Andy Glynne

Empowering a Deaf Filmmaker to Break Down Barriers in the Film Industry 📽️ Thrilled to announce our latest film for the Media Cymru x University of South Wales premiered at their Accessible Futures Summit, directed by the brilliant filmmaker, Ethan Blake Brooks. We’ve built a lasting relationship with Ethan, and this project is a testament to the power of collaboration and accessibility. 🎬 Ethan joined us as a freelance shooting assistant producer through a recommendation by BBC Commissioner, Christina Macaulay and his university lecturer, Sally Lisk-Lewis, while we were producing a BBC One documentary. He is Deaf and had been questioning his place in the industry after a challenging experience where accessibility wasn’t prioritised. 💡 But here’s where things changed: We made sure our set was fully accessible with additional BBC access funding to hire a sound recordist who could transmit sound via Bluetooth to Ethan's hearing aids. Afterward, Ethan told us that we restored his faith in the TV industry. Since then, he’s gone on to direct and produce for Channel 4 and BBC, proving what can happen when barriers are removed. 🔑 Our crew? A powerful collaboration between Deaf, Disabled, and Neurodivergent (DDN) talent alongside our team. This project showcased what an inclusive production really looks like. Ethan did it all on his own; we just empowered him to ask for the access support he needed, helping him break down the walls. In our film, Ethan and other DDN Welsh talent share their personal stories—the good and the bad—about their experiences in the industry. ✨ Take a moment to watch the film. It doesn’t take much to make workplaces more inclusive for DDN talent, and the value of different voices is immeasurable. 💵 If you work in broadcast most channels now have access funds so money shouldn't be an excuse. 🙏 Huge thanks to Sally and Richard Hurford for inviting us to make this film and for organising such a powerful summit. I learnt so much about how I can be an ally to all DDN people. Let's keep making space for everyone. #AccessibilityInFilm #DDNTalent #InclusiveWorkplace #DeafTalent #MediaCymru #Collaboration #FilmIndustry

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On #WorldSuicidePreventionDay (10 Sept), I’m very pleased to announce that Inside Job Productions has been awarded a two year grant by NHS England to establish the Suicide Prevention Film Unit, based out of Wandsworth Prison in London. As the World Health Organisation (WHO) declares today, suicide is a major public health challenge with over 700,000 deaths each year globally. Each suicide has far-reaching social, economic, and emotional consequences, deeply affecting individuals and communities worldwide. Nowhere more so than in prisons, where health and social challenges are greatly amplified. This will be the first film production unit of its kind, recognising the importance of sharing relevant information and supporting informed conversations around the reasons why people choose to take their own lives or self-harm in our prisons today and how we can better support them during times of crisis. By putting prison staff and prisoners at the heart of the production process, we will ensure that the film and digital media content produced is authentic and therefore accessible to all. We’re proud to be picking up on one of the WHO themes of #WorldSuicidePreventionDay 2024: #StartingTheConversation. The primary purpose of producing the film content is to support and encourage conversations between individuals who may be considering suicide or self-harm and those who are there to support them. These conversations may explore coping mechanisms when you are struggling with life inside prison, or they may be about flagging up existing services or suggesting new ones. As well as using the conventional routes for disseminating film content in prisons, including in-cell TV, we will also be facilitating a series of screening events inside the prisons which will provide a safe space for prison staff and prisoners to view the films and discuss the content in some detail, motivated and aided by experts in the subject matters. We are currently assembling a strong coalition of volunteers who will provide the project with this invaluable support. We would be delighted to welcome more of you to this eminent group of suicide prevention champions. We look forward to taking this important new project forward with your support. https://lnkd.in/ecm_ZUyF #WorldSuicidePreventionDay #StartTheConversation

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Some (sympathetic, hopefully useful) thoughts on Spotlight entries for actors from a director: No video showreel: On what basis am I supposed to cast you? Scene-setting, titles, etc: I have to review lots of profiles. Just show us the acting. Other actors: Only show your bit as much as possible. Sometimes I can't tell which performer is you because I don't know you well. I'm casting a comedy: A reel marked "Comedy" is very useful for me, it gets me straight there. Be weird: You can't please everyone, so be the best in your niche. If you're a French contortionist, own it, don't go for the Greek tap-dancing roles. Hope that helps.

