Production Assistant

Working closely with our production manager, you’ll be jumping on admin tasks, prepping our shoots and keeping the studio running smoothly. This is an entry-level supportive role for our production team in delivering our best possible work ⭐

Related titles: Administrative Assistant, Production Coordinator, Studio Manager

Location: Cardiff (2 days per week), remote (3 days per week)

Salary: £25k

ABOUT US

We’re a creative production company known for making great work and bringing great vibes. Founded in 2013 in Cardiff, Wales we’ve built a one-stop shop for producing standout work across film, video and animation. We work with talented, creative people who genuinely care about what they’re making. 

Purposeful creativity is our ride or die, and when we combine obsessive technical knowledge and a watertight production process, the result is a special sauce our clients just can’t get enough of. Over the last decade, we’ve collaborated with some of the biggest names in the world—Amazon, O2, Yamaha (to name a few) on projects spanning multiple continents—and we’re just getting started.

THE ROLE

Day-to-day, you’ll be:

• Keeping the studio running smoothly. From booking edit suites and meeting rooms to answering phones, welcoming guests, ordering supplies and making sure the kitchen’s stocked; you’ll stay on top of the day-to-day stuff that keeps everything ticking.
• Coordinating schedules and keeping teams informed. You’ll maintain our scheduling platform, keep project statuses accurate, and make sure everyone (in-house and remote) has the files, equipment and info they need.
• Onboarding freelancers and collaborators. Parking details, project codes, rates, invoicing, software logins, Slack channels, Google Drive folders, stock libraries; you’ll get people set up and up to speed with how we work before they walk through the door.
• Keeping project management tools organised. Frame.io, Google Drive, contact databases; you’ll maintain clear folder structures and make sure everything’s neatly stored, correctly labelled and easy to find.
• Tracking project costs. Logging freelancer bookings, kit hires and day rates so we’ve always got a clear picture of spend.
• Supporting post-production. Maintaining offline/online edit notes, deliverables lists and project paperwork so the team always knows what’s next.
• Helping plan and organise shoots. Booking kit, crew and locations (UK and abroad), sorting travel and accommodation logistics, and preparing call sheets, risk assessments and agreements (much of which we’ve automated, thankfully!)
• Getting stuck in on set. You’ll work closely with the producer to keep things running smoothly on shoot days.

ABOUT YOU

Some of the most crucial skills we’re looking for:

• You’re all about organisation. The world of calendars, spreadsheets, post-it notes and to-do lists? That’s your happy place, and you don’t care who knows it. Do your friends and family always rely on you to make the plans and get everyone organised? Then you’re probably the kind of person we’re looking for.
• You thrive on communication. You can write concisely and with a strong voice, without typo or delay. You’ll spot a pesky double space or disgusting use of the wrong “your” from a mile away while screaming internally because you’re a stickler for detail. If someone doesn’t reply to an email, you’re not in any way scared of picking up the phone to work your charm and get what you want.
• You’re switched on, focused and solutions-driven. Always. Getting. Shit. Done. You’re not afraid of long hours and you welcome pressure from all angles. You handle it with grace, thanks to your uncanny ability to see opportunities and solutions in the face of a challenge. You’re a master of prioritising your own workload and managing tasks to achieve deadlines and you can identify potential issues before they become problematic. The busier things are, the better. Nine people are waiting on you for something, but you have it all prioritised instantly without batting an eyelash.
• You have an insatiable curiosity and lust for knowledge about all things video and social. We’ll do everything we can to help you improve and hone your skills, but you’ll have a lot of independence, so we expect you to always be learning and be making the most of the opportunities presented to you.
• You’re able to adapt to different roles within a team. Whether it’s smashing out an accurate call sheet, categorising expense receipts, chasing up a local council for a filming permit, or making the teas, you put 100% into any role that’s thrown at you. You’re helpful to the point that it’s almost annoying. Kit needs loading into the van? On it. Clients are waiting for a meeting? Straight in there keeping them occupied. Printer’s out of ink? You ordered some yesterday.

A little about the kind of person that would do well in this role:

• You can talk to people all day long. The idea of leaping onto a phone call to sort out a wobbly location, pull together some last-minute crewing or convince someone to let us shoot that liiiittle bit longer somewhere doesn’t phase you. You’re keen to pull bodies into a meeting to chat through plans and get things ship-shape.
• You love getting stuck in. You’re not a wallflower nor a backseat driver; you’ve got a strong sense of urgency and you’re always passionate about your job. You’re not afraid to roll your sleeves up and go beyond the desk work—wanting to learn from those around you and soak up the wild amounts of knowledge that overflows from our talented team.
• You’re pragmatic. You take a proactive approach to getting things done. When there’s a lack of process, you create it. When someone forgets to tell you something, you chase them until they do. When you’re not sure about something, you raise it directly with the relevant person. You’re straightforward, level-headed and always driving forward.

Some of the key values that we’re looking to share for this role are:

• Instinctively Supportive. You’re on-hand whenever people need you—actually, even when they didn’t realise they needed you, you’ve already sorted it out. In some aspects, you’re always visible and involved, but equally, you’re the hidden hand that keeps things ticking along without asking.
• Consistently Dedicated. You never settle for “that’ll do”. Whilst the idea of production admin may seem a little dull, it’s the most important part of the shoot—your attention to detail and drive to cover all the bases means that teams feel confident their productions are solid as a rock.
• Confidently Peculiar. Taking the quality of our work as a given that we’re always striving for, it’s our personality that truly helps us stand out in the crowd. We embrace our quirkiness and own it. It’s infused in everything we do and say. But there’s a fine line between self-assurance and arrogance, so we’re always open and honest and warm with each other and our clients.

This job might not be a good fit for you if:

• You’re not a people person. If interacting with people all day drains your social battery and you want nothing more than to crawl into a dark room as far away from people as possible, this one ain’t for you. You’ll be chatting to the team and chasing down answers from crew and suppliers on a daily basis—and you’ll need an unmistakable charm to win some tough’uns over!
• You’re allergic to processes and being organised. It’s not easy to get stuff done when things are a mess. We’ve been there and learned that, and hopefully you have too. Info is useless to the team if it lives exclusively in your brain or if you tend to have shorthand notes all over the place and can’t make head or tail of ‘em.
• You’re not really bothered about our industry. You’ll be joining a team of people all passionate about visual content and always pushing to make their best work every day. If your interest in film, video or motion graphics content is pretty minimal, you’ll probably feel a little distance creep in. Culturally, we love sharing great work we’ve seen and we’d expect you to be bringing your own inspiration to the party!

REQUIRED

• Excellent people skills—one of those humans that gets on with just about anyone (and has impressive negotiation skills as a result!).
• You’ll need to be financially literate, and be able to spot written mistakes from a mile away.
• You’re a dab hand with Google Apps (Docs and Sheets) or Microsoft Office (if you’re that way inclined), with an ability to quickly learn new software and processes.
• Interested in the world of film, video and animation.
• A full driver’s license. You’ll need to be able to travel at short notice.
• Not awful at making a cup of tea. Truly unforgivable.

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience as a Production Assistant or Runner on production projects.
• Experience working in an office environment.
• A relevant degree or qualification.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud software.
• Able to speak/read/write in the Welsh language.

PERKS

• Work from anywhere for 3 days per week.
• 32 days holiday pro rata (full flexibility whether to work bank holidays or not), plus Christmas week off.
• MacBook provided.
• Personal development time and access to software and equipment.

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