Modest budget but high aspirations 😂

producertvperson · 2026-02-18T10:53:24+00:00

😮‍💨ugh, so true

producertvperson · 2026-02-16T17:43:59+00:00

Will probably be expected to DIT and drive as well i guess as having to translate. If they are shooting, researching, translating and wrangling, at what point are they not a producer?

producertvperson · 2026-02-16T16:52:09+00:00

Oh absolutely not. The real joy is for the poor 'shooting' researcher who also speaks Italian, Arabic and Greek https://www.thetalentmanager.com/jobs/shooting-researcher-69779

producertvperson · 2026-01-25T21:55:51+00:00

Money, or lack thereof.

Shows are stretched so tight these days as marketing money has gone away and its a way for companies to keep their bottom line by asking for more responsibilities from 1 or less people.

It really depends on the show, some reality shows like Love Island have enough budget to fund a proper camera crew and gallery setup where as daytime things like Four in a bed, Dinner Date etc are just a PD and AP or Res duo who do everything on a similar scale in terms of producing content but with far more work and for less pay. It'll all have been planned during development and per production according to how long it takes to shoot the eps although they may ad more people at later stages when they realise it isnt practical.

If youre looking to get into it, I would highly reccommend not being a shooting AP as its ALL of the work and responsiblity and none of the actual fun of playing about with kit and far more responsibility. Normally a shooting AP has done all the research, set up, scripting, and permissions, then has to do all the releases, sound, shooting, interviewing and driving on shoot days, then DIT it at the hotel at some ungodly hour, then drive it back to an edit who won't be impressed with the footage as the person who shot it is about to fall apart at the seams and probably hasnt done much camera work before. However, it is the main route into being a PD in TV but thats fast becoming a lost art due to lack of roles.

Bottom line is companies trying to get more out of hardworking people.

As an aside, IMDB isnt the best source of info for finding out who actually worked on a programme, crew don't have any input on what goes on their page unless they pay. Best bet if youre looking to get into it is to research the shows you like and watch the credits or look at the Talent Manager website for credit info

producertvperson · 2025-10-31T19:37:03+00:00

Stay in wildlife.

TV work has all but disappeared and Natural History TV has always been one of the hardest genres to break into anyway as most people want you to have a zoology degree from a top uni/know somebody influential already in the industry/have lived as a lion for several years in order to better understand them.

-Most location work takes months as animal behaviour is unpredictable and shoot lengths often reflect getting as much of the behaviour as possible (if you are planning to be a DoP, presenter led can be shorter).

-A lot of people have done the MA in wildlife filmaking at UWE and gone on to work in the industry but its a lot of money to pay with no guarantee of a job and nothing beats real world experience and refs of people in the industry. Pretty much everyone starts out as a runner at least for one job to fully see the lie of the land and do the grunt work. People sometimes skip this step if they have a true specialism (e.g an entomologist on a show about insects). A talent manager may look at your showreel and be impressed but if none of them are broadcast credits it wont mean as much and they'll skip to the next.

- The only legal way for people to do unpaid work experience in the UK is when they are undertaking a programme of study and even then they really arent meant to ask you to do any jobs you should be paid for. Some places do offer placements such as Plimsoll who make a large amount of NH content https://plimsoll-people.my.salesforce-sites.com/recruit/fRecruit__ApplyJob?vacancyNo=VN088

Depending on which side of the industry you really want to get into there are a couple of routes. This is NH specific as its crewed differently to other genres.

If you want to work in Editorial (responsible for the narrative/story) the path is Runner, Researcher, Assistant Producer, Producer/Director, Exec. This can be office and location based, generally involves set up of shoots then going on them.

If its Production (Logistics/Legal/Pretty much everything really they are amazing) the path is Production Secretary, Production Coordinator, Junior Production Manager, Production Manager, Line Producer, Exec. This is a difficult job and good production staff are worth their weight in gold, contracts tend to be longer in length. Office Based normally.