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Congratulations to all the nominees at this year's British Podcast Awards. There are undoubtedly some interesting shows in the mix, and I hope that they use the nomination as a big professional springboard. But... By my - back of a fag packet, admittedly - calculations, 30% of this year’s nominees at the British Podcast Awards were produced or distributed by the BBC (48 of 162 show nominations). A single publisher representing almost a third of nominations is monolithic, and this is without most of its radio shows which are repackaged as podcasts. That's a massive bloc for most creators to compete with, and that's before even thinking about what Global, Sony, Amazon etc are doing in the marketplace (spoiler alert: taking up a lot of the remaining 114 nominations). The awards are under no obligation to recognise creative diversity. I wouldn't want them to patronise smaller podcasters or networks. And it's hard to know whether the homogeneity of the list is a product of jurors lack of omnivorous consumption, or the fact that independent publishers are not submitting to the awards (possibly a function of the very steep increase in the costs). There are some omissions from this list that are so glaring that I have to assume that the shows/companies didn't submit for consideration. Maybe I'm being too jaded. Full disclosure: Podot only submitted one show this year, and it wasn't nominated (we submitted into the Wellbeing category, which is a bad fit anyway). But inevitably the British Podcast Awards will come to represent a Best in Class list of UK podcasting, especially for those outside the narrow industry walls. I have to say, I look at some of those categories and I struggle – as a critic and consumer, rather than creator – to believe that these shows really represent the best of the business.

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🚨 UK TV - What Went Wrong? An Idiots Guide for Experts 🚨 Many people ask why there is a commissioning slowdown. With misinformation, and gaslighting (remember #HoldYourNerve), we're in a 'slump' and many of us don’t know why. Therefore I have taken it upon myself to break it down into Idiot proof bitesize pieces. Coz if I can get this - you definitely can too! In The Beginning ... 🦎 A few years ago, we had over 90,000 professionals driving a £6.8 billion market. It felt like a golden age of creativity and innovation. But by 2023, the landscape shifted dramatically. ITV reports the steepest decline in broadcast TV audiences ever, alongside the worst advertising revenue slump in 15 years. So, what went wrong? 🤔 The Perfect Storm 🌪️ Post-Pandemic Viewing Drops: Binge-watching marathons have fizzled out as life returns to its busy pace. US Strikes: Strikes across the Atlantic have disrupted our content pipelines, leading to delays and uncertainty. Rising Production Costs: Everything from locations to equipment to coffee on set is getting pricier, tightening our already stretched production budgets. Stagnant UK Economy: A sluggish economy means every budget penny counts, further straining our resources. But don’t lose hope! There’s potential for recovery. Thinkbox’s CEO highlights that the market may bounce back, and ITV’s Julian Bellamy reminds us that advertising cycles will turn. So where do we go from here? 🌟 Four Major Shifts Transforming the UK TV Industry 📈 Shift in Consumption: Broadcast TV’s share is projected to drop from 62% to just 28% by 2035 as on-demand options take over. We need to adapt to this change. Globalization of TV: With 86% of production investment in 2022 coming from overseas, we must accept that US streaming giants are leading the charge. Digital Transformation of Advertising: With more than 75% of the UK’s £36 billion ad spend now directed towards online ads, traditional models must evolve. Centrality of Technology: As technology becomes a cornerstone of streaming and production, we must enhance our investment to stay competitive. By implementing these strategies, we can navigate the challenges facing the UK TV industry and thrive in this rapidly changing media landscape. 🌐 As a BAFTA-winning producer and award-winning TV executive specializing in high-performing online videos, I’ve seen the potential of creating award-winning content that competes on the global stage. Adaptability, creativity, and a dash of humour are vital for success in our industry. 🏆 Let’s Connect! 🤝 I’m eager to collaborate and share ideas on how we can collectively adapt and shape the future of TV. Whether you want to discuss these strategies or just have a chat, I’d love to grab a virtual coffee and get the conversation rolling! ☕️ #UKTV #MediaIndustry #Innovation #ContentCreation #DigitalTransformation #LetsConnect

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Are you a filmmaker or part of a film production company, then claiming Film Tax Relief (FTR) must be a part of your funding strategy. Film tax relief is available for British qualifying films if they: either pass the cultural test: This is an easy process. You only need 18 points to qualify. They ask questions such as if the film is in English, the number of cast and crew who are British, locations in the UK, if the theme of the script is British. My current application has 39 points and that is only because it is not fully crewed: Qualify as an official co-production: Intended for theatrical release: Have a minimum UK core spend requirement of 10%, including those made under official co-production treaties. Tax relief is available on qualifying UK production expenditure on the lower of either 80% of total core expenditure or the actual UK core expenditure incurred. There is no cap on the amount which can be claimed. The film production company responsible for the film needs to be within the UK Corporation Tax net. There are several companies who will advance up to 90% of the Film Tax Credit prior to the start of your production to ease cashflow. Even if your film is a low budget film, don't miss out on applying for FTC to finance your work, 🎥 Lights, Camera, Tax Relief! 🌟 For more details, visit the official HMRC or BFI pages. #FilmTaxRelief #CreativeIndustry #FilmFinance #UKFilmIndustry

