Case study Scotland - Suzanne Reid - Skillset

Suzanne Reid,
Case Profi le

Line producer/production manager Suzanne Reid got her break into television through
sheer perseverance. Suzanne started out as an actress, then worked as a secretary/
assistant in advertising where she had a chance to go to the Big Breakfast studio one
morning and got a real buzz from it. ‘I was really focused and applied for every job that
came up at Channel 4 – I think they got sick of looking at my CV in the end. But I’m
very persistent and eventually got in!’
“
If you really
want it, push
ahead and
do it. You’ve
got to be able
to persuade
people.
”
Suzanne started her production career
at Channel 4 as PA to the director of
presentation where she dealt with brand
identity, sponsorship and idents. From
there she moved to the promotional
department, doing trailers and when
the department grew as sponsorship
increased she eventually became a
production manager.
After four years she moved back
to Scotland to Mallinson Television
Productions (MTP), where she was
head of production for nearly seven
years, mostly on commercials but
also on some documentaries. ‘I
really enjoyed it and gained a lot of
knowledge. Then I took a risk by going
freelance.’ Suzanne left to produce a
Tartan short called ‘Harvest’ with the
help of Scottish Screen and the BBC.
Since then, she’s worked on a few
fi lms, including ‘Out Post’ and has done
pickups (additional photography) for
‘Hallam Foe’.
Suzanne Reid received funding from
Skillset Scotland to attend a course
in Post Production Supervision at
the NFTS short course unit. Adding
to her skills helped her to secure a
job as production manager on Terry
Gilliam’s feature ‘The Imaginarium of
Dr Parnassus’. ‘ It was an amazing
opportunity! I’m sitting in an offi ce with
Terry Gilliam just three feet away. It’s
like being in a Monty Python fi lm. The
more skills and training you have the
better you are at your job, so these
things arise. The course has given me
the knowledge and I’m using it.’
‘I’d just finished working on a low
budget feature on which I agreed to
work for half my normal rate. I was
happy to do that because it was a
good project, but it meant that I didn’t
have any money. The funding from
Skillset meant that I was able to get
to London to do the course and not
worry. It was fantastic!’
Her advice to others starting out is
to continue training and persevere.
Suzanne continues to do NFTS
courses as she recognises their value.
‘At the NFTS you’re taught by people
who are actually doing the job. They
always bring in current practitioners,
which is fantastic.’
‘If you really want it, push ahead
and do it. You’ve got to be able to
persuade people. If you’re easily
dissuaded then you’re probably not
right for it anyway.’
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do for you, visit: www.skillset.org