Meet a Mentee - Dilek!

1 February 2017

What area of the creative industries do you work in and why does it interest you?

I’m looking to get into the film industry. I have always been interested in different forms of art and the various ways in which stories are told, and through experimentation, I found that film fit me best. There's a quote from Banksy that I absolutely love, he says: “Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, it’s probably the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it.”

Films tend to involve audiences in a story which take them away from everyday monotony, making you feel in touch with characters and a society which may or may not be realistic, and I find that this can create or awaken a persons emotions more than most forms of media.

How accessible do you think jobs in the creative industries are?

I think it mostly depends on who you know and where you’re looking. After managing to get some help in my job-hunt, I noticed that a lot of entry-level jobs don’t really get advertised very well, so you really need to know where to look. Having a mentor and having the Create/A.N.D team supporting me with applications and linking me to jobs, that fit my level of experience as well as my interests, has made me feel so much more confident and productive (and most definitely made me a happier, more optimistic person).

How important are mentors in the creative industries?

My mentor has been extremely important to me, and I really advise anyone struggling to step foot into any creative industry to get one!

I have been paired with Kate, who is the Facilities Manager at Splice TV. We meet once a month with the rest of the mentors/mentee’s and set monthly targets at these meetings. We have regular catch up’s between to make sure all is going well, and i’m able to have someone to contact if I ever find myself struggling or have any questions. Kate has given me huge amounts of help in getting my CV to industry standards, and we are currently working on Cover Letter skills, as this is something I have always struggled with. We have also been speaking about my personal film project and are working on the pre-production of that.

Just before Christmas, I visited Kate at Splice TV for a tour. I was able to see all the facilities and speak to people in different roles which was really interesting, it was great to see everything that goes on and to see all the separate departments in a post-production house. I’ve always taken a huge interest in editing and post-production so it was really great to get a personal tour and ask as many questions as I wanted to!

What's the one thing you would change about the industry you're trying to get to?

I think one of the main issues I’ve come across is that there are so many big companies offering unpaid internships/work experience, and whilst I have no problem working unpaid for a while to gain more experience/new skills, I think there comes a point, if you are not receiving training or gaining new skills at the same time, when you can start to feel quite used, unworthy and frustrated.

Tell us one fun fact about you.

I entered and won a healthy eating poster competition at my local library when I was around 12 y/o, I got to attend a little awards ceremony and got loads of free arty gifts. Was also in the local paper. I think that’s a fun fact, still pretty proud of that!