: @WFTV_UK Events | Industry News | Member Updates Mon, Apr 26, 2021

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Apr 27, 2021, 4:41:17 PM4/27/21
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Monday 26 April 2021
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WELCOME FROM THE CHAIR & CEO
Liz Tucker | WFTV Chair
Katie Bailiff | WFTV CEO
Good afternoon, 

Welcome to this week’s newsletter, with an update on upcoming online events from our Senior Awards and Events Producer, Claudia and our around the industry news section. 

Last night many of the British Oscar nominees gathered at the BFI on London’s Southbank to celebrate the 93rd Academy Awards. WFTV sends huge congratulations to actor, director and writer Emerald Fennell who won Best Original Screenplay for her directorial debut Promising Young Woman.  Emerald made history as the first British woman to win in this category since it was introduced in 1958  – you can catch up with our Q&A with Emerald here. Congratulations also to Chloé Zhao who picked up Best Director for Nomadland – Zhao becomes the first woman of colour and the second woman ever to win in this category. Huge congratulations to Best Actress Frances McDormand for Nomadland and to Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, who became the first ever Black women to win Best Make Up and Hair for their work on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. And finally Ann Roth made history as the oldest woman to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

WFTV member, dubbing mixer and sound designer Emma Butt has written an article for our newsletter based on some research she was inspired to initiate due to the shocking lack of women in her field of post-production sound.  Emma took a three month period in Autumn 2019 and analysed the breakdown of the sound teams on 36 top rated shows across six broadcasters. Emma’s article makes for sobering reading and really shines a light on the fact that there’s still work to be done around gender and race equality across the industry and in particular in the field of sound. Thanks to Emma for sharing her findings with WFTV in the article below. 

Finally, our thoughts remain with the three million forgotten freelancers and self-employed workers now in
to their thirteenth month with little or no income. WFTV has been working with Excluded UK, a grassroots organisation campaigning to bring about an end to the exclusions in the UK Government’s Covid-19 financial support measures. If you are looking for support, we have a list of resources and helpful organisations in our Resources Hub.

Have a good week, 

Katie and Liz 

New Sponsors for our Online Events Programme

On behalf of all of us at WFTV, we would like to say a huge thanks to all our new online events sponsors: Argonon, BBC, Eikon, Envy, Eon, IMDb, ITV, MBSE, Netflix and ScreenSkills. They will continue to support our WFTV Awards too. Their very generous support at this difficult time has made it possible for WFTV to continue with our weekly online events programme, for which we are incredibly grateful.
WFTV Forgotten Freelancers Campaign
Monday 10 May | 14:00 – 15:00
Monday 10 May | 18:00 – 19:00
Tuesday 11 May | 18:00 – 19:00
Wednesday 12 May | 14:00-15:00
Thursday 18 May | 10:00 – 12:00
Tuesday 18 May | 18:30-19:30
Register for events now
UPSKILLING APRIL
Monday 26 April | 18:00 – 19:00
Thursday 29 April | 18:00 – 19:00
View all Upskilling events here
WFTV EVENTS ROUND UP
Claudia Mehrej
Hello everyone,
 
This is the final week of our April Upskilling series, and tonight we’re welcoming TV composer and 2020 WFTV Mentee Claire Batchelor for a look into her working process and a ‘how to’ on collaborating creatively with a composer scoring music for a project. On Thursday join Sara Putt, deputy chair of WFTV and MD of leading industry agency Sara Putt Associates, who will be sharing tips on how to edit your CV for the role you’re applying for and tips and tricks to be noticed so that you’re invited to interview.
Our programme for next month is already shaping up – on 10 May we have a session on mental health awareness and resilience with Sarah McCaffrey from Solas Mind and an insight into the behind-the-scenes challenges of making the new Channel 4 documentary Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause with Producer/Director Linda Sands and Co-Producer Kate Muir.
 
On 11 May, join us for a conversation with Melina León, Writer, Producer, Director and Editor of Song Without a Name (Canción sin Nombre), and lead talent Pamela Mendoza. Based on a true story, Song Without a Name is set in Peru at the height of the political crisis of the 1980s. In conversation with documentary filmmaker Karoline Pelikan, Melina and Pamela will discuss making the film and preparing for the challenging role of protagonist Georgina. WFTV members will also have opportunity to watch a screening of this visually striking work.
 
Don’t forget to check out the exclusive members Catch-Up Hub if you’ve missed any of our events, and we hope to see some of you at our weekly Member Meet-ups soon.
 
See you online,
 
Claudia
RESOURCES HUB & USEFUL LINKS
At WFTV, we’ve pulled together useful links including podcasts, videos, books, articles, films & TV series and tools for both adults and children covering anti-racism, Covid-19 and disability.  And if you're looking for useful links around industry schemes, funding, training and more - then you find this all in place.
Resources Hub
Useful links
Emma Butt: Why Diversity in TV and Film Sound Production Matters
I have worked in post-production sound for over 14 years and more often than not, I am the only woman on a sound team and certainly the only person, being mixed race, from an ethnic minority background. After #MeToo and the BLM movement, given the changes that started to happen within the film and TV industry and the push by broadcasters to have more diversity on screen, I had high hopes we would start to see positive changes within sound too. No concrete and real action was taken to address the problem facing craft and technical roles and instead all attention and conversations focused on on-screen talent and directors.
I had been planning for some time to independently analyse the highest rated TV shows across the terrestrial broadcasters for a three month period and show the breakdown of the sound teams, and was incredibly fortunate when Marcus Ryder MBE reached out and offered to let me do this research through The Lenny Henry Centre. 

