The new season of Youngers made by Big Talk Productions starts on E4 tomorrow night – to a cheer from FilmFixer who welcomed the team to Peckham, Southwark during filming.
In a partnership between FilmFixer client Southwark Council and Channel 4, five local young people aged 18 to 25 completed an 11-week paid placement programme between November last year and January, while the series was being shot.
The placements were across sound, production, costume, camera and assistant director roles, providing rare access to the machinations of producing a TV series.
Luke Alkin, Big Talk’s Executive Producer for Youngers, said, “With the financial support from Channel 4, we were able to create placements for five local young people who otherwise wouldn’t have had an opportunity to break into the TV industry. We’re also really grateful for the support we received from Southwark Council during the production.”
FilmFixer director Andrew Pavord hopes that filmmakers will increasingly offer paid placements to local residents when they are shooting. He said, “These placements brought Southwark’s young people right into the inner circle – such as reading scripts and helping bring those scripts to screen, with the view to one day becoming a director of photography.
“A break in the film and TV industries can be very hard to crack for young Londoners. We look forward to seeing some of the interns taking their experience to next level in future shoots.”
Youngers uses Peckham extensively as the backdrop to its aspirational tale of three young people chasing their dreams of success on the London music scene.
Southwark itself is one of London’s busiest filming areas, attracting 1,500 filming days a year – from the likes of Dr Who, The Kings Speech, Skyfall and Harry Potter – just to name a few.
The new series of Big Talk Production’s Youngers premieres on E4, 7.30pm, May 7th: Since the Youngers’ fallout Jay has found a new dedication to his music, Yemi is leader of his church youth choir, while Davina vows to make it solo. Watch the trailer here.