Media Parents

In 2004, I’d been having a great career as an assistant director, working on stuff like Bridget Jones, Peep Show and The Royle Family for around six years. Then one summer’s day in Glastonbury Festival, I stepped into a world that, unbeknown to me, would filter through the next 12 years of my life….and counting.

That ‘world’ was a place called Lost Vagueness. For those that either can’t remember or never went, it was an area of the renowned festival that blew apart the bland aesthetic of the waning Britpop and Rave era. It was trashy glamour infused with naked cabaret, set in a decadent casino and only when you looked down at the mud, did you remember that you were in Glastonbury.

In an impulsive flash I felt I had to know more about the people involved in creating this playground. A few weeks later, camera in hand and never having entertained the idea of making a documentary, I started to follow their every venture. At first I thought it would be around six months, especially as I’d just caught the attention of a content branding agency. All seemed to be well.

Sofia Olins can be contacted through Media Parents : http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/12968/sofia-olins

But then after the first year, I’d made friends with the main characters and there seemed to be a bigger story, one that questioned cultural phenomena and closely examined individualism. Not to mention a relationship between the anti-hero central character, a man named Roy Gurvitz and legendary Michael Eavis. One year became two, then three and four until by 2007, I’d almost given up my assistant directing role so that I could plan the ending to the film, finally, in Glastonbury, where it had all begun.

Primed for the grand finale, I took a crew of five camera people, sound and stills for what was to be one of the wettest festivals in history. I cried at one point, not from lack of sleep, but from water in my wellies. Weather aside, the entire story imploded as Roy and Michael’s relationship fell apart in a spectacular and public way and suddenly Lost Vagueness at Glastonbury was no more.

I now had an unfinished film. Not long after, needing a breather and some distance, I did a masters at Goldsmiths and then, once finished, I was pregnant with our first child. We left London for two years and I found that I’d gone from a high velocity lifestyle on big budget film sets to a draughty church hall playgroup in Newcastle with sick on my shoulder.

After some intense marital negotiation, we were back in London, I’d been accepted on to a TV mentoring course and I was back on track, phew. My mentor couldn’t believe I hadn’t finished the film. And so this time last year, I was in the early stages of planning the revival of what was now an archive film and building a Kickstarter campaign.  Now there’s a refreshed narrative, some amazing new footage, an incredible team and the real final final shoot planned for this June.  We are ready to share the tale of how once upon a time in the 1990’s, the mythical west country gathering was not a 30 minute sell out sensation. Then along came a bunch of angry and lost travellers. And somehow an alchemy of massive risk, political frustration and cultural zeitgeist would catapult it to become what we now know as one of the worlds greatest festivals.

So if you’re interested in joining our progress for the next 12 months (not years, I promise) do have a little look at where we’re at. Oh and maybe see you at Glastonbury…?

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/12968/sofia-olins

Our next event is on May 3rd at The Hospital Club, see our site emails and watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk to obtain tickets. Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

A cover letter is the gateway to a potential employer opening and reading your CV – it’s hugely important to your job application or spec letter, so time spent getting it right is well spent, writes Media Parents Director Amy Walker.

This morning I received a cover letter that was 505 words long – almost as long as this blog post – multiply this by the number of spec emails a TV employer receives each day and you’ll soon realise that you’re likely to be wasting two people’s time with a long one.

Use your cover letter to open doors for you – it’s not a given that someone reading your email will even open your CV – so work it – make them want to read your CV and meet you. If you apply for a job via Media Parents there might only be five other applicants, but for any other job site or spec letter there could be easily ten times as many people making the same approach. Either way, you need to stand out in a positive way from the crowd.

Use your cover letter to stand out from the crowd - in a positive way. (Photo Anna Curtin)

The basics are

Keep it brief

Be relevant

Spell check

And that’s largely it.

BREVITY

So how brief is brief? All employers are busy, so, keeping manners in mind, the shorter the better. Remember you are demonstrating your ability to organise and select relevant material here (vital in most TV jobs) – a long letter can shoot you in the foot by implying you have no prioritising or editing skills.  Natalie Spanier, Talent Manager at Nutopia says “Keep them incredibly brief! Most talent managers will just want to get straight on to looking at your CV. Restrict it to key information e.g. availability and any wishes for your next job. But never more than 5 or 6 lines.”

Nutopia COO Helena Tait and Head of Talent Natalie Spanier meeting Media Parents talent

“I HATE long cover letters.  I don’t read them, I might skim the first paragraph, but I think a short, concise one is best” says Boundless Production Manager Anna Gordon.  “Polite, well written and spelt but brief! I haven’t got time to wade through loads of info. I’m afraid I largely ignore cover letters if they’re too long!”

