Casting professionals discuss their TV careers working on shows such as Love Island, Saturday Night Takeaway, The Voice, and Take Me Out, and provide top tips on how to get into TV casting.
Henry Byrne, Casting Producer, Bianca Clayton, Casting Assistant Producer, Lewis Evans, Series Producer, Mo Mohsin, Casting Producer and Charlotte Welsh, Casting Researcher, join Lauren Evans, ITV Entertainment Talent Manager, for the RTS Futures event.
“‘You’re only as good as your last cast’– that’s the mantra we use every year on Love Island,” said Lewis Evans, one of the series producers on the show, which is currently casting for its next run. He has been part of the Love Island casting team since the first series.
He added: “The key to working in casting is that you’ve got to like people… I love chatting and I am incredibly nosey – casting gives you the opportunity to go and talk to anyone.”
The annual RTS Futures Careers Fair returned early this month in a new and bigger form, with exhibitors from the length and breadth of the UK.
Held over two days, More than 2,200 people signed up for the-two day virtual event, hoping to get their foot on the first rungs of the TV ladder.
“This year’s virtual careers fair has been a huge success. We have welcomed more attendees, and offered more sessions and industry exhibitors than ever before,” said RTS Futures Chair Alex Wootten. “It has also been more accessible and inclusive.
This year, we are teaming up with our centres to have exhibitors all over the UK and Ireland.
Find out more about the RTS Futures Careers Fair 2021 and book now here.
Meet the exhibitors hosting virtual booths:
If so, check out a BBC Studios’ initiative which is offering 14 one-year contracts to researchers who have a minimum of three researcher credits.
The successful 14 people will be employed and paid as assistant producers and work on productions as well as receive training.
The 14 roles are for different genres and are based throughout the UK. Applications must be in by January 31.
The genres include natural history, history and documentaries, science and arts, factual and factual entertainment, and entertainment and music.
An RTS Futures panel shares tips on how to get ahead in Motion Graphics and VFX.
Emma Kolasinska, Sergio Rincón and Michael Vodden discuss how they got their first jobs in Motion Graphics and VFX, and what the path of progression within the industry looks like.
Television soap operas have an important role to play in communicating environmental messages. That was one of the conclusions of an RTS Futures session, “Can TV save the planet?”, which discussed how it is not only the likes of David Attenborough and Chris Packham who can alert audiences to the impact of climate change and other environmental challenges.
Emma Kolasinska, an executive producer at Moonraker VFX who recently worked on Netflix wildlife series Night on Earth, started out as a receptionist at an editing facility, before moving into producing. The key to getting on, she said, is “working hard, not pretending to know everything but finding out quite quickly”.
Junior compositor Michael Vodden said: “Take opportunities and run with them – you never know where [they will lead]… a job can come out of everywhere.”
An RTS Futures panel discusses the initiatives encouraging production teams to embed sustainability into the programmes you see on screen - from drama, right through to comedy, and of course, high-impact environmental shows. They also offer practical advice about how everyone can play their part in making productions more environmentally friendly, like carbon calculating, sustainable lighting, and meat-free meals.
That was one of the conclusions of an RTS Futures session, 'Can TV Save The Planet?', that discussed how it not only people like David Attenborough and Chris Packham that can alert audiences to the impact of climate change and other environmental challenges.
