Elisabeth S.
About me
| Elisabeth S. | |
| History | |
| History with Economics | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2005 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Filming and Locations Researcher | |
| BBC | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Broadcasting | |
| 2013 |
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A day in the life of a Filming and Locations Researcher in the United Kingdom
My career history
Archivist for Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust (freelance) 2005 - 2006
Archivist for Royal Green Jackets Museum (freelance) 2007 - 2009
TV Locations Researcher, BBC 2009 - 2013
TV Locations Contract Executive Assistant Jan - Oct 2013
Freelance researcher for Unique/Radio 4 documentaries 2008-2012
Author: 'Female Tommies: The Frontline Women of the First World War' (The History Press 2014)
Courses taken since graduation
MA Heritage Management (University of Birmingham)
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I want to do more research for programme content, in particular factual documentaries. I have previously worked on a series of radio documentaries and in 2014 I published my first book. Working for the BBC there are many opportunities to do secondments and shadow different departments.
My advice to students considering work
When I graduated in 2005 the majority of us undertook unpaid work, usually for several months at a time. At the time we felt that this something new that previous generations of graduates hadn't been obliged to do, but now it seems to be the norm. Building up a CV this way is invaluable as more and more employees are looking for those with practical experience and those who have been proactive in obtaining it. It is also a good way in which you can work out exactly what it is you want to do and how to get there. So rather than wait until graduation I recommend that you take advantage of the vacation periods and local organisations in and around York.
What I do
We support BBC productions making television and radio programmes. If a production wants to film overseas, we advise them on everything from what paperwork they need (e.g. visas and film permits) to how to transport their equipment. This involves contacting different embassies and agencies to keep up to date with any new protocols and interviewing BBC staff when they come back from filming to learn from their experiences. We also manage a large international contact database of freelancers (from cameramen, fixers and translators) who can work with the productions overseas. For filming in the UK, we help identify location owners in order to get permission to film and we help find suitable filming locations.
What I like most
We deal with a very broad range of research queries, there is always something that we haven't anticipated which provides us with a rewarding challenge. I particularly enjoy talking with crew members after filming to find out how it went and what they would recommend to future productions. It is also great when we have the opportunity to go on location and watch programmes being filmed.
What I like least
As with any job that involves databases, there is always a certain amount of data entry but we all do our fair share and it pays off.
Next steps...
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