RELEVANCE

Some people choose just to fire off a CV without a cover note, but this is a slightly wasted opportunity IMHO. Why not take the time to read the job ad or the company website and briefly highlight your relevant skills for the job? Employers don’t have time to wade through a long letter, nor do they have time to hunt for what they need on a CV, so judiciously highlighting really helps. Why not take the time to tailor a cover letter and CV rather than expecting an employer to do that work for you?

Raw Cut's Claire Walker

Rawcut Head of Production Claire Walker lists her cover letter pet hates “The ones where you know it’s a copy and paste – yes we all do it, but come on! The ones where they mix up what your company does, and what one with a similar name does. The ones where they could be anything – researcher, co-ord, editor, producer! Make a choice!” A cover letter shouldn’t be a standard one – no more than your CV should – research and send it like a guided missile to get you the job!

Pi Productions’ Head of Production Viki Carter says “As I view it the cover letter is to persuade me to interview you – I will ask for more detail on the things you highlight if and when we meet.”

Pi Productions' Head of Production Viki Carter meets freelancers at a Media Parents event

GAPS

If you’re a parent returning to the workplace you can choose to highlight a break from work on your CV or in your cover letter – frame it positively so you outline any refresher training you have done to prepare for the return to work, and also any relevant new skills you picked up during the sabbatical. Don’t labour it and don’t apologise.

SPEC LETTERS

In my first job in TV Peter Bazalgette recommended I watch programmes by the company first. A blindingly uncomplicated tactic mirrored by many of his successful programmes. Highlight something you’ve seen and loved, point out your relevant experience to that company, or for another series of that show. In an increasingly competitive industry this is still good practice today but with a word of warning from Endemol Shine Exec Matt Holden : “If you’re going to write and tell a programme maker that you like their show, then you have to think hard about what it elements really engaged you, it’s your opportunity to begin a dialogue, so make it thought provoking. It doesn’t matter if the person who reads your cover letter disagrees, at least you have shown you’ve engaged with the show.”

Endemol Shine Exec Matt Holden at a Media Parents event

HUMOUR

Like a CV a cover letter can demonstrate your ability to select and organise material as mentioned above. Both can also demonstrate your personality, so if you’re confident and can write well, humour can help. But remember brevity is the soul of wit.

Amy Walker founded and runs Media Parents and is happy to answer any cover letter queries fielded through the Media Parents contact page. Amy is also Head of Talent at TwentyTwenty Television and welcomes spec letters.

Our next event is on May 3rd at The Hospital Club, see our site emails and watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk to obtain tickets. Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

On May 3rd Media Parents is joining forces to host a marvellous evening in conjunction with The Finish Line at the glamorous Hospital Club in Covent Garden. Attended by experienced professionals working in post production from across the industry including Media Parents, ITV Studios, Crook Productions, TwentyTwenty Television,  MSV Post, Boundless Productions, Blast! Films, Raw TV, Windfall Films, Endemol Shine, Blink Films, RDF, Buccaneer Media, Waddell Media, Bookhouse TV, Raw Cut TV, Vaudeville Post Production and The Finish Line, this event will be hugely useful for anyone who uses, or books for, the edit.

Our next event is on May 3rd at The Hospital Club, see our site emails and watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk to obtain tickets. Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training, read further on this blog for details.

This Media Parents event is an opportunity for everyone working in the edit to meet at the glamorous Hospital Club. The event is kindly hosted by The Finish Line, a company with an innovative and flexible approach to post production. The Finish Line team create pop-up post, inside or within close proximity to your production office. They offer solutions that work for your time and budget. This means they have more flexibility to make the shows you deliver look and sound as good as they possibly can.

As Zeb Chadfield, Founder of The Finish Line says “Our talent, systems and workflows are like no other. By using the latest, greatest tools and the most experienced operators, we can complete final post on site with minimal set up, which also removes the need to run around town for viewings.”

Here follow biogs for attendees from The Finish Line, we will also be joined by a host of execs working across post at a range of brilliant indies including Blast! films, Zodiak Media, Raw TV, Endemol Shine, Twenty Twenty Television, Buccaneer Media, MSV Post, RDF Media, Crook Productions and more.

Zeb chadfield, founder, The Finish Line

Zeb started linear editing at age sixteen and has worked full time since. In his early career he was a jack of all trades, doing everything from running on-set graphics, cutting and compositing title sequences to designing and building edit suits and machine rooms. His true passion however has always been Colour Grading and Online Editing which led him to work in post houses all over the world. Zeb has now settled in London where he set up The Finish Line to provide an alternative to traditional Post Production. His credits cover everything from Vicious and Hollyoaks Later to Hunted and The Island with Bear Grylls.

David Grewal, director, The Finish Line

David is a multi talented online editor with a wealth of experience on all grading and non-linear edit systems. He started his career at Resolution where he had risen from Runner to Online Editor as well as supervising the machine room before moving on to Clear Cut Pictures where he worked as Senior Online Editor. He has worked on many of the biggest factual shows of the past decade including ‘Top Gear’, ‘Wife Swap’ and ‘Big Brother’. His flexibility and calm demeanour have won him many fans all over the UK.

