About me: I’m Iona Westlake, and I graduated back in 2013. Several very busy years later I’m an established freelance Production Co-Ordinator with a pretty strong CV. I’ve worked across a wide range of British and American productions, including the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die. And somehow, in the midst of all this, and a pandemic, I completed a Master’s Degree in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute in King’s College, University of London.
My journey: Six months after graduating, and after sending out a lot of cvs and knocking on a lot of doors, I started out as a runner in the drama department for Tiger Aspect Productions, one of the top companies for drama and sit-com. My role was to support their Head of Production and Production Managers across a slate of programmes including Peaky Blinders, Ripper Street and Fortitude.
That project got me a foot in the door, and I managed to get subsequent jobs with relative ease. Alongside my paid employment, I also produced my own short films to keep me involved creatively in projects and going to film festivals when I could. From 2015, I worked on a diverse range of film and television projects. I also took opportunities to travel with work. I was stationed out in Budapest for three months working on Homeland, Series 7 and when I worked on No Time To Die, I was able to travel with the unit to Jamaica, Scotland and Italy, which were fantastic experiences.
After Bond, I decided to take a sabbatical year to strengthen my academic base by studying for a Master’s in Art History at the Courtauld, which I recently completed. The course was focused on modernism, specifically in German modern art of the Weimar period (1918-1933). I’d already worked on some of this as an undergrad, taking Chris Townsend’s course on Modernism and Avant-Garde Film in my second year, and working on Expressionism with him for my final year dissertation. That course, my favourite, taught me about challenging conventional ways of seeing and thinking - something that’s essential in a creative industry.
The trajectory of my career from here will probably move between more commercially driven film and television projects and other arts projects. My aspiration is to become an independent producer and have a diverse career across the arts sector - I am open minded about what the journey to get there will be. I’ve just started a production with Apple TV which will keep me busy until the middle of 2022.
My studies: When I started my BA back in 2010, all I knew was that I was committing myself to learning more about the imaginative world of film and television. Not having any connections or relatives working in the industry, it seemed like a difficult business to get into off your own bat. For me, the degree meant I was connecting with my passion in a more serious way, furthering both my academic potential and practical skills as well as obtaining a qualification from a leading institution which would carry weight with potential employers.
I took practical modules in my second year, in cinematography and producing. I have always had a deep appreciation for cinematography, and I wanted to see if I could translate my interest and passion into practical skill. However, I soon realised my strength was producing, which then gave me the impetus to specialise in it for my final year and also focus my career development in this area after graduating. My aspiration of becoming an independent producer was formed at this point and working within the production department to get there was a constructive way for me to work towards this.
My three years at Royal Holloway allowed me to develop my interests in both practical and theoretical ways. Learning from some of the best academics in higher education on a course which offers a healthy range of modules gave me academic grounding as well as practical knowledge. The film and television industry seems to be entering a new golden age. There’s an abundance of investment within the UK, developing new studios as well as expanding the existing industry. There is also a culture change happening that’s improving working conditions and experience in a post #MeToo and Black Lives Matter era. It is an exciting time for anyone to be entering the industry.
For more information about Iona’s career, see her IMDB or LinkedIn page.
