"I think what you're doing is inspirational.”
Jimmy Mulville – Managing Director, Hat Trick Productions
About Me
My name is James.
I initially studied mechanical engineering and industrial design.
Shortly after graduating, I unexpectedly got a job as an Extra (SA) on a BBC documentary.
I really enjoyed the experience, and it made me realise that I would like to work in the film and TV industry in some capacity.
However, I knew absolutely nothing about the film and TV industry.
As you can imagine, it's not the sort of thing they teach you about when studying mechanical engineering.
As a result, I was effectively starting from ground-zero.
In the following years, I continued to work as an Extra.
I also did a lot of research about the industry, watched what happened when I was on set, asked lots of questions, completed several courses, and spoke to as many people as I could.
There were many moments of confusion, frustration and self-doubt – as you might be experiencing now.
It often felt like trying to build a complex LEGO model without any instructions. (Sometimes I felt like I didn’t even know what the model was supposed to look like.)
But it was also exciting to be discovering an industry as interesting, challenging, and varied as this one.
Looking back, I refer to those years as my quarter-life crisis – an experience that I know a lot of people go through.
Ultimately, I realised I would like to design and create props and sets.
One thing led to another, and I ended up doing just that.
Now I work predominantly in Props and Set Decoration. I have also worked in the Art Department on some lower-budget productions.
To date, I’ve worked on productions such as:
- Bridgerton
- The Winter King
- The Gallows Pole
- The Power
- The Souvenir Pt. 2
- Fast and Furious 9
I've also worked on several others that have yet to air.
Having found my feet in recent years, I decided to create this course to help others do the same.
"I think what you're doing is inspirational.”
Jimmy Mulville – Managing Director, Hat Trick Productions
About Me
My name is James.
I initially studied mechanical engineering and industrial design.
Shortly after graduating, I unexpectedly got a job as an Extra (SA) on a BBC documentary.
I really enjoyed the experience, and it made me realise that I would like to work in the film and TV industry in some capacity.
However, I knew absolutely nothing about the film and TV industry.
As you can imagine, it's not the sort of thing they teach you about when studying mechanical engineering.
As a result, I was effectively starting from ground-zero.
In the following years, I continued to work as an Extra.
I also did a lot of research about the industry, watched what happened when I was on set, asked lots of questions, completed several courses, and spoke to as many people as I could.
There were many moments of confusion, frustration and self-doubt – as you might be experiencing now.
It often felt like trying to build a complex LEGO model without any instructions. (Sometimes I felt like I didn’t even know what the model was supposed to look like.)
But it was also exciting to be discovering an industry as interesting, challenging, and varied as this one.
Looking back, I refer to those years as my quarter-life crisis – an experience that I know a lot of people go through.
Ultimately, I realised I would like to design and create props and sets.
One thing led to another, and I ended up doing just that.
Now I work predominantly in Props and Set Decoration. I have also worked in the Art Department on some lower-budget productions.
To date, I’ve worked on productions such as:
- Bridgerton
- The Winter King
- The Gallows Pole
- The Power
- The Souvenir Pt. 2
- Fast and Furious 9
I've also worked on several others that have yet to air.
Having found my feet in recent years, I decided to create this course to help others do the same.