WorkWise for Screen Logo
Supported by
SearchSearch IconSearch Icon

Clock Icon 11m 2s

BONUS: Building Longevity In a Freelance World

Listen on Apple Music

How do you build career paths and lasting teams in an industry built on short-term contracts?

And what happens when traditional employment structures disappear, even at institutions like the BBC?

In this episode recorded at our Sheffield event, Dr Amit Patel is joined by Daniel Pearl, Creative Director at Lion Television, the company behind hit series such as Castaway, Britain's Biggest Dig and Horrible Histories. Daniel discusses the challenges of creating career stability and growth opportunities in today's fragmented screen industry where "everyone's a freelancer" and there is a lack of structured career progression.

Daniel discusses the reality facing creative leaders today, from receiving dozens of daily emails from people seeking work to witnessing talented professionals leave the industry entirely. He reveals how Lion Television, as part of the All3Media group, attempts to impose structure through longer contracts, cross-project team movement, and hands-on training opportunities, giving people real decision-making experience rather than just theoretical training.

The conversation explores practical approaches to talent retention, the loneliness of freelance work, and why creating connections between projects can make all the difference to both individual careers and business sustainability.

The WorkWise for Screen podcast is supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery Funding.

This episode covers:

  • The reality of industry fragmentation and loss of traditional career structures
  • How longevity has become a key strategic focus for sustainable production companies
  • Making freelancers feel valued through longer contracts and cross-project movement
  • Hands-on training approaches: learning by doing rather than formal schemes
  • Practical approaches to creating career paths within production companies

Episode Topics

The problem of a lack of career structure in the TV Industry, the importance of longer contracts and how Daniel’s team has created a Positive Workplace at Lion Television. (00:00 - 5:57)

The importance of training and retaining talent in the industry and Keith shares his conclusions and practical resources. (05:57 - end)

Episode Highlights

“ Longevity is a kind of a key, our key buzzword, which I think is really interesting 'cause we're at a real inflection point in terms of television, in terms of our industry, I think. And it's been, we're all having the same conversations about people coming in, people leaving.” - Daniel Pearl (01:57) 

"As a sector, we don't really have a structure. You know, we also wing it a little bit as we go along. There isn't, it isn't like the civil service, right?You go in as one rank and then you move up to another rank and you move up to another rank… And so in the independent sector, given that we don't have that structure, I think it's kind of incumbent upon us as kind of leaders or creative leaders to try as our best to impose a bit of structure." - Daniel Pearl (02:33)

" What we do try and do is create as much as possible as a career path because we've got enough programs to move people around. So we, I just, we got in some shows the other day and, and we were able to move someone who's never been in edit before and allow them to be in the edit. That's the only way they're gonna learn. By doing it, we give as many training jobs as, you know, training schemes, as until they're literally in there having to make the decisions and they’re not gonna learn. And I think that, that we have, we're lucky in 'cause we've got a position where we had enough shows and enough kind of flexibility to do that." - Daniel Pearl (06:32)

800

0 Comments

Useful resources