MDA300 Film Research and Context Essay focuses on the pathways of becoming a producer in the UK Film Industry.

1. MDA3300 Film Research and Context
‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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How would a recent graduate of BA Film make it as a producer within the film
industry in London, United Kingdom?
My essay question will explore ways in which a recent graduate of BA Film would make it as
a producer within the film industry in London, United Kingdom. The aim of my essay is to
discuss a specific career trajectory within the film industry and investigate a specific role of
my choice. I will demonstrate a clearly defined career trajectory in relation to my chosen role
of a producer and provide a detailed role analysis and career steps to attain a producer role
within the film industry. Additionally, I will highlight responsibilities of a producer and
consider some issues that may occur along the way of obtaining the role of a producer and
ways to overcome them.
I will do this by critically evaluating approaches that I will define in several stages, setting out
a career goal, attending networking events, using personal contacts from within the film
industry and using contacts from creative-based work experience, applying for film-based work
experience or internship schemes and websites which helps filmmakers to broaden their
portfolio, experience and reputation as a filmmaker within the creative sector. These are
elements I will examine as a pathway for a recent graduate of BA Film as it will help an aspiring
producer to start making the right kind of ‘noise’ for themselves within the film industry and
in order for them to build their career as a producer. Furthermore, I have briefly interviewed
an industry practitioner, Eddie McCaffrey, a producer, for my essay and inquired questions in
relation to my essay question and I intend to interweave the interview throughout the entire
essay.

2. MDA3300 Film Research and Context
‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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So what is a film producer? To paraphrase Creative Skillset and Hiive websites, a film producer
is essentially the person who manages and governs every aspect of the film’s production cycle
from development, pre-production, production, post-production, marketing and distribution.
They usually source out screenplay, talent, funds and distribution for their film. However, it is
important to note that although the producer has to approve on everything, it is unusual for
them to be part of the all crucial production stages, as they have their own team of production
managers, line producer, production assistant, 1st
assistant director, just to name a few to help
them out.
So how should I get into the position of a producer? Creative Skillset suggests the best route in
is to and I agree with is to work with the same people “over and over again”. This will ensure
stability and this means you trust each other and have built a steady relationship with one and
other, and this will also create a good reputation you have with each other. The site also
proposes that you should get experience in a production office by adopting the role of a
production assistant or a runner and if you perform well and ensure others that you are “reliable,
trustworthy and enthusiastic”, only by that you will succeed and progress further in one day
getting closer to you career dream goal and becoming a film producer.
An important factor to note as Hiive puts it, the producer all in all “must remember what the
central vision and goal of the movie is and to be fiscally and creatively responsible for that”
and to put it simply “shepherds the film from inception to completion and beyond”.

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‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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So first element is to understand the role of a producer and essential skills that are required to
do the job, one factor to remember is that there are “no set qualifications for the grade of
producer”. Thus you are in a field of competitiveness with everyone so you must clearly
understand what it takes to becoming a film producer and everything that entails for the success
of a team and production. I strongly recommend further reading on this subject on the Complete
Film Production Handbook, it is very useful and there is a chapter on ‘the production office’
which is vital for not just the purpose of this essay but to gain experience from a production
company, stating “communication and operating centre…handles massive workloads that
require boundless energy, patience and a good sense of humour” (Honthaner, 2012, pg. 11).
You are in the action of it all and it is a very competitive sector so taking this career route must
be taken under a considerable deliberation, however regardless of that you must gain some
experience in the production office before you are able to achieve your career goals. I
recommend readings of Producer to Producer and Raindance Producers’ Lab: lo-to-no budget
filmmaking for students who are almost graduating as it offers a range of topics that will be
beneficial for graduates with hopes of becoming a producer in the future.
Consequently, after this you must establish a career goal and plan strategically about your
career projection after graduating with BA Film degree and short film with it. Your short film
is your passport into the industry, it demonstrates what you are qualified of as a producer and
a filmmaker. Moreover, you will have created a portfolio of your best work, which shows the
paperwork all the way to the final product completed on the many productions you have
participated on, this will show the depth of your experience and your capability. And the next
point will bring me to my interview with McCaffrey, what you need next is preferably
experience within a production company and along the way you must keep networking,

