Wow! What a week last week was. We held our inaugural First Steps into Film and TV – switch on your potential online event. And what a day it was. We had 30 speakers altogether, speaking across 14 sessions, all focussed on how to get your career started in film and TV.
We had a great turnout – 73% of those who registered attended and the average time spent at the event was a whopping 5 hours.
It was a day packed full of information, advice and insights. I only hope our attendees weren’t too battered by the end of the day. A recent webinar I delivered that was an hour long was described as, “like being punched in the face with information”. And this event was planned to be an equally dense event. Luckily for everyone there it wasn’t only me doing the talking!
The feedback we’ve had speaks for itself:
Engaging and knowledgeable speakers directly from industry
There was a good range of POC and women on the panel which I appreciated
The variety of backgrounds that speakers were coming from.
Very informative about the film industry and all the different jobs
The BSL interpreters made it super inclusive and even though I didn’t need the help, I thought they did an excellent job
The mental health talk was also really useful, and I think opened up a really interesting conversation
The vast amount of detail into the application process.
The CV and Cover Letter Sections were amazing and very useful.
Variety of websites/links to investigate that were provided.
First thing that came to mind was Donna and Pippa’s mock interview. It was fantastic
How friendly everyone was, particularly Alison
Gained so much PRACTICAL advice that I find some of these events don’t actually give but this one definitely delivered!
I’ve come away feeling super proud of the event we staged. We did what we promised. To deliver bucket loads of practical, real world information. How the industry really works. Importantly we weren’t spoon feeding our attendee, we were teaching them how to fish.
To all the attendees: thank you for trusting in us and our vision for the day, by purchasing a ticket, showing up and joining in the conversation. We knew we had a cracking day ahead the moment the banter started in the chat even before the first session went live.
To all the panellists: you were amazing and generous to make time in your busy schedules to join us and share your insights and experience.
To my team: This event would not have been possible without you. To Fran, for the brilliant project management and getting under the bonnet of Hopin. To Sam, for all your marketing support.On the day to Dan, for running tech support chat.
And to think only a couple of months ago First Steps into Film and TV was simply an idea on my whiteboard. But it kept winking at me, saying go on, make it happen. You know you want to. You know it’s needed. You have a vision. Just give it a try. How much work can it be? (A lot it turns out – especially when you use a new platform that none of your 30 speakers have ever used before!)
Now as I look back, I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and the value we have delivered. This feels like for us, we’ve taken our First Steps too. Our first steps into running B2C, self-funded events, and towards making First Steps into Film and TV an annual event, where we help launch a fresh cohort of new entrants into the film and TV world.
