UK film & TV craft certificate: My First Factual TV Job 2022 (Yorkshire)

This course is part of Centre of Screen Excellence: Yorkshire, a ground-breaking pilot delivered by Screen Yorkshire and supported by ScreenSkills using National Lottery funding awarded by the BFI as part of the Future Film Skills programme.

Factual TV production is absolutely booming in the Yorkshire region – talented, locally-based producers are making high-profile hit shows like A New Life in the Sun, The Yorkshire Vet, 24 Hours in A&E, Helicopter ER, Firefighters, Summer on the Farm, Say Yes to the Dress and Catching A Killer, among many, many others.

Producers like True North, Daisybeck Studios and Candour Productions are always on the look-out for bright, new talent to join their teams, but they often feel entry-level applicants don’t know exactly what it takes to launch a career as a runner, researcher, production secretary or data wrangler.

This five-month course (April to August) will tackle this head-on. It will give successful applicants detailed training in all of the roles and responsibilities they’ll be asked to carry out in the first six months of their factual TV careers, within editorial, production management and post-production departments.

Who it's for

No previous qualifications are required to take part in this course. The course is entry-level and is specifically targeted towards those who believe they have the right skills – and personal strengths – to start a career as a runner, researcher or production secretary within factual TV programmes.

No specific qualification is needed – but it is important that applicants watch, consume and enjoy factual content in a range of genres, including factual entertainment, lifestyle and daytime shows, observational documentary and current affairs.

We are looking for a cohort of trainees who bring a diverse range of experiences to the group and we actively encourage applicants from groups who are currently underrepresented in the film and television industries.

Applicants who will be 18 years old on 28 February 2022 will not be required to pay a fee for this course. For students over this age the course fee is set at £2000 however you may be eligible for bursary support covering the majority of the course fee. If you are 19+ and would like to apply for a bursary, please fill out the bursary application form linked to in the main application form.

What it covers

Students will take part in two ‘boot camps’ designed to prepare the trainees for the specific requirements of factual crew in TV, such as their role within a department, the way departments interact with other departments during production, set etiquette, sustainability training and preparation for freelance life (including CV and application writing, tax, invoicing and networking).

They will also receive valuable Health & Safety Production Passport training including Covid-19 safety training.

On completion of the certificate, you will have a detailed knowledge of all relevant entry-level roles and responsibilities they will be expected to perform in a factual TV production company, including:

• The work and duties of a development researcher, focused on identifying, researching and securing new programme commissions for a wide variety of TV and other content commissioning editors. This will include best practice on writing treatments and preparing taster or “sizzle” tapes.
• The work and duties of a casting researcher – tasked with finding and selecting the most relevant, appropriate and articulate contributors for a wide range of TV programmes.
• The work and duties of a production researcher – performing a vital role assisting the whole production team of a commissioned programme, including liaison with contributors, checking story accuracy, preparing for filming on location. This will also include the important work of a shooting researcher, often a vital support role in factual productions.
• The work and duties of a production secretary – helping to keep a production on the road by producing call-sheets, risk assessments, consent forms and other vital paperwork and by careful and detailed forward planning.
• The work and duties of a data wrangler – ensuring the safety of all filmed footage.

How to apply

Applications are open until 11.59pm, Monday 14 March 2022. Applications received after this date will not be considered. If for any reason you need to submit your application by an alternative method or have any other queries then please contact training@screenyorkshire.co.uk

You may be invited to a phone/online interview between March 15 and 25. Successful applicants will be offered a place by the end of March and will be expected to accept within 3 days of the offer. We will endeavour to contact everyone before April 25, however, if you have not heard from us by then, please assume you have not been offered a place on one of the courses.

For more information, and to apply click here

Contact information

Email: training@screenyorkshire.co.uk