Media Parents

We’re delighted to announce the Winners of this year’s Media Parents Back to Work Scheme, sponsored by Raw TV and Hat Trick Productions. Thank you to everyone who applied, it was an exceptional line-up this year and we look forward to having a drink with all applicants, sponsors, alumni and supporters at our Back to Work Drinks on September 25^th (see watercooler for details).

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner Returning Director Candida Scott Knight waving (not drowning) in the crowd at Media Parents Summer Drinks

Something unusual happened this year, in that we opened up applications to people who were unable to attend the Edinburgh TV Festival as well as those that were. And our sponsors chose people who were not able to attend, in addition to people who could. For a company that promotes job sharing this is an ideal result, meaning we have five people on the scheme this year, from Wales and Brighton as well as London. Here they are – if you would like to meet Laura, Joanna and Candida at the festival please drop us a line via the site or @mediaparents on twitter.

JPM Jess Farrow (nee Garland), London mentored by Hat Trick Productions.

Congratulation to JPM Jess Farrow who will be mentored by Hat Trick. Cheers Jess!

JPM Jess Farrow returned from mat leave in Feb 2019 and felt pushed out of the industry because she could not find flexible work. She took a flexible job in events before picking up a flexible post PM contract. She is using the scheme and support from Hat Trick to try to find flexible PC or JPM work, and to try to retain her JPM status rather than seeing her career go backwards after having a child.

PC Kirsti Davidson, Brighton mentored by Raw TV.

PC Kirsti Davidson will be mentored by Raw TV

After 10 years in TV as an AP Kirsti took a break to have a family and subsequently found it was extremely difficult to get production work that fitted with family life. So after a few false starts she forged a new career as an illustrator where she could work from home. Now Kirsti’s children are older and she is able to work longer hours and travel, it’s become clear to her that illustration is more of a hobby than a career, and she misses working in production and being part of a team. After 12 years out Kirsti is planning to retrain and re-enter the industry as a Production Coordinator, supported by Raw TV.

PD Laura Martin-Robinson, Cardiff supported by Hat Trick Productions.

Cardiff PD Laura Martin-Robinson will be attending Edinburgh TV Festival

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.

Director Candida Scott Knight, London supported by Media Parents

Returning Director Candida Scott Knight will be attending Edinburgh TV Festival alongside PD Laura Martin-Robinson and Casting Producer Joanna Gretton as part of the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme

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 work her way back up to directing drama again.

Casting Producer Joanna Gretton, London supported by Raw TV

Joanna Gretton (right) with Amy Walker at Media Parents Summer Party 2017

Joanna has been working with Media Parents for three years, helping other talent find gigs and return to TV so now it’s her time. Prior to working for Media Parents Joanna was a PD, and caster on documentaries and cast celebrities for royal obituaries. Thanks to Media Parents Flexible Working Event Joanna has met one job share partner and is looking for more potential job shares as she makes her way back into part time work.

Huge thanks to Hat Trick and Raw for making the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme possible this year, and for the support from the TV Foundation, which runs The Edinburgh TV Festival. Thanks once again to everyone who applied – if you didn’t win a place this time don’t give up – TV needs you. Join us at our Back to Work Drinks on September 25th at ENVY, see the watercooler for details.

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**Experienced SP seeks telly husband/wife for job-share adventures a-plenty!**

Series Producer Karen Richardson at Media Parents Job Share Event

Actually, like a real floozy, writes Series Producer Karen Richardson, I seek as many job share partners as possible. Since discussing job share at the Media Parents Job Share event recently, it’s becoming clear that job-share partnerships can chop and change from one contract to the next depending on the nature of the job; the dates and general life events!  So, the more the merrier I say! If you’re interested in applying for the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme as a jobshare then please contact me through Media Parents too – applications close on Saturday 10th August.

The concept of job-sharing has been an epiphany for me!  It’s the only feasible way for me to do the job I love.   The role of Series Producer is intense so knowing that your job-share buddy is working when you are not (and vice versa) just fills me with utter joy!  It’s fair to say that I have become quite zealous about the idea of job-sharing as a way of staying in a senior role at a time in life when full-time roles are difficult either because of caring responsibilities or because you have other interests which you wish to dedicate time to and which make you a well-rounded, interesting human!

