23 year old John Okello is from Sudbury. This is the story of how he got his first break into working in the TV Industry. He is currently working at The Farm Group as a Trainee Edit Assistant.
"Before MAMA Youth Project, I had been struggling to figure what it was that I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t really possess the best grades, I wasn’t sport savvy, and I wasn’t really well off in terms of finance either. The odds seemed completely stacked against me from the start. I tried to acquire lots of different skills at school believing that maybe one of these areas is the area ‘I’d kick start my career in’. I tried everything from art, to drama, to music classes. But as the saying goes, “jack of all trades; master of none” and I just ended up being mediocre in all areas.
As I grew older I began to become more and more anxious about my lack of an employable skill. I went to university only as a means to try and stall entering the job market. Things weren’t working out too great at home either as our financial situation had worsened and my mum had to be admitted into hospital. I took it upon myself to find any job I could, to support the family. I did everything from customer service, to warehouse night shifts, to incredibly underpaid design work. All while trying to balance obtaining a degree at university at the same time. I soon began to lose sense of myself and it seemed all the dreams I had as a kid were slowly dwindling away. At this point I had become borderline depressed as the pressure to earn money to support the family whilst balancing a social life, coupled with troubles at home left me feeling like I was trapped. I had even begun to lose my hair due to all the stress. All of this resulted in me failing a module in university and having to re-sit it, stalling me obtaining degree for a whole year.
I was so frustrated with how my life was going that I took it upon myself to do anything I could to try and turn life around. I studied and passed that module and earned a 2:1. I learned to drive, I visited careers counsellors, I went out of my way to develop a show reel portfolio of my university work so that employers could see that I had the experience they were looking for.
It was only a stroke of luck that I happened upon MAMA Youth Project from a friend’s sister who had graduated from it a couple of years ago. I had never heard of MAMA Youth but after going on the website and reading all the newsletters and testimonies, my gut feeling knew this was the place I needed to be. “Trainees tasked with making a 6 episode 30min programme in 13 weeks earning them a broadcast credit”. This is exactly what I needed in order to get into the working world! I applied for the Trainee Video Editor role as I had experience using premiere Pro in sixth form. Subconsciously I took that role despite knowing how competitive it was because I desperately wanted to have a skill I could market to employers. Unfortunately, I failed to pass the 1st interview stage but was told I could apply again. I asked for feedback and worked on those areas and applied again a few months later and success, I got in!
MYP helped me in many ways. I was able to learn the industry standard editing software Avid Media Composer, how to use professional sound and camera equipment despite having next to no knowledge prior. I learnt a lot of social skills such as teamwork and how to communicate well with others, including what was expected of me in the industry.
As a trainee editor it was my role to make the item producer’s vision come to life on screen. I found this difficult at first as I was still learning how to use Avid and this really challenged me as I had to keep a strong composure in order to get the work done. Indeed, I was quite the nervous wreck at the start of the scheme. As the weeks went on I found my skill level progressed and I was able to do things a lot faster on Avid. I surprised myself by how quickly I had picked it up. I started to build friendships and soon I really enjoyed coming into work. The hours were a killer and the work load was intense to say the least! There were ups and there were downs but I never once doubted that I would complete the scheme. If others before me could do it, so could I!
I successfully graduated from MYP fully armed with the confidence needed to tackle the industry. My first stop was a six week placement at Sky. This was an amazing opportunity as I got to use the skills I learnt in MAMA Youth in another environment. I was trained by an amazing mentor named Melissa Holton, who further expanded my knowledge of Avid and the editing industry. I worked closely with her, shadowing while she worked and also got to edit a few things myself. She also introduced me to colleagues she worked with, which allowed me to start networking with real industry professionals. Thanks to MAMA Youth I had the confidence to do that.
After the Sky placement, I was lucky enough to be offered a Trainee Edit Assistant role at The Farm Group, a supporter of MAMA Youth Project. They are a reputable and recognised post production company responsible for editing X-Factor, Graham Norton and loads more. I am currently working there and have been for the past four months. I have learnt so much in such a short space of time and met so many people who share the same passion for editing as me. Everyone is incredibly friendly especially Helen Turner and Karen Smith who are responsible for my training. I’m now able to support myself and my family while at the same time doing something that I love!
MAMA Youth Project is literally only just beginning. It gives you everything you could need to enter the television industry. My advice for anybody starting out, never hesitate to challenge yourself. Do the things you normally wouldn’t do, throw yourself in deep end, fail and try again, only then will you learn and come out on top." - July 2016
