Changing Filmmaking
DOES THE FILM INDUSTRY REFLECT YOU AND YOUR LIFE?
In the 20 years I’ve spent working in the tv, film, and commercial industry as a Script Supervisor, and more lately as a Director and Editor, I noticed a few things about the industry that needs to improve.
REAL CREWS REFLECTING REAL LIFE
During my career, I’ve only worked with a handful of female directors, about 5 in 300+ commercials and only one on TV sets despite knowing that there are talented women working in the field. The low number of female DOPs and high-level camera operators is also a concern. We make it our business to hire female camera people, directors and editors.
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
The hours in the industry are punishing. Working 12+ hours is the norm with pitiful turn around times. I personally did 6 months on a tv show in which I only had 5 hours at home each night between shifts working 11 day fortnights. I love making films and I’m certainly not shy of hard work and long hours, but things can be better. It’s not a healthy work/life balance. We aim to keep working days reasonable and offer flexible working to people who need it.
FLEXIBLE WORKING FOR PARENTS & STUDENTS
We don’t think you need to choose between family or education and a career. There are tons of people out there who have all the passion and skills to make great films, but who cannot work the extreme hours this industry often demands.
To tackle this, we offer flexible working for pre-production & post and we try to keep our shooting days reasonable. We charge on an hourly basis instead of a day rate to allow people to work the hours that suit them, sometimes as a job share to get the project done. When it is possible, we ask our clients to give us a slightly longer turn delivery times to allow flexible working for parents and students.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG FILMMAKERS
Young filmmakers are a wonderful resource, with energy, dedication and a much needed view of the future. We are open to their ideas, patient with our training and generous with our knowledge of filmmaking. We include training young people in our vision and ask our contributors to leave a little in the budget so we can pay them a fair wage.
DIVERSITY
Of course, we support diversity. We’d be crazy not to. We want our films and crews to reflect the real world and benefit from all the diversity in it.
JOIN US
If you love making films and you’ve got skills to offer, drop us a line. We are on the lookout for people who are interested in helping good causes with their filmmaking skills and working in a flexible way Have you got skills that you are ready to take to the next level? Get in touch. We might be able to offer you work experience in camera, editing, graphics to improve your skills.