Access all areas: How to negotiate the keys to the kingdom

As part of our Step Up strand, we’re offering training to help individuals coming back into the industry after a break, moving into a new role or responsibility level, or improving skills in unscripted TV. 

A lot of Unscripted content lives or dies on securing access. You can have the most brilliant idea in the world, hear about the most incredible story, but if you can’t get permission to film it, then you have nothing. Access has many different facets; you must be a negotiator, a partner, a diplomat, an advocate. You have to ensure that the gatekeepers of the story you’re hoping to tell trust you; join us for this deep dive into securing access to learn how.

Who it's for

Researchers and assistant producers (AP) in unscripted TV who want to develop their access skills.  

Shooting producer directors (PD) in unscripted TV looking to diversify into creating their own content.

We are committed to ensuring all our courses are accessible to everyone. This course is designed to be as interactive as possible.

Please email USF@screenskills.com if you have any access requirements and we will be delighted to help, be that clarifying the form such interaction is likely to take or discussing reasonable adjustments.

What it covers

• What is access?
• Getting past the gatekeepers
• What to do before you approach
• Tailoring your approach
• Unpicking the access layers - examples
• First meeting/strategies
• Managing expectations – Media law
• Managing relationships after commission
• Questions and horror stories.

Trainer:

Vanessa Frances-Georgianna has been called the Queen of Access by the people who hire her. She’s delivered long term access everywhere from a US District Attorney’s Office to an art forger’s inner sanctum and has her own signed Modigliani to show for it. More respectably she has series producer/pd/development and edit producer credits from BBC Docs, Arts, Business, Drama, Children’s, Discovery, Netflix, Channel 5 and ITN behind her. She started her career pounding the streets looking for characters for prime time BBC ob docs, and went on to make one off authored docs from script to final post. She knows the difference it makes to a production when access has been negotiated well and when it’s been thrown together.  She’s currently making short films for a creative content agency on the challenges faced by the shipping, building and electrical industries worldwide in the race to net zero. Every film is a door to a different world and they’re all fascinating.

How to apply

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘apply now’ at the top of the page and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you need additional support to complete your application or require the application form in an alternative format please contact USF@screenskills.com 

Places on these free online courses are limited and applications are often highly competitive. To stand the best chance of securing a place, please be sure to consider the following:

• When asked to list your three most recent credits, please include the programme title and your job role.
• When asked what you hope to gain from the course, please be concise but ensure you cover the specific elements of the topic you would like to gain knowledge of and what gaps in your skillset you believe the course may address. A rewording of the course title or a general comment on career progression does not tell us much about how this course would benefit you.

If you are no longer able to attend, we ask you to please use the 'decline ticket' function on the right hand side of the page so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.