Breaking In To Mass Media Production

When asked the age old question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" to some of today's kids, the answers given are much more likely to be "I want to be on TV" or more simply "I want to be famous" rather than the more time-honoured favourites like "doctor", "teacher" or "fire fighter".

The impact the media has on our views and on society as a whole has become much more profound in recent years and this is reflected the in the answers of these children. However, despite the strong desire to be part of celebrity culture, very few people will actually end up on the big screen. But the growth of the media industry which has developed from TV, film and magazines to all sorts of web based initiatives means there are jobs to be had in the media sector with many smaller independent companies all chasing a slice of the production pie.

Breaking into film and TV is nothing if not an incredibly daunting task. Small, independent start-up production companies know the steep and slippery slope they must climb to get work from some of the bigger names in the business in the hopes of making a bigger name for themselves. It's a hard grind, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for some of these independent companies - charity.

The Research Centre (TRC), a Glasgow and Manchester-based independent charity launched in 1998 to provide training and industry-related events for the TV industry and partly funded by Channel 4, are offering four Scottish independent TV production companies the chance to make more overseas contacts which has the potential to expand their work exponentially.

News of this certainly has been music to the industry's ears. The great divide between the big wigs in need of production companies and the up-and-coming small independents is not desired by either party. This program gives the companies the chance to work with industry professionals that would have been close to impossible had it not been for this TRC programme. The programme is now in its third year.

In addition to a trip out to Hollywood, California, the production companies will also receive informative monthly sessions with industry experts who will discuss issues relevant to the industry. This kind of training is invaluable to those who receive it and is also another way to network and make those vital connections that before would have been out of most small companies' reach.

But what does this say for all of those production companies left in the dark and those outside of the UK? Unfortunately those production companies are ineligible for this star treatment, but the creation and continuance of this programme implies that smaller production companies are being given more attention and it's possible that other countries may follow the TRG's lead and start a similar programme.

Small TV production companies everywhere, like Burberry in Australia and thousands of others, must be keeping close attention to these schemes hoping to learn from their counterparts and maybe one day get the same opportunity.

The interest in British formats has grown in recent years which TRG hopes will give their independent companies more of a boost when connections are made with the US market. Hopefully the trend in giving charity the independents a helping hand will catch on and we will see more of these schemes in the future.

Andrew Regan is a part time writer and journalist.