If the Political Editors of The Guardian; the CEOs of the Judicial Studies Board and the Head of Media & Campaigns at Macmillan Cancer Trust, the Series Editors on Unreported World – to name but a few – can job share successfully, in some case for decades, then it sure as hell can be done more in the world of TV.  One just needs a “can do” attitude.  And let’s be honest, if you’ve carved out a successful career in TV then you’ll have that in bucket loads anyway.

SP Karen Richardson in the crowd at Media Parents Job Share Event, sponsored by West Digital

For more job-sharing zealotry you can follow me @tellymumma an account I created to chart my return to the world of TV and the joy of the job-share and to up-skill my incredibly basic understanding of social media!

My skills as a Series Producer are, I promise, far more adept.  I’m an experienced Features, Fact Ent and Popular Factual SP returning to production after a 4-year maternity break and available to work from mid/end October.

I’ve a lot of experience in competition formats and tackling all the compliance and legal issues these generate and have SP’d several first series including The Great Pottery Throw Down for BBC2 and One Born: What Happened Next for More4 – the two series of which I am proudest.

Apply for the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme by August 10th, and join us for Media Parents Back to Work Drinks in September

Pottery was a behemoth of a series and at its peak we had a team of close to 80 on set and in the edits.  One Born on the other hand was a team of 6, with two newbie Shooting PD’s who had never cut an hour show in the edit before.  Completely different series to make but both encapsulate everything I love about TV – the stories of ordinary peoples’ extraordinary lives told with fondness, compassion, humour, warmth, curiosity and honesty.   Be it baking, pottery, property or parenting, I want to know everything about the world we’re entering and the people whose stories we’re telling.  This means I always ensure that my team and myself get out to meet and speak with people as early as possible at the start of a production since I believe this is how the best stories are found and the best TV is made.

Over the past couple of months I’ve spent a lot of time getting back in touch with all my old contacts – and making new ones – as I spread the word about returning to SP’ing in a job-share capacity.  This means I now have lots of people – genuinely interested in the idea of job-sharing SP’s – to e-mail for work once I’ve found my job-share partner.

Inspired by the Media Parents Job Share event, there is a small, but steadily growing WhatsApp group of SPs interested in job-sharing (several of us, myself included, are happy to consider Edit Producer roles to fill gaps in-between SP gigs) so – if you like what you’ve read – please get in touch with me via Media Parents.

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Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2019 has opened for applications – yes it’s back! To get an application form or recommend a friend drop us a line c/o www.mediaparents.co.uk contact button.

I cannot express how much difference the Media Parents Back to Work Scheme made to reigniting both my career and my confidence writes PM Hannah Williams. (Hannah is currently looking to fill a gap before her next contract, so if you need a PM let her know: https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/11460/hannah-williams-lovell)

PM Hannah Williams, 2nd from right top, with the other 2018 Back to Work Scheme Winners at Edinburgh

Since returning last August I was mentored by the wonderful Becky Parkinson at Merman. After a lovely chat and first meeting I suddenly found myself as one of the Merman team managing the Post in the UK for Frayed – an extremely exciting, funny and brilliantly written new comedy drama by Sarah Kendall.

This mainly involved coordinating Australian and UK post to work harmoniously together, as the show was shot (predominantly) in Australia and post was being split between the two countries. It couldn’t have been more perfect as it was almost exclusively home-based, aside from a few meetings or visits to the post facility in Soho.

I split 3 days across 5 which worked perfectly around my 3 children. Working with Australia came in quite handy when my children are creatures of unsociable hours anyway so I could catch up with the team in Melbourne first thing/last thing and still pick up/drop off my children at school. It just required a bit of multi-tasking and careful use of my time.

Hannah Williams gets back up to speed with industry events at Ed TV Fest

In my first few weeks back to work I felt slightly rusty but Becky was inordinately supportive and I knew I could always ask if I needed help. As it turns out, maternity leave hadn’t sapped all traces of experience and I found that I settled back into it quite quickly and loved it. Initially the contract was 6 months but I was kept on for a while longer and am hoping to rejoin them at some point in the future.

Since Merman, I took on some pre-production for a new children’s animation (which was also working exclusively from home) and am now actively looking for my next venture.

I think what this process has taught me is that I may have been out of the industry over enormous changes to tapeless or 4K but technical gaps can be answered by a simple question (or extensive google). Even the people who haven’t left the industry are still asking questions and are learning. Skills will never leave you but new knowledge can always be obtained if you need it.

