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Pact member interview: Norma Wisnevitz, True North

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives, but how are Pact members adapting? We’ve asked them to share their lockdown lessons and reflections on where the industry might go from here.


Norma Wisnevitz is Chief Operating Officer for True North, the biggest factual indie in the North of England and producers of popular series including Building the Dream (Channel 4), Teen Mom UK (MTV) and Pets Factor (CBBC). Norma has 20 years of TV industry experience behind her, having had roles with the Channel 4 Indie Growth Fund (Senior Portfolio Manager) and Optomen Television (Finance Director) amongst others.

 

Every regional producer will say that (the lockdown has) levelled the playing field when it comes to commissioner access and it really has.

 

Q. How have you adapted to working from home and what does a typical day look like?

It took me a little while to adjust to working from home as I had never done it before. But I found getting my ‘home office’ set up right and also getting regular routine calls in the diary helped to make me feel settled.

I moved my desk to the window and on my to do list is a walk around the garden for 20 minutes a day!

My typical day usually has scheduled video calls but I try to keep a chunk of the day open as a lot of what I am doing is reactive as we are getting productions back up and running post-lockdown, and are filming in both the UK and Europe, and our post production teams are editing remotely.


Q. Zoom: love it or hate it?

Love it for the right occasion and the right size group. If it’s a small group then sometimes a phone call is more personal. I have been on big zooms where no one talks or asks questions other than the main speaker and that can be a bit awkward. I do have a zoom subscription and am definitely getting my money’s worth!


Q. What one thing about working in the industry are you missing most in lockdown And what are you not missing at all?

I miss the informal chats, networking and pre-Covid bumping into people and sharing of info and collaboration. In the office we would have regular opportunities to catch up with colleagues generally but that happens less while we are working remotely.

I think I speak for most people when I say I don’t miss the time spent commuting as it means I have more time in my day.


Q. How are you and your team keeping up morale whilst working remotely?

When we went into lockdown we set up a Wellness Committee that has been running lunchtime yoga and meditation sessions. We also set up a new True North Chat Facebook page to keep people connected and promote other things we’re doing. We have furloughed some production staff and wanted to keep people active creatively, so have run masterclasses including Top Tips for Researchers, Edit Producing, Scripting for Factual TV and, thanks to Pact, we ran an Inclusive Casting Workshop. We also have Friday virtual drinks and a Tuesday morning virtual breakfast, and send out regular update emails.

 

Pat Llewellyn, my dear Optomen boss, taught me the importance of relationships both on and off screen. She was an excellent role model, which has been key to my career.
 


Q. Have there been any surprise benefits to the lockdown?

Every regional producer will say that its levelled the playing field when it comes to commissioner access and it really has. All meetings are happening via Zoom no matter where you are in the country.


Q. Do you anticipate lasting change to your organisation’s way of working beyond this immediate crisis?

Yes we do anticipate lasting change as we have now seen that both our post production and office teams can work successfully remotely. It has shown us that we can be more flexible and we want to use this opportunity to make a positive contribution to saving the planet by trying to find longer-term ways to reduce the number of people travelling into the office every day.


What sort of work is happening within your indie to support greater inclusion?

We are speaking with consultants and experts in this area to help us formulate and implement a transparent and sustainable Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Both our productions and our post production department are actively seeking out diverse candidates who we are able to support with both mentoring and training. We are also engaging with Pact on how we can work together in the Yorkshire region to effect change.


Q. What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given?

Its not exactly career advice but Pat Llewellyn, my dear Optomen boss, taught me the importance of relationships both on and off screen. She was an excellent role model, which has been key to my career.

 

I like to binge-watch. I have come to realise I am all about instant gratification.



Q. What films/TV programmes and series are helping you get through the lockdown?

My guilty pleasure is EastEnders, which I have had to wean myself off over lockdown due to shortage of episodes. Most recently I have been watching Line of Duty on BBC iPlayer. And of course I have been watching our very own True North series, Devon & Cornwall, that’s been going out on Channel 4 on Monday nights. It’s such a beautiful series that it’s spurred me on to visit the area.


Q. TV Box-sets: binge-watch or make them last?

I like to binge-watch. I have come to realise I am all about instant gratification.


Q. What or who in the industry has inspired you most since this pandemic began and why?

The fast acting organisations and individuals who understood the severity of the crisis and offered immediate help and support. From Pact, who gave 6 months free membership, to the LEP and Screen Yorkshire in Leeds who set up their Indie Development Fund, to ScreenSkills and the Edinburgh TV festival for running their training and webinars, and to the Film and TV Charity’s Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund and all the donors who contributed to it. All those things collectively made a difference to the industry when things were looking really scary in lockdown.  


Q. What lasting change do you hope we might see in the industry after this crisis is over?

 I hope we are going to see a real change in diversity in the industry post this crisis. I really hope that everyone is not just paying it lip service and that there is a genuine momentum to make the difference.

 

Pact would like to thank Norma for taking the time to answer our questions.

If you would like to feature in our member interview series, please e-mail membercomms@pact.co.uk.