These are all entry level roles that exist across Film and TV, find out more about each role via the ScreenSkills website. https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/.
Some roles are in film and TV drama, and some are in unscripted TV which covers, factual, documentaries, reality TV, news, sport and entertainment. Some types of role exist in both drama and unscripted TV although the duties can be slightly different.
Please view detailed job descriptions and see where each of those roles leads as you move through your career.
General roles
Runners work in both drama and unscripted TV and it’s a common entry level role where people gain valuable experience. They do anything required to help the production. They run errands, convey messages, look after cast and crew, make drinks and provide food, drive, deliver kit and look after guests and suppliers.
Career progression opportunities: There are a range of runner roles in both drama, unscripted television and postproduction. These can lead to more senior role on a set or as a researcher, production assistant, or floor manager or in postproduction.
Receptionists are the first point of contact in every company including TV companies, independent production companies and postproduction companies. Their role involves taking calls and feeding them through to the right departments, monitoring general enquiry emails, greeting guests and making them feel welcome. They are responsible for making sure deliveries get to the correct person or department and that when parcels are sent out by the company, the courier picks up the right package.
This is the type of role which is open to a wide variety of people who are interested in working in film and TV and want to gain some knowledge and experience. Routes in can include a qualification in business, media or film and TV production at school, college or university.
Career progression opportunities: Depending on the type of company (e.g. postproduction, independent production company, broadcaster) this will allow you to progress to a more senior role in the same company or type of company.
Personal assistants (PAs) provide support directly to senior staff. In unscripted TV, they could be working with heads of departments, like factual or entertainment, executive producers, production executives, talent managers or anyone else whose job requires considerable administration. In film and TV drama amd indepe4ndent production companies, many executives have personal assistants.
This is the type of role which is open to a wide variety of people who are interested in working in film and TV and want to gain some knowledge and experience. Routes in can include a qualification in business, media or film and TV production at school, college or university.
Career progression opportunities: Depending on the type of company (e.g. postproduction, independent production company, broadcaster) this will allow you to progress to a more senior role in the same company or type of company.
Casting assistants offer general help with finding actors to star in a film or TV drama. They are generally employed as freelancers by casting directors, although they can also be hired on a permanent contract within busier casting agencies.There are also roles as casting assistants and casting producers for reality TV and panel shows.
Common entry route to role: A drama or creative qualification can lead to an entry level role at an agency or on a production
Career progression opportunities: Those working in casting can progress to be casting producers and directors or to more senior roles in a casting agency or at a production company
Cashiers help assistant accountants and production accountants keep accurate records of how the money on a film or TV drama or an unscripted programme is spent.
Common entry route to role: working in film and TV accounts is open to those with a business or accounts qualification from school, college or university.
Career progression opportunities: Cashiers can progress to assistant production accountants, production accountants and finance controllers
Locations trainees are litter pickers, traffic marshals and messengers. They help the location manager and unit manager with the day-to-day running of the site. They help with cordoning off areas with location marshals or security guards. There are also roles scouting locations for factual and lifestyle programmes.
Career progression opportunities: Can move up to a more senior role as a production coordinator or locations manager.
Sustainability assistants will join the production at the shooting stage. They follow the plan to reduce carbon on the production which has been made by the sustainability manager or production manager. They report to the sustainability coordinator.
Common entry route to role: sustainability assistants either have film and TV production experience or a qualification or experience in sustainability.
Career progression opportunities: A sustainability assistant can move up to be a sustainability coordinator or sustainability manager.
Art and craft roles
The work of art department trainees varies greatly from production to production. On big budget features with a large art department, trainees will do more administrative type jobs. They will often work closely with the art department coordinator, providing backup and doing basic running duties between the art department office, the drawing and construction team and the production office. There are also art and design roles in factual TV and entertainment
Common entry route to role: a background or qualification in art and design from school, college or university.
Career progression opportunities: Trainees can move up to be a set decorator, prop master, and eventually production designer or art director
Costume trainees are at the ready with a needle, a cup of tea, an iron and a notepad. Their tasks vary depending on the scale of the production. They might carry out research for the costume designer or work with a costume assistant to detail requirements, photograph garments and note changes in the continuity book.
Common entry route to role: those working in costume usually have a background in art and design, textiles or craft and a relevant qualification from school college or university
Career progression opportunities: costume trainees can move up to be costume assistants and eventually costume designers
The role of hair and make-up trainees varies according to the production. Most start the day reading the call sheet and putting together kit bags depending on what’s needed. That might include anything from towels and hair dryers if there’s a water scene, or hot flannels for de-rigging at the end of the day. There are also entry level roles in hair and make-up in factual TV and entertainment.
Common entry route to role: Hair and make-up trainees usually have a qualification in make-up, hairdressing, and/or wigs and special effects.
Technical roles
Kit Room Assistants work for the rental companies that provide the technical equipment for a crew to make a TV programme, such as cameras, lenses, microphones, mounts of cameras and lighting equipment.
Common entry route to role: A qualification in media production, photography or sound at school, college or university
Camera trainees for film and TV Drama work with all members of the camera crew, but they usually work most closely with the second assistant camera (second AC) or clapper loader. There are also camera assistant roles in factual and entertainment TV and also in TV studios.