4. MDA3300 Film Research and Context
‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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securing contacts is vital, therefore creating a good reputation for yourself is extremely
important.
When I interviewed McCaffrey, he informed me of his own projection when he was starting
out in the industry. He earned a degree in mass communication and started work as a freelancer,
mainly for experience and not for pay, he struggled, which is an issue that will come up, if you
want to be a producer, you can work for experience at a production company, and this will be
a perfect opportunity for you to establish yourself and familiarise yourself with professionals
from the film industry. However, some great opportunities for recent graduates comes at a
price, you will normally be considered for the role but it will not be paid work. A way to
overcome this issue is to work part-time however even then you may still struggle with money
and other elements such as time management and stability whether it is mental or physical
health. It is extremely important to think critically about all your options and create a solid
strategic plan that will succeed. You should also come up with multiple plans if the first route
is not successful. There are certain things you can do to prevent yourself from struggling, but
in any case, it will be a significant contributing factor if you want to gain experience, which
you may have to do if you want to be a producer in the film industry, and having to work for
free.
In the case of McCaffrey, he then contacted two men from college and made a company with
them, a company that produces video works for corporate establishments. This is an important
element which I will briefly go over later, but maintaining your contacts and relying on
someone will be crucial for your own career. This is McCaffrey career projection but can it
definitely be a route you chose to go with. McCaffrey had some people drop out but it was
launched within a few months and lasted for 16 solid years. This was a producing job for him

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‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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as he had to manage the whole production of his company and even doubled up on roles as a
cameraman and editor, which is another element you should think about, if you have any other
skills that may be useful in the future. His first commission was from his contacts, he made a
council promotional video in Ireland and he thought strategically what his next plan of action
was, he sent it to councils in England, Scotland and Wales inquiring if they would like one too
and got commissioned on many projects.
So if your career goal is to make it as a producer in London, where would you like to see
yourself? Mainstream or niche market? Hollywood or British cinema? For the purpose of this
essay I will be focusing on British cinema, which will also correlate with my other point I will
make later about gaining work experience at a production company based in London and
websites that are useful for gathering information for further experience or paid work. New
British Cinema: From Submarine to 12 Years a Slave, the Resurgence of British Film-making,
shows that many directors and producers will work together from time to time and Carol
Morley, director and writer and Cairo Cannon, producer have worked together on the Alcohol
Year, 2000, Edge, 2010, Dreams of a Life, 2011 and the Falling, 2014. The consistent
collaboration makes it evident that they like the way each other works and co-exist as a director
and producer on these many productions.
Also Tim Bevan, produced many films, his most crucial successful British films including
Bridget Jones’s Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001), Love Actually (Ricard Curtis, 2003), Pride and
Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005), Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007), Les Misérables (Tom Hooper,
2012). He has worked with the same directors again, often doing the same genre e.g. Joe
Wright’s Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. Bevan also founded Working Title Films, a

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‘Research Question’ Essay
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growing successful production company and Producing, writes about his career trajectory from
the films he had produced, which is another book I recommend graduates to read as it will give
them an insight into the role of a producer on a higher scale and examines UK producers who
states what is most important to them “scripts are what matter, if you get the foundations right
and then you get the right ingredients on top, you stand a shot” (Macnab & Swart, 2011, pg.
22).
An element an aspiring producer and recent graduate should do is to attend networking events
to establish themselves as a filmmaker within the film industry, which helps in creating
contacts for future opportunities to work together is crucial. Also using personal contacts of
friends, lecturers and acquaintances helps you to broaden your experience and similarly using
contacts from work experience where you might have worked as a runner for a film company
grows your reputation in the company. You can source running jobs on multiple websites and
more specific job roles which is helpful for any graduates searching for production office roles
in London, Broadcast Graduate, Production Base, Soho Runners, Working Title Action,
Broadcast Freelancers, Searchlight Recruitment, Film London, Talent Circle, Mandy, the
Stage, Skillset Film, Filmmaking.net, the Production Guide, Women in Film and Television,
Pinewood Studios, Ealing Studios, British Council, Film London, British Film Institute,
Shooting People, My First Job in Television and Film, BBC and Film4.
McCaffrey spoke of a recent work commissioned to him where he needs multitude amount of
crew to work on this project and he only has a few weeks to complete the work. From his
company he has a team that is able to contact multitude amount of crew and secure them within
a day, this shows how networking and building bonds over the years helps you in future projects
together, showing that you can work and trust together.