Jonathan Blessley, MD, The Finish Line

Jonathan’s introduction to the industry took shape at a leading post house many moons ago where he quickly ascended through the ranks, starting at entry level as a Runner and ending up as Senior Post Producer, whereby he was responsible for overseeing countless high profile series from ingest to delivery, including Stephen Fry’s Planet Word, Jungle Gold, The Charisma of Hitler, Brazil with Michael Palin to name but a few. Having being asked to run the The Finish Line at the beginning of 2015 has proven to be a most rewarding endeavour.

THE GUESTLIST

Alexandra Riverol-Brown Production Manager ITV

Alison Hunt Editor Thirty Media Ltd

Allison Dore Line Producer Crook Productions

Amy Walker Director Media Parents / Head of Talent, TwentyTwenty Television

Ann Booth-Clibborn Executive Producer freelance

Cate Duffy Assistant Editor Platform Post

Dafydd O’Connor Producer Silent Movies

Dan Jones MD Vaudeville Post Production

Daren Tiley Editor Freelance

David Grewal Partner The Finish Line

Dermot O’Brien Film Editor Freelance

Ed Bengoa Head of Production MSV Post

Elliot McCaffrey PD-Edit Producer Freelance

Esther Johnson Head of Production Boundless Productions

Farrah Drabu Editor DNR Films

Fiona Caldwell Executive Producer Boundless Productions

Gaby Koppel Series/ Edit Producer freelance

Gyles Neville Executive Producer TwoFour

Hana Canter Head of Production TwentyTwenty Television

Harriet Brady Resourcing Manager ITV Studios

Harriet Scott Series Editor Blast! Films

Harry Connolly Edit producer freelance

Ian Greaves Producer / Cameraman BigBlueWorld

Ian Hunt Series Director Thirty Media Ltd

Ian Paul Garland Editor A Light in the Dark Films

Isa Suarez Composer Freelance

Jane Bevan Production Exec Raw TV

Jason Hendriksen Line Producer Windfall Films

Jo MacGregor Edit Producer Liquid Films Ltd

Jon Nicholls Composer

Jonathan Blessley MD The Finish Line

Kate Hampel Edit Director Freelance

Katy Ferguson Series / Edit Producer Freelance

Kerry Jones Client Liaison Media Parents

Kim Duke Producer/Director + Series Producer Freelance

Lee Butterwick Avid Editor Frozen North Films Ltd

Leisa Fisicaro Edit Producer Freelance

Lucy Butler Production Manager Boundless Productions

Lynda Hall DoP Freelance

Mandy Thomson Executive Producer October Films

Matt Holden Executive Producer Endemol Shine

Matt Norman Composer Silverscore Productions

Megan Gerrie Series Producer Freelance

Miranda Peters Executive Producer Blink Films

Miranda Simmons Line Producer Firecracker Films / Freelancer

Nadia Jaynes Head of Production Buccaneer Media

Nick Singfield-Strank Head of Technical Production RDF

Nicola Waddell Executive Producer-SP Waddell Media

Paul Golding Series Producer and Location Director Freelance

Paul Tasker Series Editor Freelance

Rita Kaye Video Editor Golden Age Films

Romesh Aluwihare Editor

Ros Edwards Series Director / Series Producer freelance

Sabine Pusch edit producer freelance

Simon Myers Editor Garden Shears Editing Ltd

Soul Nazemi Editor freelance

Steve Warr Executive Producer Raw Cut TV

Tina Lohmann Head of Production Bookhouse Media

Tom Heycock Editor Self Employed

Zeb Chadfield Founder The Finish Line

Our next event is on May 3rd at The Hospital Club, see our site emails and watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk to obtain tickets. Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

Zeb Chadfield, Founder of  The Finish Line, sponsors of Media Parents‘ next event on May 3rd, writes here about the age-old conundrum of needing experience to get a job in TV, and discusses his own early career before launching a global post production business.

Zeb Chadfield working the fishing boat in New Zealand with his dad.

How do you get experience if no one will give you a job to get it? From my point of view there are two major misconceptions here, the first is that the request is a request for experience in the industry you are trying to get into. The second is that you need to have a job in said industry to get experience in it.

I never went to university, actually that is a massive understatement, I hardly even went to school. I was out on my own at 15 and had no experience in anything… My dad was a fisherman when I was young and he had to get up around 3am and head out to sea. Whenever I could, I would go with him, so I was very good at getting up in the morning. When I was around 9 or 10 my dad moved from fishing into tourism, and there I worked as crew on the boat when school was out. I was speaking to tourists every day, helping them to put on lifejackets and pull in fish. When a little older I started answering the phones, taking bookings and handling payments. I also had to feed penguins before school every day, so when I was 15 and I was looking for a job I had loads of experience but I just didn’t know it.

