About me

I am currently a freelance film and television development researcher, reader and script editor. I work to a brief set by producers and development executives to create documents focusing on a particular area of interest to them, with the intention to be developed as a feature or televisions series. From my background as development associate at Warp Films I am hugely invested in storytelling, creativity and working with others to have the best possible script delivered. Most recently I have worked with The Fyzz Facility, Catalyst Media Group, Anton Corp, Elation Pictures and Blue Print Pictures. When researching for a producer I draw on my knowledge and understanding of industry requirements, I present the researched findings to the producers, developers and writers. This involves uncovering facts, anecdotes and characters that stand out and creating a dossier highlighting and identifying the stories that could be adapted; including historical events, people of interest and current events. Selecting suitable sources the materials include images, audio, footage, interviews and written text which are displayed in a way that can be easily digested by writers and producers. The document then serves as a springboard for the producer and their writers to then develop further. I was until March 2016 the Development Associate at Warp films, where I started as an intern before I graduated from Falmouth University, five years ago. I worked across both the film and television slates, on projects with producers as well as my own developments for the company. I followed projects from the early stages of development up to the beginning of production, giving constructive script notes through the various drafts (’71, The Last Panthers, Southcliffe). I attended and gave written feedback at edit screenings to producers and financiers (Stone Roses: Made of Stone, For Those In Peril, Berberian Sound Studio) but my strength lay in working with writers and developers on research, development notes and script editing. I was responsible for initiating and maintaining relationships with talent, agents (literary, theatre, film and television) and commissioners on behalf of the company. I sourced talent and created relationships with those writers and directors. Talent I worked with at Warp Films included Joseph Morpurgo, Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth and research for Mark Herbert and Billy Ivory. I attended screenings of features and shorts, theatre shows, comedy shows, exhibitions and lectures (RSA, Wellcome Collection, BFI) as inspiration and sourcing of new talent and ideas. My role was inherently wedded to storytelling, whether it was script editing existing work, or creating documents for self-generated ideas to pitch to the team and talent. Identifying gaps in the market and creating specific briefs to those gaps was integral to my role, whether it was sourcing existing material (articles, novels or lectures) to work from or researching the appropriate talent; writers, expert journalists or authors who will create an idea. As well as an avid film and television lover, I am adore comic books, from the independent zines, right up to the huge franchises. I appreciate the art work but also the incredible stories that are often portrayed unconventionally in this medium. I enjoy museums and exhibitions, which I feel feed into the context of my work.

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Work history

Development Associate
Jan 2015 - Mar 2016Full Time
• Supporting producers on their projects and cultivating my own developments. • Developing relationships with new talent • Generating ideas for development, to attach talent and pitch to commissioners • Detailed script notes for producers and writers • Script meetings with talent • Reading of scripts, treatments and novels and writing script/book reports. • Meeting with agents and discussing new and emerging talent • Working across the film and television development slates with other developers • Covering screenings, lectures, shorts, theatre and comedy shows. • Tracking live commissions • Submitting applications on behalf of the company for development funding (BFI, Creative Scotland) • Research on initial ideas and/or on-going projects.
Development Assistant
Sep 2011 - Dec 2014Full Time
• Initial assessment of submissions such as scripts and reels • Development assistant on scripts (Yann Demange’s ’71) • General support on productions (Shane Meadows’ Stone Roses, Berberian Sound Studio) • Writing script reports and notes on projects in development • Co-ordinating weekly development meetings • Managing the film and television slates • Creating talent lists for playwrights, screenwriters and directors • Assisting in the delivery of the productions to financiers and broadcasters • Researching novels and their rights availabilities • Attending screenings, events, plays and exhibitions.

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Skills

• Film
• TV
• Pitching
• Excel
• Office
• Powerpoint
• Word
• Script Editing
• Final Draft
• Script Analysis
• Sourcing Talent
• Project Development
• Pitch Documents
• Script Reports
• Talent Relationships

Education

Film Studies
Sep 2008 - Jul 2011
Practical and Theoretical Film Studies
English Literature, Media Studies and History
Sep 2006 - Jun 2008
A levels (B, B, C, C)