The invaluable pep talk with Amy at the beginning of this journey, all those months ago in Edinburgh, still rings in my head today. Even if you have been out it does not erase all the hard work you have put in prior to babies. You are still the same person as you were with the same skills and the same talent so never make excuses for yourself.

Back to Work Scheme Winners Hannah Williams and Melissa Bishop at Media Parents Summer Party

The scheme has helped me hold onto that and regain the confidence to still see myself as a valuable asset, even if I have to be more specific about my hours and work schedule. So thank you Amy for calling me from your holiday when I had emailed you in two minds about the scheme. I really appreciated that as the support from Media Parents and the mentors from this scheme has been invaluable.

And to those of you who are a little shaky about going back to work or are thinking about applying for this year’s Back to Work Scheme if it goes ahead – DO IT! The worst that can happen is that you meet some amazing people, gain invaluable networking skills and get to have an incredible mentor and new network to support you. And if that’s the worst that can happen then you have no excuse!

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

We’re delighted to announce our summer party on Wednesday June 19th, courtesy of our kind hosts Clearcut Pictures. Media Parents members are cordially invited to join us for an evening in the garden, please sign up to the guestlist on the Media Parents watercooler. After the success of our recent Bristol Media Parents Flexible Working Event we’re also gearing up for our London Media Parents Flexible Working Event on July 24th so save the date and watch out for that guestlist opening following our Summer Party. Here are some photos from last year’s summer party, with thanks again to Rowan Bray and the Clear Cut team.

Media Parents Summer Party last year was a glorious affair on a warm summer evening in Bloomsbury thanks to the Clear Cut team.

Huge thanks to all the companies and freelancers who attended last year's summer party and made it such a good laugh!

ITV's Back to Work Scheme Winner Geoff Dibben with Media Parents' Joanna Gretton

Renegade's Director of Production Ed Nissen with Dragonfly Coordinator Danny Leitch

Baby Cow's Head of Production Judith Bantock with Media Parents freelancers and returners

Clear Cut Pictures MD Rowan Bray with Media Parents members

Maverick's Head of Production Maria French

Tiger Aspect's Comedy and Entertainment Exec Cat Fox

Outline Productions' Production Exec Emily Freshwater with Sister Pictures' Back to Work Scheme Winner Jenny Madalura

BBC Scripted Drama & Comedy Head of Talent Jacqui Taunton-Fenton with Media Parents freelancers

Barcroft Media Exec Jude Parker

Series Producer Gayl Paterson with Katherine Bovey

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us - we look forward to seeing you again this year!

To sign up to the guestlist for the Media Parents Summer Party on June 19th see the link on Media Parents watercooler

To sign up to the guestlist please see the watercooler at https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/

Click image to join Media Parents www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, training and events. Summer Party June 19th; Flexible Working Event July 24th and more...

Media Parents celebrated International Women’s Day this year by launching a survey about flexible working in TV. It’s your opportunity to tell us – as a freelancer or an employer – what you’re doing flexibly, what you want, and what you want to know.

For the Media Parents FREELANCER flexible working survey CLICK HERE

For the Media Parents EMPLOYER flexible working survey CLICK HERE

Thanks for taking the time to fill it in, together we can change things for the better.

SAVE THE DATE for our late late International Women’s Day Celebrations on March 28th, see site emails for details. To sign up to our mailing list go here:

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/

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Happy New Year! Following the success of last year’s event we’re inviting you to Negotiate with Media Parents, Maverick and Spelthorne Community Television on Wednesday January 23rd. Maverick TV’s Head of Production Maria French will join Spelthorne PM and Unit List guru Jude Winstanley and Media Parents Director Amy Walker for a brilliant training session on negotiating rates and flexibility as a freelancer.

Maverick TV's HoP Maria French at Media Parents 2018 Negotiating training with Exec Matt Holden, and returner Emma Sayce who went on to work flexibly at Maverick

"Make friends with Production Managers, they have the intel on rates" suggested Jude Winstanley. Pictured with Media Parents Director Amy Walker at Media Parents Negotiation event in 2017.

Join us for this year's Negotiating event on Weds Jan 23rd, see below for ticket link.

Get your tickets here : https://negotiating-with-media-parents.eventbrite.co.uk

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Media Parents presents a brilliant FREE opportunity for freelancers to network with companies hiring in Bristol and South Wales on Thursday 29th November, thanks to support from production companies.

