Perfect Partnership
ITV Win knows that like many other industries TV needs to diversify its workforce and one of the best ways to do it is to create opportunities that inspire young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to consider a future working for them. We were so pleased when Senior Producer Director Mariam Hussain called us again asking us to work on a third competition advert with them. With our strong connections to local secondary schools it was easy recruiting the team of 8 x 16-18 year olds who took part on the project as work experience.
Our excellent working relationship with the ITV Win team has been nurtured over the 3 projects which we refer to by the presenters – ITV Andi (Peters), ITV Alison (Hammond) and now ITV Gok (Wan). We worked closely with Mariam to plan the intense week-long work experience project based on our tried and tested format to ensure that our young team delivered the creative brief and also gained as much insight and information about the industry as we could fit in around it. The ITV win team appreciates that by giving disadvantaged young people bucket loads of real and valuable experience they are enabling them to get the step up they need.
Young Producers are made
On day 1 our young team of: Callum, Neelima, Jinan, Princess, Hanaan, Michaela, Rosemarie and Nathalie were asked to develop creative ideas for a cash prize competition that could be scripted, filmed and edited within the 5 day project. This sounds like a tall task but we know that with intensity comes incredible focus and results. Together with the ITV team’s constant guidance and the positive support of the We Rise coaches the team stepped up to the challenge and became young producers. They scripted, designed the graphics, sourced a location to film at, sourced props, talent managed Gok and Dolly, set up the shoot, and helped film and edit the final VTs ready for them to be broadcast.
‘The whole shoot went really well. This was because we organised it really well and had really strong collective ideas. On the day we got Gok’s creative input and this allowed us to collaborate our ideas.’ – Jinan
It created a Win Win situation
As with all of our projects the invaluable experiences that come with delivering a real project for a real client was only half the story! We always engage as many of our Client’s staff as we can in the process by inviting them to share their career insights and journeys. The ITV Win team really excelled at inspiring the young producers by explaining; their job roles, how they got there, what the best and worst things they do are and some of the valuable lessons they have learnt along the way. Hearing that things don’t always go to plan, how they owned their mistakes and fixed them was really empowering to hear.
The feedback tells us that this kind of investment from a big corporation really pays off.
The impact on the participants was incredibly powerful:
‘I definitely want to apply for the internship at ITV.’ – Michaela
‘After this week I feel so inspired and excited for what the future holds in film and tv production. This week something clicked when I was in the real work environment, making my dreams a reality. They allowed us to experiment with different roles.’ – Jinan
‘I want to get more into the film or the Tv industry. I want to be in a leadership role. This experience has confirmed that I want to be in this industry.’ – Rosemarie
All of the team said that the project had increased their confidence and team working skills:
‘It’s helped build my confidence. I was challenged with public speaking, which is something I usually avoid and this has helped me overcome this. I have a habit of getting lost in my own thoughts, however I think I’ve managed to work well in a team and communicate. This experience has also broadened my reality of the industry.’ – Callum
Thank you to ITV Win for providing this incredibly impactful opportunity for these young people. We are looking forward to seeing them as part of the client team on one of our future projects!
The We Rise young producers meeting presenters Dermot and Alison on the ITV This Morning couch at the end of the project.