In conversation with Jo Stedall
1. Introduce yourself
Jo Stedall, for those that don’t know me here’s a brief run down! I’ve been in the industry for 21 years approx. I started off in commercials and worked for one small company for three years, this is where I really cut my teeth - plus it was the only ‘proper job’ I ever had! As it was a small company, it really allowed me to progress, and I moved from Runner through to Production Manager, then I flew the nest, as I knew my heart was in big scale production. From there, I moved into film & tv, and worked as a Production Secretary, Assistant Coordinator, and Coordinator on a number of projects, and while I loved it, the truth is I had moved to Brighton and bought a flat, and for a number of years I was living a double life - Mon to Fri renting a room at friends’ places in London, and then dashing back to Brighton on the weekends. I was working on Snow White and the Huntsman in 2011 when I met Kate Penlington (from the wonderful, Lil & Kate London), and her background was in Clearances. I mentioned how I was looking for an alternative role that offered more flexibility, and she offered to train me to be a Clearance Coordinator. Thankfully, I took that leap!
2. What is your job title?
Clearance Supervisor for Film and Television.
As with most freelancers, it’s a role that’s adaptable depending on the Production and the Studio in charge. The role divides into three main categories, and we take the lead from the studio as to what they need from us.
Neg Check - A requirement for E&O insurance, a breakdown of the script, running checks on any potential conflicts with real-life people/companies.
Clearances - This includes getting permission for any artworks, magazines, newspapers, books etc, and gathering any licenses required. This is also in conjunction with ongoing risk assessment with the Studio and keeping documentation for each instance. Each Studio varies wildly, as to what they consider permissible - i.e. they are happy for us to use without permission/take a risk on. The only item they all agree on is Artwork ( in all forms - paintings/photos/sculpture etc) this must always be cleared.
Rushes Review - We can produce a report flagging any items seen in the rushes or the cut, and double check that these items have been cleared.
3. Who looks after the kids when you are working?
My daughter is 4 years old and is in (term-time) nursery for a lot of the time, and my husband is also freelance in the advertising industry, so we juggle. It’s not a perfectly set routine as such, but we manage. When she starts school in September, we will be in the same position, we will always need to find a way to juggle to cover the school holidays.
4. How long did you take off work after having your baby?
I actually took a year and a half off work. I never thought I would take that long, although to be honest, I didn’t really have a plan, and that’s just how it panned out. Even as I returned to work, I didn’t quite believe it was happening, but somehow I’d signed up, and started work on Disney’s live-action Aladdin. I’m glad I was lucky enough not to have to rush back, and Aladdin was a really lovely team to work with. It was a great project to get me back into that frame of mind.
5. Would you say that you have a good work/life balance?
I would say I’m working on it. I’m lucky that I get to work from home, as it means I can do the nursery drop and pick-up. I still love film and get that buzz of excitement starting on a new project. It’s important to me now to work with kind people, and to keep going back to the teams we enjoy working with.
6. Are you job sharing or working flexibly?
Perhaps 5 years ago now, I talked Roo Laidlaw into joining me working on Clearances. I knew she had children and might be persuadable to work from home. Thank goodness, she finally took me up on the offer! We get on so well and support each other. Sometimes we job share, and sometimes we work on our own jobs, but we are always in touch and share contacts, and over these years we have honed our system to be something we are proud of. Recently, we’ve also taken on two more members to our team, they are both mothers with young children, with backgrounds in advertising and museum curating, and have taken to Clearances like ducks to water. Again sometimes they support us on our projects, or they may take on their own projects, I like to think we are both job sharing and working flexibly, depending on which projects have come in.
7. What do you think is the hardest part of being a working in media/film/tv industry and being a parent?
The hardest part is being on all the time. It’s very hard to switch off, especially as a lot of my work is reporting directly to the studios in LA, so when all their email responses are in the evening, if they have any questions about anything, it feels better to answer them straight away if I can, rather than lose a day on UK time.
8. What are your tips for any other women out there wanting to have kids and keep a career in film?
It’s not an easy industry to do this. I’m so glad to see people like Amelia Price (founder of UK Film & TV Coordinator popular Facebook group), the Production Guild and of course, CineMamas are starting to open up these discussions. I’m hoping opportunities for the next wave of women will come along, whether it’s childcare at the bigger studios, or keeping open to job sharing where it’s workable. The industry has changed so much since I started and the size of the crews and number of active units, I do believe there is opportunity there to diversify roles and re-allocate responsibilities. After all, it used to fall on the Assistant Coordinator to do the Clearances back in the day, and it’s now a specialised job in its own right.
9. Any advice for anyone about to return to work after maternity?
Go back to work at your own pace the best you can, and try not to put pressure on yourself if you are not ready, becoming a parent is a huge adjustment.
10. What advice did you wish someone had given you?
Save every penny you can before going on maternity leave, so you buy yourself some time and go back when you are ready.