TV show Outlander is hiring behind the scenes - here’s how to apply

Outlander is one of the biggest TV programmes to come out of Scotland. As it prepares to get its sixth season underway, the production team is looking to recruit trainees behind the scenes in a variety of roles.

Successful candidates will get to work alongside stars like Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe on the set of the time travelling drama.

What positions are available?

There are a number of full time traineeship positions available under the scheme, which is supported by Screen Scotland and ScreenSkills.

The training programme is looking to recruit up to 16 trainees across various departments to work on Outlander season six.

These positions are:

Assistant Director

Assistant director applicants will need good communication skills, enthusiasm, be approachable and sociable and be diplomatic under pressure.

Assistant director trainees will be involved in assisting with on-set operations, looking after the needs of the cast and crew, and locking off access to the set.

Greens

Greens refers to the people on a set with horticultural expertise, and they create landscapes from the ground up, decorate interiors with plants and flowers and design lawns and gardens to suit the requirements of the script.

People involved in this traineeship would be involved with delivering materials between locations, sourcing materials, running errands, material prep, manual labour, cleaning up and maintaining the nursery and workshop, and set dressing.

Post Production

Specialist skills required from applicants include avid experience (beneficial, but not essential), good technical ability and knowledge of basic workflows and file formats, general understanding of the post production process, fast and keen learner, good common sense and strong initiative.

Post production trainees will be involved in activities such as logging shuttle drives and iPads in and out, completing paperwork for editors, spot checking dailies uploads, syncing and logging rushes and setting up the viewing suite for remote screenings.

Video Assistant

Those applying for the video assistant position will need to have basic knowledge of video equipment and cabling routing, good organisational skills, and good time management.

Activities under this role include working primarily with the video assistant, running cables from cameras to monitors, ensuring batteries are charged, helping to load and unload the camera truck, moving monitors and other equipment and helping support the whole camera department.

Props

Ideally, those applying for this traineeship will have skills such as being practically minded, will have basic knowledge of hand tools, the ability to understand the creative process and good research skills.

Activities under this role include sourcing materials, set dressing, breaking down scripts and shadowing experienced prop hands in store and on set.

SFX

Specialist skills desired in applicants for the SFX role include creativity and imagination, enthusiasm for the department, good communication and listening skills, knowledge and awareness of health and safety, and a driving licence.

Activities under this role includes assisting in the construction and operation of special effects, assisting with the maintenance of equipment and effects, ensuring the workshop is kept clean, tidy and safe, and learning about different types of special effects and equipment.

Who is eligible to apply?

The training programme supports diversity and encourages applications from across all sections of the community. No formal qualifications are required, but there are some requirements.

Each of the roles have slightly varying eligibility criteria, however they do all share a number of the same requirements as well.

The consistent requirements to be eligible to apply across all the positions are:

Normally a resident in Scotland (production base is in Cumbernauld)Be eligible to work in the UKBe over 18 years oldHave a basic understanding of the film and TV industry, preferably with relevant work experiencePreferably at least one credit from a professional TV or film productionHave no more than 12 months paid experience within the department they are applying toPreferably have a full clean driving licence (for the Greens and SFX positions, this is a must)

How to apply

To apply for any of the available roles, you’ll need to head to the fill out the application form online.

Select the role you’re interested in and read the eligibility criteria, required skills and other information carefully, as requirements can vary from role to role.

If you’re happy to go ahead and apply, simply click the ‘next’ option at the bottom of the page to begin your application.

The application will ask for details such as:

Personal details (name, address, contact details etc)A CVWhether or not you have a driving licenceAny relevant qualificationsHow your previous experience has prepared you for this opportunityAny relevant professional experience

Once you’ve filled everything out, you can click the ‘submit’ button at the bottom of the screen. You should then see a screen which says “your application has been submitted.”

If, for whatever reason, you do not see this confirmation message, then your application has not successfully been submitted, and you’ll need to start again. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have your answers for the application questions saved in a separate place, so you don’t need to write everything out again.

You can apply for more than one traineeship position. However the application form states, “We are looking for trainees with a commitment to the department they are applying for and therefore applications to different departments may work against you.”

In addition to the application form, applicants are also asked to complete an anonymous diversity monitoring form, and attach their CV.

When do applications close?

The deadline for applying for a traineeship for any of the roles close at 10am on Monday 23 November 2020.

If you are trying to complete your application, but are having difficulties, you can email [email protected] for help.

Interviews for the traineeships will be held between 30 November and 4 December.

The traineeship themselves will begin on 5 January 2021 and potentially run until August 2021.

How much does it pay?

Trainees will be paid salaries between £514.60 and £547.14 per week (plus holiday entitlement) for between 50 and 57.5 hours per week.

The rate of pay will depend on the role and experience.

A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site The Scotsman

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