Jobs and opportunities
Doorways to Digital Workshop - Friday 14th December 2012
Wednesday 19th December 2012
The BBC recently hosted the CDN at a 'Doorways to Digital' event.
The session was produced by Chantal Badjie (BBC Diversity) and Simone Pennant (TV Collective).
There are links below to available resources from the day. We shall add more podcasts when these have been edited so please check back on this page soon.
- Simone Pennant, The TV Collective, on creating an online community. Listen to Simone's podcast.
- Nick Hall, Director of Operations, Digital Media, Endemol, on his role at Endemol and job families in digital content production. Download Nick's presentation.
- Leon Benjamin at Virgin Media on how to effectively brand yourself online via LinkedIn, blogs and Twitter. Download Leon's presentation.
- Jo Haslam, Multi-platform Commissioner at Channel 4, also spoke and ran an interactive session on driving online usage.
Podcast production by The Podcast Company www.thepodcastcompany.co.uk
Chortle - BBC puts up £5k for transgender comedy
30th November 2012
A BBC talent search is offering comedy writers up to £5,000 for the best script that promotes a positive portrayal of transgender characters. The Trans Comedy Award is seeking an original sitcom, comedy-drama or sketch show script that shows 'transgender characters and the transgender experience in an affirming manner'. The cash will help the winner develop a taster or pilot episode for possible television broadcast.
The award, launched by the BBC's acting director-general Tim Davie, is a joint initiative between the BBC Writers Room and Trans Comedy, a group led by transgendered comedians Claire Parker and Shelley Bridgman and actor Milanka Brooks.
Parker told Chortle:
'If you look at the representation of trans people across all media, the majority of stories have fallen into one of four buckets - sex worker, drug taking, mental health or murder.
'To be fair, that doesn't represent the average trans person getting on with their life with so much comedy in the everyday. And that's what we're encouraging people to write about, the everyday stuff.'
US comedies have featured transgender characters more prominently than their UK counterparts, albeit frequently as a chance to cast Hollywood stars in guest roles, as with Kathleen Turner in Friends, Rebecca Romjin in Ugly Betty and Chris O'Donnell in Two And A Half Men.
Lucy Montgomery played a transgender woman in series three of The IT Crowd, Sean Lock made cameos as a transgendered character in Ideal, while The Mighty Boosh’s grotesque, bisexual and 'polyamorous' character Old Gregg character has been held up as social commentary on transphobia. Judging the award are Jon Plowman, executive producer of BBC comedy, Ian Critchley, the corporation’s head of creative resources and Kate Rowland, its creative director of writing, plus a further comedy writer/actor still to be announced.
Entry for submissions opens on January 14 with a deadline of February 28. The winner will be notified at the end of May.
More details can be found at the BBC Writers Room with further guidance available here.
Read the full news article..
Race, Racism and Resistance on Film
27th November 2012
Are you a student interested in debates on race, film and broadcast media? Join stars of Ill Manors, EastEnders, East is East and more in a series of free lectures and panel debates. Listen to media experts give their views and get involved in a lively discussion about portrayals of race and racism on our TV and cinema screens.
Find out who is involved and book a free ticket at Runnymede.
Northern Lights
7th November 2012
Northern Lights is a ground-breaking diversity initiative by Creative Skillset and endorsed by the CDN aimed at programme makers based in the North of England. The 6-month scheme aims to improve the diversity of the creative industries at a senior level, creating opportunities for talented individuals working in the TV industry, who have the potential to be future leaders.
The 8 successful candidates will attend an immersive training programme designed and delivered by training consultancy, thinkBIGGER! Over the six months they will attend monthly training sessions and be taught by thinkBIGGER!’s network of specialist trainers and senior industry talent. In addition there will be regular networking events and Industry mentoring support for the candidates. They will be inspired, challenged and encouraged in equal measure – and given the skills, confidence and contacts to move up in their careers and establish themselves as senior talent.
Applicants should be working in the North of England and at AP/Producer level or similar – and can be working across a range of genres including Factual, Fact Ent, Drama and TV Journalism. They should have at least 3 years’ worth of industry experience as a minimum. We are committed to Equal Opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
The search for our Northern Lights starts here, if you have a member of your team you would like to nominate – please email sam@thinkbigger.org.uk for an application pack. The deadline for applications has now closed.