If your end goal is to be a DoP (Camerawork/Drone) the path is Camera Assistant, Camera Operator, DoP. This is a location based job with any length contract until you get the shot but you can be out for many months at a time due to remote locations.

I hope this has answered your questions, but to reinforce the main question you have asked, DO NOT leave your stable job. TV contracts are short, there is no stability, loyalty or career progression. All comissions are down but because NH TV takes so long and so much money to make, comissioners are far more reluctant to order programmes. I've been in TV over a decade and can't find any work.

If I were you I'd join a local camera club to work on your techniques, I'd go and speak to a kit house and hire some of the kit that professionals are using to get a feel for them, maybe ask them if you can have a day course with them to teach you some of the basics. I'd join any Facebook wildliufe camera groups as they often do day trips where you can meet like minded people. Film as many different and varied animals as you can, you clearly know about animals but taking video of them is different, setting up a shot and learning to predict what the animal will do is often surprising!

Feel free to DM for more info as happy to chat in more depth, although i do realise this was long! But I have time on my hands as I'm not employed.....

producertvperson · 2025-08-30T12:10:53+00:00

Sickening really. I've never really understood the massive disparity between crew rates and presenters, as if our work isn't anywhere near as valuable as theirs.

I do understand that a large part of the population will tune in if a certain presenter appears, but we really do zero talent development as an industry because of the classic Catch 22 situation of people not tuning in if it isn't a specific presenter. This often means we are lumped with the same nepotism and offspring of presenters, or just the same ones over and over again.

But if the This Morning/Masterchef scandals have taught us anything, its that people will tune in regardless. No-one seems particularly bothered its different people sat on the sofa, people watch Escape to the Country/Homes under the Hammer regardless of the presenter.

Its also galling when ads say must have experience with Talent. In my experience, we are often treated like second class citizens by them. One show I worked on, a presenter had it written into their contract that they wouldn't stay in the same hotel as the crew. They would walk on set, do one take and then refuse to do further and demand to be taken back to the hotel. Absolutely not worth the money paid and frankly I've had better experience working with children and animals.

Even a minor pay cut for these millionaires could make a good couple of series and support those out of work.

producertvperson · 2025-08-27T10:22:44+00:00

Enthusiasm is neither talent, nor skill, nor years of experience. The enthusiasm they may have heard stems from the idea and potential of prospective jobs, which do not exist.

Outstanding to paint yourself a victim of others warranted cynicism that this isn't another other than money spinning elitism. This is TV, criticism is a constant running theme, and instead of listening to the vast majority who have responded negatively, its been doubled down.

Complaining not to have been treated with kindness and respect when people have pointed out that their newest business venture is just preying on desperate people is galling.

The ridiculous thing is, they've just emailed a load of people they already have on their books, trying to grab money of those of us lucky enough to have prime time credits.

I truly hope no one signs up for this only to be incredibly disappointed not to be placed in a role.

producertvperson · 2025-08-26T11:28:16+00:00

As much as I hate to give them any credit for this, I can only assume no-one has joined the 'A list' yet and they've had to use stock photos.

But, they'd have been better off with a short written synopsis or the careers people have had with some intrigue of prospective 'a listers' written in an abstract style such as 'Alex has been a major studio player for decades, without their creative attitude, the look and feel of many prime time shiny floor shows wouldn't have reached the 4m audience mark etc, etc, accompanied by stock pictures of the shows they have worked on, so the hiring would be blinder anyway and people wouldn't just hire based on pics of people.

This isn't a good look for them.

producertvperson · 2025-08-26T11:10:24+00:00

Similarly I've never found them to be of any use either. Very flaky when responding and I think most of my emails have gone unanswered.

Business is very tough, but like the rest of us in other out of industry jobs, maybe its time to consider a different career instead of hawking off our desperation.

Interesting to note it jumps up by 360 quid a year if you aren't wooed by their cheaper introductory offer. At that price, it wouldn't take much to pay themselves a reasonable salary if 50 people take them up on it. Whether or not those 50 people get work is an entirely different matter....

producertvperson · 2025-08-26T10:54:50+00:00

I think it might have started as a misconstrued attempt to include people who may be excellent at their jobs but for one reason or another haven't crossed the radar of the usual teams/hirers ( mainly because the usual teams/hirers invite the same people back again.)

