Beth Cairns
Production Coordinator
Covering letter
I've worked both freelance and in-house in production roles and loved different things about each. But the roles I've enjoyed most have been the ones where I'm looking after a slate. I like having several things moving at once, being across the detail, and the variety that comes with it.
I'm currently a Production Coordinator at Clapperboard Studios, working across their scripted drama slate. I look after projects through pre-prep, help set up the international production teams and act as their point of contact during filming, before stepping back in at wrap to manage post and deliverables.
Before Clapperboard, I spent a year at All3Media International on the formats distribution side. It was a completely different perspective on production and taught me a huge amount about what happens to a programme once it leaves the production company and enters its next life in distribution.
Before that, I was Assistant Production Coordinator on Unchosen, a six-part Netflix drama produced by Double Dutch. I loved being on shoot and right in the middle of the day-to-day running of a show. Between these roles I've been lucky enough to see a production from several very different angles, from prep and filming through to delivery and distribution.
That's a big part of why the in-house role at Sister stood out to me. Working across a slate really suits how I work and is something I already know I enjoy, both at Clapperboard and previously at Tiger Aspect.
I'm also genuinely excited by the work Sister makes. Eric was one of my favourite recent dramas. It was much darker and more emotional than I expected it to be. I've always loved The Split, and I'm very much looking forward to the second season of Black Doves.
It's the kind of slate I'd love to work across, but I'm also drawn to Sister because it seems like a place where I could keep learning and taking on more responsibility. My long-term ambition is to work my way up to Line Producer, and this feels like a brilliant next step: somewhere I could put the experience I've already got to use, and keep getting better. I'd love the opportunity to be part of the team.
CV
Clapperboard Studios In-house
Production Coordinator. Scripted production company producing thrillers, crime and period drama for Channel 5, Paramount+ and ITV with international teams. Working across a slate, crew and cast contracting, setting up international production teams, managing clearances, travel and accommodation, early prep set up, managing deliverables and post.
All3Media International
Format Partnerships Coordinator. The international distribution side of television — creating materials to sell formats, as well as tape sales, for shows such as The Traitors and Race Across The World. Updating sales presentations, producing a monthly client-facing newsletter, liaising with key stakeholders, assisting international clients with assets.
Unchosen Netflix drama
Assistant Production Coordinator. Double Dutch Productions for Netflix. Six-part series, prep through shoot to wrap. Crew contracting, cast travel and accommodation, H&S compliance, mandatory crew training, booking vendors and raising POs, production office set up and wrap.
Tiger Aspect In-house
Admin Coordinator. Managed the company archiving system, developed an online tracker, awards submissions.
Bad Education S5
Assistant Production Coordinator — Tiger Aspect. Part of the ScreenSkills ‘Make A Move’ programme: shadowed the production coordinator, dealt with cast contracts, clearances, distributing call sheets, risk assessments, and day-to-day logistics.
Tiger Aspect In-house
Production Secretary. Managing exec diaries, in-house point of contact for freelancers, organising readthroughs, rehearsal days and writers’ rooms, coordinating travel and accommodation.
EastEnders
Script Coordinator. Continuing drama at volume — script amendments and distribution to cast, crew and all departments, censoring scripts, producing synopses and post-production scripts.
BBC Wales
Edit Assistant. A range of programmes in-house, as well as live outside broadcasts. Troubleshot queries between editors, production and clients, and acted as a point of reference for freelancers, guiding them through internal workflows.
Monkey Life S9–11
Data Wrangler and Edit Assistant. Backed up large volumes of rushes, ingested into Avid Media Composer. Updated post production scripts, created post production deliverables. Second camera op. Data wrangled a 10-day shoot in Vietnam.
Bournemouth University
BA (Hons) Television Production — First Class Honours. Won ‘Best Director’ in the final year; co-produced a student radio show for three years.
Unit base, first light
Before anyone else arrives
Why I think I’m suited to the role.
Coordinator or APOC on scripted HETV or high-budget drama in the UK
APOC on Unchosen for Netflix — six-part drama, prep through to wrap. Currently Production Coordinator on scripted drama at Clapperboard Studios.
Production office processes and paperwork across prep, shoot and wrap
In-house knowledge from Tiger Aspect and Clapperboard, freelance experience across Unchosen and Bad Education.
Broadcaster delivery requirements and deliverables lists
Manage and track deliverables for shows at Clapperboard.
Health & safety documentation for HETV
H&S compliance on Unchosen, including tracking that all crew completed mandatory training.
Albert sustainability certification and carbon reporting
Have attained Albert certification for many productions, completed the process from prep all the way to submission; recently learning the requirements for the new generation toolkit.
Managing multiple productions with competing priorities
Both in-house roles at Tiger Aspect and Clapperboard are exactly this, looking after a whole slate.
Liaise confidently with production teams, suppliers, and senior stakeholders
Booking vendors, diary management for Execs, managing cast and agents, communicating across departments. At All3Media, assisted key stakeholders day-to-day.
Attention to detail on paperwork and compliance
Two years script coordinating EastEnders developed excellent attention to detail.
Comfortable using software Google Drive, Microsoft Excel, Frame.io
Use Google Drive and Microsoft Office daily. Confident I can pick up Frame.io — experience from being an Edit Assistant means I learn new software quickly.
The production office
Every good one has a dog