I’ve been working with fforest films since June and it has been amazing to experience a totally different side of production and to develop brand new skills along the way!

Before working for fforest, I worked for a TV production company in London which specialised in factual entertainment, mainly for a US audience. I began as a production secretary, a job which involves a lot of scheduling, organising, budgeting, and co-ordinating. I arranged travel for contributors and crew, processed invoices, sourced props, and took on any other odd jobs required!

Next I moved into a researcher role which involves, you guessed it, a lot of research. The documentary was about sharks so I became a bit of a shark expert and still like to bore people with shark facts when I can. I helped to coordinate an intense two week shoot in New Orleans and then worked to source as much amazing archive footage of sharks captured by fishers and sailors in that part of the world as possible to supplement our own footage. I also helped to ensure that the final script was factually accurate and passed the network checks.

My role with Fforest is focused on developing new ideas, something I am finding really exciting. Rhys is receptive to stories on almost any topic so I’m able to embark on my research with an open mind, and have been amazed by what surprising, inspiring, and downright strange stories are out there waiting to be told in our local area.

Part of the role is to find potential sources of funding to make short films telling these stories. Each fund has a different set of requirements and sometimes gives a brief or a theme which we need to be sure we meet. It’s really important to give enough time to idea development – some days are just thinking days as you try to work out how best to approach/present a topic. Rhys encourages discussion and collaboration so we’re always communicating about new thoughts or ideas, no matter how random they are!

There were two of us at fforest under the Llwyddon Lleol funding. Lily did three days a week while I did two – initially our days were different but we adjusted them to make sure we overlapped as it was so useful to be able to work together on projects and bounce ideas off each other.

The office in Aberystwyth is right by the sea and Lily and I would sometimes go for a walk on our lunch break – I think Lily even swam some mornings before work! Such an idyllic setting.
I’ve learnt so much about development since starting the role. Ideas come more easily, and I can research and write something up a lot faster. I’ve had lots of practice with funding applications and tailoring pitches to different audiences- this is something I’m excited to continue improving in 2025!

We have lots of ideas that we would like to develop further this year and pitch to different outlets. It would be fantastic to get a commission and see one of those ideas come to life.