Company: BBC Cymru Wales
Apprenticeship Role: Location Apprentice
Location: Roath Lock Studios, Cardiff
About the Organisation
BBC Cymru Wales is the nation’s broadcaster, providing a wide range of English and Welsh language content for audiences across Wales on television, radio and on our websites
Roath Lock, is the BBC’s state of the art centre of excellence for Drama, a place brimming with new energy and talent. When the first productions moved into Roath Lock in September 2011, they fulfilled a BBC commitment to create a centre of excellence for Drama in Cardiff.
Located in Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay, the 170,000 square foot facility, including nine studios and equivalent in length to three football pitches, is now the permanent,
purpose-built home of four flagship BBC dramas – Casualty, Pobol y Cwm, Doctor Who – as well as new productions in the future.
Job Description
What does a Location Assistant do?
A Location Assistant provides support to the Location Manager and Unit Manager help prepare Movement Orders (directions to locations which are distributed daily with call sheets). These enable crew members to travel quickly, directly and safely from the production office to the unit base and from the unit base to each location.
A Location Assistant works closely with the Location Manager, Unit Manager, Director, Producer and Writers to ensure that the visions of the scripts are met.
The Location Assistant also assists with scouting for additional locations. This involves researching locations, making appointments to visit, meeting the owners, residents or caretakers, and taking photographs. Assistant Location Manager’s present these to the Location Manager, Director and Production Designer.
They will also attend technical recces, where all locations are visited by the Production Team ahead of the filming to ensure all department needs are met.
During shooting days, the Location team arrive on set early and direct the vehicles and departments to the filming areas, and ensure that nothing in the location gets damaged.
At the end of each shooting day, they help the Assistant Location Manager and Unit Manager to clear any rubbish, and to generally tidy up. More experienced Location Assistants also help with the safe parking of all production vehicles.
Examples of the jobs a Location Apprentice could in the future –
- Unit Manager
- Location Scout
- Location Manager
What kind of person do I need to be?
- A Good communicator
- Organised
- Diplomatic
- Good at taking direction
Key Skills include:
- Demonstrable enthusiasm to learn and acquire new skills
- Excellent communication skills and ability to deal tactfully and diplomatically with artists, crew and the public
- Ability to work without close supervision
- Ability to work as part of a team, under direction as necessary
- Able to remain calm in pressurised situations
- Ability to work quickly and accurately under pressure to constantly changing deadlines
- Evidence of good interpersonal skills
- An approach to work which demonstrates self-motivation and reliability
- An awareness of the diverse nature of our audiences and a commitment to diversity in the workplace
- Computer literate
General Competencies
- Teamwork – Highly effective team player; works for the benefit of the whole
- Managing Relationships – Able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people.
- Communication – The ability to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information
- Influencing and persuading – Ability to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change
- Planning and organising – Is able to think ahead in order to establish an effective and appropriate course of action for self and others. Priorities and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements.
- Creative Thinking – Is able to transform creative ideas/impulses into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.
- Resilience – Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
- Drive – Demonstrates commitment, motivation and energy.
- Self-Development – Demonstrates personal strengths and development needs, and continually seeks to improve performance by learning new skills and behaviours.
- Flexibility – Adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Is able to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation change, and to easily accept changes in one’s own organisation or job requirements.
Framework
Whilst working for BBC you will be completing a 12-month Level 3 Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media.