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Searchlight Newsletter - Autumn 2015 
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JOBS OF THE MONTH
Video Support Engineer

Work for a leading services provider and work with their blue chip clients.

You will need solid experience supporting Post Production Editing systems, workflows and have hands-on experience with Storage systems. 

Click here for more details
Head of Innovation - TV

A Major UK Broadcaster is looking for an experienced TV Innovation Strategist to take the lead on business cases for investment in new products across TV and Sport.

Click here for more details
Sales Manager - Music (Netherlands)

A Global Provider of Music & Rights to the Media industry is now looking for a Sales Manager to join their Netherlands team and assist with business growth in the Advertising and Branded Content sector. 

Click here for more details

PUBLICITY PRODUCER - UKTV

Searchlight Recruitment recently placed Matthew Hemes in the position of Publicity producer at UK TV, and we got back in touch with him to see how the role is going and what he's been up to.
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“Day to day I'm editing clips of UKTV's upcoming shows to be sent out to national press and promote the network's content through their YouTube channel. Some of the videos I've edited have be featured by national media outlets.

I filmed and interviewed Sasha Roiz last week ahead of Season 5 of Grimm airing on Watch next month with more talent interviews coming up. I'm also going to be filming and editing extra content for Most Haunted Live which airs on Halloween on Really, at the house of the most violent poltergeist. Can't tell whether I'm scared or excited!

The communications team is fantastic and really supportive of new ideas, it's brilliant to be working for a TV network that's growing, takes risks and has such a diverse range of content.“
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Congrats to Matthew from everyone at Searchlight!
HOW TO FURTHER YOUR CAREER USING LINKEDIN

Whether you are looking for a new job or simply want to network within your industry, LinkedIn will always have a role to play. And even if you are happy with your current employer, having an online professional presence can help or hinder your career.

Instant Offices’ Head of HR, Helen Taylor, explains how recruiters look at an applicant’s Linkedin profile to help shortlist candidates. This will help when searching for your next big break.

What do Recruiters Look for in a Profile?

... read the rest of the article on our website

 
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This article was written by and provided to us by our friends at Instant Offices, find out more about them here.
WORDS OF WISDOM

“It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it.”

- Roger Ebert
With our autumn newsletter we are fortunate to be able to bring you news on a variety of events, particularly in the world of film.

We'll be taking a look at the events unfolding at the London Film Festival and investigating some of the topics that are proving to be the major talking points in the industry on our side of the Atlantic.

As usual, we'll also be giving you a run-down of our best and latest job opportunities, along with all the recent updates from the Searchlight headquarters, so read on for the latest news.
The annual London Film Festival is currently underway, and will be continuing up until 18th October, during which time it will be showing over 240 films from 72 different countries, across 16 cinemas!

According to the festival organisers, this year is ‘the year of the strong woman’ and indeed the opening gala film of the festival is Suffragette, directed by Sarah Gavron and featuring a strong female cast.

With so much choice it may be hard to decide on a film to watch, so we have prepared a small selection of some of the most anticipated offerings from this year’s festival.

Suffragette



Surely the best reflection of the theme of this year's festival, Suffragette tells the story of the women's suffrage movement in Britain in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Steve Jobs



The talented and prolific Michael Fassbender stars as the iconic Apple boss in Danny Boyle’s Oscar-tipped production.

He Named Me Malala



Malala Yousafzai is the subject of this documentary, which explores the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and the events leading up to the infamous Taliban attempt to assassinate her.

Trumbo



Trumbo details the story of 1940's screenwriter Dale Trumbo, whose career comes crashing down when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted by the US government for suspected Communist ties.

The Lobster



Our final pick of the festival must also be the weirdest. Set in a strange dystopian future, single people are forced to find a partner within forty five dates, failing which they are transformed into animals and sent off into 'The Woods'.

 
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This years festival is proving to be one of the biggest yet, and with the variety of films on offer, it's an event that you won't want to miss. For further information on the festival, take a look at the BFI website.

As the world premiere of Spectre in London draws ever nearer, discussion surrounding the film has increased, and the key topic seems to be the character of the spy himself.

The James Bond series has been steaming along for over half a century, during which time there has been little change to the long established formula – and the series has become so deeply ingrained in our culture that even the release of the latest Bond song will make national news, as with the release of Sam Smith’s single – Writings’ on the Wall.

However, there has been some criticism of this song, which matches closely with the critique of the film series, which is that the recent iterations of the Bond movie (and the lyrics of Smith’s song) appear to be attempting to bring a greater sense of vulnerability in the character.

“How do I live? How do I breathe? When you’re not here I’m suffocating.”

These are the opening lyrics of the chorus, and for some they have set off a few small alarm bells, especially considering the fact that Smith wrote the song after reading the script. The concern is that this tone of fragility must reflect issues that are covered in the film, and any such issues represent a betrayal of some of the core values of the Bond heritage.

... please visit our blog to read the rest of the article

 

Another more controversial debate that is taking place within UK cinema concerns a supposed lack of class diversity in the industry, both on the screen and behind it.
 
Last year, former cultural shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant expressed concern about the over-abundance of upper class artists in the field, saying “we can’t just have a culture dominated by Eddie Redmayne and James Blunt and their ilk”, and although this was met with overly defensive criticism from James Blunt himself, Bryant’s sentiment was backed up by a variety of others in the industry.
 
Dame Judi Dench explained the situation as stemming from a wealth divide, whilst broadcaster Stuart Maconie suggested that artistic expression in this country is “a rich fellow’s diversion”.
 
Now, with the recent Toronto International Film Festival having just taken place, the issue has resurfaced. As part of the festival programme, a group of UK directors got together to discuss London cinema, and in the conference it quickly became clear that class issues are still a major talking point in the industry. Director Michael Caton-Jones described UK film-making as "essentially a bourgeois sport”, whilst fellow director David Marr stated "the films that really drive me mad are the posh films made by posh people about posh people".
 
Judging from these issues it might seem that UK cinema is in trouble, however it could be argued that despite the negative press, this kind of introspection is necessary for the industry, and in fact is one of the reasons the UK film industry continues to flourish today. The British media can be demanding, but it is only through highlighting such issues that we are able to properly examine them, and to make the necessary changes to improve the industry.

Unfortunately the Searchlight team had had to say goodbye this month to James Cheetham, who has done a fantastic job for us over the last few years in the marketing department.

Coming in to attempt to pick up where James left off is Daniel Kirby, who has a variety of marketing experience across different sectors, and will be looking to ensure that Searchlight's principles are maintained and communicated across the field.


 
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Newsletter Editor: Daniel Kirby, Group Marketing Executive
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