When I first discovered that they were partnered with the Trust, I knew that they were one of my top choices to work with; I remember watching Searching for Sugarman when I was in sixth form— it was one of the first feature length documentaries I remember being engaging with — and ever since, I have had a love for documentary features, going on to volunteer at documentary film festivals, and film programming for an arts space in Brighton. It’s safe to say that Lightbox is probably a huge factor in why I am here today!

The first day soon rolled around, and I made intros with the development team and executives (not forgetting Morris, Ness’s unbelievably cute dog!) I was introduced to some of the projects which were in late-stage development and production, and got to watch one of their recently-TXd shows to get a feel for their current remit. My desk was placed near the development team, and I was immediately drawn towards the conversations being had. I hadn’t really considered development before, as I found the exercises during our training sessions quite tough— but being new to something is always hard, and I am so grateful I got to learn more about what it looks like in practice, as I instantly realised that development was something that I wanted to explore further.

Over the next few days I was occupied with a fair bit of admin; inputting LTO contents onto master spreadsheets, and downloading archive footage onto hard drives, as well as typical runner duties; doing the online food shop, running out to fetch groceries, lunches, cakes, and birthday cards— and helping maintain the office’s tidiness.

Pretty soon after, I was tasked with helping find clips for a project in development, formatting them onto a screener spreadsheet, and uploading them to storage, which is something I continued to work on throughout the remainder of my time at Lightbox — I loved having the responsibility of sourcing materials which aligned with the director’s and executives’ vision for the project. I was also tasked with finding potential contributors and making first contact with them to introduce the project via phone and email. I continued to help the development team with their research, too: sourcing archive, studying various materials to gauge relevant information, finding contacts, and helping find spaces to shoot for a show in production. I was really happy to get some development research experience whilst at Lightbox, and set up a meeting with Gabby, the head of development, to learn more about the process. She gave me some amazing tips and advice for someone new to the realm — everyone at Lightbox was unbelievably kind and supportive and gave their time so generously.

Almost as soon as it started, my time at Lightbox had come to an end. I was sad to leave, which speaks to just how lovely and welcoming everyone was, and just how impactful and inspiring the placement had been. I learnt so much during my short time at the company, and it reaffirmed how much I would love to continue to work in documentary film and TV after my placements with the Grierson Trust are over. It was a truly influential and unforgettable experience.