Our story

Launched in 2011, thecallsheet began as a recruitment tool, connecting industry professionals with productions in a fast-growing HETV and film industry. For five years, we sat at the heart of the industry’s professional network — posting roles for titles including Mission Impossible, No Time to Die, Fleabag, Black Mirror, Bohemian Rhapsody and Peaky Blinders, and becoming the first online portal to review every CV application, ensuring members had genuine film and TV credits.

In 2016, our role shifted. With the release of a book written by founder Matt Gallagher, Breaking into UK Film and TV Drama, we stopped just finding people jobs — studios and agencies began coming to us for insight they couldn’t find elsewhere: specialised training, keynote talks, event and panel hosting (left). The industry was growing. Support for mid-to-senior professionals wasn’t.

Today, we draw on over a decade of recruitment data, industry connections, and experience training people at every level — from executives to runners — to build programmes that do more than fill a role. They build the person in it.

Together, we’re closing the gap between having the job and mastering the craft.

Founder story

Matt Gallagher started out as a freelancer in film, TV, music videos and commercials in 2000. It wasn’t until 2008, the birth of his second child, that the idea for thecallsheet.co.uk took hold.

He’d grown up in the rural West Country with no industry contacts, and it took a move to London — pounding the streets, knocking on doors — to find a break. The internet ran at 2mb. Call sheets were faxed. The iPhone was nearly a decade away.

The first crewing websites for film and TV were the Wild West — anyone could call themselves a cinematographer or producer without a single professional credit. Real crew stayed away. Diary services and agents were the only reputable route to work, if not word of mouth.

By 2008, with his second child born, it was clear Matt and his partner couldn’t both work as freelancers and raise a family the way they wanted. Starting out in production on commercials and music videos, Matt had since moved into feature films and TV comedy, working in the production office. He’d been turning over the idea of a crewing website for a couple of months — within an hour of his son’s birth, he decided to ditch freelancing and build the business instead.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Finding investors during the 2008 financial crash was hard enough — and back then, TV and film were small fry compared to the boom that followed once tax credits kicked in.

With investors, mentors and a confidant in Steve Hetherington secured, the website launched in 2011. Matt has personally reviewed every application since day one — more than 40,000 CVs, from new entrants to Oscar and BAFTA winners.

The site launched with multiple functions and ambitions, but it quickly became clear the real value was the chase list and the jobs board. The jobs board has been free for new entrants in their first two years ever since — against the advice of multiple advisors, and at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds to the company. The principle was non-negotiable: keep the industry open to anyone serious about a career in it, while keeping the door closed to anyone looking to exploit new entrants.

Through its different evolutions, thecallsheet moved increasingly into training and talks — working with Warner Bros. Crew HQ, ScreenSkills, the BFI and the Oscars.

Fifteen years after launching, thecallsheet is entering a new phase. This website reflects work done over the past decade that’s rarely been advertised this widely.

This new era of thecallsheet is about developing the next generation of UK crew — and helping British production keep pace with the standard it’s built its reputation on.

Key Collaborators, Trainers & Speakers

Katie Player, Line Producer
Neil Cairns, Financial Controller
Rosie Dias, Production Coordinator
Amie Tridgell, Location Manager
Jude Winstanley, Amazon MGM Studios – Skills Project Manager & Line Producer, Unscripted
Steve Clark Hall, Producer
Jane Petrie, Costume Designer
Beth Gillman, Costume Supervisor
Vanessa Lingham, Costume
Samantha Jukes Adams, Executive Leadership and Organisational Coaching
Richard Knight, Location Manager
Matt Longley, 6ft From the Spotlight
Michelle White (MSc, MAPPCP), 6ft From the Spotlight
Lisa Balderson, Elle Jay Bea HR
Anna Mansi, BFI, Head of Certification, Film and Games

Regular collaborators

Marcus Wilson, Producer
Stephen Follows, Film Data Expert
Stephen Haren, Producer
Alison B Matthews, Co Producer
Helen Johnson, Talking Point
Michael Mann, Production Supervisor
Denise Hanrahan, Department Coordinator
Yuen-Wai Liu, CrewHQ
Paul Hillier, Tysers Insurance
Michelle Reynolds, Reel Time Media
David Thomas, Trainer and Consultant
Tilly Ashton, Sustainability Consultant
Addie Orfila, Trainer and Consultant
Marco Calabrese, Contracts Expert
Gareth Kirkman, British Film Commission

Film Trainee Finder

Final Draft

Neil Forsyth, Screenwriter
Clare Couchman, Exec Producer
David P. Davis, Producer
Philip Shelley, Script Consultant
Alessandro Riconda, Script Coordinator
Charlotte Brownlee, Showrunner’s Assistant
Lola Dauda, Script Supervisor
Sophia Rashid, Senior Development Producer
Emma Blauciak, Senior Script Editor

Costume 2024

Harriet Kendall
Akshay Marayen
Maria Bracher
Sarah Hartley
Isabelle Fraser
Katie Brown
Elizabeth Tait
Ian Fowler
Donna Bryce
Vikki Medhurst
Chloe Stanyon
Fiona Goggins
Liz Crossman
Viveene Campbell, Founder of The Black Costume Network
Benjamin Thapa
Beth Herd

PM / PC 2024

Catherine Leary, Location Manager
Harry Greaves, Assistant Director
Andy Lowe, Gaffer
Sean Logan, Unit Manager
Caroline Greenhough, Hair & Make Up Supervisor
Patrick King, Digital Imaging Technician
Judith Fleeton, Post Production Supervisor
Steven Johnson, Production Supervisor
Kathryn Pyle, Assistant Set Dec

