My name is Liam Hobday and I am an emerging producer and production professional working across the creative sectors. I recently had the opportunity of joining the Breaking Barriers team to deliver a community short film project for the town of Fordingbridge as an Assistant Producer and Production Assistant.
I joined the project during the pre-production process where I stepped into the role of Assistant Producer, working alongside the Creative Producer Ella Marshall to support with scheduling, creating call sheets and arranging equipment to organise the logistics and planning of the shoot. I was able to draw from my own experiences with planning short film projects and my production management training.
This project did present me with new challenges, the brief required the film to appear as one continuous take across various locations in the town and subsequently our scheduling needed to be resourceful. Myself and Ella collaborated to communicate with community groups working around various personal schedules and continuously adapting the plan to ensure efficiency and make sure our schedule was realistic within the timeframe.
Once we arrived in Fordingbridge I quickly stepped into the role of Production Assistant, and after burning one of the pizzas on the first night we sat down to go over the schedule for the two days. Within my role as Production Assistant I was responsible for keeping track of timings across our quick turnaround time between locations, supporting the filming activities and providing general production support by keeping one step ahead of each location.
Before taking on this role, I had previously gained experience working as a runner and a location marshall across the film and TV industry, cementing me with key skills and capabilities that positively enabled me to jump into the project. Within my career pathway I have been seeking to step up into the position of production assistant and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to develop further as a production professional.
What made this project particularly valuable was the chance to step outside of the typical responsibilities of a production assistant. Working alongside talented filmmaker Nick Farrimond I gained valuable insight in the filmmaking process, gaining hands-on experience with sound and lighting, providing an extra pair of hands where needed. Observing artistic director Parvez Qadir I developed an understanding for collaborating with community groups and directing participants, inspiring me to take the initiative with briefing groups ahead of the crew if filming overran to ensure a seamless hand-over at the next location. And most importantly working closely alongside Ella Marshall brought helpful guidance into the approach of a producer within a project with many moving parts. Not to mention in the absence of someone to become Pikachu, I added costume performer to my skills belt.
It has been a privilege to work with Breaking Barriers throughout my career journey. I first collaborated with the organisation as assistant producer last year for What About Me? a binaural sound and projection-based outdoor event in Parr Fold Park, working closely with creative producer Jodie Ratcliffe. Breaking Barriers has continually supported my development as an emerging producer, collaborating with myself and photographer Iqra Saied for the delivery of a powerful photography exhibit earlier this year at Richard Street Studios. The organisation makes a commitment to young creatives in supporting their career journeys through offering valuable experiences and skills development across their projects. Supporting early career creatives and emerging talent is at the heart of my practice and I have taken much inspiration from the approach the organisation has in championing young people.
Within the creative sectors I have observed an emerging shift in how we define a creative career, with old definitions merging across the screen, digital and live experiences. As a result, I have been building skills across the sectors to inform my creative career from industry experience to my own independent filmmaking practice. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work on this community short film with Breaking Barriers as it has aided with this pathway. Not only lending itself to my credit list, but also supporting my professional development and lending itself to my current position as a production trainee on the ScreenSkills trainee finder.
The biggest takeaway for me in the role of assistant producer and production assistant was developing the grit and determination required for a project of this nature. Working against time pressures, changing availability and working with community participants who don’t necessarily have on-camera experience meant constantly adapting and finding solutions. I am proud to have thrown myself in the deep end, taken the initiative, pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of, and most importantly I am thrilled we left Fordingbridge having captured what we came for.
I am grateful to Breaking Barriers for inviting me onto the project and believing in me to take on the responsibilities within this project. I deeply value their support in my career path and find great confidence for taking on the next challenge in my professional development.