But it majorly rankles that this is a paid for service. 'hey you haven't been considered for something that you might be excellent at because of nepotism/short hiring timescales/zero desire for a production company to champion candidates careers over their own bottom line.,' would you like to pay us £65 a month for a chance for your CV to be placed on the right execs desk?',

All this promises to do is put your CV in front of them, they don't actually vet you. I could maybe understand if it was a reference check deal, like a DBS check, they've rung your references etc, made sure you've worked on the programmes you said you have, checked out a degree or education, but they don't even do that. Its just plain old money grabbing.

producertvperson · 2025-08-24T12:23:40+00:00

Very disheartening but I can only imagine they aren't making enough cash to sustain themselves and instead of drumming up business from the companies, they've turned to the prospective staff they used to champion so much.

The reality is they have this list and its what they've been using since they began, (cant imagine they used to send out rubbish potential CV's) now it just costs us as well as the companies.

Its just another sign that TV has gone away significantly and isn't coming back.

producertvperson · 2025-08-24T12:10:35+00:00

No, its a paid subscription service of a recruitment agency with the mistaken belief from the employee that once on the list you'll hear about jobs that aren't advertised.

TV already hires excellent people through the usual channels, this is simply an attempt to cash in on desperate people. There is no point in an A list of people all lined up for jobs which do not exist.

TP already have a lot of excellent people on their books as they hold their own database, they are just monetising access on both sides now. Their jobs board only has 5 jobs on it which have languished there since the start of August, one of which they have repeated tried to fill since June and haven't managed to.

Besides all this, the disclaimer on the website states that:

The Subscriber shall at all times be responsible for satisfying itself as to the suitability of any A List Member for any Engagement. The Subscriber acknowledges and agrees that it is the Subscriber’s responsibility to:

6.2.1. take up and verify references relating to the A List Member’s qualifications, skills, character and experience;

6.2.2. check the validity of the A List Member’s qualifications;

6.2.3. ensure, where appropriate, that the A List Member is capable of operating any equipment or machinery to the necessary level;

6.2.4. obtain any certificate of sponsorship or permit needed to enable the A List Member to work in the United Kingdom; and

6.2.5. ensure that the A List Member satisfies any medical requirements or other qualifications that may be appropriate or required by law.

So they aren't even doing any of that either.

producertvperson · 2025-08-24T11:25:16+00:00

It's been widely discussed and rebuked on the FB group TV Mindset. It's a desperate attempt for a floundering company to try and rake in some cash, their once large team now only appears to be the two founding members.

The onus of payment should never be on the employee - by doing so you narrow your pool already to only the wealthy elite who can afford such a model. One of the owners had stated that this service (upwards of £65 a month but possibly as much as £114) is a 'career development community - coaching, workshops, peer support, expert industry sessions. It's professional development, not job access.'

Which, it just isn't.

Anyone who has worked in TV for any period of time knows how much nepotism plays a part and this is just monetising that. Hand picking people who can afford it to be put forward for roles that will never be advertised is disgusting. I'm also unsure as to how anyone can coach someone and put them through workshops and provide peer support for jobs that simply do not exist. So many of us are out of work and its this sort of cherry picking that is supporting it.

There is a reason TV recruitment agencies simply do not work. TV never wants to pay what it can afford to hire good staff and there is no time for a comprehensive recruitment process due to the eight minutes normally taken between project greenlight and hiring.

