Amelia Mundy, Film and Drama BA (Hons) graduated 2020
Three years after graduating, Amelia Mundy has already managed to land her ‘dream job’ in TV production, combining her twin passions – natural history and Disney. So how did she manage it?
To work in TV you have to be very tenacious and driven. I had an absolute vision of what I wanted to do and was determined to stick to it, luckily it didn’t take me that long. But I’d say, don’t put a time limit on reaching your goal, you might need to have a side hustle at times and that’s fine, the important thing is to aim for what you want and keep going.
Graduating in 2020, Amelia first had to contend with Covid, but as soon as opportunities started to open up, she was on it. Working as a runner for the BBC and location marshalling for Apple TV before moving on to a Third AD role on BBC sitcom Vandullz, followed by a First AD role on a mockumentary for the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, she was up and running.
With this experience under her belt, Amelia signed up with an agency and is now a Production Management Assistant at Wildstar Films. ‘In this job, you have to be organised, adaptable and comfortable approaching people across a whole range of industries. One of the reasons I chose to study drama was to build my confidence and to gain experience of teamwork and those skills are proving very useful now.
My current project is Underdogs, which is a collaboration with Ryan Reynolds’ film company Maximum Effort. I’m working on one episode and helping out on particular shoots on other episodes. We start with a kick-off meeting, where we work out what the shoot involves and my job is to pull everything together: to get the kit the crew need, book flights and accommodation, make sure travel documents are correct and any other requirements are met. Sometimes it’s straightforward, but later this year I have a shoot where the crew need guns, we have to charter flights, we need helicopters and there’s a polar bear risk!
The job is so varied, you have to be flexible and proactive and when things change at a moment’s notice, (which they often do) and I feel stressed, I remind myself that this is my dream job and to be doing it at this stage of my career is amazing. Often I’m the youngest person in the room and I quite like that – I might as well enjoy it; I know it won’t always be the case!
I’ve managed to tick off quite a few of my ‘always wanted to’ list already, but that’s not stopping me, it’s just spurring me on, I keep thinking. “what’s next?”’
What did you most enjoy about Kent?
I made some of my best friends at Kent and we’ve stayed in touch.
I loved being able to put my own spin on things – I was able to write essays on Star Wars and Shrek 2; whenever I could, I would focus on a Disney film! My lecturers still remember me as ‘the one who always wrote about Disney’.
Did you have any favourite modules?
I took a module on theatre and adaptation and gained some really useful skills which have proved very helpful when I’ve had to adapt material for different mediums. I also took a module on sound and cinema, which I loved.
Did you take part in any extra-curricular activities?
Yes, lots! I was keen to gain practical production skills so got involved with KTV (the University’s TV station). In my first year, I signed up to be a producer, even though I didn’t really know what that was at that time – I just thought, ‘it involves being organised, cool, I can do that’! I learnt so much from the older students working there and ended up managing around eight films in two years, as well as organising two film festivals and directing my own film. I took on way too much, but learnt to juggle lots of things – I’ve also now learnt how to say ‘No’.
Find out more about our Drama and Film – BA (Hons) course