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Carving Out A Career -
mirror works COS! Summary: Article:
Jan 1 2004
CARVING OUT A CAREER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SET
Laurette Ziemer
LIGHTS, camera .. spanner! There is so much more to the making of a great movie than glamorous film stars and a high-powered director with a megaphone. Every set is skillfully constructed by an army of carpenters, electricians and plumbers - many of whom learned their trade while working on movies. LAURETTE ZIEMER met two people who are studying for the NVQs while working on Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, due out in June.THE CARPENTERPHIL Bradley, 19, had always wanted to be a carpenter. The fact that he is now working on his second Potter movie while learning his trade, is a dream come true.
"I've always been good with my hands," says Phil from Borehamwood, Herts. "Doing the NVQ suited me down to the ground."
Phil started his NVQ at college full-time and got the film bug helping a friend at Elstree Studios.
"It can be tough to get your foot in the door, but I got to know some faces in the industry and phoned around before I landed my first job on Chamber Of Secrets. It's good money, but hard work. The hours aren't very sociable and sometimes you're under a lot of pressure. "There's always another challenge. I worked on Hogwarts girls' bathroom as well as Diagon Alley. You meet some interesting characters and you get to go to the wrap parties at the end of filming."
Throughout all of this Phil attended his local St. Albans college one day a week.
"Training on the job was definitely the best option. And now I've got my NVQ levels 1, 2 and 3, I'll get more responsibility and money."
Phil is currently working at a stage called an improver.
"I still have to work with someone else, but in a few months I'll be a fully fledged carpenter.
"Jobs last as long as it takes to make the film, so there can be down times so you have to be self-motivated."THE ACCOUNTS TRAINEETHIS time last year, Beverley Charles was working at the Royal Bank of Scotland. A far cry from where she finds herself today, on the set of Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban.
But Beverley, 34, from North London, quit her job and is now working towards a level 3 NVQ in production accounting.
"I was temping and then I was offered a permanent position. It forced me to look at my job and re-evaluate my future."
Beverley, who left college at 17 with a certificate in Business Studies, saw an ad in Pride magazine asking for people with accounts experience to train as assistant production accountants for Film and Television.
"It sounded different, and I knew different was what I needed." Beverley got one of six places on the 12-month scheme run by the Production Guild, which gives trainees a five-week induction before placing them on a variety of productions across the UK.
"My NVQ will all be done on the job. An NVQ assessor will come in to the studios to look at the portfolio of work. It's a great way to learn."
By the end of the scheme Beverley will be a qualified assistant production accountant and will then go freelance.
"I'm already thinking about the future and trying to make contacts and network with the people I'm meeting so I can find out about upcoming jobs.
"One of the great things about working on a big budget film series like Harry Potter is that if I do a good job, hopefully they'll offer me a position."GOOD SKILL HUNTINGIF you are keen to get a break in the TV and film industry, don't be put off if you don't have the experience.
According to Eve Ragout of Skillset, which is responsible for co-ordinating training in the entertainment business, there are a surprising number of opportunities for trainees.
Skillset's website at
www.skillset.org is full of detailed routes into the TV, radio, film and video industry whether you want to be behind a camera, on hair and make-up, working in the personnel department, or working as an electrician.
Working within the NVQ programme, the organisation has established Skillset Standards and Qualifications. These are awarded to people who show they can operate to the required level needed for their chosen career.
"They exist to help people prove they can do what they say they can do," explains Eve.
"They don't involve long stretches of time away from the workplace - it usually involves day release at college. And, best of all, there are no examinations."