Major sponsors Wall to Wall / Warner Bros Television Production UK Ltd are keen to meet experienced factual, specialist factual and fact ent freelancers working in production and editorial in Bristol – SPs, (shooting) PDs, edit producers, PMs, LPs and more. Head of Wall to Wall West, Emily Shields, Deputy Head of Production Emma Fenton and Head of Creative Talent Susie Worster will attend to meet freelancers.

Drop us your CV c/o the address below to sign up for this FREE event

Outline Productions wltm factual PCs, PMs, SPs, shooting PDs and edit producers, as well as freelancers working in other roles in South Wales or Bristol. MD Laura Mansfield and Creative Director Helen Veale will attend with Executive Producer Katy Fryer and Production Executive Emily Freshwater.

Tigress Productions’ Production Executive Isa Snow Campbell and EndemolShine‘s Talent Manager Tanya Gottlieb are looking for PDs and DV Directors with natural history / story telling experience, as well as experienced edit producers.

PACT will be represented by Media Parents Director Amy Walker, if you would like your CV passed to Anjani Patel, Head of Diversity please let Amy know.

The event will be kindly hosted by the BBC. Due to unforeseen circumstances no BBC staff are able to attend, but freelance Series Producer Jane Lomas, currently working at the BBC will pass on CVs.

Seadog TV & Film Productions‘ Head of Production Linda Stephens and Operations Director Suze Scott will attend. Seadog are not currently crewing but are keen to meet freelancers for future shows. RDF West‘s Emily Knight will also attend. Freelancers should bring paper copies of their CV and email them in advance to events@mediaparents.co.uk.

Media Parents Director Amy Walker (right) with freelancers at a Media Parents event in Bristol

To support Media Parents please join by clicking the photo below.

Click image to join Media Parents www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, training and events.

Huge thanks to ITV Shiver‘s job sharing talent managers Ros Malthouse and Emma Astaire for hosting Media Parents’ October CV event, and to everyone who attended for creating a great buzz on the evening. BBC Scripted Production Exec Jacquie Glanville and Talent Manager Noelle Bartlett met scripted talent, along with Kindle Entertainment‘s Production Exec Keri Atkins. Back to Work Scheme sponsors Raw TV were represented by Nicky Searle and Didem Gormus, Expectation Factual‘s Anna Bonnadio joined us unexpectedly, in addition to Two Four‘s Vanessa Colosi, Fremantle‘s Jenny Spader and of course the Shiver and Media Parents teams met freelancers. RDF West’s Emily Knight was unable to attend due to problems at Paddington but she has sent a PDF of RDF’s CV tips that can be downloaded at the end of this article. Here are some photos and testimonials to give you a flavour of the event if you missed it. Click here for more CV tips from the attending companies.

Thank you to ITV Shiver's Ros Malthouse and Emma Astaire, job sharing talent managers, for hosting the event and meeting freelancers "We really enjoyed meeting lots of new people and have been following up..."

“Thank you for the event last night, it was really useful and I made a couple of good contacts.” Petal Felix

Thanks for arranging last night’s CV event. It was a great opportunity and for me to start mingling again. A lot of the work I do these days is solitary, so it was great to put faces to names. It was also good to get so much positive feedback about my CV. Thanks again for this event and I look forward to coming to another one in the future. Justine Sullivan, Celebrity Producer https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/10118/justine-sullivan

"Media Parents has completely changed the way I look at my CV. Thank you" Ash Smith https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/3309/ashley-smith

Back to Work Scheme Winner Melissa Bishop with TwoFour. https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14397/melissa-bishop

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner, Coordinator Jenny Madalura with Shiver. https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/15655/jenny-madalura

"Thank for you, for a very busy and interesting evening last night! Think the collective noun for Freelancers must be a swarm." Shanti Ramakuri, PM https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14771/shanti-ramakuri

Returner Hannah Williams was celebrating her new flexible job at Merman. https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/11460/hannah-williams-lovell

Please click here for RDF West TV CV Tips. For information about Media Parents next event please sign up to our email list or see our watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk

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Tune in tonight to watch Channel 5′s Model Railway Challenge, from Media Parents Executive Producer Pat Doyle and the Knickerbocker Glory team.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/4934/pat-doyle

Our next event, on October 17^th, is a CV event, kindly hosted by ITV’s Shiver, in which freelancers discuss their CVs with employers, partly for advice and partly to network. Scroll down this blog to find out who is coming and read their CV tips, we’re also delighted to be joined by Raw TV in addition to those named below. There will be employers who are keen to network and employers who are looking to hire – hiring particularly factual Edit Producers and SPs, production roles and factual development people. Scripted employers looking to meet 1st ADs, Coordinators and Line Producers, people who want to cross over from factual and people who are interested in Scripted Development, with or without experience. Sound good?