Zeb Chadfield fuelled his passion for editing with tape to tape edits of The Young Ones - he now runs a global post production outfit.

Looking back at my childhood, I also had learned something very important for my future that I had no idea was going to be so valuable, I had learned to edit! This started with Young Ones episodes that were on TV really late. I would sneak out and set the VHS to record and then run off back to bed. I would then have the episode on video, but with all the adverts. So I would setup two VHS recorders and dub the raw recording to another tape but would have to do it really quickly so there wasn’t a big dropout when you started rerecording. If you wanted smooth edits you would go through this process of playing the tape, hitting record at the right time, then pausing the recorder just as the adverts started, fast forward the player, then un-pause the recorder at the moment the player started to play the next part. This simple practice planted the editing seed.

Next was door-to-door sales. This was the most life changing experience I have had and it has honestly made me who I am today. At the time I didn’t think much of it, I was just happy to have a job and as it had nothing to do with post production you could be forgiven for thinking it was of little benefit to my future, but you would be very wrong. If you have had a job where you get doors slammed in your face and told to “fuck off” all day every day you can do anything! This job taught me so much about communicating clearly, sales, goal setting and most importantly getting knocked down and getting back up again. In any job these skills are very valuable. Communication is key when you are in a high pressure environment with tight deadlines. Being able to sell your ideas is massively beneficial and setting goals to push yourself will help you achieve things you never thought possible. You will get knocked down throughout your life so being able to take it on the chin and keep moving forward is integral if you want to achieve great things.

Zeb’s article continues here. Zeb and The Finish Line team will be hosting Media Parents’ Post Spectacular Event at The Hospital Club on May 3rd. For tickets please see site emails and the watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk further details will be published on this blog shortly.

Our next event is on May 3rd at The Hospital Club, see our site emails for details. Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

Huge thanks to Danny Dawson and the Alias Hire team for an enjoyable and informative tech evening at Endemol. Danny and his team are offering attendees a spectacular £100 off kit hire, so to take up that offer please email Danny c/o www.aliashire.co.uk ASAP. Here are some photos of the event, thanks to Media Parents members for taking them!

Still our favourite snap of the night - Alias Hire MD Danny Dawson rocking the timecode headband look.

Raw TV Production Executive Jane Bevan networks with some the ladies from The Garden Productions.

Executive Producer Ann Booth-Clibborn lost no time meeting people at her first Media Parents event.

Alias Hire's demo and Q&A was hailed as "brilliant" by a hundred freelancers and company members from Media Parents.

Endemol Shine Exec Producer Matt Holden helps out with some event photos.

Getting hands-on with the kit. (Photo : Matt Holden)

Huge thanks to the Alias Hire team for sponsoring and running a brilliant evening. (Photo : Michelle Reynolds)

Thanks to Janet Midian for taking this photo at her first Media Parents event. Good to know she was too engrossed to take any more! (Photo : Janet Midian)

Good to see Media Parents' Amy Walker brought all her teeth to the event. (Photo : Matt Holden)

Director Ben Lawrie shooting the action. (Photo : Michelle Reynolds)

Suits you madam! PD Sabine Pusch, currently working as an Edit Producer through Media Parents, tries the kit for size. (Photo : Ben Lawrie)

The Raw TV crew in full swing. (Photo : Matt Holden)

Photo : Michelle Reynolds

Photo : Matt Holden

Contact Danny Dawson at www.aliashire.co.uk for details of great kit hire.

Our next event is on May 3rd at The Hospital Club, see our site emails for details. Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

Ann Booth-Clibborn is an Executive Producer and runs her own business helping companies to tell their stories. Here she shares some of her secrets for Media Parents.

Ann Booth-Clibborn speaks at a storytelling conference. http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/12497/ann-booth-clibborn

Stories are our life-blood and our obsession but can you articulate to anyone else, the story you feel instinctively in your soul? writes Ann Booth-Clibborn. Here are three storytelling tips that might help next time you are sat in an edit or production meeting, needing to get that story out in the open.

What world are you trying to create in this show?

What does it feel, look, smell like? What are the rules?

What question is your story trying to answer?

Defining this question will help refine what this story is about and define your end point.

What is the jeopardy in your story?

What is at risk? What is at stake? When you have this down to one line you will know you have passed on the essence of the story.

I am really interested in story mechanics. I currently work as a trouble-shooter and writer for Discovery, and I have my own company helping businesses tell their story. As an Exec Producer for Channel 4 features I felt I had a pretty good grasp of how to make a good show but when I went on the BBC Academy story telling course, it changed my mind and ultimately it changed my career path. I had always been obsessed with commentary, from my early training when I launched Changing Rooms, through being an SP and Exec, but my real immersion into writing was re-versioning. I had just had a baby and I have to say at the time I felt I’d gone back about 10 years in my career, but I realise now it gave me the opportunity to write.

