Ultimately it is down to you to move your own creative mountain. In this series I will be exploring what it’s like to weather the storms of the creative industries such as TV drama, whilst balancing your own writing dreams.
Too often we idolise the world of film and TV. It’s a saturated market, let’s be honest. The glitz, glamour and all the varnished parts that come with fame and fortune and trust me, they reign ‘supreme’ but, perhaps exasperated by Instagram and TikTok. However, there is always another side to the coin. The 'before' you made it. No one sees the hard graft, the endless hours people put in, the free time we sacrifice. As someone who has been nervously treading the creative waters for the last three years as an assistant trying to climb the ladder, it is far from it. My salary has barely shifted– mostly by £2k and leaving me unemployed x 3 times, combatting difficult managers and Devil Wears Prada culture. I know this is the answer you probably don’t want to hear. Is there any hope? We always think of the success people have soared to – the Phoebe Waller Bridges, Steven Spielbergs and Greta Gerwigs of this day and age. Yet, I imagine there was a time when they too were struggling creatives. Because that is what we are, especially as writers.
You may be thinking – is all of this stress worth it? I ask myself that a lot. Since graduating with a Creative Writing degree in 2019 from York St John I had never imagined myself immersing myself into this new world. Coming from the Isle of Man, the TV/Film industry is non-existent, especially when it comes to scripted / drama. More than twenty years ago, the island was in full bloom with features such as Me and Orson Wells, Stormbreaker, Lassie and Waking Ned being filmed there. I thank my writing professor who encouraged me to go into TV and Film after seeing something in my writing, which I had never seen before. As a fiction writer, it was unusual for script to cross my mind. I was unaware it would change the trajectory of my career and personal life forever.
Now ‘breaking’ into the industry was no piece of cake. I knew zero people and I was no Film or TV graduate specialist. I had 12 months of radio, a good few years of hospitality and 8 months of financial services, amongst other bits (Camp America included). At the start of 2022 I was made redundant from a PR and Advertising company, only to take a stop gap in a garden centre café. There I met a girl whose dad worked for Greenlight TV on the Isle of Man who filmed TT, hence my first running gig. Less than four months later I found myself handing in my notice after barely starting a community library role, packing a suitcase and moving to London to start at Moonage Pictures (The Gentleman / Famous Five / Bodies / The Leopard) as their Office Runner.
Never would I have imagined the year would end on an unexpected positive note. When you endure hardship, it is incredibly difficult to pick yourself back up but somehow I had. Since doing the running for Greenlight TV, I realised I loved the buzz of working on production and with fellow creatives. No they did not wield a pen, but the collaboration and act of bringing something to life left me breathless. Paired with the last Isle of Man Film Festival, a black and white silent short film two of my friends produced, I was hooked. I spent all the months before finally getting a door to stay open, networking. I would spam people on LinkedIn, even on my Facebook friends list and my regular punters in the seaside pub I worked at. Was I ridiculous? Maybe. Desperate? Maybe just a little. I was determined. I know, scary to put yourself out there but you have to step forward and jump. But I was going after what I wanted and somehow it had paid off (either a random miracle or just pure luck). There was another TV connection / coincidence that I will go on to indulge you later in this series, as I have endured many strange sliding doors moments.
When it comes to forging your own path, I learnt you must be willing to do anything. To put yourself out there and keep trying. As I remember Director Sam Taylor Johnson telling me during a Q+A after a Nowhere Boy screening, ‘if the door closes, break it down.’ And here I am. Three years in and I have worked for some of the UK’s top broadcast and production companies such as BBC Studios Drama and Channel 4 Screenwriting. My journey is still ongoing as the door is ever revolving. But let’s leave that for my next story.
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