Media Parents

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 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.

Media Parents Back to Work Scheme Winner 2017, Edit Producer Emma Sayce, made it her goal to break back in to flexible work via the scheme (which is currently open for applications, apply here.). Emma has just finished a 12-week stint job sharing as an Edit Producer on Maverick’s BAFTA winning CBBC show Operation Ouch! She and job share partner Nikki Ryan write here about their experience of job sharing in the edit.

Operation Ouch!'s job sharing Van Tulleken brothers

Six months ago, neither of us had really thought about job sharing, but having done it, we’re keen to repeat the experience. We’ve found it to be a productive and enjoyable way of working.

Job Sharing Returner Emma Sayce at Edinburgh TV Festival with her Media Parents Sponsor Endemol Shine Global HR Director Bella Lambourne

Operation Ouch! is a 12 x 28’ science/medical series for kids, presented by identical twin doctors Chris and Xand Van Tulleken. Nikki worked as an Edit Producer on the series a few years ago, and when the Head of Production, Maria French, contacted her about coming back for the 7^th series Nikki (very nervously) asked for part time hours. On such a busy edit this wasn’t viable, and the idea of sharing the role came up. Maria sounded out the Series Producer and Exec, and both were happy to give it a go. Maverick advertised the position through Media Parents and found me to pair with Nikki.

Maverick had chosen us on our individual merits … but it was down to us to make the partnership work, and we had never met! After our first conversation it was clear we were on the same page – both committed to the job, and to making the process of sharing it work.

Tamara Durnford, right, Maverick TV's Talent Manager who crewed for the jobshare at Media Parents recent job share event

Nikki worked 3 days a week, Emma 2. In the main, looked after our own VTs from start to finish, but this didn’t mean we worked independently. Being across 3 edits, on a fast turnaround show, meant lots of planning and we did this together – mapping out what each edit would be cutting and when, and lining up work for each other so we could hit the ground running on our respective days. We made it our business to be across everything our job share partner was doing, so that we could answer questions about it, and the production team could treat us, essentially, as one person.

All this meant we had to be in close communication. We had detailed handover phone chats on Wednesday and Friday evenings, spoke to each other during the day whenever we needed to, and had a joint email account which we kept an eye on during our days off. We did find ourselves putting in a bit of time ‘out of hours’, but this didn’t feel onerous. We could fit it around family commitments, and we also enjoyed it! How often, as a freelancer, do you get a detailed insight into how someone else does your job, and the opportunity to compare approaches and share best working practices?

None of our editors had worked with a job share duo before but they were extremely supportive, as was everyone on the production.  We definitely felt able to work as effectively as we would have done as individuals. The job of an EP is, after all, a creative one, and it’s easier to be creative in the edit when you’re not tired, not stressed because of what may/may not be going on at home, and generally feeling happy with your work/life balance. You also get time out of the edit to come up with the odd funnier line / fresher idea / solution to something that is proving tricky. In this way, we felt we offered good value to our employer – 2 brains for the price of 1!

Channel 4's Jon Snow photobombs the Media Parents Back to Work Team at Edinburgh TV Fest 2018 - Emma Sayce far left.

One big lesson, from our experience, is that job sharing really is a team game. There’s no room for competition or egos – your partner’s success is your success. You need to pair up with someone you trust, communicate easily with and who has a similar work ethic. Interestingly, we found that you don’t need the same experience, just the same attitude!

This job share has exceeded our expectations. Through Media Parents we feel lucky to have hit upon a partnership that works, and we’re keen to test it out on different kinds of show. We’re aware, for example, that on something like a single narrative doc, we’d be collaborating on a much more creative level. We’ve spoken to other job sharers who’ve made that work!

We’d encourage anyone interested to try and get a job share going. You can post here to find a job share, or on the Media Parents watercooler. Hopefully this will become progressively easier to do, but for now it seems that if a production company knows one of you, they’re more likely to give it a shot. We hope this way of working will allow those of us who need to give time to our lives outside telly (for whatever reason), to also have long and fulfilling careers within it.

Emma is now working for Endemol Shine, her Media Parents Back to Work Scheme sponsoring company, and will be available in November. Nikki Ryan is currently on mat leave – congratulations ~Nikki!

Nikki Ryan, Edit Producer Job Share

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

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/2587/nikki-ryan

Read more about Media Parents Back to Work Scheme here : https://blog.mediaparents.co.uk/2018/07/media-parents-back-to-work-scheme-opens-2/

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.

Having reluctantly left Production many years ago to bring up 2 children, it was unfinished business. I always intended to go back but a teaching career suited being a working mum and so it took until August 2017 to see if it was still possible to get back into TV, but instead of commercials, move into Drama, writes Paula Watkins.

Returning Production Coordinator Paula Watkins networking at Broadcast Commissioning Forum

In truth I thought it highly unlikely that anybody would want to employ someone who had been out of the industry for over 14 years. A lot has changed and with no up to date training or experience I questioned what I had to offer and almost gave up before I had even started. On a whim I made a phone call to a Producer I used to work with and a week later I began work experience on Silent Witness for the BBC.

