For creative workers who care about the issues that matter, Get A ‘Proper’ Job is a podcast that discusses, debates and showcases the highs and lows of working in a creative job or organisation. We’re bringing together industry experts to share new knowledge.
In the sixth and final installment of season one of Get A 'Proper' Job, we have an extended episode which focuses on socio-economic barriers to accessing the film and TV industry and initiatives which look to widen access.
This episode features:
- Faye Hannah, an academic researcher undertaking her PhD at the University of South Wales focused on Creative Screen Industries in Wales: policy, workforce and access. She is Director of Our Colab, working across skills, policy and training in the screen sector, including for Ffilm Cymru Wales’ Foot in the Door programme. Foot in the Door is aimed at people not in employment, education or training who have existing transferable skills want to develop a career in the film industry.
- Norman Porter is an Art Department Assistant. He was a part of the Foot in the Door pilot back in 2017, which saw him working in the art department on the Netflix drama Apostle building set and props, before going on to be a part of the filming crew for the movie Denmark and Eternal Beauty.
- Sian Harris is part of the commissioning team at BBC Wales in factual programming. Prior to this role, Sian worked in factual TV development and TV production (factual).
Norman said: "I knew I wanted to work with my hands, I knew I wanted to be a part of this incredible industry but I had no knowledge of what to do after that. That is a barrier, especially with working class backgrounds. I didn't know anyone in the industry and what I've found out since then is that it is very difficult to get in if you don't know someone in that position already."
Faye said: "There is no one path and it is very intangible in terms of a career so it is difficult for people to see how they can actually be a part of that. How do we help people realise those ambitions and see the value within themselves? It can be quite a middle class industry and it can seem not reachable, unachievable - how do we find those people to readdress that balance?"
Talking about representation, Sian said: "In the job that I do, it is all about portraying the people of Wales with stories that are going to be of interest and importance here in Wales, and beyond.
"You can only tell one kind of story if you’ve only got one kind of person making the television.
"We can only authentically tell all the stories of the people of Wales if we've got a good mixture of people from different backgrounds telling those stories - their knowledge and their lived experience is vitally important."
This episode was recorded in January 2020.
Listen to the full episode:
You can find links to the schemes, organisations and reports mentioned in the episode below:
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Acting Up Report (Page 5)
Get A ‘Proper’ Job is made by city network Creative Cardiff, with and for, the creative community.
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