drinks and an informal reception, please RSVP as below, mentioning Media Parents.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4966/elena-andreicheva

PD Elena Andreicheva (left) at Media Parents Summer Party

Elena will be available in February 2020: https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4966/elena-andreicheva

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

Sam Jukes-Adams, Coach & NED, Emergence Films

Ex-scripted HOP and Coach Sam Jukes-Adams has been mentoring returning Director Candida Scott Knight, Winner of the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2019, and we are delighted to announce that Candida has secured a place on the BBC Continuing Drama Directors’ Scheme 2019, and will be directing a block on EastEnders next year. After 13 years out, and two years working with Media Parents to get back in.

Leadership, Executive and Organisational Coach Sam is a Tavistock Consulting trained, senior practitioner accredited Coach (EMCC). Sam works systemically, helping individual and organisational clients gain insight into, and address, the personal and organisational dynamics that contribute to their professional effectiveness, working one to one, in groups, and through workshops. Sam’s work spans all sectors, including Charity, Finance, Creative Industries, Property, Start Ups, Entrepreneurs and Tech, from Manager level to Senior Leaders and Business Owners. Sam works with Corporations, SMEs and Self funding clients on Integration programmes, professional effectiveness, and leadership. Sam enjoys working with people around the world, both face to face and online.

Prior to Coaching, Sam spent 20 yrs in TV Production. She has worked at the BBC, was Head of Production for Impossible Pictures, and latterly SVP Scripted Production, NBCUniversal International Studios. Working on and across development, financing, production and delivery of award winning content for both domestic and international networks (US NBC/AUS/CAN) and companies, ranging from science, (Horizon) CGI heavy Specialist Factual (Walking with Dinosaurs, Space Odyssey:Voyage to the Planets, Project Earth) and Drama (Primeval, Quacks, Camp, London Spy, Yonderland, You, Me and the Apocalypse, Glitch, Deadline Gallipoli).

Sam has always been a passionate advocate for the development of talent and teams, and is a visiting Lecturer on the Producer’s MA at MetFilm, London, and served as the Chair of the High End TV Levy Council, and on the board of Creative Skillset from 2016-2018. Sam brings this wealth of professional and commercial experience and knowledge to her coaching practice, and is constantly developing her practice, including currently completing Hogan Level 1 certification. https://www.sjaassociates.co.uk/

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winners Candida Scott Knight (right) and Returning Casting Producer Joanna Gretton

Candida Scott Knight, B2W Scripted Director

Since working at Channel 4 and directing Hollyoaks, award-winning short film director Candida has raised a family and moved to L.A. and back. For the past two years she has been building her skills and her intention is to direct drama again. After winning her place on the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2019 and attending Edinburgh TV Festival, Candida recently completed the BBC Continuing Drama Directors’ Scheme 2019 on EastEnders, and will be directing episodes in 2020.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14731/candida-scott-knight

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

Emma Loach, Commissioning Editor BBC Documentaries

We are delighted that BBC Docs Commissioning Editor Emma Loach has agreed to mentor returning PD Laura Martin-Robinson, Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner from Cardiff, who is being sponsored on the scheme by Hat Trick Productions.

Emma joined the BBC documentary commissioning team in January 2017. She is responsible for a large range of output including series and singles across all the channels such as Birth, Ambulance, The Met, Nadiya On Anxiety and Stabbed: Britain’s Knife Crime Crisis on BBC One; The Baby Has Landed, Hospital, The Ethics Committee: A Life and Death Decision, David Harewood On Psychosis and Being Blacker on BBC Two; Hometown, The Left Behind, Acid Attack: My Story on BBC Three and Border Country: When Ireland Was Divided on BBC Four.

As an executive producer, Emma was responsible for helping to originate and deliver the Ambulance brand for BBC1, The Trial for C4 and a diverse range of series and singles across all the channels.

Laura Martin-Robinson, B2W PD

Laura Martin-Robinson PD (centre, rear) with talent and talent managers at Fremantle Media Parents Returners Lunch in November.

On the face of it Laura has it all – two BAFTAs and a great relationship with a production company ie ie productions (pronounced yeah yeah) that enables her to work flexibly. But she has three kids, and working part time on Welsh regional productions barely covers her childcare costs. She wants her career to be self-sufficient, full time and has network ambitions.

Read Laura’s review of Edinburgh TV Festival 2019 here: https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2019/10/5-minutes-with-pd-laura-martin-robinson-world-mental-health-day/

And see her profile here:

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9887/laura-martin-robinson

Join us for Media Parents' Pop Up Christmas Drinks with Take 1 on Tuesday 10th December

Helen Landeau has now found work at South Shore until March 2019.

I’m currently free so if anyone needs a Production Manager? writes Helen Landeau. It’s been five years since my return to tellyland and Media Parents were there to support me back into the cut and thrust of the production office like I’ve just come out of rehab!  Previously, I had done sixteen years at the BBC as Production Co-ordinator and got my parole via redundancy in 2006. I left to join the Filofax clan of the corporate world in the dizzying heights of the concrete jungle that is Canary Wharf but the calling to return home to TV was deafening and so after eight years, I relented. No regrets!

I’m currently free so if anyone needs a Production Manager? writes Helen Landeau. https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9357/helen-landeau

In my last Media Parents blog, I’d just finished working on the BBC One landmark documentary, ‘Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation’.  To date, an important documentary to me personally and professionally.  Being almost the same age of Stephen, I was there throughout the timeline of events and thought I’d known everything about this tragic event but the forensic research unearthed things that I didn’t even know!  When it was broadcasted in April 2018, me and the production team didn’t expect the reception we’d receive from the viewers and industry peers – it made the hard work so worthwhile.  However, the post production paperwork wasn’t so great but hey, someone’s gotta do it and it was muggins.

Leaving that behind, I went to Emporium Productions (part of Hat Trick) and was Production Manager on ‘Donal MacIntyre’s Murder Files’ for CBS Reality.  This series was green-screen studio with drama recon and about visiting solved murder cases with the lead detective. I finally got to meet Clive Driscoll as I didn’t get the opportunity from the Stephen Lawrence series. I worked with a cracking team especially Nick Kenton, a brilliant Series Producer.  This was the second series and it ran quite smoothly (can’t say that too often these days) and working with a pro like Donal – it was great.

After delivery of the Donal series, I stayed on at Emporium and working with Nick again on a brand-new series called ‘Talking Animals: Tales From The Zoo’ for Channel 5.  This was a bit of a challenge (which I do like) as it included working with voice-over artists and comedy writers.  What’s the problem with that I hear you cry?  Well, as a factual PM, you don’t usually work on a cross-genre programme every day.

We filmed at Jersey Zoo and it was a fantastic opportunity to go on location to visit the island of Jersey, see the animals at Jersey Zoo (created by Gerald Durrell – as in the comedy drama, ‘The Durrells’) and of course, making sure my team were okay.

Working on this production kept me laughing every day and sometimes, I step back and it’s such a privilege to be doing this job.  Keep an eye out as it’s due for TX on Channel 5 early next year!

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/9357/helen-landeau

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