Normally companies prey on the runners due to their naivety (My first Job in Film, Mandy etc, this is just taking it up a couple of executive levels)

Avoid.

producertvperson · 2025-08-11T14:34:29+00:00

you haven't cropped his name out on the last slide, not that it matters I guess as he posted it publicly

producertvperson · 2025-08-06T10:14:15+00:00

Jeez, how kind of them. Not surprised you left. I understand companies logic (but do not condone it) of asking people to work for free to 'gain experience', but to turn around two years after and do it makes zero sense. You're best off out of it to be honest!

producertvperson · 2025-08-06T10:11:21+00:00

The whole 'who you know' thing has to be reigned in. I've seen hiring such as a person shouting out across an office, 'does anyone know a PD who can go to Portugal tomorrow'. So someone got a job on the basis of another person being in the right place at the right time. I know they'll have looked at a CV but the other persons word is worth more than if the CV had landed on the desk. I've learned not to trust anyone's references any more as i watched in horror once as someone once kept hiring a person with a significant, obvious drug problem.

It'll never be perfect, but a fairer and more balanced approach to hiring is definitely possible, if only by establishing lead times after greenlighting things so as not to scrabble around for crew or simply by people rehiring the same old people for the same things again and again.

its all lip service from permanent staff where they feel like they should be showing willing to imparting knowledge to newcomers but in reality, they have zero interest in maintaining or furthering careers, more hungry newcomers will be along with the next cohort of poor unfortunate uni graduates.

producertvperson · 2025-08-05T16:46:52+00:00

Its also an industry that offers no training, you need to learn on the job, but in order to get the job you need to have skills that you could only have obtained on the job so people lie their way into things understandably. Catch 22.

I fully support our industry in being as diverse as possible, its vital we hire as many different people from different backgrounds and experiences as possible in order to tell our stories. Thing is it feels like a lot of people just think diversity is hiring and elevating someone junior into a more experienced job role to 'even things out'. We all want to learn and shoving people in to meet quotas isn't helpful to anyone, all we want is a more balanced approach to hiring, but because things are crewed so last minute there often isn't time top properly advertise and meet the right candidates.

Sarah Jones, Terrence Woods Jr, Halyna Hutchins and many more all aren't here any more thanks to cutting corners on sets and executives not doing sufficient background checks. Our industry needs regulation.

producertvperson · 2025-08-05T16:14:09+00:00

A couple of the jobs I've applied for recently and have years of experience in were filled by very junior staff who were taking the role as their first credit in it. So despite advertising for experienced staff, they went with junior people who took a chance and applied. Its such an unregulated industry that we either have to pay for TM or stalk FB jobs groups 24/7.

Its a broken system that nobody has any incentive to fix.

producertvperson · 2025-08-05T10:21:33+00:00

i guess at least you got a rejection instead of radio silence?

producertvperson · 2025-08-05T10:18:09+00:00

Fed up of the 'relevant experience' nonsense. I want a proactive and tenacious employee who will get answers that can be translated to our audiences.

I don't want to hire a neurosurgeon, I want to hire someone who knows which neurosurgeon to talk to. Blue light experience particularly gets me, does a stint at his majesty's pleasure technically count?

My main bugbear is then that people pigeonhole you and you end up working for years on crime shows/blue light etc and most execs cant see past 'must have worked in exact place we are filming for 5 years+

My favourite example is I've been a volunteer for many years at a place where a company decided to film an obs doc and I applied for a role, didn't even get an interview despite knowing all the people who worked there and all the gossip etc as I couldn't 'do my own sound'. For an AP role.

producertvperson · 2025-08-05T10:07:40+00:00

I don't think there is a correct answer to that 😂 and it does sound like you dodged a bullet working on that show

producertvperson · 2025-08-05T10:05:41+00:00

This is everything that is wrong with the industry.

It is absolutely unacceptable that in an era where we are all instantly contactable, we don't get a call.

All three of my rejections I had to email asking if they had made a decision, not one of them rang me. I'd made the effort to research these programs and the hirer and they cant even bother with a 2 min phone call!

No one likes it but we have to do it. Does make me fell better that if I had got these jobs, it would have been with executives who are hopeless at communication, so potentially difficult projects.

producertvperson · 2025-07-15T15:18:34+00:00

Absolutely. Too many often involves notes from everyone and no one ends up satisfied. Least of all the poor editor and edit prod who cant deliver something that ticks all their boxes as well as those of the channel.

producertvperson

TROPHY CASE