Silent Witness (Picture Credit : BBC)

Walking in on the first day was terrifying, what would the production team make of me and what exactly did I want from the experience?  Within a very short amount of time it felt extremely familiar and comfortable and it was easy to ask millions of questions, take notes, offer help and be honest about my desire to learn everything I could to eventually be employable again within a production team. Much of the job was the same but the particular demands of TV Drama as opposed to Commercials needed to be learnt alongside all the current practices. Overriding all of this however, was a feeling that maybe there was work out there and that I did have skills to offer but just needed a way in. Being accepted onto the Media Parents HETV Drama Return to Work Programme a few weeks after some further work experience on The Durrells for ITV, really felt that the universe had a plan for me.

Paula Watkins with Tiger Aspect's Cat Fox at Media Parents Job Share Event

The Media Parents course was so brilliantly supportive and helped me to realise that I could do this ‘returning to TV thing’ that I had originally thought too ambitious. There was much to thank Amy Walker for during that week but the day at the BAFTA Commissioning Conference was a highlight. Not only were many of the speakers inspiring but it affirmed that there is so much exciting TV being made and waiting to be made. I came away wanting to be part of it.  As it happened by the end of the same week I was! I started a four-week placement with Fudge Park Productions.  Within 3 weeks of sending off my Return to HETV application form I was starting work on a Comedy Drama.  All thanks to Media Parents.

So now I just had to do it. I arrived on the job on the last day of prep and therefore into an existing team. This made it more nervewracking as the relationships and working practices were already established. On the first day of filming I made my way to set before everyone else, found the Production Bus and set myself down early to settle the nerves. There was plenty to do but the challenge was to find how to be as supportive as possible and seek out things to do without interfering or usurping anyone else’s role. But I also needed to learn as much as I could. This was a golden opportunity and I wanted to make the most of every second.

Fudge Park's White Gold (Picture Credit : BBC)

PACT contracts came my way and that gave me something that I could take control of, keeping myself busy whilst getting to the know the team and, most importantly, them getting to know me. The long days and journey to and from various locations were gruelling, but this was outweighed by how much brilliant experience I was getting. Once the contracts were done it was about being there for anything to support and help with the daily challenges that always occur in Production. Towards the end of the placement, I was delighted to be asked to stay on until the end of the production. This was really exciting and gave me the confidence to believe that my skills were useful and that I had become part of the team.

The back to work plan is currently taking shape with the help of my mentor BBC Production Exec Jacqui Glanville, and Media Parents. I need to stay close to home until my youngest daughter finishes her A levels so I’ve been fortunate enough to work from home as a Production Coordinator for Merman thanks to Media Parents. When that contract finishes there is plenty to do: developing excel skills, Albert courses, getting to know Movie Magic, Final Draft and anything I can find close to home.

Returning Coordinators Paula Watkins (top left) and Zenna Barry with Sister Pictures Coordinator Maja Wlodarczyk at Media Parents IWD Drinks. Paula attended every networking event possible to get back in to TV.

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/14684/paula-watkins

Join Media Parents www.mediaparents.co.uk for great jobs, training and events. Media Parents Back to Work Scheme 2018 is opening soon.

I have been in British Television for over 20 years and in that time I have been lucky enough to work on programmes as diverse as Peter Kays Phoenix Nights, Cold Feet and Dragons’ Den to the multi award winning “Ups” documentaries, writes Editor Ian Brown.

Editor Ian Brown : https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/11059/ian-brown

As a well respected finishing editor and colourist, the majority of my career has been spent working out of the regions’ top post facility houses, usually in big air conditioned rooms with fancy sofas and hot and cold drinks on tap but after the birth of my twins in 2012, I began to wonder if we could do things differently?

My youngest son Thomas has Cerebral Palsy and it became clear that if I could build a finishing suite at home, I would be able to have far greater control over my family’s work life balance.

A traditional finishing suite can easily set a facility back six figures but they all have one thing in common, without a skilled operator, they are worthless. I had the skills, I just needed to find a way to build a reliable home system.

In 2013 I began to forge a relationship with Matt Aindow at Scan computers in Bolton. As my plans progressed I spent time meeting the back room boys at Scan in their labs. Using a mixture of professional and gaming components we began to realise my dream of a facility class home finishing system. We added a Tangent wave control surface to give my system world conditions and it came up trumps.

Within days of me getting it home in February 2015, I was called on to grade a rock promo for Sitcom Soldiers, then edit a number of charity films, content for art exhibitions and a 5K grade on the British feature film “Off Piste”. It also allowed me to work from home whenever I was called on to edit TV programmes. Large parts of ITV’s Unbelievable moments Caught on Camera, Les Dawson Forever and Britain’s Darkest Taboo’s were cut in a cellar in Bromley Cross on my 3XS system.

Tom

Too often the demands of  working in Television combined  with the pressures of raising a young family lead to a talent drain out of the industry. I am reluctant to commit to working long unsociable hours especially when you add in a commute but as television fragments into more of a cottage industry I think this kind of home working is the future.

Send me a drive, discuss the brief and I can edit, online and grade around the needs of the schoolrun by picking up extra hours once my children are asleep. With high speed broadband, it is easy to do approvals over the internet. I consistently bring in my jobs on time and in budget whilst enjoying seeing my children blossom.

The way the team at Scan have worked hand in hand with me to see through my dream has been faultless and I am now often in the enviable position when I do go into town, of working on kit in high end facilities that cannot touch my home system for speed, grunt and reliability.

Yet much more important than that I am able to keep my skills as a high end finishing editor in the market place whilst juggling the family life balance that comes with having a child with complex special needs. Thanks to scan I am able to work on your project when you need me

https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/11059/ian-brown