Several young TV crew from Northumbria
University’s Film and TV production degree have seen their careers get off to a
flying start by working on the latest series of a BBC show.
‘Angels of the North’, which is now on
its fourth series on BBC3, is an observational documentary following the real lives
of several businesses and people on Tyneside, who have become TV personalities
thanks to the show. And when local production firm Twenty Six 03 was looking for
talent to be part of the crew, it approached the University for help.
Neil Percival, Deputy Director of Cultural Partnerships at Northumbria University, said: “Twenty Six 03 came to Northumbria looking for graduates to fill entry
level roles, both with production skills and the ability to develop and pitch
new TV programme ideas.
“It took on
several graduates, and ‘Angels of the North’ is a fantastic first step on their
professional career ladder – and just the first stage in our growing
relationship with the company.”
The new series, which started on October
17, is one of two shows Neil’s students have been involved with through Twenty
Six 03, the other being the forthcoming 24/7 Pet Hospital, featuring work by
2020 graduate Jack Davidson, who was shooting researcher for the show, and has
also been involved in camera and in production on the latest two Angels series
respectively.
Duncan Gray, the owner of Twenty Six 03,
relocated to the North East three years ago in order to base his firm in the
region, having started on the first series of Angels of the North.
He said: “Like any new kid on the block,
I wanted to pay my respects to the movers and shakers in the area, and was
aware that Northumbria has a vibrant TV and film production course.
“So I recruited quite heavily following the
University’s summer showcase. I find it’s the best way to source new talent.”
Tony Park, who graduated in the summer
of 2022, started as a runner on the latest Angels series before becoming floor
runner for one of the location teams, which allowed him to be on set more.
He is one of the Northumbria graduates
whose work at the annual Northumbria REVEAL showcase caught Duncan’s eye, and since working with the
Gateshead-based studio, he’s been able to carve out a specialism in sound and
is now successfully freelancing as a sound assistant.
He said: “It’s quite a rare opportunity
to learn so many of the ins and outs of the industry in a first job, and I’m
really grateful to Neil and Duncan for giving me that chance.
“The course at Northumbria is really
good at giving you a start by providing experience in every role involved in
production, especially in first year, which gives you a great foundation to
understand how it all works together, as well as letting you discover what you
like and are good at, so you can start to specialise in second and third year.”
Despite the challenges the Covid-19
pandemic presented students with, for Tony and his course mates, it also gave
them a chance to hone their craft by recording lectures for students to play at
home during lockdown, and it was carrying out this task for the University that
allowed Tony to discover his love of working in sound.
He added: “It was a real turning point
for me because I found a type of freedom and responsibility in sound recording
that I really responded to.
“On a shoot you’re the only one with
headphones on to hear ay problem, so it’s up to you to fix it. It made me proud
to work out problems like that, and I took that experience with me on to Angels
and tried to absorb as much as I could.”
Lewie Keddy’s student work as a Director
of Photography also impressed Duncan when he was looking for crew members, so
Duncan was able to direct his passions towards camera work for the six-week
Angels shoot. Lewie continues to gain experience in the field through a camera
internship.
Meanwhile, Sean Grinham gained
experience on Angels as an assistant editor and has gone on to further study
alongside freelance work in the industry, and Tom Lawson, who also gained
editing experience, is now a freelance edit assistant and colourist, having
also been involved in projects including the BBC’s Springwatch 2022.
Last but not least, Rachel Stronach is
now working full-time for ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the
screen industries.
Rachel
said: “Working on Angels of the North was a fantastic opportunity and
experience. I started as a logger and was also able to provide a month of cover
as the acting production secretary.
“I have so
much admiration for those I was able to work with and learn from, and am
pleased Twenty Six 03 was keen to help so many graduates get their foot into
the industry. These roles
helped me secure my current job at Screen Skills, which so far has been
incredible!”
Duncan added: “For me, it’s about
understanding what each individual’s passions are and matching that with the
right production role, of which there’s a great variety.
“This fourth series of 'Angels of the North’ is the best we’ve made, with richer storytelling, having extended to
30-minute episodes from our original short format.”
Angels of the North is on BBC3 each
Monday evening, or you can catch all 10 episodes on iPlayer.
Find out more about Northumbria’s Film and TV production degree.
Image credit: BBC
