This April, Film Careers Events will be welcoming 3 speakers, Alumni from the University of Southampton.
In this talk we will be gaining knowledge from areas such as cinematography and production, arts management and event management, covering roles from creation through to exhibition.
The guests alumni are David Pimm, Vicky Kearly, and Alexandra Heaton.
A few words about the guest speakers:
Alexandra Heaton (Freelance Food Facilitator):
Alexandra studied Film & French at Southampton and graduated in 2009. During her year abroad she lived in Paris, working for an Entertainment Lawyer. Whilst in her final year at Southampton, she did several months’ work experience for Keo Films on the production of the River Cottage Summer’s Here series. After graduating, Alexandra was hired by Keo Films as a production assistant. Following the filming of several further series, she joined the Events Team at River Cottage HQ in Devon, eventually covering the role of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s PA.
From there, she went on to be Team Manager at Up Your Elvis LLP, a creative consultancy based in the South West. After three years with the company, she flew the coop and is now freelancing, helping local food businesses with PR, marketing and media projects, with the hopes of starting her own agency in the West Country.
Victoria Duffell (Discovery Centre Team Manager):
Victoria Duffell (formerly Kearley) is currently Team Manager at Gosport Discovery Centre, a Hampshire County Council operated library, cultural and community hub which also encompasses an art gallery and museum. Her first job after finishing her PhD thesis was as Assistant Manager at Chandlers Ford Library, before becoming part of the management team at Basingstoke Discovery Centre in January 2015, relocating to Gosport in January 2016.
In these roles she has utilised a number of skills developed through studying at Southampton including strong interpersonal and communication skills, creative problem solving and analytical thinking, as well as the knowledge of Film and Literature she gained from her studies.
In order to be successful in this sort of role you need to be a flexible, innovative and people focused person who is calm under pressure and likes varied work in a busy, customer focused environment.
For undergraduate students looking to obtain a role in this field I would suggest volunteering or gaining work experience in a lower level role in libraries/ museums or another customer facing, information focused service before looking to move up to management level. I would also recommend trying to gain some experience of leading, managing or supporting others as this essential for a management role in any field.
All Hampshire County Council jobs are advertised and applied for online via newjob.org.uk and jobs in the library service are recruited for via assessment days that focus on selecting candidates with potential, by testing for the skills and qualities needed to perform well in the role they are applying for.
David Primm (Freelance Cinematographer):
Dave is a freelance cinematographer and graduate of the National Film and Television School’s MA programme. Before this, in 2010, he graduated from Southampton with a 2:1 Bachelors in Film and English. While he was in his final year, he got hold of a camera and began shooting – with a mind to eventually find a career as a cinematographer, but with very little idea of how to get there. He spent the next 2-3 years working in various entry level roles in the camera department of film and television, learning from assisting and watching established DOPs. Alongside this he shot low budget short films and music videos, finding his feet as a cinematographer and much of the time guessing, blagging and muddling through. He applied with this work to the NFTS in the hope that someone would see some potential and provide some proper guidance. The plan worked and he got a place on the 2 year cinematography MA, where he studied between late 2013 and 2015. This experience essentially fast tracked his career. Since graduating a year ago he has been living in London, working as a freelance cinematographer. The aim is to ultimately shoot feature films, television and commercials. Thus far he has forged a strong foundation in drama through short films, which have screened in competition at Cannes, Sundance and Palm Springs among others. He has also shot commercial work for Shell, Red Bull and Breast Cancer Care. He is represented by Casarotto Marsh and much of his work can be viewed on his website: www.davidpimm.com
After the Talk:
There will be a free drinks reception, where you will be able to speak with a wide range of film related societies, such as Wessex Films, or SUSU TV (many more TBC), along with a possible opportunity liaise with the alumni!
You can follow the event via its Facebook Page: facebook.com/events/1686443974957507
And don’t forget to sign up via our Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15IZFxKKJ_OR4jW5hi-OsFjU49ZVNFKsI4SprVLkNkpM/viewform?c=0&w=1