Click here to see Rob’s Media Volt profile

Rob Edwards is an established freelance producer, presenter, writer and voiceover artist with TV and Radio credits. He has written, voiced and produced content for many clients including Sky Sports News, The Millennium Stadium, The North Face, Live Nation, The BIG Lottery Fund, Honda and Radio City. In 2012, Rob exec produced and presented a series of 7 short documentary style films and was nominated for a Fellowship of The Royal Society of Arts in recognition of his support for the Freelance community. He is also currently studying acting and performance at The Actors Lab under the guidance of Sue Jenkins (aka Jackie Corkhill form Brookside), Thomas Aldersley (Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks) and David Fleeshman ( Emmerdale, Coronation and over 200 stage plays)

Hi Rob, hope you are well and thanks for taking the time out to speak with Media Volt.

My pleasure.

How is your year going and what have you been up to?

It’s been a great year so far. It’s tough out there, but I can honestly say that the last 12 months have been the best I’ve had in this industry. Budgets are being squeezed and clients want more for their money, but that’s great for me. As a freelancer I can be a lot more flexible than many of the bigger agencies and production houses. Creatively too it’s a very exciting time. There’s a real appetite for rich media that has soul, an honesty and a personality. It’s great playing with all of these.

How did you start out in the industry and what advice would you give to any new comers?

I started freelancing 7 years ago. I had a successful corporate career in sales and senior management, but always felt a bit stifled, like I wasn’t really developing myself. So I got out! It was hard at first. I had no clients, no portfolio to speak of and had to prove myself all over again. It takes time to become established, but my advice is simple. It’s all about honesty. Honesty to yourself, honesty with your clients and honesty in your work. Stick to that, don’t play games and people will respect you for who you are.

So what other things do you do? You are the founder of 7 Day in June. What is that all about?

As a freelance producer / presenter, my roles are very varied. It’s all about taking an idea and seeing it through from concept to reality. It’s a perfect blend of creativity, project management and performing! One day I can be  writing and recording radio ads in my home studio, the next day scripting  and producing corporate films, writing web copy or presenting to camera  on set. No two days are the same.

You mentioned 7 Days in June. It’s a concept I developed around producing  content through collaboration. I believe we are much more effective when  we collaborate. In 2012, I wanted to tell the story of freelancing. I wanted to  raise awareness of the freelance community and the important contribution   it makes to the UK economy, but to do it in a creative way. I found some sponsors, raised £60k in funds and then challenged teams of students and freelancers to make 7 films in 7 days. We did it, on time and to budget. I produced the whole thing, from producing budgets, to writing scripts, to sourcing freelancers, students, crew, locations and guests. It was a great project  and l was fortunate to work with some fantastic people.

This industry can be very tough what do you think your toughest moment have been and how did you overcome this?

There are tough times in any industry. For me, the hardest times were when I first went freelance. I was maybe a little naive in my outlook! I was getting the work ok, but what I hadn’t factored in was the time it took to get it. I’d have periods where I was out of contract for a few days or even weeks. This put a serious dent in my revenue forecasts. I quickly learned, that when you work for yourself, it requires a constant effort. You always have to be mindful of where the next contract is coming from. It’s a fine balancing act between delivering the work you have in the absolute best way possible, and finding where the next contract is coming from.

So you have worked with Sky Sports News, The BIG Lottery Fund, Honda and Radio City; very exciting roles, which were your favourite and how did you land these roles?

Yes, I’ve been fortunate to work with some great people, on some very exciting projects over the years. I land them really through doing a lot of  networking and getting out there and meeting people. You need to meet people face to face, especially in this industry. Social media is great but it can’t replace a handshake and eye to eye contact.

In terms of my favourite, It’s really hard to pick one as they have all been different in so many ways. Creatively, I really enjoyed 7 Days in June. It was hugely rewarding to see my own idea gather such momentum and gain the support of so many people. I’m very proud of the end result too. From the    outset, I wanted a high quality production and we kept to those values right   the way though. I also enjoyed voicing the TV ad for Karcher on Sky Sports News. The ad itself was very brief, so creatively not especially challenging, but it got a lot of airtime so it was rewarding to get some decent  National TV exposure.

So what is to come from you in the rest of this year?

As a freelance producer / presenter in the creative industry, these are really interesting times, so who knows!

