Lisa went from the soccer world to chasing the Hollywood dream and is now collaborating on writing a script, with a little help from a ScreenSkills bursary.
She is currently working on the set of TV series Pieces of Her, filming all over Australia and dreams of getting into producing and directing eventually.
Among her tasks as an assistant is reading scripts and books that might be of interest to her bosses, who are always on the lookout for new material.
This is fine with Lisa as she is in the process of writing a script herself with the help of two friends.
“When Covid hit last year, we had an idea for a script, so we sat down and started writing,” Lisa says. “It’s a sort of sci-fi, new world project. We’ve been working on it for about a year to get it just right.”
To help her along the way, Lisa decided last summer to undertake the respected John Yorke Story for Script development course, based on Yorke’s bestselling book on story structure Into the Woods.
It was a friend who recommended she get in touch with ScreenSkills to apply for a bursary to help cover the costs of the course. “They were great. The application process was really smooth and they were really quick off the bat to get back to me.
“I explained the reason why I wanted to do the course, to boost my CV and further my knowledge, and they approved the grant, which covered 80% of the cost.”
It proved to be an extremely worthwhile experience and gave Lisa the confidence to tackle her script head on, understanding what works and what doesn’t, and how a story should be broken down. It’s also helped in her current work, including how to be tactful when giving script feedback to producers.
Lisa’s entire working life has been about learning and developing her skills. It started with a move to the US from Northern Ireland to play football and do a Bachelor of Science in sports management at Wingate University, working as the team’s graduate assistant coach. Her life was all about sports. But she was also keen to get into the film world.
So, she decided to stay on in America do a Masters of Business Administration, which “can open the door to a lot of things”, Lisa says. “While there, I was eager to move over to Los Angeles and get started. I’m such a dreamer and in my head I was convinced I was going to make it big.”
Lisa moved to LA in 2011 and through persistence made contact with Chris Koch, director of the popular TV series Modern Family, who was the brother of a contact. He invited her to Fox studios to look around, mentioned a pilot he was working on and put Lisa in touch with the producers, which secured her a production runner position. This also led to a few commercials with Koch after she had proved her worth.
But then Lisa’s visa expired and she had to return to Northern Ireland. However, by a stroke of luck, Kock was set to work on the ABC Studios series Galavant in the UK in 2014 and brought Lisa onboard as an assistant.
She was handling the schedule of Koch and executive producer Dan Fogelman, helping sort out their move from the US, including getting apartments ready, dealing with estate agents and sorting travel to and from set. This would all prove useful for her later work as an assistant to key talent.
Roles as a production coordinator then followed and as a location coordinator on Company Pictures’ series The White Princess. “If you’ve done an organisational role, moving into a job like location coordinator, you can be ahead of the game, particularly with a strong team around you,” insists Lisa.
“The interesting thing I got from that experience was appreciating how much the location department actually do, including budgeting. I learned on my feet a lot with that role.”
Then Lisa got the big call to work on series 7 and 8 of HBO’s Game of Thrones as an assistant to directors, a producer and unit production manager. This included providing support and assistance during multiple shooting units.
“That experience was a lot of fun. It was interesting to see how a show of that scale works. It was a monster. I got to see the creative and business side, which was really helpful.”
Lisa is keen to utilise both aspects to become a producer or director and feels her experiences in a variety of roles will set her in good stead, particularly understanding how the different departments work.
“I’m also more confident with the input I’m providing for our own script and feel I have a better understand of what producers and directors need and what should be cut, so am looking forward to the months ahead,” she concludes.
ScreenSkills bursaries are supported by BFI-awarded National Lottery funds, by industry contributions to the Film, High-end TV, Children’s TV and Animation Skills Funds and through money from the Television Skills Fund targeted at improving diversity and inclusivity. If you enjoyed reading about Lisa's experience, why not share your story with us and showcase your skills and experience.