Common entry route to role: some experience in a kit hire facility or a qualification in media production or photography at school, college or university
Career progression opportunities: camera trainees and assistants can progress to be camera operators and camera supervisors.
Grips are responsible for the equipment that supports the cameras. Trainee grips start the day by helping to unload the truck which transports the kit. Under supervision from the qualified grips, they move the equipment to the right place on location. There are roles for grips in both drama and unscripted TV
Common entry route to role: Routes into this role start with a qualification in media production or engineering at school, college or university.
Career progression opportunities: There’s an established career route to becoming a qualified grip in the UK. Bectu, the media and entertainment union, has a dedicated grips branch which holds a list of certified grips.
Lighting trainees spend a lot of time moving equipment. They get to set early and might help unload the gear. Following the instructions of the lighting coordinator and the sparks (lighting technicians), they help set up for filming, under supervision. There are lighting roles in both film and TV drama and unscripted TV.
Common entry route to role: A qualification in electrical installation or electrical engineering at school, university or college
Career progression opportunities: lighting trainees or assistants can move up to be lighting technicians and designers and for film and TV drama the senior role is as a gaffer.
Sound trainees charge batteries, distribute headphones and look after cables and kit as well as the rest of the team. They work under the supervision of the sound mixer and sound assistants. There are a range of sound roles in film and TV in both drama and unscripted.
Common entry route to role: A qualification in music technology, sound engineering or film and TV production at school, college or university.
Career progression opportunities: sound trainees or assistants can progress to become sound supervisors and sound designers.
Video assist trainees work in film and TV drama. They help the Video Assist Operator to take the images generated by the film or digital cameras and display them on video monitors so the director and other crew members see exactly what’s been shot. They arrive at set early, help unload the vans, lay cables and set up the equipment. They help the check the compatibility of the playback systems and test all the equipment.
Common entry route to role: a qualification in photography or media production at school college or university.
Career progression opportunities: Video assist trainees can progress to become Video assist operators and also move over into other technical roles on set.
Loggers usually work in unscripted TV. They watch all the rushes (raw footage) and create a detailed document describing what footage is on which tape. They ‘log’ the timecodes as they go, sometimes using specific software to do this. This enables editors to find what they need to cut together a programme.
The Finance Assistant supports the Finance Manager (or other) in maintaining and delivering accurate and timely financial information, following internal controls and processes.
Salary range: £29-33,000
Common entry routes to the role are generally any degree although mathematical, management or business studies may allow exemptions from some professional bodies’ exams. Apprenticeships offer another route into this area of work, with many agencies taking on those with aptitude post A Level.
Career progression opportunities depend on professional accounting qualifications as they progress into Management Accountant, Finance Manager, Head of Finance, Financial Controller and Chief Financial Officer. These qualifications – which the agency pays for – are relevant in any company.
Post Production Roles
Edit assistants ingest footage that has been captured on location, or in the studio, so that it can be accessed by the picture editor or director. Ingesting footage means taking in the footage, or data files, and putting it into the format the picture editor or director needs.
Common entry route to role: a qualification in photography or media production at school college or university.
Career progression opportunities: Edit Assistants can go on to become Editors and Edit Producers.
A grading assistant, as the name suggests, assists the grader or colourist on a film, programme or commercial. Often, the grader or colourist works on their own, but if the project is complex enough, and has a big enough budget, they may hire an assistant.
Common entry route to role: a qualification in photography or media production at school college or university.
Career progression opportunities: A grading assistant can progress to be an Editor or Colourist
Sound assistants in post-production keep the audio suites tidy – and also contribute to the sound department by ingesting material. As they gain experience and sit in on the operations of the dubbing suite, they are able to take on more responsibility.
Common entry route to role: A qualification in sound or media production from school, university or college
Career progression opportunities: A sound assistant in postproduction can progress to be a dubbing mixer or sound editor
Studio roles
Scene hands are part of the team that sets in the scenery for a production in a studio or on an outside broadcast. They work to the production designer.
Common entry route to role: This is a role which can be an introduction to working in a studio. You may need a qualification in carpentry or painting and decorating from school , college or university
Career progression opportunities: Scene hand can progress to be part of the art or construction department
The studio assistant supports the studio manager and studio coordinator by taking on many of the day-to-day jobs that come up all the time in a busy studio facility. This could be providing admin support, greeting the cast and crew, printing timesheets or rate cards, answering the phone, ordering taxis, or making sure there is enough tea and coffee and ordering the lunch for meetings.
Common entry route to role: A qualification in business or marketing from school, university or college is useful for this role
Career progression opportunities: the studio assistant can progress to studio coordinator or manager
PR and marketing roles
Marketing assistants help with proofreading copy, filing, and inputting contact details into research spreadsheets. They often coordinate market research projects and use the data to help assess the effectiveness of current campaigns to help with future ones.
Marketing campaigns for film and TV dramas can include posters, newsletters, content on social media as well as trailers.
Common entry route to role: A qualification in marketing or media from school, college or university
Career progression opportunities: Marketing assistants can progress to be publicist and marketing managers