"I had just had a baby and I have to say at the time I felt I’d gone back about 10 years in my career, but I realise now it gave me the opportunity to write."

I got the feeling for the length of a line (7 seconds for two thoughts, 11 seconds for three thoughts), and an understanding of how a script could rescue a show. Later, working on Great British Menu, I was shocked at the variety in quality of the writing and I wrote to the BBC Academy to call for a commentary course. They invited me to the Academy to help develop one. The story telling course was part of my induction. What it gave me was a language to talk about story principles to other producers and even to people who didn’t work in TV. My skill that had been entirely instinctive was now out and proud! I set up my training company, storycoach.london to help businesses tell their story well. Then an exec from Discovery called me, she had a doc in a terrible state which needed a complete restructure and rewrite. Could I help? It was like giving a cleaner a dirty house to work on – I loved it. When the show transmitted on Discovery in Russia, it was their highest rated show of the day. I then reworked a 6-part doc, Zoltan the Wolfman, for Animal Planet.

At the end of last year I remotely exec produced The Primeval Forest with a Russian production team and I found using story principles as a basis for discussion and planning really successful for me, and the Russian director. I am looking to take on another part time exec producer role now where planning stories and weaving them together is key; specialist factual, features or a doc series.  My feeling is every genre can benefit from some rock solid story telling and I can help a team deliver that. http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/12497/ann-booth-clibborn

Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details. Join us at our next event on March 15th.

Media Parents is once again proud to partner with Alias Hire for our Camera Workshop on Tuesday 15th March. Please join us for a fun and informative evening which is free to members. See who is attending below.

The Alias Hire Team will be out in force to answer your questions.

Alias will be giving demos on the most contemporary shooting kit of the Sony FS7 and the Canon C300 mkII. You want to use them and Alias Hire will show you how! Alias Hire taff will be on-hand to demonstrate how to…

Shoot – Framing, colour balancing, Checking Audio levels etc

Guides and Techniques – Learn quick and easy techniques to make sure your shoot is as good as it can be

Manage Media  – How best to back up media and have it ready for ingest

Every year it seems there’s a new ‘Must Have’ camera and now you can beat the rush and learn how to use them BEFORE you have to use them!

To sign up for tickets please use the link below, in conjunction with the password on our watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk and in our site email.

http://mediaparentsaliashiretechcatchup.eventbrite.co.uk

This event is free to Media Parents subscribers. Non members are asked to pay £15 to attend, redeemable against your first month’s subscription.

Alias Hire’s Alias Academy is also offering FREE training to Media Parents members. Please see our watercooler for details.

