"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.
To learn more about how I started working in film and TV, and how you can do the same, listen to an interview with me on the Media Careers podcast.
"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.