LoveLove Team Members Take Part in ‘Tips and Hits from Animated Women’ Panel at the Children’s Media Conference

  • Posted by info 09 Jul

LoveLove Team Members Take Part in ‘Tips and Hits from Animated Women’ Panel at the Children’s Media Conference

The Children’s Media Conference is the most important event in the UK for everyone involved in developing, producing and distributing content for Children. Delegates are from television, radio, film, games, interactive media, magazine, book publishing, licensing and toy sectors and was held in Sheffield on the 3rd to 5th July 2018 and ran by Animated Women UK .

LoveLove Films’ Managing Director / Producer Georgina Hurcombe and Animator JoAnne Salmon were delighted to have been invited to speak on the ‘Tips and Hits from Animated Women’ panel which was sponsored by Jellyfish Pictures and ran by Animated Women UK

The aim of the panel was to celebrate the success of women in the UK animation industry and explore how women can be leading lights for equality and inclusion both on and off screen in Children’s Media.

CMC Speakers - Women in Animation

CMC Speakers – Women in Animation

The CMC lists the following information for the panel:

“Gender parity in the entertainment industry is not a given – recent news stories and campaigns have made that very clear. But sometimes the best way to address bad practice is to demonstrate good practice. So that is what this panel aims to do. In this session we will celebrate the many women who have succeeded in the animation business, by asking some of them to describe their journeys and how they have navigated any obstacles along the way. And we ask questions around equality and inclusion and share learnings from our sector. Centuries of conditioning may not change things overnight, but channeling positive examples of where it does work, certainly goes a long way to help nudge progress in the right direction.”

The session began with a talk from Changemaker Anna Hollinrake, a game artist from BAFTA. Anna spoke about the difficulties of working in the industry and how many artists and producers all over the industry feel that if they don’t work constantly, then they are a failure. Anne also honed in on the way that was an industry we need to identify how to better promote self-care so as to make the field sustainable for people to work in.

 

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From Left to Right: Joanne Salmon, Beth Parkers, Rebecca Hobbs, Sarah Fell, Georgina Hurcombe

The session host was Beth Parker, a senior manager for the Disney Channel who manages productions for Disney Junior, Disney Channel and Disney XD across animation, from pre-school to ‘tween’. Beth currently has 40 productions on her slate, all of which are in various stages of production and development. Beth navigated the conversation towards the panelists and asked them questions about their careers, how the animation landscape has changed and is still changing, the complications women face and for their individual Wonder Woman mantra. Beth also is the chair of Animated Women UK

LoveLove Films’ Managing Director/Producer Georgina Hurcombe shared the story of her own career and how it led to her starting LoveLove Films. Georgina detailed the importance of networks such as Animated Women UK, with whom she attended the Helen North Achieve Programme earlier this year ran by Animated Women UK, and championed women putting themselves out there – “if you don’t ask you don’t get!” was Georginas’ mantra.

LoveLove Animator JoAnne Salmon shared her truly inspiring story and spoke on how important it is to build up confidence over time and the difficulty of trying to break into the industry. JoAnne made the point that more women in the industry means more women to look up to, and that it is important to be a worthy example.

Also on the panel were Sarah Fell, Executive Producer at Turner Broadcasting on The Amazing World of Gumball, Cartoon Network’s UK hit animation show, and Rebecca Hobbs, a freelance writer who was recently head writer on Disney’s animated sitcom Sadie Sparks.

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Sarah Fell commented on how the industry was extremely ‘male heavy’ when she first entered, although it has now grown to more equal, which was achieved over time. Rebecca Hobbs told the audience of her journey of leaving Disney to become freelance and emphasised the importance of feeling the fear and then doing it anyway – explaining that you “shouldn’t spend years climbing the ladder only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall” and that “when writing about yourself you should always act as if you’re writing about your best friend – because you will praise your best friend much more than you will yourself.”

The panellists agreed on the following takeaway points:

  • While the industry is becoming more equal every day, women still need to be supported – especially by other women. Look for mentors as they will help you along the way.
  • Remind yourself that you are working hard – you do deserve a break sometimes and you are worth it.
  • Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there: “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
  • When recruiting, look outside the box and don’t just hire from where you are familiar.
  • The importance of championing yourself
  • Join Networks and Groups that can support your Career journey such as Animated Women UK

As well as talking at the event, the LoveLove team were pitching numerous IP we have been in development with, which you can read about here.

Georgina_Hurcombe_Oliver_selby_CMC_V02

Georgina and LoveLove writer Oliver pitching at the Children’s Media Conference

Thank you to Greg Childs and everyone at the Children’s Media Conference for organising such a great event – we look forward to next year!

 

To read the official report on the Tips and Hits from Animated Women panel, click here.

For more information on the Children’s Media Conference, click here.

To read more about Georgina’s story, read her article in The Guardian here.

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