AMPAS – The Oscars
Live Q&A’s for The Oscars’ skills summits with Into Film, Warner Bros. and post-screening Q&As for the Academy

Sonja Klaus, Production Designer
Marcus Rowland, Production Designer
Andy Nicholson, Production Designer
Frazer Churchill, VFX Supervisor
Sara Bennett, VFX Supervisor
Angus Bickerton, VFX
Nina Fallon, VFX
Martin Walsh, Editor
Mick Audsley, Editor
John Wilson, Editor
James Mather, Supervising Sound Editor
Nina Hartstone, Supervising Sound Editor
Mike Prestwood Smith, Re-recording Mixer
Rob Farr, Re-recording Mixer
Harry Escott, Composer
Gary Yershon, Composer
Michael Coulter, Cinematographer
Haris Zambarloukos, Cinematographer
Yinka Edward, Cinematographer
John Bright, Costume Designer
Guy Speranza, Costume Designer
Katie Spencer, Set Decorator
Jennifer Williams, Set Decorator
Fae Hammond, Make Up and Hair Designer
Misan Sagay, Writer
Elizabeth Karlsen, Producer
Serena Armitage, Producer
Sarah Gavron, Director
Will Poulter, Actor

 

Understanding Clearances for HETV

Kelly Brocket Belle, Clearances
Camise Oldfield, Graphics
Robyn Williams, Neg Checker
James MacDonald, Archive Producer
Chris Wissun, Legal Consultant
Lewis Humble, Post Production Coordinator
Deb Banbury, Neg Checker
Joe Williams, Producer
Kate Adamson, Senior Production Buyer

PC Training

Paula Watkins, Line Producer (Lead Trainer)
Rosie Dias, Production Coordinator (Co-Trainer)
Chris May, Producer
Michael Kilpatrick, Financial Controller
Liza Carmel, Line Producer
Chloe Klesta, Art Department
George Kane, Director
Vanessa Whyte, Director of Photography
Marco Calabrese, Contracts specialist
Kellie Brocket, Clearances
Caroline Greenough, HMU Supervisor
Katie Brown, Costume Supervisor
Lewis Humble, Post Production Coordinator

Line Producer

Emma Downes, Production Executive
Kate Larking, Line Producer
Marcus Wilson, Producer
Harry Munday, Producer
Mat Chaplain, Producer
Louisa Rawlins, Head of Production
Maria Pavlou, Line Producer
Chris May, Producer
Alison B Matthews, Co-Producer

Production Training Courses

Production Lab, Step up to PC / PM 

Katherine Mullally, Business & Legal Affairs, Left Bank
Ellen Lister, Business & Legal Affairs, See Saw
James Grant, Business Affairs Director, Netflix
Rhiannon Kainth, Business and Legal Affairs, Netflix
Tim Wellspring, Unit Production Manager
Bertie Spiegelberg, Netflix Production Executive
Lee Morris, Managing Director, Sid Gentle
Emma Pike, Head of Production, Two Brothers
Sarah Tulloch, VFX Producer
Karen Payne, Post Production Exec
Pat Lees, Head of Production, Sid Gentle
Amber Cowan, Production Manager
Lisa Heath, Risk Management, Netflix
Rosa Romero, Agent, Casarotto
Kate Bone, Casting Associate
Roopesh Parekh, Producer
Simon Maloney, Producer
Kathryn O’Connor, Producer
Nicola Chisholm, Casting Director
Andrew Hill, Financial Controller
Barrington Paul Robinson, Producer
Erin Duffy, Production Supervisor
Filiz Theres Erel, Production Manager
Emma Mallett, Line Producer
Elizabeth Small, LP/Unit Production Manager
Charlotte Finlay, Costume Supervisor
Julian White, Gaffer
Nik Buck, Hair & Make Up Supervisor
Ide O’Rourke, Post Production Producer
Jem Morton, Grip
Karl Liegis, Head of Production
Barry Ryan, Head of Production
Katie Bleakley, Production Executive
Helen Bater, Line Producer

Advanced Training for Production Accountants

Dominique Tucker, Production Controller
David Blank, Production Finance, Amazon MGM
Lisa Neely, Financial Controller
Tim Blake, Supervising Art Director
Charlotte Sewell, Costume Supervisor
Lily Gibbs, Costume Supervisor
Jamie Mayers, Director of Production Finance, Disney
Sarah Grieve, Production Accountant
Simon Morris, Line Producer

Accounts Industry Transfer Programme

Gerry Tyrrell, Accountant
Rachel Crabtree, Production Accountant
Matthew Longley, Financial Controller
Robyn Girvan, AP Accountant
Stefan Petcu, Production Accountant
Kathleen Lambie, Production Accountant

Northern Ireland Screen / Screenskills NI production Courses

Louise Gallagher, Producer
Mary-Ellen O Hara, Casting
Rachel Logan-Fee, Production Coordinator
Rachel Blair, Costume
Lauren Sheerin, Production Manager
Stacey Quigley, Line Producer
Judd Lewin, Production Controller

Skills to Film (Pinewood/Screenskills)

Lara Sargeant, Sargeant Disc
Hannah Moseley, Art Director
Jason Szukalski, Prop Maker
John Maher, Construction Manager
Jamie Coleman, Carpenter
Celia Yau, Costume Designer
Helen Rafferty, Costume Maker
Matt Craufurd, Location Manager
Aurelia Thomas, Location Manager

Surprise guests that have dropped into training sessions we’ve delivered

Pam Adby, Co-Chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group

(CrewHQ Trainee Programme)

David Harewood OBE, Actor

First Break – War (Sky/HBO) for Screenskills and Fully Focused
We might have missed a few names so apologies to any guest speaker, mentor or panellist we might have missed.