Assembly editor Jasmin John is hoping to use ScreenSkills' Leaders of Tomorrow programme to help her reach her dream role of TV drama editor. The three-year programme provides comprehensive and tailored support to mid-level professionals working in High-end TV to give them the tools to progress to senior level, decision-making roles in the future.
Having received her start in the industry through the Trainee Finder programme, she’s already aware of how ScreenSkills can help develop careers. “I didn't know how to navigate the industry, I didn't know anybody who could give me a job and this scheme gave me my foot in the door,” she says.
In four years since she has gone from edit trainee to second assistant editor, first assistant editor and now assembly editor. It's an impressively rapid rise – “I've been shocked by it myself,” she says, and believes it's down to an appetite for hard work and a willingness to learn. “I'm passionate about my work and I'm willing to put myself out there - I'm proactive about my career.”
Her most recent position came through a placement via the Leaders of Tomorrow programme, working as assembly editor on Boiling Point, a TV drama based on the film of the same name, after being assistant editor on Netflix's Everything Now, where she was keen to extend her skills. “The editors allowed me to cut a couple of scenes. They were super supportive.” The placements only furthered her appetite to develop and use her place on the programme to progress her career ambitions.
Jasmin, who grew up in Croydon, south London, attended the Brit School, followed by a degree in digital film production at Ravensbourne University in London. “At the Brit School I dabbled in radio, photography and film-making but it wasn't until my final year at uni that I really focused on editing as a career route. That's when I fell in love with the crafting and storytelling of narratives.
“Translating a story from script to screen is one narrative and translating that further in the edit is another, where you're sometimes crafting the story anew in the edit. Like when you have filmed a scene in a certain way on set and you have all these rushes to work with, and the placement of two clips from one character to another can change the scene entirely. So much happens in the edit.”
As part of the Leaders of Tomorrow programme, Jasmin has been paired with a mentor, editor Mike Jones, whom she first worked with when she was an edit trainee on Wild Bill for ITV. “We have built up a rapport and I think how lovely is this, that it's come full circle. I learn so much from him about cutting.”
The mentoring aspect of the Leaders of Tomorrow initiative is one Jasmin values highly and doesn’t see it as a one-way street, believing in passing on good advice to those who follow after her. “I try to be supportive to my trainees and my second assistants,” she says. “It's important we do that. The best tip I was ever given at entry level is be nice, be someone who people want to work with.”
More broadly, she wants to help those coming into the industry from less traditional backgrounds, and founded the Black Women in Post Production network. “When I was a trainee I realised that there were very few people who looked like me and I questioned why - and what I can do about it.
“As a black mixed-heritage woman from south London, representation is a big thing for me and so I established BWIPP. It's a collective of likeminded people, a sort of community hub that helps people navigate the industry and give them advice.”
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