24m 2s
Sara Putt, founder of Sara Putt Associates and Chair of BAFTA, joins Keith Arrowsmith and Sally Bendtson to explore how to build a community that breaks down the isolation experienced by both freelancers and company leaders in the screen industries. With 35 years of experience as an agent and with her leadership roles at BAFTA and the Film and TV Charity, Sara brings unparalleled perspective on the challenges facing our rapidly changing sector.
From the tangible benefits of networking events where opportunities are created and shared, to bridging the soft skills gap that leaves talented people struggling to manage large teams, Sara discusses the challenges facing the freelance backbone of our industry - and why she is positive about the future.
With insights ranging from French three-course film lunches to the potential return of eight-hour workdays, this conversation explores what it means to create sustainable, inclusive careers in the screen industry while maintaining the creativity and storytelling that defines our work.
The WorkWise for Screen podcast is supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery Funding.
THIS EPISODE COVERS:
Introduction with Sally Bendtson and Keith Arrowsmith, the challenges and changes Sara Putt has observed in the Screen Industry and the importance of building a community of Freelancers. (0.00 - 09.53)
The importance of soft skills such as management, empowering Freelancers to advance in the industry. (09.53 - 13.48)
What we can learn from other countries and industries, and conclusions with Sally Bendtson and Keith Arrowsmith. (13.48 - to end)
" I think one of the most important things we can do is build communities. Both to create opportunity and certainly in the networking events that we have at Sarah Putt Associates, the many brilliant networking events that are held at at Bafta. It is very much about creating opportunity for actual employment. Do you know what? It's also just about being able to share the struggles with other people and feel you are not on your own and, and get some ideas at times from other people as to what they're doing to deal with it and some insight from them is so much better than, than sitting there alone and feeling, as I say, you are the only person going through this. - Sara Putt (05:31)
"Perhaps we haven't looked enough at training people to manage, training people in the politics of a film set... those are the gaps that are being talked about more, but are still not being talked about enough because actually work becomes better for all of us if the people who are leading us have had some training in doing that." - Sara Putt (10:22)
"For a very long time, nobody really exercised any duty of care to that [freelance] community... That's never happened with freelancers. I think that is changing and I think the good companies are really working now to help with that career development for freelancers." - Sara Putt (11:56)
"At its worst, there is this sense that freelancers are like widgets falling off a conveyor belt, you know, that one's broken, send me a new one kind of thing." - Sara Putt (12:53)
"We've got to get the gatekeeper roles changed and also how we can support everybody, particularly those who don't have family, family money to fall back on as their careers develop because it's that transitioning between grades transitioning into more senior roles. That's where, you know, I think we're doing really well at entry level. We've really, you know, as an industry worked at, you know, at entry level, it feels much more inclusive. It feels like there's a real variety of people from all different kinds of backgrounds and with all different life experience.10 years in, that doesn't feel quite so diverse." - Sara Putt (18:11)
WorkWise for Screen
https://www.workwiseforscreen.org.uk/
BFI
https://www.bfi.org.uk/
National Lottery
https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/
Keith Arrowsmith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/keitharrowsmith/
Sally Bendtson
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallybendtson/
Limelight HR
https://limelighthr.co.uk/
Sara Putt
https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraputt/
Sara Putt Associates
https://www.saraputtassociates.co.uk/
BAFTA
https://www.bafta.org/