In this blog, we hear from Philippa Goff (Fitzwilliam College) who graduated from Cambridge in 2014 studying Natural Sciences and now works as an Assistant Producer for Underdog Films.
From a young age it had always been my dream to showcase the natural world through storytelling in wildlife documentaries. I’d grown up watching David Attenborough and with family working in conservation in East Africa, my love for nature and the great outdoors was ingrained in me! Fast forward to the end of my final year studying natural sciences, specialising in zoology at Cambridge University, I was starting to think how I could make this dream a reality…but I wanted to take my time getting there and explore other avenues first. After seeing a vacancy on the Cambridge Careers Service website, I applied for a graduate research assistant position for 6 months on a camera trapping and wildlife research project in South Africa, run by Durham University, and on my return to the UK I landed a work experience placement with the BBC in London working on a family history documentary, before studying for an MSc in Conservation & Biodiversity with the University of Exeter. I was able to specialise even more in a subject that really interested me, and my dissertation centred around a media analysis on the reintroduction of beavers in Devon.
I’m really glad that I took the time after graduating from Cambridge University to keep doors open to exciting opportunities and gain relevant experience that would help me enter the TV industry.
It was by chance that I discovered that one of my fellow course mate’s friends worked in wildlife documentary television in Bristol. After speaking with her and visiting Bristol for a weekend, it was then that I knew that moving to Bristol to break into the industry was my next step after graduating. I’m really glad that I took the time after graduating from Cambridge University to keep doors open to exciting opportunities and gain relevant experience that would help me enter the TV industry. And the rest is history! I’ve since been working in television production in Bristol for just under 7 years, and have just finished up working as an assistant producer (AP) on The Earthshot Prize, produced by Studio Silverback.
So what next? Previously in between TV contracts, I have done some short-term temping work in Bristol whilst looking for my next TV role, but this time round I was lucky enough to start my new job at Underdog Films straight away in the new year. I have come away from my time on The Earthshot Prize with a new arsenal of skills and tools that I can bring to my next natural history/specialist factual documentary role. This time I didn’t have to wait too long and have just accepted an assistant producer role with another TV production company in Bristol, called Underdog Films, on an observational documentary within the genre of science and wildlife.
What I love about the TV industry is that no project is the same, and no day on any one project is the same – one day I could be speaking with scientists or fixers half way across the world, the next I could be liaising with camera operators organising a list of kit and equipment needed for a shoot, and the opportunity to work with a hard-working, passionate team on location, filming and telling stories about wildlife or inspiring people, and seeing these stories come to life in the edit. It’s also extremely satisfying to know that your work will be shared to a huge audience around the world.
My transition into the genre of environmental awareness and impact filmmaking was unexpected, but welcoming! Prior to this opportunity, I had worked mostly in blue-chip wildlife documentaries. After moving to Bristol and completing a few work experience placements, I met the head of wildlife production at Plimsoll Productions, and whilst there were no job opportunities available at the time, a few weeks later, I got a call from a producer about a junior researcher vacancy, involving fact checking scripts on a wildlife series. I started the following day, on what I thought was an initial three-week contract, but in fact ended up being a year-long stint moving across different projects and genres, including my first researcher role on a specialist factual documentary, Channel 4’s First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man, time in development pitching ideas and writing treatments for commissioners, and a brief role on a BBC daytime series about coast and countryside auctions.
It was really satisfying to oversee the edit on this segment, helping to sort through rushes to identify the best shots and write & amend scripts in response to feedback from the commissioners.
A couple of months after leaving Plimsoll, I landed my first researcher role on a wildlife documentary production at Offspring Films, Earth At Night In Color for Apple TV, and following that, a role on WildStar Films’ America The Beautiful series for Disney/Nat Geo. These productions saw me travel on my first overseas shoots, including filming nocturnal wildlife in Zambia and Namibia, and a sequence filming bald eagles hunt snow geese in Missouri, USA. But my biggest shoot to date was for seven weeks filming puma in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia for the series “Predators,” a Sky/Netflix co-production produced by True To Nature. We had up to seven camera operators on location at the busiest time, including camera talent from the UK/Europe and local to Chile. It was quite the mission coordinating everyone’s efforts on the ground to film a family of puma surviving in one of the most remote corners of the world, as well as filming the dramatic landscape and other wildlife such as guanaco and foxes, whilst ensuring the safety of everyone on the ground and adhering to in-depth risk assessments written prior to the shoot, organising all the camera equipment needed to capture the footage required, and reviewing rushes on location. I also had the opportunity to direct our behind-the-scenes segment for the puma programme, conducting interviews with the local puma tracking team and conservationists working on an estancia, farming sheep and taking measures to protecting puma. It was really satisfying to oversee the edit on this segment, helping to sort through rushes to identify the best shots and write & amend scripts in response to feedback from the commissioners.
Patience and perseverance are key, and if you are determined enough, opportunities will present themselves to you, in turn opening up doors to future prospects you didn’t know were possible
I have just finished my contract working on The Earthshot Prize with Studio Silverback. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s “Moonshot” challenge in 1962 to land a man on the moon within a decade, The Earthshot Prize was launched by Prince William in 2020 to search for and scale the most innovative solutions to the world’s greatest environmental challenges. And what a whirlwind it was. One minute, the 15 final nominees had been announced, the next thing we knew we were setting up and filming all 15 shoots telling the stories of the nominees and their solutions over a very short time window in the summer, and seeing their stories through the edit and producing films for the BBC, Bloomberg, and YouTube. All before delivering an Awards Ceremony in Singapore presenting five awards of £1 million to the winners of each Earthshot category (Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; and Fix our Climate), broadcast on the BBC, PBS, and other channels around the world. It has been my first time working on a TV production so fast-turnaround in its nature, spinning many plates at the same time and learning new skills with the support of a highly experienced team. For me the highlight was directing on a shoot filming with the Build A Waste Free World nominee Circ, a company based in Virginia, USA, which is recycling polycotton and tackling the problem of textile waste head on. It’s been a huge privilege to be able to showcase the incredible work that the nominees of The Earthshot Prize are doing in the global fight against climate change.
My journey through the TV industry has taught me that patience and perseverance are key, and if you are determined enough, opportunities will present themselves to you, in turn opening up doors to future prospects you didn’t know were possible! Anything can happen!