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Last week I attended a brilliant BBC Docs Download panel discussion of the documentary 'Hell Jumper', with director Paddy Wivell, producer Adriana Timco, exec Collin Barr, and editor Rupert Houseman, hosted by Carl Callam. Hell Jumper is a mesmerisingly powerful film, showcasing the very best and worst of humanity through the polarising forces of love and war. It is the best documentary I have seen this year and I endeavour anyone who has not already, to go give it a watch. Thank you to everyone on the panel for the valuable insights on how to make a strong documentary. For those that could not make the talk, or anyone interested, here are some of the key points of wisdom I took away from the discussion: 1) Be bold and follow a direction. It’s sometimes necessary to hedge your bets but as much as possible strive to make something unique by going for one thing, rather than trying to do everything. 2) Stories come alive through authenticity. If you find the thing that makes something true, relatable and real, people will recognise that and appreciate it. 3) Surround yourself with excellent people who push you to rigorously think through decisions and make sure each one works. 4) Sometimes the best things / scenes / moments come from working hard through the areas that are presented as immovable obstacles. 5) The best testimony comes not necessary from making sure you get all the details you wanted, but from creating an environment in which the people talking feel themselves and comfortable. Through this, people are much more likely to speak openly, honestly, and often surprisingly. 6) Find the light in the story. There is so much negativity in the world, films must try to capture the human (or non human) beauty in the world and provide a beacon of light that offers fresh perspectives on situations.

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20 years ago I had a vision to build an independent Black UK film studio to produce a slate of films that represented an ignored sector of society's visions. Too much ego, too little experience, less personnel management and an attitude that would have been better suited to a one-man podcast before the phenomenon existed. However, time is the master, and the creator can strip you back to basics to undertake the purpose we become distracted from. What I did learn from this experience is that when you have an office and boardroom you can spend £25 in Tesco's to host meetings and make 10 people perfectly happy. I also had a not for profit that enabled me to hold a seminar called Half Art - Half Business that over a couple of days would bring creative industry talent on the first day and business industry talent on the second day. I openly admit that I took this position for granted and thought that it would continue indefinitely without me better developing who I am. This is all pre YouTube, where you can tap into studio executives fireside talks, financiers podcasts or producers round tables on the Hollywood Reporter or Variety. The following 20 years have been invaluable in exposing me to a number of experiences from a creative business to a decade in retail ownership, management, buying and marketing. It's not for no reason that I went through this round about journey to reach the conclusion that it takes the same effort to establish an end to end studio as it does to produce £1 million feature film. The one part of my arrogance (to some) and determination to others is that we require ownership. I support my peers in rallying for inclusion but personally, I opt for the responsibility of going through the turmoil to establish ownership. Whatever my opinion, no man is changing his house to suit me. Equity over equality (for me). After 18 months of systems testing, research and reforming business relationships for @SigmaCarta, 2025 is the time to practically reimagine the vision I had in 2004 with better qualification and a more pertinent attitude to management and collaboration.

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My brand new book Plants with Superpowers published by Quarto Books US and Quarto Books UK is available for pre-order today - https://geni.us/75Plants. In my brand-new book, I wanted to share with you an incredible array of plants that you can grow at home and have extraordinary capabilities. In my brand-new book, I wanted to share with you an incredible array of plants that you can grow at home that have extraordinary capabilities. All the plants in this book are real. The natural world has gifted plants with superpowers. The 75 featured plants each have unique abilities that are wondrous to adults and children alike. Meet a sample of the plants that are not from another world, these are plants that are amongst us. They possess a dazzling array of powers you never thought could be real, and yet the varieties included in this very book, you can grow and enjoy in your garden or home. Learn the mysteries of these plants and you too will be able to appreciate these true wonders. #plants #preorder #plantswithsuperpowers

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Watch this short by Gurvinder! Simply put and perfectly told - THANKYOU!

