Everybody must start somewhere, is an old adage draped in truth and simplicity. But how can you make your dreams a reality without a few helping hands along the way?
Forging any career is often reliant on more than grades on a piece of paper and anyone who has studied anything related to film and video production, will tell you how hard it can be to break into the industry once you have gained your qualifications.
In a particularly saturated industry it can be a tough nut to crack for anyone in the dawn of their career, so gaining on-the-job experience, to bolt on top of any qualifications, can quite literally, be invaluable.
Therefore, when enthusiastic student Bradley Cope got in touch with Loftworks to ask about work experience we were keen to do whatever we could to help.
In the second year of his Level 3 film and television course at College, by his own admission, ‘film and television is a huge part of my life’, as he also spends much of his spare time writing, directing and producing his own short films.
And we think this hunger is great…
Bradley evidently has a genuine passion so we wanted to offer him the chance to get his hands dirty in a live production environment, with us, on set at the Talking Pictures’ TV Studios.
And having started this now ongoing work experience, in what was the first year of his college course, Bradley is finding it thoroughly worthwhile.
“I am really fortunate to have been given this opportunity. It really allows me to not only put my skills to use and see a professional, final product, but it also lets me put what I have learnt from my College course into a real-life television environment”.
He added, “I've not only developed my knowledge about the different types of cameras, camera angles, lighting and sound equipment but I have also learnt to understand what it is really like to work in television”.
And now having got his first television credit as a Runner, his advice to anyone looking for similar opportunities is built on fearlessness.
“Do not be afraid to talk to people. Approach everybody you see working in the industry or department that you would like to work in because you never know where these opportunities will take you”.
But it’s not only the practical learning that Bradley has benefited from, as he feels working with the full array of professionals is also favourable.
“There are so many people to learn from and to be taught by in an industry like this, I'm so proud to be given the opportunity to work on projects and shoots like these”.
And when he considers what the future may look like, he has fairly high hopes.
“My greatest aspiration in life would be to go into the film and/or television industry, with my ultimate aim becoming a director — while I'd love to see one of my scripts come to life in a real, professional environment”.
Essentially, when you are forging a path in your professional life, it can seem like you’re in a Catch-22 predicament — employers wanting experience that is often so hard to find. So offering young and enthusiastic characters like Bradley the chance to make his own strides, for us, seemed like a no-brainer.
