Grit

Dr Neil Fox is an Associate Professor of Film Practice and Pedagogy at Falmouth University in UK. He leads the Sound/Image Cinema Lab, a multifaceted partner, funder, resource and research centre dedicated to the production and education of independent cinema. In 2020 the Lab won an innovative pedagogy award at the University Industry Innovation Network. The Lab has been involved in feature films including Bait (dir. Mark Jenkin, 2018) and Make Up (dir. Clare Oakley, 2019).

He wrote and produced feature film 'Wilderness' which was funded by The School of Film & Television as part of an innovative micro-budget filmmaking model developed. The film was picked up for distribution by Sparky Pictures and released digitally around the world in April 2021.

He is also the co-founder and host of the acclaimed film podcast The Cinematologists in partnership with Dr. Dario Llinares at the University of Brighton. Mark Kermode says "for intelligent, informed cinema debate, The Cinematologists are hard to beat" and Sight & Sound call it "consistently one of the finest film podcasts around.

In this episode we discuss the delicate balance between media education and professional practice.

Nicole Kassell is an award-winning film and television director based in New York City. She received a BA from Columbia University in Art History and an MFA from NYU’s Film Program, and her first feature film “The Woodsman” premiered in competition at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Kassell also directs episodic television, including acclaimed series Westworld, Castle Rock, Better Call Saul, The Leftovers, The Killing, The Americans and The Following.

In January 2020, Kassell won the Directors Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series for directing the Watchmen episode “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice”.

In this episode we deep dive into the role of the director, coverage of a scene, how to set the tone on set and within your work and lots about Nicole’s own journey from film student to award winning director.

Steve is a partner and Head of Creative, Digital and Marketing sector at BLM law firm in Manchester. He specialises in Intellectual Property, Media, Social Media, Marketing and Privacy Law. He works mainly in the Media, Digital, Creative, Film, Television, Publishing, Advertising and PR sectors.

He’s a regular media spokesperson, and has given interviews to the local and national press through BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and LBC London. He’s been featured in the Times, Financial Times, Daily Star, Manchester Evening News, GM Business Week, Computer Weekly, PR Week, Insider, Credit Today, Information World Review, Prolific North, Sky Movie News, UK Screen, Financial Director, TSG Life and OUT-LAW.

Steve’s first Book, “Legal Issues of Web 2.0 and Social Media”, was published in June 2010, and his second “Legal Issues Of Corporate Communication in the Online World” in July 2011.

In this episode we discuss the legal arenas that face creators, particularly copyright, distribution and areas that often affect creatives in the business side of the creative industries.

Silja is a freelance graphic designer and digital marketer with over 15 years of experience, working in advertising agencies and in marketing and communications departments. She teaches Digital Marketing at Noroff in Oslo focussing on training in design, user experience, text for the web, creativity and Adobe programs.

Silja studied graphic design at Arts University Bournemouth in England, and enjoyed herself so much in the country that she moved to London and stayed for a total of 10 years. For Silja, music is as important a part of life as design, and in her spare time she and the family arrange Indiefjord, an international indie pop festival in Norway.

Chris has worked in the television industry for over 20 years, initially as a Runner, Camera Assistant, Camera Operator and most recently, over the past 13 years as a freelance Lighting Cameraman, Director of Photography (DoP) and Lighting Director (LD).

As a Camera Operator he has covered all genres of live television; producing DVD’s for the likes of Beyonce & REM to Superslo-mo coverage of the Brazil World Cup Final in the Maracana.

He has worked all over the world as a Camera Supervisor for clients such as ITV, BBC, Sky and BT covering the Olympics & Commonwealth games, along with Football tournaments including the Champions League and Premier League. He’s covered live opera and theatre from The Royal Opera House, Shakesperes Globe and the RSC and worked on shows such as Question Time, Crimewatch & Young Musician.

​As a Lighting Director & DoP he has won innovation awards as part of the Discovery & ITV teams for mixed reality studios in Korea & Russia, Baftas as part of the ITV Horse Racing and Rugby World Cup 2019 teams, along with winning the prestigious Knight of Illumination award as LD for ITV’s Euro 2016 presentation studios in Paris.

In this episode we talk about working ina multicam environment, remote production and mixed reality studios, along with a deep dive into tips and tricks Chris has learnt over his years in the industry. 

Richard Janes is an Emmy winning entertainment entrepreneur and film producer. He burst onto the scene with his directorial debut Fakers in his early 20’s. He launched Digital Ad Agency Fanology, followed by setting up Green Pastures Studio and The Oklahoma Film & TV Academy

In this episode we talk to Richard about his facinating career path, the state of Hollywood now and the shifting sands of opportunity for new producers and some deep dives into all the arenas of being an entrepreneurial producer.

Colin is a Grierson nominated Series Producer and Director who has worked across a number of genres including talent-led travelogues, investigative documentaries, observational documentaries, factual, entertainment, music and formats. His work has been broadcast across Netflix, BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Channel 5, TLC and Sky has worked for most of the UK independent production companies.

In this episode we chat about the role of the Series Producer and directing documentary, particularly focussing on his work on Netflix’s Dark Tourist series, with insights on how to manage all the complexities one can find when working with factual productions.

Arren has worked in production for over 18 years, starting out as a runner and production assistant, moving up to production co-ordinator across an assortment of productions. He was Line Producer and Production Manager at ITN Productions, overseeing a busy slate of productions before moving to Viacom UK as a Production Executive.

In this episode we get under the hood of production management and how it is the heart of the production environment.

Simon set himself a new year’s resolution in 2020 to get onto Tik Tok. Within months his account had grown and made a hit with his character Kent-Simon.

Now with over 6million likes and nearly 150k followers, Simon is one of Norway’s growing clan of influencers building a cross platform media career for himself.

In this episode he explains his rise on the platform, some of the trials and tribulations of being an influencer as a full time job, along with the perks.

Maya Daisy Hawke is an editor and experimental filmmaker. Her recent project, Unfated Yet, a live online video installation, was first presented in March 2020 by First Look at Museum of the Moving Image and Sundance Documentary Film Program.

She is the creator of the interactive social media video novels, Box of Birds and Currency of Despair, both Facebook based. She was co-director of Little Ethiopia, a love story between two editors, told as a live documentary, which was performed at the Sundance Film Festival, Frames of Representation and First Look (2018–19).

Maya is the editor of over a dozen feature length documentary films, including Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Amy Berg’s Janis: Little Girl Blue and Nahiza Arebi Freedom Fields. Also the BBC series House of Assad: A Dangerous Dynasty, and Moon Landing Live for Channel 4.