RTS Futures

Experts share their top tips for mobile journalism at RTS Futures event

For BBC News video journalist Dougal Shaw, capturing stories alone is a lot easier with just a phone.

“You’re not very nimble with a normal camera and all the equipment… and with news output people don’t know the difference between footage filmed on a phone and footage filmed on a camera,” he said.

Shaw also recognised that interviewing people with a big camera can be intimidating, whereas a smartphone feels more natural.

Anita Rani and Ade Adepitan give advice on how to make it as a presenter

“Don’t hold back,” advised the disabled basketball Paralympic medallist speaking at an RTS Futures webinar.

Adepitan said that he had got into TV by luck: “I didn’t go to uni, I went to the university of life.” His first job in TV was working for a cable station, which, in the early 1990s, was looking for a wheelchair-bound basketball player to appear on screen. 

Initially he declined their invitation, but when the station offered him £250 for the gig he seized the chance.

RTS Futures webinar: Working in a television production office workshop

Former production coordinator Sam Tatlow, whose credits include The Inbetweeners, Misfits and Mad Dogs, revealed the secrets of working in a production office during an RTS Futures webinar.

The freelance nature of the industry means making a good first impression is key, Tatlow stressed, that often means going above and beyond, checking that the kitchen is tidy, or that the stationery cupboard is in order, because these are the things people will notice.

ThinkBigger!'s Edi Smockum gives advice on the basics of how to get into TV

Edi Smockum was offering advice on how to break into the television industry at an RTS Futures webinar in mid-May, held during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Managing Director of ThinkBigger!, which runs new entrant schemes for the independent producers’ association Pact and Channel 4, admitted that entry schemes are highly competitive. But she urged people to apply, arguing that the process of applying will help “you understand what television’s looking for”.

Smockum reckoned that, with her colleague Sam Tatlow, she reads up to 1,000 applications a year for entry schemes.

Industry experts offer advice to budding TV talent in the first RTS Futures online event

“I’ve seen a tonne of people in these last few weeks reinvent themselves and how they’re doing things … At Nutopia, we’ve been working on amazing remote filming kits.

“Creative people are the most adaptable, so I’m very optimistic.”

The head of talent at factual producer Nutopia​ was part of a panel of talent executives talking at RTS Futures’ inaugural Zoom event – “Ask me anything” – in early May.

Futures members had emailed questions to the panel, including how to stand out at an interview with a production company for a TV-entry job.

RuPaul's Drag Race UK creators discuss bringing drag to screens at RTS Futures event

Sally Miles, Fenton Bailey, Ruby Kuraishe, Scott Bryan, Navi Lamba and Bruce McCoy (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

Drag queens and TV are like peanut butter and jelly – the perfect combination,” added the show’s creator Fenton Bailey.

McCoy and Bailey – executive producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race, both here and in the US – were talking at a lively RTS Futures event in November that looked at how the show was brought to the UK.

Channel managers and exec producers call for more diverse talent in TV at RTS Futures event

Iain Coyle, Baileigh Walsh, Rick Edwards, Maxine Watson and Sohail Shah (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

“We need more voices on telly – there’s not enough working-class people in telly and not enough diversity,” said UKTV head of comedy entertainment Iain Coyle.

“All the different voices that make up this country need to be working in television – not just the poshos who’ve been to Cambridge and Oxford,” said Sohail Shah, the MD of new indie King of Sunshine Productions.

He added: “Without new talent you don’t get any kind of progression in TV.”

RTS Futures Television Careers Fair 2020

The RTS Futures Career Fair is back! Bigger and better for 2020 don’t miss your chance to be a part of this HUGE event.

Join us on Wednesday 12th February to get all the latest tips, tricks and practical advice to help you land that all important first job in TV, learn about the different jobs and schemes out there and network with the most influential creatives in the business!