I analysed a three month period in the Autumn of 2019. The data relates to 36 top rated shows across six broadcasters (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky One). In total there were 60 available sound roles across these shows, these were undertaken by a total of 55 people:

 
  • Only one man identified as mixed race, the other 46 identifying as white.  
  • Six out of 55 people identified as women. There was only one re-recording mixer who identified as a woman, they worked only in factual TV. No women were working as re-recording mixers in drama. 
  • There were no women of colour working in the 60 available sound roles.
  • Only three people self-identified as having a disability (none of the identified disabilities required physical adjustments to a workplace). 
  • Decisions on hiring are influenced by the opinions (or perceived opinions) of people in project management roles. In a risk-averse culture this results in the hiring of the same sound teams.
  • As a result of the inflexibility of existing hiring practices, people from BAME backgrounds have felt the need to create their own companies to progress within the industry. 
  • There are no opportunities or schemes currently available for training or progression for post-production sound freelancers.
  • I also interviewed five people as part of my research, two women and three men from Black or ethnic minority backgrounds. For me, the most eye opening account was a Black participant who explained that there have been occasions when  meeting new clients about upcoming projects, he has felt it necessary for a white colleague to be present to reassure the clients, as he feels, he will encounter suspicion and resistance:  “entering the lion's den […] they’re going to look at me and think is this person fine, look me up and down three or four times and I know it’s not a conscious decision on their part, it’s just part of their programming”. 

So how do we address the problem? 

We work in a risk averse industry so people in hiring positions don't want to take a risk by hiring someone new. The role of assistants has also been completely wiped out in sound and really only exists in picture editing on higher budget productions. We have to address this as we are facing a skills shortage within the next few years. If a person has years of experience in one genre, it doesn't mean they can't add value and skill to your production in another. 

Support needs to be given at entry level and mid-career. I am currently trying to raise funds to create a scheme which would help both levels get credits, be trained and mentored and most importantly be fully paid at the BECTU rates. The other option is for diversity quotas to be placed on all new commissions and ensure that these quotas include craft and technical roles. 

Addressing the diversity issue we face in post-production sound is not easy, and will take bold moves to fix a situation that is so badly broken. 
MEMBER NEWS

WFTV Member Elisabeth Felson is looking for an Exec Producer / Mentor. Elisabeth's award-winning documentary is touring festivals worldwide and she is currently in pre-production for her next film. Elisabeth is looking to collaborate with an Exec Producer / Mentor who will have a liking for strong cinematography and environmental themes. If you are interested or have any feedback, please contact steppenwo...@gmail.com.

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Entries for the Grierson Awards, the British Documentary Awards, are now open. There are 15 categories to enter including Best Music, Best Sports and categories for singles docs and series. You can find more details here

Take One Action Film Festivals has teamed up with Scottish PEN to host an event to mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May by showcasing documentary Radio Silence followed by a live online panel discussion exploring censorship and press freedom in Mexico and Scotland. More information is available here.

Funny Women are offering 2 for 1 on their HERlarious PowerUP event including workshops, networking, discussion, entertainment and inspiration this Thursday 29th April. Book here using the code HER241.
 

BFI are seeking candidates for a Senior Curator of Fiction Film and a Senior Curator of Television to join the BFI National Archive’s Curatorial department. Both roles are a permanent positions. You can find more details here

If you are an early-career professional ready to work in documentary production, then applications to Sheffield Doc/Fest's new UK Broadcast Production Market are now open. Apply by 11 May, 17:00 BST here

The Filmarket Hub platform has launched the 2021 edition of its UK Online Pitchbox - a two-day virtual pitch event dedicated to British feature films and scripted series in development. The call for submissions will be open until 20 May - you can find more details here.

Short Circuit's Sharp Shorts initiative is now open for applications. The scheme funds up-and-coming Scotland-based filmmakers to create short films that resonate with audiences worldwide. Apply by  Monday 17th May here

One of our corporate members, discover.film, a global short content streaming platform, is looking for a creative person to join their content team.

It’s a varied, entry-level role that includes everything from poster design, social media, event organising, film sourcing, production and working with clients. If you are interested or would like more details please send a letter together with short CV to: Ja...@discover.film

Screen Yorkshire has opened applications for the third year of its Beyond Brontës training programme with a call to encourage applications from young people (aged 18 - 24) whose backgrounds are not well represented in the TV and film industries - you can read more here

WonderWorks’ #KeepingFamiliesInFilm campaign is live and are looking for signatures to help push for much-needed change within the industry that will allow families to stay in film, and the industry to thrive. See their open letter here.

NFTS is launching a certificate in location management for film & TV in Scotland through a blended delivery model - you can find details here

ABILITY Corps, founded by ABILITY Magazine is building abilityE, a free platform for performers with disabilities to connect with entertainment studios. You can find more information here:  abilityE.com.

Edinburgh TV Festival's Ones to Watch offers a career development scheme for mid-level TV professionals. Applications are now open until this Friday 30 April - you can find more details here

Festival Watch

SUBMIT TO: 29 April – 9 May Hot Docs Festival Film Submissions | 4 - 13 June Sheffield Doc/Fest | 20 June Brighton & Hove Pride’s official LGBTQ+ film festival | 6- 17 July Cannes Film Festival | 25 - 26 September Women Over50 Film Festival (WOFFF) | 4-7 October CineEurope | 6 - 17 October BFI London Film Festival | 14 -17 October MIPCOM | 27 Oct - 6 November Raindance Film Festival

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