Part D

Learning about Art Practitioner’s; what did you do? Who did you meet?

We came together for a session meeting with industry professionals and learning about their profession, their interests and how they came to the position they were in.  It was good to hear the different aspects of each role as we were able to ask questions to a producer, DOP, production designer and sound editor. It was particularly helpful to meet with the producer who then gave us a few tasks to try and complete to see how we would manage with scheduling, planning and preparing ourselves for any challenges/ problems that might occur when filming.

What have you learnt that you didn’t know?

During this session I was able to work with the producer Michelle Fox who took me and the other producers through the steps we needed to carry out within our roles. It was quite eye opening as I was unsure beforehand the specific details my role entailed. I found out just how much responsibility lay on the producer  I didn’t have any real awareness of how to schedule a shoot properly and had never heard of the ‘eighths rule’ which we were to apply when breaking down the scenes. Even though it was slightly daunting the information we found out was invaluable with regards to our planning and preparation and once put into practice after a few attempts I found it to be easier than anticipated. The information we were given in preparation for the shoot was really worthwhile as I felt it made the process of planning more manageable and when amendments needed to be made to the scripts/schedules etc at the end of each day on set, I could do so efficiently.

 Above is an example of a call sheet I was given as part of the tutoring the producers were given by the mentors, which I then gave annotations to during the session.

 We were then given a script breakdown sheet and a copy of our script and told to try and fill in the sheet based on what was present in the script.

Here is a copy of one of the schedules/call sheets I made whilst on the residential. I found my ability to create these and make amendments when we didnt manage to shoot enough footage became much more confident the more practice I had.

What did you learn about a particular craft?

With production I found out the extent of how much pressure and responsibility is relied upon the particular person which is something that I was aware of but hadn’t really appreciated. The importance of organization and good working environment amongst crew members was also something which had been reinforced after hearing about the producer’s previous experience and stories.

What did you learn about the film/media industry? What are the different routes into it? What is it like working in it?

One of the main points reinforced was the importance of going out and finding different opportunities for yourself. Some of the mentors who we worked with had gone into the industry by starting as a runner and working their way up by gaining experience from different places whilst others had attended universities and then gone on to jobs from that. Some of the mentors mentioned how their job aspirations within the industry had changed once they gathered some experience and tried different rolls. We were also told that there are a lot of opportunities to be had as long as you are able to be flexible as it can be unpredictable at times and job roles can differ especially if you are starting out as a runner. Throughout, all of the practitioners were really enthused when talking about the subject and we were given a better insight into how the media industry can be challenging, exciting and rewarding to work in.