I spent some of today out at Pinewood with Charotte Owttrim from Creative Skillset.

Charlotte runs the Creative Skillset Trainee Placement Scheme which provides trainee placements for all departments of the film industry. Aimed at people who have gained a good level of experience but are finding it hard to get their foot in the door, Skillset offers more than a stepping stone.

Support is offered for roughly a year, the idea being that by the end of their year candidates will have gained the experience they need to fill any gaps in their CV's.  As well as this practical training, the scheme offers a solid introduction to the environment within which they can make contacts and establish themselves in their departments thus providing them with the foothold they need.

 Today we were meeting the prospective candidates for the current intake. Charlotte has a great feel for CV's, she has analysed hundreds, if not thousands of them and there wasn't a single person in the final edit who we felt couldn't cope with the job. To have got this far, passing her sharp instincts to reach the final interview was a great achievement for each of them, regardless of the final outcome of their interviews.

The nurturing environment of Skillset also offers a cushion to strong but ultimately unsuccessful candidates. This is a sort of holding pool where future trainees are put through the induction days along with successful candidates but encouraged to gain a little more experience before they take up their place. This pool is for people whose potential is apparent but whose experience isn't quite there yet.

I really liked this idea of a holding pool because one or two applicants weren't quite ready to work as full-time members of the department but they were inspiring and deserving of the opportunity. Every bit as focused as the successful applicants they simply need a little more time before they take up their spot. I hope stalling their places for a few months will boost their confidence and provide them the impetus they need to get that final edge onto their CV's.

Over the last three years I have worked on many films which have used Skillset Trainees and I keep going back for more. Charlotte's stringent processing means I am always confident whoever she sends will be a great addition to our team, I have kept in touch and we have continued to employ many of them. We have especially enjoyed seeing our trainees grow in confidence and ability, heading towards being the people who will employ and train the next generation.

It's degree show time.
These students are graduating from Huddersfield University, their course is Costume with Textiles and their details can be found here.

There are so many more courses now than when I went to college, it must be hard to choose. I reckon if you're undecided about your future path but you have a passion for costume and you like making things then this type of course is a good option, it combines designing and making. I believe Edinburgh University runs a similar course.

I graduated from Wimbledon College of Art in 1992 with a degree in Costume Interpretation. At that time it was possible for Interpretation students to design elements of their degree show, which I chose to do.
My making and period skills were then honed at Sands Films in Rotherhithe and I gained knowledge of more unusual techniques and materials when I worked at Hensons and Spitting Image.
All this making experience has helped me enormously on the low budget films I have designed.

I was rarely called to use these skills when assisting on bigger films because everything goes off to the relevant department to be worked on. On small jobs we all need to be able to make, break-down, dye, alter and often copy garments when we can't find the duplicates for stunt purposes. It's more cost-effective to do these things within the department than to send jobs out to specialists. I need the right people in my team and if I have them I can stay on budget.
The experience of a smaller film was an excellent place for me to start out, I got to try my hand at everything. If you are adaptable and become a solid member of the team they will likely keep you with them for the next one.

There is however a time constraint and things can get hectic. This tension needs to be carefully managed because, in my view, the worst outcome is that people end up under too much pressure and forget how much fun it is to make things. I've yet to meet a creative person whose route into art school wasn't through a lifelong love of making things; cutting and glueing and colouring-in being the portal to living a creative life, but it is possible to end up distanced from this pleasure.

I remember how competitive the closing days of college felt, everyone was trying to find work and we didn't even have the added pressure of massive loans to pay off. What none of us realised was that we were each other's best contacts. We all ended up recommending one other for things we were unable to do, benefitting from a good network of trainee-level contacts, already in place.

And I'm pleased to say many of us still cross paths and work together twenty one years later.

I can't imagine completing the film I have just finished, anywhere near on budget, without utilising the talent of very competent trainees in possession of good sewing skills.

    5 June 2013

    £10 / £8 Concessions / £7 ICA Members 

    BAFTA Masterclass Labs are monthly events where innovative talents from the film and television industries share their creative practices with the audience. Sessions are well illustrated with clips or other media, and with much time for questions, these masterclass labs give the audience an opportunity to exchange ideas with some of the industries’ exceptional newer talents.  

At the V&A with Synergy Theatre Project

I have recently finished working at the V&A on a short course: An Introduction to Costume Design for Ex-Prisoners.

The four sessions were a collaboration between the V&A and Synergy Theatre Project.

Marisa Smith, our incredibly well organised co-ordinator and her trusty assistant Bryony Smith, along with Kirsten Shirling from Synergy, steered us through the sessions and helped us all deliver the best we could offer in the time given. This thoughtful planning and concise use of time meant each week we were able to provide an afternoon's workshop with enough space for everyone to have time to communicate and get to know one other, structured around high but achievable goals.
I have a tendency towards bounding enthusiasm and Marisa's judgement about what we could fit into each session was spot-on. The result was a very high standard of visual communication of costume ideas and a solid understanding of character from all attendees.

It was great fun as well as a learning experience and I'm sure all of us 'outsiders' found being in the V&A once a week, and calling it work, a pleasure in itself.

Marisa's blog post with more detail is here.
And the V&A's Director mentioned the classes in last night's Evening Standard.

I have been asked to join the industry jury who will select the final BAFTA Crew group members once the application deadline closes on Monday.

I was really pleased to be offered this opportunity but slightly dismayed by Regional Programmer and Events Producer, Katie Campbell's email -

    'Applications from the Costume Design sector have been slightly slower compared to the other departments. We think it is vital for new talent in Costume Design to be properly represented in BAFTA Crew so would hugely appreciate your help spreading the word to your colleagues, juniors, trainees and assistants. Anyone in your department who has two or more broadcast or feature credits and lives in the English Regions and lives outside the capital is eligible.'

Somehow or other, despite the efforts of many, the Costume Department often feels slightly disconnected from what's going on around it and under-represented in areas where other departments seem to be more on the ball.
I'm not sure why this is, maybe we just don't have the time but it does often feel like we have missed a beat.

Why exactly have applications been slower from our department?

I can't answer that but I can pass on the application information -

Apply here before February 18th for a chance to join BAFTA Crew. 

BBC Costume Design Trainee Scheme

So the ten applicants for the BBC Costume Design Trainee Scheme, whose portfolios were selected last month, came for their interviews last week.

It was a tough and stringent process.
We were based in Angels, candidates completed two practical exercises using costumes from stock and joined us for a 45 minute chat in order to clearly determine which two aspiring Costume Designers were the right applicants to gain a year long contract with the BBC.

I definitely learnt loads during the process, Alice Skidmore and Linda Mattock are both very experienced interviewers with a strong commitment to the responsibility of getting it right. We got down to the finer details of the applications, discussing the experiences and goals of the candidates and I think we were able to offer the places to those who were at just the right point in their career to benefit most and who also showed great potential to be interesting and original costume designers in the future.

The trainees will be supported by Alice throughout the year when she will co-ordinate placements on TV and film projects which will introduce them to every aspect of working in the costume department. It's interesting to note that Costume has the highest drop-out rate of all the apprenticeship schemes, the work is usually tougher and the hours far longer, than people expect.

This scheme is a brilliant opportunity but I think the timing of the application is crucial; applicants must be experienced enough to be able to do the job and yet inexperienced enough to benefit fully from the opportunity.

Huge congratulations to the successful candidates, their dressed stands from the practicals shown above.
They start in September.