About
A delegate on the ScreenSkills Series Producer programme 2020/21, I'm primarily focusing on Arts and History programming, but I also direct Factual Entertainment, Popular Factual and Recon.
I've been a Producer and Director in factual television (BBC, Channel 5, ITV) since the mid 1990s. Producer Director credits include 12 documentaries (in the Timeshift, Inside Antiques and Thirty Minutes strands) and lots of shorts (The One Show series 10 and 11, Premiere, Pulling Power, Our House). I'm a trained journalist and started out as a Reporter and Presenter before moving into Producing and Directing.
As Producer I've made episodes of Who Do You Think You Are?, Back In Time For School (on which I was also Casting Producer) and the upcoming three-part docudrama Charles I: To Kill A King.
I primarily direct teams and crews through research, shoot and edit to delivery, but I can also self-shoot on the XF305 and C300, assemble rough edits, and data wrangle using Shot Put Pro.
I was Development Producer for BBC Wales' pitches for The One Show films 2018 and 2020, leading development teams. I also pitched my own proposed docu-drama feature in 2014, reaching the final showcase of Sheffield Doc/Fest's Fast Track To Features scheme. I was also a WFTV mentee.
I'm a drama, comedy and published fiction writer. Some of my projects have been shortlisted for awards. I've partly-drafted a novel and a feature screenplay, and my work has been performed by theatre and opera companies.
Teaching-wise I've given masterclasses at universities and film societies, and I'm a tutor for John Yorke Story For Factual Content (a web-based distance learning course).
Please note that on the vimeo link below, the password for any album is StephWessellDirector.
E-learning
See which ScreenSkills e-learning Stephanie Wessell has completed to improve their skills and knowledge.
Education and training
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Freelance toolkit for unscripted with Alison Grade
ScreenSkills Funded
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Surviving the TV recession - Why it happened, what’s going to happen next and what you can do about it
ScreenSkills Funded
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How to have difficult conversations at work
ScreenSkills Funded
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Managing tricky relationships
ScreenSkills Funded
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Mental Health First Aid taster session
ScreenSkills Funded
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Mentoring for mentors
ScreenSkills Funded
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No silly questions - 1-2-1 camera tutorials
ScreenSkills Funded
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Addressing unconscious bias: basic awareness in the workplace
ScreenSkills Funded
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Coronavirus basic awareness on production training
ScreenSkills Funded
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Tackling harassment and bullying at work
ScreenSkills Funded
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Coronavirus basic awareness on production training
ScreenSkills Funded
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TV and diversity – how to make 2020 the year of genuine change
ScreenSkills Funded
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Meet the Talent Manager: Producers, Edit Producers and PDs
ScreenSkills Funded
Certificates
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Mentoring for mentors
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Tackling harassment and bullying at work