From pitching ideas to creating graphics to sell them, find out more about Ananya's placement tasks

Coming up to the end of my first week at Wise Owl Films, I’m already having more fun than I ever thought I could at work. I’m working in the Development department of the company to research, develop and pitch ideas for factual features and formats, and am loving working with such a creative and energetic team.

So far, I’ve pitched ideas about a bingo club night, an escape-the-room style gameshow set in public places, and have even been able to get my DocLab documentary idea about immigrant communities in Britain off the ground. All in all, it’s been a very exciting, fast-paced week with lots to do. Although it has been full-on, I have already had the opportunity to do some casting research, graphic design, and attend a meeting with a talent agent. Development consists of so many different things, and I feel that being given such a variety of tasks already will provide me with invaluable skills and experience.

Going into the placement, I was apprehensive about my lack of experience in technical skills, but the team at Wise Owl have been so helpful and committed to training me in these areas. A large part of Development is designing out-there posters and graphics to really sell an idea, so one of my first tasks was to jazz up a treatment using eye-catching colours and graphics. It took me a couple of tries to get it right, but the Wise Owl team were so helpful in pointing me in the right direction, and giving me tips on how to use Photoshop. Their passion and commitment for nurturing new talent is evident in everything they do, and the team has gone out of their way to make sure that I feel supported, and to tailor the placement to my interests and ambitions.

Find out about all three Grierson DocLab schemes for 2021.

Read the full details on all our 2021 Grierson DocLab schemes and apply by 12 February, 5pm:

1. Grierson DocLab
2. Grierson Grierson DocLab In Focus: Production Management
3. Grierson Grierson DocLab In Focus: Editing