FOCAL Online Workshop: Careers in Media Archiving – Opportunities and Application Tips

Following on from last year’s workshop on Careers in media archiving, we returned to the topic of employment in the moving image archive industry. This workshop covered all you need to know from the roles that exist, the training opportunities out there and the industry organisations you need to know about. Our panel – comprising of HR and archive professionals – offered their insights to help you prepare for a career in the footage archive world.

Moderator:

Raelene Rawlings | Manager of Sky Archive Sales

Sky Archive Sales is the home of Sky News, Sky Sport and Sky Entertainment clips and footage licensing.

We have been licensing the content shot by Sky since 1989. From news footage spanning the globe to stock footage from the world of sport, the collection consists of thousands of hours of wholly-owned clips and footage. Our ongoing digitisation programme means more content is available every day.

Starting her career as a Picture Researcher for Sky News, Raelene Rawlings has been part of Sky’s archive operation for 20 years. She leads a team of expert and experienced Sales Researchers, who have specialist knowledge in the News, Sports and Entertainment clips fields. A FOCAL Executive for many years, Raelene is passionate about developing talent and skills for the media archive industry.

The Panel:

Adonye Orumbie | Director, Talent Acquisition | Getty Images

A seasoned data minded Talent Acquisition specialist with over two decades of recruiting experience in both Agency and In-House teams. Based in London, UK I am proud to be part of the Getty Images family for the best part of 3 years (since November 2018). I lead the Global Talent Acquisition Team, where my remit is not only to ‘get good people’ (Hiring), but to also ‘keep good people!’(Retention). As a proven multi-disciplined professional I thrive on leveraging my skills to uncover the best talent for the organisation, and to continuously improve recruiting processes to ensure that we embrace best practices throughout Getty Images. At heart, I am a full cycle recruiting Chameleon servicing all levels of opportunities across early career to experienced hires, and providing solutions for complex recruitment issues. Main focus is to devise strategies that rewards us with a competitive advantage in a very vibrant applicant market, with the intention of positioning Getty Images as the employer of Choice for prospective candidates. I find strength and satisfaction in being a trusted partner and advisor to Business Stakeholders, applicants and candidates alike. A strong and passionate advocate of Diversity and Inclusion, making my mission one of equity, and that of widening the gate, whilst not lowering the bar.

James McDonald | Archive Producer

James McDonald is an Irish archive producer and licensing consultant based in London, England. Through his company Shanakee, he and his team work across feature drama, documentary features and series for major international broadcasters and production companies. James initially worked as a director and producer of short-form documentaries for the Open University, BBC Learning, OpenLearn, and other educational institutions before specializing in working with archive for TV and film productions.

Mariam Koloyan | Archive Researcher

Mariam Koloyan has experience in archive, translation, broadcasting, and a FOCAL award winner for her work, Mariam has worked on productions from the BAFTA-winning Once Upon a Time in Iraq to BBC Two and PBS’s Exodus and is here to share her career journey and some of the knowledge and insights she’s picked up along the way.

Riccardo McMillan-Wright | Senior, Talent Acquisition | Getty Images

I am an experienced talent specialist based in London, with vast experience across the media, luxury, hospitality, and e-commerce industries. With over nine years of experience, like most recruiters, I started my career in an agency and transitioned in-house as I wanted to have a bigger impact on candidates. I started my journey at Getty Images just over a year ago (since January 2021); I oversee the talent and attraction activities across EMEA & the Americas. I am a confident strategic business partner to key areas and stakeholders within the business. I'm involved in shaping teams while ensuring we look at diversity in all its spectrums. My key focus is to offer our candidates and future talent a memorable candidate journey. Our candidates are the core of our recruitment lifecycle and vital in our journey to becoming an employer of choice. DEI is the cornerstone of all the recruitment processes, and I ensure and hold myself accountable for ensuring this remains. I strive to create an environment that allows everyone from all walks of life to have a 'seat at the table'.