7. MDA3300 Film Research and Context
‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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Another way of achieving your career goal is to complete work experience schemes or
internship. Prior to contacting any professionals is to make sure they can access your portfolio
online and film works completed by you and on projects you have worked on, this can be a
website or blog page and you must keep up-to-date on social media sites as employers are most
likely to see your online profile before contacting you.
There are many ways you can gain experience, again work experience through networking and
applying for them online, particularly you can apply to many roles presented on websites I have
provided above, so as to develop your portfolio and skills level. You can write letters to
production companies based in London, inquiring if they have any opportunities for running
or production assistant roles, giving a significant amount of information about yourself, your
level of experience and most importantly expressing your passion for film. You should give
yourself ample amount of time to write the letter, contacting them and waiting for a response.
You can apply for internship and there are many you can apply for however; my focal point
will be on Working Title Action. It is very competitive and the deadline for 2016 is on Friday
23rd December, I use this as an example but there are many others that have deadlines after
the new year and in the meantime gaining some experience in production office will be useful
for graduates who have yet have gained the experience, and thus improving the chances of the
success of their application. And although you do not need a degree, you must have production
office experience therefore, I recommend graduates to gain plenty of experience on film shoots
and on production office so you have a better chance of a successful application. You will work
in both development and production and “the interns will be working alongside experienced
creative and production executives, providing support to the teams, and will get first-hand

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‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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experience of developing projects from their inception through to production and release”
(Working Title Action website). This is a perfect opportunity for graduates to learn and work
with one of the biggest and most successful British production company in London, and should
be considered for possible pathway in one day achieving their career goal as a producer.
In conclusion, I believe I have provided ways in which a recent graduate of BA Film could
make it as a producer within the film industry in London, United Kingdom. I have researched
and used sources which has helped me to draw on different ways graduates can achieve their
career goal of becoming a producer in London. I have examined the role of the producer and
highlighted the producers’ responsibilities and considered some issues that may occur along
the way of obtaining the role of a producer and ways to overcome them. From my research and
my findings, it is clear that graduates of BA Film must understand what they want to achieve
in their career goal and how they should go about it, they must carefully consider all options
and most importantly what they will get out of each opportunities and pathways presented to
them. They must plan strategically and meticulously and the factors I have considered for this
essay is a pathway one aspiring producer can take.
When I inquired from McCaffrey if Middlesex University’s BA Film alumni have been
successful in achieving their career goals, he sent me an article Young film-makers succeed at
Cannes. This article shows that making the right ‘noise’ in the industry will pay off because
your career will only progress if you continue your passion for filmmaking and as a graduate
you have to be extremely passionate about your final dissertation as this is your passport into
the industry, and thus getting you closer in achieving your career goals as a producer one day
within the film industry. And this statement correlates to what I have said, former student of
BA Film at Middlesex University, David Irons states that “if you're confident and understand

9. MDA3300 Film Research and Context
‘Research Question’ Essay
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the way the medium works, then you're there. I'll always be grateful for Middlesex's course.
The tutors believe in you and trust you as an artist. Now I just can't wait for the future” (Lucy
Tobin, the Guardian, 2010).
Works Cited from the Internet
Creative Skillset website on the role of producer:
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/757_producer
Hiive website on the role of producer: https://app.hiive.co.uk/job-roles/film/production/film-
producer/
Working Title Action:
https://www.workingtitlefilms.com/action
Young film-makers succeed at Cannes:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/may/24/cannes-student-film-success
Bibliography
Honthaner, E.L. The Complete Film Production Handbook, 4th edition. Burlington, MA;
Abingdon: Focal Press, 2012, c2010.
Wood, J & Smith, L.H. New British Cinema: From Submarine to 12 Years a Slave: the
Resurgence of British Film-Making. London: Faber & Faber, 2015.
Macnab, G & Swart, S. Producing. New York: Focal Press, 2013
Ryan, M.A. Producer to Producer: A Step-by-Step Guide to Low-Budget Independent Film
Producing. Studio City, California: Michael Wiese, c2010.
Grove, E. Raindance Producers’ Lab: lo-to-no Budget Filmmaking, 2nd
edition. New York:
Focal Press, 2014.

10. MDA3300 Film Research and Context
‘Research Question’ Essay
Chandra Khan
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Filmography
Another Me, Isabel Coixet, 2013
Atonement, Joe Wright, 2007
Bridget Jones’s Diary, Sharon Maguire, 2001
Dreams of a Life, Carol Morley, 2011
Edge, Carol Morley, 2010
Fifty Dead Men Walking, Kari Skogland, 2008
Les Misérables, Tom Hooper, 2012
Love Actually, Ricard Curtis, 2003
Pride and Prejudice, Joe Wright, 2005
The Alcohol Year, Carol Morley, 2000
The Falling, Carol Morley, 2014