GUEST LIST

Aaro Akin Journalist/producer Freelance Alex Bottomley Production Runner Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Alison Mee Producer Director (self shooting) UBM Alison Rooper Executive Producer In Focus Productions Amy Walker Director Media Parents Andrew Evans Editor Aceditor@aol.com Andrew Fineberg Freelance Edit Assistant Fremantle Media Ann Booth-Clibborn Executive producer freelance Ann Hawker producer freelance Anne Monnehay Editor Freelance Annie Arnold Shooting producer freelancer Ben Flower Production Exec Endemol Shine Ben Lawrie Director Freelance Brigitta Szaszfai Development researcher Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Carolina Bodmer Production Coordinator Scripps Networks International Caroline Law caroline@cloudedits.com Cloud Edits Ltd Cath Longbottom director, self shooter Flying Duck Limited Catherine Fox-Kirk Production Manager Raw TV Chris Purcell director/camera Right Angle Films Ltd Clare Burns Producer Freelance Claudia Hodes Researcher The Garden Productions Daniella Byrne Production Runner Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd DAREN TILEY EDITOR DT EDITING SERVICES LTD David Coward Producer Director Pathfinder Diana Hinshelwood Producer Freelance Donna Harry Shooting AP/Producer Freelance Ed Booth Series producer C5 Elizabeth Lawal Runner Raw TV Elli Josephs Producer Freelance Fiona Calvert PRODUCER / DIRECTOR FREELANCE (BBC) Fionna Moore Researcher Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd FRED HEPBURN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER NUTOPIA Gaby Koppel Edit/Series Producer Freelance George Bland Editor – Director Fire Rabbit LTD Gilberte Phanor Producer Sky News GINA mahoney Edit Producer Freelance GINNY BING PRODUCER/DIRECTOR FREELANCE Graciela Watson Edit Producer / SP Freelance Harriet Scott Series Editor Remarkable Television Harry Connolly Film Editor Harry Connolly Hayley Smith Series Producer Director Freelance Hazel Palmer Cameraman freelance Helen Walker Editor freelance Hermina Campbell Shooting PD Passionate Productions Ian Greaves Producer / Cameraman BigBlueWorld Jane Bevan Production Executive Raw TV Janet Midian Producer freelance at Discovery Jeannine Dowling-Jones PA/EA/Office Manager Mettle Jeff Bannis freelance freelance Jens Wikholm General Manager eva – the video social network Jessica Northcott Raw TV Runner Jo Azzopardi Production Exec Endemol Shine Joan Cuffy Production Manager Freelance Joanna Gretton Producer Freelance Jody Collins Production Exec Endemol Shine Jules Seymour Series Producer C5 / freelance Kate Dooley PD The Garden Kate Hampel Edit Director Freelance Kim Duke Producer/director; series producer Freelance Lara Oheimer Production Assistant Wild Pictures lauren Pollock Researcher Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Leisa Fisicaro Producer / Director / Edit Producer Freelance Lina Caicedo Researcher Raw TV Lorraine Molloy Producer/director freelancer Louise Orton Producer/Director Freelance Lucie Kon Executive Producer Blakeway Productions Maria Vazquez-Medina Video editor/ Self-shooter Director freelance Martha Baileu production assistant in focus productions Matt Currington PD freelance Matt Holden Executive Producer Endemol Shine Meriel Beale Exec/SP Freelance Michelle Brooks Producer Show patrol Michelle Reynolds Producer / Director Freelance Miriam Ryan Producer Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Morgan Phillips Producer/Director Freelance Nicki Stoker Producer/Director Freelance Nicola Asamoa Talent Manager Endemol Shine UK Nicola Waddell Series Editor Boxty Films-Waddell Media Octavia Landy Line producer MTV Paola Vera Digital Media Freelancer patricia emery producer/director sole trader Pauline Roenisch Production Manager Freelance Petet Demetris Producer/Director Freelance Phil Stein P/D, SP, Edit Producer freelance Rebecca McAllen ITV Recruitment ITV Richard Warburton Exec Producer MTV Rita Kaye Video Editor Golden Age Films Robert Cranham Casting Researcher/Researcher Freelance Rocio Cano PD PepaLtd Rosemary Laryea Producer/Presenter Rosemary Laryea Productions Ryker Mitchell Jr Researcher Freelance S Charlton Director-Editor Fudge Tiger Design Agency Sabine Pusch edit producer freelance Samuel Lumley Researcher Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Sandra Smith HoP Endemol Shine SHANY STEPHANY PRODUCER NEWSPROMEDIA Sharron Ward Producer/Director Katalyst Productions Ltd Silvia Galeazzi Assistant Producer Freelancer Stephanie Stafford Runner Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Steven Brown Freelance Video Producer Freelance Video Producer Suki Javle AP Knickerbockerglory TV Ltd Suna Yokes Journalist/Runner – Tamsin Curry Producer Freelance Tom Heycock Editor Camden Television Training William Shaylor Shaylor PM Freelance ZOE BROOKS Promo Producer freelance Zoe Popham Producer Freelance

Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details. Join us at our next event on March 15th.

It’s 3am, I’m alone, and it is pitch black. The battery in my head torch just went flat and I’m trudging through knee-deep mud. All I can hear is the sound of the Costa Rican jungle. My finger stings from a spider bite on the knuckle, and I’m holding a bottle full of Dame Kelly Holmes’ piss. It can mean only one thing: I was back in TV and I was grinning from ear to ear. The last time I smiled this intensely was when my kids were born.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/8221/luke-lovell

Six years previously I was often on location for months, and, as any parent will tell you, it’s not conducive to the early years of marriage and children. I moved to Devon, began lecturing at a university and started a company making TV-style content for a few well-known brands. It fitted perfectly; I had regular hours, and could be there to pick my wife off the floor, or vice versa, when the exhaustion from having two young kids really kicked in (although she’s tougher than me; she worked on Kilroy). But there was something about the camaraderie, the challenge, and the pace of TV that I missed.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/8221/luke-lovell

It was time to return. The kids were older now and my wife was very supportive, we were much less sleep-deprived. I was excited, but I’d been naïve; several score of applications later I was getting nowhere. I applied for the Media Parents Back to Work scheme and didn’t get a place. What was going on? I had to keep going. I was still the same guy who had been praised for his TV work. To cut a long story short, after setting up meetings and making friends with the M4, an SP friend of mine recommended me for a new series. I met the show’s SP who, and hats off to him for taking a bit of a risk with me, hired me as story producer.

It was on that shoot that, with a little convincing, Dame Kelly Holmes passed me her warm bottle in preparation for the infamous urine drinking scene in that show. It’s a year or so on from that night in the jungle and I’ve just finished working on the second series; and more work has followed through word of mouth. I’ve also had interviews and an offer of work through Media Parents which I couldn’t accept because I was booked.

