Production Assistant Training Programme for Unscripted TV - Interviews

Production management offers an exciting career path in TV and high levels of employability. The production assistant (also known as a production secretary or production management assistant) is the starting point for a dynamic and challenging career in production management which requires key skills and industry training.

This UK-wide programme is aimed at individuals who are new entrants committed to pursuing a career in production management, those serious about transferring into unscripted production management from other departments or genres within TV or film, those looking to return to unscripted TV after a career break and those from other industries who have transferable skills and/or experience e.g working in admin, travel agents, theatre, events etc.

What it covers:

• Course content includes:

• What to expect when working in TV

• ALBERT/sustainability

• Setting up shoots – location, studio, outside broadcast, overseas (including in remote & hostile environments)

• Understanding kit

• What is required on a call sheet

• The importance of Risk Assessments and H&S on productions

• Release forms

• GDPR/dealing with confidential and sensitive information

• Expenses/petty cash/per diems/POs/credit cards/cost managers/budgeting basics

• Clearances/copyright (including music & archive)

• The post production process/workflow

• Post production paperwork including how to use Silvermouse

• Negotiation skills

• Mental health awareness

• What to do when things go wrong

• Freelance toolkit and CV clinic

• Addressing unconscious bias: basic awareness in the workplace (e-learning)

• Tackling bullying & harassment at work (e-learning)

• Inclusive hiring for the screen industries (e-learning)

This will be an interactive course with group work/discussions and industry exercises. You will be provided with a resource pack and useful documents at the end of the course.

Course Tutor:

Hannah Gosney  will be running the training focused on the Production Assistant role and CV clinic and is the Programme Manager. She is an experienced Head of Production/Senior Production Manager and founder of Media Career Advice. She has extensive knowledge and experience of what it takes to deliver programmes from pre-production to post production across a variety of unscripted genres.  

Starting out as an Office Runner Hannah quickly worked her way up the ranks working on extreme sports shows and commercials to remote and hostile shoots among others, to specialise in factual, factual entertainment and natural history programmes.  Credits include The Mekong River with Sue Perkins (BBC 2), Flintoff’s Road to Nowhere (Sky One), Wild Shepherdess with Kate Humble (BBC 2), Wales: Land of the Wild (BBC 2), Veganville (BBC Three) and Wonders of the Celtic Deep (BBC Wales).

Throughout her career she’s been passionate about nurturing and training crew and understands the importance of best practice in the industry. With this in mind she now focuses her time on providing training for the media industry with an emphasis on those working in production. She has a Level 3 Train the Trainer qualification, a Level 3 Award in Education and Training contextualised to the screen industries and is a Level 3 qualified ILM Coach & Mentor.