For example, 4G mobile networks roll out this year, which will lead to a huge increase in demand for rich media. Content now needs to integrate across multi channels, so I’m looking forward to producing media for a growing audience that is rapidly becoming more technically and more creatively aware. So the whole production side is looking good.

I’m looking to take on more presenting work too. It’s not an easy one to crack, but I have a real passion for it. I like communicating with people, it seems to come very naturally, so I’m open to opportunities to take this a lot further.

And of course, I’m studying at The Actors Lab with Sue Jenkins and her team. It’s very quickly become one of the highlights of my week, so who knows what might happen there! Maybe a bit of acting will come up this year, and maybe a couple of open mic nights thrown in for good measure!

Well  thanks for talking to Media Volt Rob

My pleasure, thank you.

Click here to see Rob’s Media Volt profile

If you are looking for casting calls and auditions, then you have come to the right place. Build a free Media Volt profile by adding pictures, video and audio.

Write about yourself and experience you may or not have. So why wait, register free and get started today!

We are often asked “what is a casting call? And what does it involved?”

What is a casting call?

In simple terms, this is a process of one or a number of auditions in front of usually the casting director, producer and director.  To create a cast, this may include actors, dancers, performers, singers and models. There are a number of types of casting calls, they include;

Open: This term is used when the casting is open to public where anyone can attend. This is mainly for large or community productions.

Closed: This term is used when only selected number of people are chosen to attend. In many cases the casting director will use their own private list of agents or organizations.

What does this involve?

A casting call may involve a number of different things. This could be a singing performance, monologue, role play, or even simply just turning up and doing nothing (If they are looking for a look).

How do I find them?

There is a number of ways to find casting calls, this may be looking in your local paper, ‘The Stage’ newspaper or by Signing up here and creating a profile here.

Another great way is to network. Talk to other people you know. Find out what they are doing to find work. The more networking you do the better. You can never network to much.

Be prepared?

Always be prepared and arrive early. Make sure you read what the casting company/director is looking for. Most castings will come with a brief, so make you read it carefully.  So for example if they a looking for an 85 year old man, and you are in your 20s you don’t turn up, as you will wasting everyones time. There is nothing worse than turning up unprepared. This would make you look really un-professional.

Build a hard skin?

Rejection is part and parcel of this industry, so never take things personal. They might tell you to leave after 10 seconds or cut you out during your first line. Remember this is the job of the casting director and they may know that quickly that you are not what they are looking for.

Don’t forget (if you have not already) to sign up and create your free profile here.

Good Luck!

Remember to keep them clean.

Thank you

Editor, Media Volt

This causes particular problems for freelance workers (of which many production crew workers are) as they are now unable to move freely from job to job in the once media hub of London. I have heard it said that if you good at your job, and work hard enough, you will never have any trouble finding work. However in the current climate, I have to disagree.  Many of my past colleagues and contacts, have found previously, that once in a cycle of work in this industry, you start to build up contacts and experiences, and find it easy to move from job to job. However lately they have found that this reliant cycle of work has been broken, facing many with long term unemployment and financial difficulty. Others have been forced to leave behind their passion, to find jobs in other areas. It has always been the case that as you move up the promotional ladder, jobs become less and less. However, it seems that in recent times even fewer have been given the opportunity to climb that ladder, to production manager, co-ordinator, director, producer and executive positions.

I personally find it a great shame that such talent and new ideas are being lost in the recession, however all we can do is ride out the storm, and hope for greater opportunities in the future. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

I may be wrong, what do you think?

Remember to keep them clean.

Thank you

Editor, Media Volt

What are your experiences (bad or good)?

What advice would you give?

Remember to keep them clean.

Thank you

Editor, Media Volt

I often come across new bands, singers, and producers saying the same old thing: “I’ll never get a break, its all about who you know.” To be honest I actually started to think this was true. This was until I heard about Camilla Kerslake, a story of true persistence.

Camilla Kerslake, a student from The Guildhall School of Music made a 4 hour round trip for nearly six weeks every day before her lectures, to drop her demo tape into Gary Barlow’s record label. She even started bringing coffee to the receptionist to aid her course!

I’m not saying that this is what everyone should do, however sometimes to make that break, you need to go that extra step.

Have you done anything bold to make an impression?

What advice would give? What has worked and what hasn’t.

Remember to keep them clean.

Thank you

Editor, Media Volt