It’s largely down to those I had worked with in the past, who knew what I was capable of, that I’m back in the game. Forgive me for quoting Meet the Parents, but there is a circle of trust within TV, a network of experienced EPs, SPs and PDs whose recommendation adds real weight to any CV or showreel I can put together. You can add these recommendations to your Media Parents profile page too. I know from crewing up my own commercial productions that the perceived glamour of the industry, and so the onslaught of applications, makes it harder for employers to take a chance on someone they don’t know.

So my advice for Media Parents readers is go to events, meet the employers, talk to the people who know your capabilities and ask them to spread the word; personal recommendations are much easier to swallow. Your own urine, it turns out, is not.

Back home from location and with the kids.

[Keep an eye on site emails for details of Media Parents next event.]

Luke Lovell, PD

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/8221/luke-lovell

Luke is a freelance shooting story producer/PD for TV but also produces video content marketing the commercial world.

He shoots, directs and produces factual and factual entertainment TV programmes mostly, but has also worked on obs doc and consumer affairs shows for the major channels and independent production companies.

Having worked on shows including DIY SOS (BBC1 Primetime), Bear Grylls Man v Wild (channel 4 and discovery), Bear Grylls mission survive (ITV Primetime), and Seaside Rescue (BBC1 Primetime), Luke has a wealth of experience with different major channels and programme formats.

Last years series of Bear Grylls Mission Survive was recently a finalist for an NTA. Luke is currently looking for a filler job before his next series starts in late April.

Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

How many of you dress for success? I don’t mean eighties powersuit, Joan Collins shoulder pad style, I mean matching your clothes to suit or alter your mood, asks Emma Hyman, a Development Producer who’s worked through Media Parents.

Media Parents members Emma Hyman (right) networking with Michaela Hennessy-Vass and Sir Ian McKellen in 2012 http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/1927/emma-hyman

Let’s say for example, I’m knackered – I have a choice, I can wear grey and brown so everyone will know and stay away or I can wear bright pink and turquoise to brighten my mood and lift my spirits. Let’s be honest here, nobody really wants to see a morose development producer beiging around. Taupe is not the colour that will inspire Fact Ent hits or a sunshine-filled kids’ format or even a meaty factual series. Taupe is the colour of accountants and tax advisors, taupe can be left in the grown-up corner of John Lewis – I’m heading to the sale section, turns out yellow shoes are always going cheap in January!? Borrowing the words from my first TV mentor, the great Sir Peter Bazalgette “I’m not afraid of colour!”

Sir Peter Bazalgette "not afraid of colour".

I had a baby not so long ago. My hair and back were often covered in a vomitus slime that only parents can appreciate. My eye bags were so heavy that I looked like I’d been carrying my Tesco shop…on my face. But pass me the red lippy and hey presto, I felt a million dollars (well, more like ten quid but you know what I mean!).

Developing ideas when on mat leave : "We meet at BAFTA every few weeks"

I’ve been working from home for a while now, bashing out kids’ formats for Cbeebies and CBBC (taking advantage of my current brain zone) with my lovely work partner Christopher Pilkington – even getting a funded pilot commissioned. We meet at Bafta every few weeks so I can play at being a grown-up. There is obviously much wardrobe deliberation pre-meet. “Does this look ok?” I ask nervously to my over-honest 9 year old, “Hmm,” she says in a Wintouresque tone, “lose the belt!”

The focus has been fantastic, a sanity saver for those more tedious moments of parenting. Don’t get me wrong, looking after kids is extremely rewarding but so is using my brain for something even more creative than what to make from Playdoh today. On those rare mornings when I actually had a chunk of time to write, I would really think about what to wear for the office (my kitchen table). As shallow as it sounds, I found that if I made a bit of an effort: clean clothes, brushed hair, a bit of the Barry M, then I felt more grown-up, more empowered, more creative! I’m in fine company, apparently Magritte used to put on a suit, walk around the block and enter his own front door every morning to get himself into work mode. And he did alright, didn’t he?!

The last few weeks I’ve been challenging myself to get back into the work place. No more working at home, developing ideas in between shovelling rice cakes into my little ones mouth and dragging my big ones to swimming, art etc etc. I need a break. (Just to clarify in case any future employees are reading this – I don’t mean a slacking break, I mean a break from the domestic.) I was lucky enough to find work through a Media Parents networking event so I need to relaunch again, jumping into something other than the local swimming baths. A new challenge. To think in a team, and write with an end and dress to impress someone other than a one year old. I need a new makeup that isn’t left over from my wedding over ten years ago and most of all I need a new wardrobe. To sum up, I’d love a job – a hectic, pressured, fun-packed, brain-turning, worth-dressing-up-for job.

emma hyman development producer

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/1927/emma-hyman

Having been trained as an Endemol Creative Intern, I spent years developing all sorts of shows for various Indies. I have worked at massive corporations and as part of a two-man team in new companies. I’ve developed everything from fact-ent and factual to quiz shows, Saturday night entertainment, day-time, kids’ shows and everything in between. I get a buzz from sparking off an idea but also love the challenge of cracking a tricky format. I’m a great team-player and really enjoy a good brainstorm but I can also work hard by myself if needs be. I have some big ideas in my head that I’d love to share with a company that is willing to invest in me.

