July Update: A Busy Summer Ahead

Movie Magic Software Training 2024 (24-25th August 2024)

AD Guild are partnering with Liverpool Film Office and Screen Manchester to deliver a Movie Magic Software training weekend over 24-25th August 2024. This will take place in Liverpool as a regional initiative to deliver our course for the very first time to those locally within the North West region.

Due to working with both Film Councils we are restricted in only being able to offer this training to ADG members within this region. This is a free course for ADG members, as part of their membership benefits and will include a catered lunch and refreshments, and invite to the ADG Summer Social, where they can meet other North West regional members as well as other AD’s who are taking part in the course.

The course will be made up of 50% ADG spaces and 50% spaces allocated to the Liverpool Film Office and Screen Manchester, as this a joint initiative. For this reason, it will be offered on a first-come-first serve basis, and  encourage you to keep an eye on the events calendar and future communications to ensure you register for your ticket as soon as the event goes live. 

We look forward to sharing further information on this event and delivering this to individuals within the North West Region for the very first time, and will be launching detailed communications with all the event information in due course.

ADG x Grand Scheme Media 1st AD Training with ScreenSkills (Autumn 2024)

ADG and Grand Scheme Media have submitted a joint application to run a bursary programme named 1st AD Training with ScreenSkills. Following a successful first round of the application, both ADG and Grand Scheme Media entered the second round of the submission process. 

Both ADG and Grand Scheme Media, if successful, will run the training course together. The ADG will be responsible for all course material and delivery, as well as screening applicants, additional resources and management of the training programme. Grand Scheme Media who have extensive experience supporting training programmes, and running these alongside ScreenSkills will be offering financial, administrative and consultation support throughout the process to ensure the smooth running of the programme, as well as our ability to meet diversity and equality requirements for applicants and other compliance within the programme.

While this joint venture is still at its early stages, if we are to be successful, we will be launching this in Autumn 2024. We will keep membership informed of the progress of this, as we move forward. 

Pensions and Finance Support for ADG Members

We know how important it is to have pensions and finance support as an AD. Following our pensions survey, we noted recurring themes that spanned from a lack of pension support from productions, given the nature of the role as an AD. This has left many ADs not actively paying into their pensions, or not having one set up at all. Furthermore, we noted that those with pensions lacked the flexibility to have access to these funds when they needed it most, particularly during hard financial times. Additionally, those who are in the later stages of their career struggled with issues such as consolidating pensions, and knowing how best to navigate this after years of hard work and plans of potential retirement.

Financial advice was also important. Members requested access to information regarding savings and other key decision making that would secure their financial future. We know finances and pensions go hand in hand, and explored how we could offer the best package for membership that encompassed both of these components. 

We have now set up a pensions and finance partnership with Chase de Vere. We will be routinely updating our website’s Resources page under ‘Pensions and Finance’. 

What can you do now? You can book a 1-2-1 pensions and finance consultation with Chase de Vere complimentary as an AD Guild member through adguild@chasedevere.co.uk. They will schedule these sessions directly with you via Zoom and offer you the guidance and advice you need.

Additionally, you can join our quarterly webinars which will be advertised on the AD Guild events calendar. During these webinars they will cover topics such as pensions, financial planning and more. We encourage members to book consultations and attend webinars to make the most of this service. 

What else can you expect? We will be sharing news articles offering helpful information to membership quarterly as well. You will be notified of these via mail out. If you are not sure if you receive our communications, please email admin@adguild.uk so that we can ensure you are on our mailing list. 

Are you looking to get a mortgage? You can also access a free mortgage consultation with Chase de Vere who specialise in mortgage advice for unconventional earning structures such as LTD company and self employed. Get in touch with adguild@chasedevere.co.uk, so that you can access this free service.

We hope this helps to support our membership, and hope all members can benefit from this service. 

Industry Select Webinar ft. ScreenSkills (Autumn 2024)

We will be working alongside ScreenSkills in delivering an Industry Select Webinar directly to young adults interested in the role of an AD.

We have been invited to provide speakers for this October 2024 (Date TBC) webinar, and will look to have someone from each grade represent the AD profession by providing insight into the role. 

We are so excited to bring our insight to young adults aspiring to be in the Film and HETV industry. As part of our goal to promote the craft of Assistant Directors, this will be a monumental first step into being able to showcase our work and develop ties with future trainees within our database. 

If you would like to put your name forward as a speaker, please email admin@adguild.uk. While we are likely to have a competitive list of speakers, we would still love to keep you on a our database for future events in which representation is needed.

Continual Professional Development Hub: AD Guild Website 

We know how important it is to upskill and develop as an Assistant Director. This is why we will be launching a CPD hub on our website so you can stay up to date with all the courses, training and certifications within the industry.

The first phase of this will be the launch  of our course calendar on the AD Guild website, listing courses coming up both internally within AD Guild (run and provided by us to you), but also externally through reputable bodies and associations that we trust. This could be in the area of ‘Stepping up’, health and safety or simply refresher courses that allow you to thrive within your role. 

All AD Guild run courses will continue to be free to AD Guild members. Those externally from 3rd party providers, we will do our best to negotiate competitive offers as part of your membership, as well as offer subsidies towards course payments as and when required. 

The courses you attend will be able to build credits on your profile, and help you track areas in which you may wish to develop. It is also a great way of us incentivising our trainee database to attend our courses as a way of building their credentials to become a member. 

Standardisation of skills and training as an AD continues to be a core goal of AD Guild. For this reason we are looking to work on accreditation for some of our flagship courses that were successful, as a way of further working towards greater standardisation. 

We also encourage individuals who would like to be part of this process to attend our Education and Training committee meetings. Just email admin@adguild.uk if you are interested in joining the conversation!

2nd AD Essentials Course ft. Production Guild of Great Britain

In case you missed it, AD Guild ran a 2nd AD Essentials course in the Spring. We are pleased to have had a positive turn out of both ADG members and Production Guild members, as well as other ADs outside of these organisations. 

We would like to thank Steve Crabtree, previous AD Guild member, for tutoring this course for AD Guild, as well as the wider education and training committee for helping to review the presentation materials 

Find our recording of the course, and other helpful resources across part 1 here, and part 2 here. We record courses where we can to ensure members can benefit from these sessions, however we encourage participation as much as possible to ensure you get the best out of the teaching provided. 

A Friendly Reminders for AD Guild Members

Please kindly refrain from contacting AD Guild members for jobs through the Find an AD section of the website. We would like to encourage you to make contact with production companies and other useful contacts through our Early Bird Jobs newsletter which goes out every month. We list upcoming productions in-development and in pre-production for your benefit.