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Friday Talking Points - Politics & Comms, AI-Tech Storytelling & Higher Education. I rarely do politics on this platform, given my background as a former General Election producer for Channel 4, but what about the PMs pushback interview on leaving D-Day commemorations early? What I want to know is what was Comms doing, and foreign Sec David Cameron, in the decision-making? This week's news that Sony will be using AI in future projects bode bad news for VFX, visualisers, but good news for indies looking at Gen AI to create where resources are a challenge. https://lnkd.in/eF_2Rwq7 From my experience over the last 34 years in innovation, storytelling and journalism, AIs shake up to content creation is going to be colossal, and relatively very few outlets are taking it seriously, particularly when it comes to non-fiction production. As I was talking to a senior Ghanaian exec y'day, there's also legitimate fears over AI going rogue in our high stakes capitalist economies, low on regulation and policy. It's not just jobs that it'll cost people. Next month I'll be presenting work at a tech storytelling gathering. Honoured to know I'm one of twenty academics in the country to be invited. I'll be sharing work, what next after "the Chairman-AI project" https://lnkd.in/gY9KNAwG and about the future and digital methodologies going forward. Received an email from a BBC producer about this work today. They say it's a bigger subject, from our discussions, and would like to give it a greater platform, so I'll let you know. I have a surprise presentation for a major entrepreneur-tech gathering, and am just finessing the message, but I hope what attendants will take home is the impact of AI. I believe any university course in content creation should be addressing this, and I'm pleased our Masters students and their feedback recognises this, with comments about how it's helped them. We've built on the program to provide the next generation with added skills beyond this https://lnkd.in/djXUY4N As tens of thousands of students look to their first job in industry, and the real pressures awaiting them, it’s important they realise the creation of exemplary work is as important as understanding the need for team working and supervision which I share here https://lnkd.in/e7BArYwd Coming up, a talk on diversity and inclusion. I've strong views from academic papers and archive about the difficulties for current messaging. Recently I was asked by a leading EU funder to review a hight cost proposal to create a D&I platform. I commended it, but saw within it a perennial issue around legacy, and the erosion of D&I initiatives. What's required is deeper collaboration, and how structural inequality have become strategically conventionalised over the years. More info on www.viewmagazine.tv #highereducation, #politics #news #ai #storytelling

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What funding options are available when there is a 1.8 million pound deficit for woodland creation projects in the Uk? From our film "What is holding back woodland creation in the UK" Find the link to the full film in comments. Many thanks to Caroline Ayre MICFor from Evolving Forests , Liz Nicholson from Forest Canopy Foundation, The Woodland Trust and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) #UKForestryFunding #ForestryGrantsUK #GreenInvestmentsUK #UKWoodlandSupport #ForestFinanceUK #ForestryFundingOpportunities #SustainableForestryUK #NatureConservationUK #GreenEconomyUK #HealthyForestsUK #woodforthetreesuk #trees #woodland #forestry #treeplanting #ukwoodland #agroforestry #agroforestryuk #ukfarming #ukforestry #woodlandcreation #whyplanttrees

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📢 Exciting Webinar Alert! 📢 Don't miss out on catching up with the amazing UK Election package by everviz for the upcoming UK elections. This plug-and-play solution makes it effortless to provide stunning graphical coverage. Interested in learning more? Drop me a line and let's discuss how this can enhance your election coverage. #UKElections #DataVisualization #ElectionCoverage #Everviz #Webinar #MediaSolutions #Broadcasting #Newsroom #InteractiveGraphics

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🙌   It's finally here. I'm pleased to announce that our Easy Read production documents are now available via the BBC website.   These documents were the result of a project undertaken during the filming of Inside Our Autistic Minds (2022). We wanted to adapt the standard ways of programme-making to accommodate contributors and crew who are neurodivergent and have learning differences. I am so proud to see our prototypes - word documents with stripped-back text and illustrated by icons - evolve into this pack, which is now available to ALL in the industry.    Included in the pack: 🕓 Call Sheets 😊 Aftercare examples  🎥 A bespoke set of icons specially designed and created BY Production, FOR Production.  📄 A blank template that can be used to create any Easy Read document you desire, whether for a production or another function altogether.   💪 These documents have been made in consultation with colleagues from D&I, Health & Safety, Safeguarding and other productions. Your feedback is vital to us evolving as an industry. Adapting these to your genres and formats will help us play a part in making our industry more inclusive. Google ‘Easy Read Templates for Productions’ OR hit the link below to download the pack. 👇 https://lnkd.in/eEgYbjNk

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Thanks to Pact and Aimee Shimmin for letting me share my top 10 tips for where to start with your sustainable production. Pact members can log in to watch 👇 #SustainableScreen

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