Media Parents is brilliant for jobs, networking and training - see www.mediaparents.co.uk for details.

Media Parents Series Producer / Editor Ceri Rowlands on How to survive and thrive as a Freelancer outside London. Since writing this Ceri has landed a long contract as a Series Editor at Off The Fence Productions.

BBC Commissioning Exec Adrian Padmore holds Media Parents' first Skype meeting with SP / EP Ceri Rowlands from Cardiff. http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6763/ceri-rowlands

I’ve always loved a challenge and TV Series Producing, with it’s competing editorial, budgetary and relationship building demands, provides me with that in spades, writes Ceri Rowlands.  My current challenge is my biggest to date: to keep up a regular flow of work in the South West, outside London where 95% of freelance jobs are located. When my children were babies, I was still free to work away. But now, with a 5 and 9 year old who take a dim and vociferous view of me absenting myself, and a husband who’s patiently sucked up the childcare for way too many years, the days of working Monday to Friday a two-hour train ride or one-hour flight away for months on end, are no longer an option.

So, I find myself in the position where I’m turning down cracking offers of London-based jobs with no certainty of securing a job locally. The solution, I’ve found, is to be flexible. So, in the gaps between Series Editor and Series Producer jobs in Cardiff and Bristol, I’ve taken Development, Casting and Edit Director roles.

Ceri Rowlands networking at Media Parents event in Cardiff. http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6763/ceri-rowlands

Companies and individuals can sometimes take some persuading to take you on in a ‘less demanding’ role (not that they are though).  The key is to communicate to the company, often best in person, that all your experience will make for a better production and ensure that their are lives easier.  And at the end of the day, that’s what we all want.

When it comes to negotiating my rate, I adjust it according to the job, just as I did when I lived in London and moved between international, network and digital productions.  My advice is to keep abreast of the ‘going rate’ for different production roles – you can ask questions about this, anonymously if you like, on the Media Parents watercooler.  Also, be sure to communicate to a potential employer what additional skills and experience you can bring to the production. You may find yourself covering several roles and, if so, you’ll need to negotiate a fair rate.

Outside London it’s also far more acceptable to cross genres.  So my time in Cardiff has seen me swing from Film, to Features to Specialist Factual. Other friends in the same boat have built up parallel careers as Web Producers. One turned to writing and is now a Costa Book Awards nominee.

The other challenge that life outside London brings is that, if you want to stay here, you simply can’t rely on talent websites alone to provide you with your next job. Most local companies recruit by word of mouth or through personal introductions.  You have to network. Media Parents regularly organise Freelancer/Employer events in Bristol and Cardiff, where you can make new contacts as well as possibly securing your next job. I find them very helpful. And don’t worry if you can’t make it to their London events, there’s always SKYPE.  This is how I connected with BBC Comm Ed Adrian Padmore last year; me in my kitchen in Cardiff, him in Broadcasting House (see photo above, it is me). Seek out any local Freelancer groups, social media or otherwise.  Attend every networking event you can.

Ceri Rowlands networking at the BBC with Media Parents in Cardiff http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6763/ceri-rowlands

Having recently stepped up to the role of Series Editor, I’m now working towards securing an Exec role locally and have reached the stage where I’m also trying to generate my own work.  Having successfully developed both a CBBC and S4C living history series for Indus TV, and worked up a makeover format for BBC Wales, which was then successfully re-commissioned, I’ve recently started developing my own programme ideas.

I’m used to diversifying – in my early twenties I swapped my career path in Law for one in TV. One year later I relocated from Cardiff to London, and then, via a stint in BSB and Channel 4’s Presentation Departments, became a Studio Director; first at Channel One TV and then ITN. Three years later I moved into Single Camera Directing and Producing. Eight years later I became a Series Producer and, more recently, I’ve been Series Editing. There were plenty of obstacles along the line, but with a lot of hard work and more than a fair helping of blind optimism and sheer bloody mindedness, I always found a way through.

As a result of this will to survive in TV, my CV of late may not look like the London ‘norm’ but it’s been an enjoyable ride so far. I’ve zoned my CV by job and have several tailored CVs so I send out the most relevant one to the job in hand. This life is certainly not nine to five, the days are long and if anything, I’m working harder than ever. But the big bonus is, I get to see my children. And you can’t say fairer than that.

http://www.mediaparents.co.uk/freelancers/6763/ceri-rowlands