At the beginning of this year we set up a scheme to facilitate shadowing opportunities between sixth form and college students and our member agencies. This came out of conversations with our shadow board, who spoke about the difficulty of getting industry insight experience, via shadowing and work experience. The group talked about the importance of shadowing opportunities to understand what the corporate film and events industries have to offer, and to see whether it could be a future fit. We have committed to connecting 12 young people keen to experience a day in the industry each year with member companies kindly offering their time.
And over the last two months we have offered two more shadowing opportunities to students at Harringey6 in Tottenham with corporate filmmaking companies Plastic Pictures and Casual Films. The shadowees got to spend time with different members of the team, learn about different roles and the office environment, and see filmmaking professionals (from pre-production through to the editing stages) in action!
Hear from the shadowees below:
“My day with Plastic Pictures was amazing! The working environment was very relaxed and friendly and the team inspirational! I spent time with everyone in the office, who each talked to me about their various roles in the team, ranging from pre-production to editing. This provided me with valuable insight and has inspired me to pursue a job in the media. I am very grateful to everyone at Plastic Pictures and hope I get the chance to see them again and even work with them,” says Gergo who spent the day at the Plastic Pictures office.
“I loved my time with Casual Films. I spent time with a professional film editor and cut some interview footage for them. All of the team were fantastic and I got to find out about what they do. I now know that I definitely want to work in the Media when I finish college and plan to enter the industry rather than going to university. I would love to work Casual films again and can’t thank them enough for the opportunity,” says Nora who shadowed the Casual Films team for a day.
Thank you so much to the teams at Plastic Pictures and Casual Films for offering their time and expertise to Gergo and Nora.
Claire Fennelow, EVCOM’s Executive Director says, “As both students have said, shadowing days offer an inspiring and clarifying insight into what our sector has to offer. Thank you so much to Harringey6 for connecting us with such engaged young people. And a huge thank you to Plastic Picture and Casual Films for supporting our work around Next Generation talent, fighting for a more diverse and inclusive industry.”
If you’re interested in finding out how you can offer shadowing opportunities to young people, please get in touch with Amelia via amelia.brown@evcom.org.uk.