Channel 4's Deborah Lane Winter at a Media Parents CV Event "If you've had a career break, avoid the suggestion that that's a problem in your cover letter or CV - it might not be a problem."

Jenny Spader, Fremantle CV tip : watch TV!

If you do nothing else between now and Wednesday, choose your top person to meet and watch their output so you can demonstrate an interest. Read how returner Jaime Caruana prepared for her meeting here.

Meet Fremantle Talent Coordinator Jenny Spader

media parents CV tip : focus on the top 1/3 of  the 1st page

we all read CVs digitally these days. if you don’t have anything relevant to the job or company your interested in at the top of your CV the employer may not bother to scroll down. Front load your CV like pretitles.

Amy Walker (right) at a Media Parents CV event in Bristol

ros malthouse, shiver CV tip: don’t rely on your cover letter

I don’t usually send on cover letters to execs or SPs, just your CV with a couple of lines, so make sure that any information you want to get across is on your CV – don’t put all the relevant info in your covering letter.

Shiver's Ros Malthouse

Sue Kenderdine, TwoFour cv tip: check your email address

ensure your email address is your name, i.e. not sexygirl@gmail.com  rather, firstnamesurname@gmail.com. If you have changed your name with marriage, be consistent so people can find you.

Vanessa Colosi, Talent Manager TwoFour

TwoFour's Sue Kenderdine (centre) meets Media Parents talent at our BBC CV Event

Media Parents cv tip : Include your name, contacts and job title at the top

Signpost.  Also save the document as your name, job title, CV (and maybe the date). Send it in an email titled with your name and job title for max discoverability.

Noelle Barnett, BBC Scripted CV tip : tailor your CV

CVs lead with skillset and most relevant experience to the role you are going for. If you’re looking to move into a new area of work, then note the transferrable skills/experiences that you have that will help you establish yourself. You might have come a long way, but kill your darlings – it demonstrates that you can select relevant detail which is important in any TV job.

BBC Drama's Noelle Barnett (left) at Media Parents recent Job Share Event

Keri atkins, kindle entertainment CV tip : use your CV to network

Including the names of managers / commissioners you have worked to (or talent you have worked with) enables your CV to start networking for you before you get into the room.

Keri Atkins at Media Parents Job Share event at Tiger Aspect

Jacquie Glanville, BBC Drama CV Tip : keep it to 2 pages

Keeping details brief, concise and informative helps when passing your details on to hiring managers. Your CV should read like a good menu!

Emily Gale, Fremantle : Make sure your interests are interesting!

On a CV a no no for me is when I read the person’s’ ‘Interests’ are  :Eating, Reading, Travelling…  Come on… those are universal interests!  What makes you unique? What do you bring to the party? I love meeting people who have rich and diverse interests and who I can learn from. The best meetings I have are the ones where I frantically scribble down all the recommendations the freelancer has given me. Isn’t that after all why we work in this industry because we are always learning something new?

Fremantle's Emily Gale is unable to attend the event but Fremantle Talent Coordinator Jenny Spader will be there to meet freelancers

Emily Freshwater, Outline Productions CV tip : spell check

It’s not rocket science, mistakes can lose you a job and can stay on your CV for years. Get a friend to proofread or ask Media Parents for a CV M.O.T.

Outline Productions' part time Production Exec Emily Freshwater at our April CV event

Emma Astaire, Shiver TV CV tip : keep the file size small

Some CVs are stored in inboxes and deleted if they are too large. Keep your formatting by saving as a PDF.

Shiver TV's Emma Astaire

Emily Knight, RDF West – is unable to attend due to train disruption at Paddington today – sorry! Feel free to email us with a CV to pass on to Emily.

RDF West's Emily Knight is keen to hear from freelancers who will work out of Bristol and Cardiff.

To attend this event see the watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk. Can’t make it? Email us for CV advice via our contact button.