How To Become a Costume Assistant

How to become a Costume Assistant

What is a Costume Assistant? 

A lot of film productions, depending on the genre and the setting, rely on their costume department for an accurate representation of the setting, period and story. For this reason, the department involves many different roles and a variety of tasks that need to be smoothly carried out during pre-production.

Costume Assistants take care of lots of smaller, daily, or last-minute tasks to help Costume Designers complete their job with the best possible result. This entry-level job is also the perfect way to kickstart a career in the Costume Department.

Costume Assistants help Costume Designers break down the script, in order to identify all the costumes needed by different characters throughout the story. They also assist in research into clothing styles, design and fabrication methods.

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The Power of Intellectual Property

The power of intellectual property

Is Disney ready to lead the streaming services market? When the market share of streaming services starts revolving around content, Disney looks like it has everything set up to gain leadership over Netflix.

An increasingly crowded market
Back in 2011, when Netflix decided to detach its streaming service from its original DVD rental business, its strategy was focused on licensing deals with studios and cable channels in order provide the widest catalogue to customers at a bargain price. Netflix’s competitive advantage was almost entirely based on affordability and on the technological framework on which the service was built on, which empowered users with unprecedented flexibility in the way they accessed content.

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Roundup: Gender Gap in the UK Film Industry

Gender gap in the UK film industry

Following the Harvey Weinstein revelations, the media is loaded with news about how the #MeToo campaign is uncovering Hollywood’s darkest secrets – but what’s the situation like for women working in the industry in the UK?

Narrow Recruitment Channels
A recent report, commissioned by BFI and backed by James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, underlined the culture of nepotism which is at the core of the recruitment process in the industry.

The Work Foundation associate consultant Heather Carey stressed that a lot of employers recruit through word of mouth, creating significant obstacles to people looking for jobs in the first place. “You tend to get that a bit in certain industries but in this industry it is kind of … that’s how it’s done. If you don’t have the network it is incredibly difficult to get in and progress.” She also stressed how critical the lack of diversity is in the film industry compared to other sectors.

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How To Become a Line Producer

How to become a Line Producer

What is a Line Producer?
Often hired almost immediately by the Producers and Executive Producers, Line Producers are responsible for the financial side of any Film or TV production. The name of the job originates from the difference between below-the-line and above-the-line cost of productions.

In order to do so, they break down the script into a shooting timetable, determining how long each shooting will take and all the relative expenses. Once the timetable is complete, they compute a provisional budget so that the producer can start raising funds for the film to go into pre-production.

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Meet The Speakers: Karl Warner, Jes Wilkins & Jamie Campbell

Meet The Speakers: Karl Warner, Jes Wilkins & Jamie Campbell

With just over a week to go until our latest TV Networking event at The Hospital Club, we profile our latest group of top industry speakers, who’ll take us behind the scenes of their hit shows.

Karl Warner
Our first speaker for the November edition, taking place on Tuesday 14th, is Electric Ray Founder, Karl Warner, revealing the secrets behind this autumn’s latest high-concept reality show, Bromans.

Karl is now running Electric Ray, his own production company and home to E4’s Carjackers and BBC’s Prized Apart. Before launching the company he was a Commissioning Editor at the BBC, where he was involved in the development of hit shows including Strictly Come Dancing.

He also held senior roles at Endemol, where his credits included Big Brother and Soccer Aid, as well as a number of other independent production companies.

Karl is credited on a range of other shows, such as Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Russell Howard’s Good News, Junior Doctors, Back Chat with Jack Whitehall, Live at the Apollo and The Undercover Princes, winning him numerous awards and breaking ratings records in a variety of genres along the way.

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How To Become an Assistant Production Buyer

How to become an Assistant Production Buyer

What is an Assistant Production Buyer?

Any production needs plenty of props, materials and supplies to decorate sets and locations. All of these items need to be recorded in a database which is needed both for budgeting and for practical reasons – for example, if the production needs to buy the same items again. Assistant Production Buyers are responsible for buying the supplies and also updating the aforementioned databases.

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Q&A with Shooting Producer/Director, Marc Knighton

Q&A with Shooting Producer/Director, Marc Knighton

In this Expert Q&A we talk to Self-shooting Producer/Director, Marc Knighton, about the importance of getting to know your contributors, keeping up with the latest tech, and the challenges of filming in A&E.

How did you get your big break in TV, and what was your first job?
I was fortunate enough to gain a place on a BBC graduate scheme, which allowed me to work across a variety of programmes and genres, everything from Watchdog and Panorama through to The Hairy Bikers and Children in Need. One of the highlights was undoubtedly the Ronnie Corbett Christmas Special, working with such talented people, both in front of and behind the camera was a real treat, though I think I failed on the tea making front as they all started bringing in thermos flasks with them after a few days…

With camera technology forever changing, do you feel the need to be up to speed on the latest kit?
Without a shadow of a doubt! Technology has evolved so quickly in the past few years that once you’ve mastered one camera, along comes another. Seven years ago my first camera was the trusty Sony Z1 which used mini DV tapes and most recently, I’ve tried my hand at using Sony’s latest 4K camera. At the end of the day, you have to really know your cameras inside out. This is especially important for self-shooters as using the camera needs to be second nature so that you can concentrate on the characters and action in front of you.

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Made In Dagenham

Made in Dagenham

A study commissioned by the Major of London greenlights the development of a world class film studio in the East London suburb.

Just a year ago, Sadiq Khan partnered with Film London and the Borough of Barking and Dagenham to commission a feasibility study which investigated the cost benefits of the construction of a 17-acre production facility in East Dagenham.

The report from the study was unveiled on Monday by the Mayor and council leader Darren Rodwell, and the results are very promising. The site has been deemed an “ideal location for Hollywood-style studio space”, and Khan himself was enthusiast to seize such a “rare chance” to build the first production facility in the Greater London area since the establishment of Three Mills in the 1990s.

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News: Between Record-Breaking Subscribers and Price Hikes, What Does the Future Hold for Netflix?

News: Between Record-Breaking Subscribers and Price Hikes, What Does the Future Hold for Netflix?

It’s been a year full of milestones for leading worldwide streaming company Netflix, now one of the world’s biggest content producers.

After hitting 100 million subscribers during the second quarter of 2017, of which more than 50 million are in the US, the streaming service also outmatched the USA’s leading cable TV networks by more than 2 million subscribers for the first time in history.

Last month, Netflix took over the Emmy Awards ceremony with a staggering 20 wins out of 91 nominations, second only to Time Warner owned TV giant, HBO (29 wins/110 nominations).

The results for Q3, released on 16th October, exceeded even the most optimistic predictions, with the company earning close to $3 billion dollars, and adding 5.3 millions subscribers, most of whom are outside the US.

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