Work Experience Placements - Top Boy Series 2
1st November 2012
Cowboy Films (Last King of Scotland, Top Boy, Marley) are an independent production company currently producing the second series of ‘Top Boy’ for Channel 4.
‘Top Boy’ is a 4-part drama that combines elements of a tense gangster thriller with social realism, based in and around Hackney. We have several Work Experience Placements to offer and would like to hear from individuals who are aged 18 or over with a hunger and passion to gain experience of TV drama production from within our production team or shooting crew.
Our Placements are for a minimum of 1 week and successful applicants will be based during our Prep period at our Production office in North London. The placement will give the individual a chance to gain a broad understanding of the entire Production process with placements available in the production team, art, costume and camera depts.
Applicants must be available for at least 1 week between 29th October and 30th November. The placements are unpaid but a contribution towards travel costs and lunch will be paid.
If you would like to apply for a Work Experience placement, please email us a copy of your CV along with a brief covering letter explaining why you would like a placement with us and what you would like to gain from the experience. Please also state any departments you have a particular interest in.
Please email applications to: zoeburkecadiou@gmail.com
- Each for a minimum of 1 week
- Contribution towards travel costs and lunch
- Based in our North London Production Office
- Must be 18yrs or older
Work Experience Placements
PRODUCTION RUNNER
We are looking for a Production Runner to work with the production team.
Applicants must be available from 5th November 2012 until 1 March 2013.
Applicants must have had previous experience within broadcast TV or Film Production.
In choosing a successful candidate we will look for the following:
- Full clean UK Driving License – this is absolutely essential. Applicants without a driving license will NOT be considered
- Highly organised, efficient and can work to own agenda
- Own laptop computer
- Excellent computer skills and competent in Word and Excel
- Excellent people skills including experience in dealing with Producers, Directors, Actors, Agents, Casting Directors, Executive level management and the general public
- Able to multi-task and work well under pressure
- Friendly and cheerful
- Always happy to help out and offer help when needed
To apply for this Production Runner position, please email us a copy of your CV along with a brief covering letter explaining your previous experience and why you would like to work on Top Boy 2.
Please email applications to: zoeburkecadiou@gmail.com
Application deadline is Friday 2nd November.
BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum
18th June 2012
BAFTA has been working with development organisation Rocliffe on the Screenwriting forum for over 10 years. It's a chance for new writers to hear their work performed in an industry setting and get feedback from an industry expert but also for an audience of new writers to get the benefit of sharing in that advice and guidance in a public forum. They run the forum twice a year in London and twice outside - this year they are going to the New York TV Festival for the second time.
Please visit this website www.bafta.org/press/bafta-rocliffe-new-writing-forum,204,SNS.html to find out more about this scheme.
BBC Kick Off Trainee Sports Reporters Scheme
21st May 2012
"If you have the passion for sport, we have the opportunity to report it!" And you can do so on the BBC Kick Off Trainee Sports Reporter scheme 2012.
Visit the site to find out more and apply to the scheme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/careers/trainee-schemes/kick-off
Emmerdale Writers Initiative
19th April 2012
Developing local voices from a Black Asian or Minority Ethnic background
Emmerdale is the small village with big drama. Set against the stunningly beautiful Yorkshire Dales Emmerdale has been regularly entertaining over 7 million viewers 5 nights a week with its fiery mix of sexy, dramatic and game changing storylines. High quality writing, acting and world-class production values have created a must-see modern serial drama and one of the most popular and best-loved shows on British TV.
To celebrate its 40th Anniversary this year Emmerdale is searching for talented writers from the local area for a new initiative. Writers from a Black, Asian or other Minority Ethnic background are under-represented in the industry so we want to support and develop original voices that might not always be heard. Our emphasis is on characterled rather than culture-specific but we are looking for writers who will bring their experiences and nuances to our show.
Who is eligible?
The initiative is open to BAME writers who have a permanent residence within the Yorkshire and North East Region. Professional experience is not essential but we are looking for people who can demonstrate a commitment to writing and passion for telling stories.
For the purpose