Alice Mundy
Alice found out about Skillset Careers when she was researching stunt work. I met Sue Jeffries at the Cardiff Office. 'I had already done my research and knew everything I had to do prior to my careers interview, but I thought maybe she could look at my CV and advise me about making contacts.' Together they worked on an action plan for Alice to follow. ‘Friends and family are supportive but they don't really know much about what I'm trying to do, so it was good to have someone from the industry listening to me.'
Alice had already given up a place at university so she could work on her application to the Stunt Register. ‘At the time of my appointment I was working for the Royal Mail and also trying to get the 60 days work in as an ‘extra', but afterwards I decided to leave my job in order to concentrate on that and I've registered with lots of agencies. I found it hard doing the ‘extra' work when I had a job, so took the decision to make myself totally available. I've now got 33 days.'
The first step is to get on to the Stunt Register. To qualify Alice must complete 60 days in front of the camera, as well as attaining the required standard in her chosen physical skills: kickboxing; trampoline; horse riding; rock climbing; swimming; and scuba diving. ‘You have to reach a certain level of proficiency and someone from the Joint Industry Stunt Committee comes to watch. These are just the basic requirements. You then have to train and you're a probationary for three years.'
Sue also helped Alice to gear her CV more to the industry. ‘She pointed out that my educational qualifications don't count so much for what I want to do so I restructured it. I also wanted to know how pushy I could be to get work from the different agencies I was with. I didn't want to annoy them. Sue advised me to be as cheeky as I can - you've got to keep pushing yourself and ring more often. That has worked. She also suggested that I contact productions directly and gave me some names and I've had a couple more days work from that. Being referred by someone is better than going in cold.'
Sue also suggested that Alice try to shadow a stunt co-ordinator and provided her with a contact after the interview. ‘I got more than I thought. Sue had worked with stunt people and talked about her experience with them and she knew the basics. She also gave me information about marketing myself as a freelance, though I'm still a bit far off that point. I'd like a follow up session when I'm further down the line. I'll get professional photos done once I'm on the register - you need one head shot and one action shot for Spotlight - so I might need more advice at that stage. After the session I did my CV straight away and Sue looked at that and sent me feedback emails. I'm further down the road with my action plan now.'
Alice is realistic about her chances. ‘It can all change if you have an injury. It's a long haul and you never know what might happen. But I like to push myself to learn new skills and eg having the PADI Diving Master qualification is a qualification in its own right so all the skills I learn will stand me in good stead. It's a bit like acting - some of it is about being in the right place at the right time. I could end up being a stunt double for an actress or maybe just get a succession of smaller jobs. I'm not so naïve as to think that the jobs will come flying in once I'm on the register and it might just end up being a part time thing, but stunts have to be gender specific now - ie if it's an actress a woman has to do it and I can also double for kids, so there should be a market there.'
‘I would recommend the service. It's definitely a good thing - it helps you to focus more and now I know there are people in the industry willing to help me out. Maybe I hadn't asked enough before. I came out feeling someone else is helping me along. People can be guarded with their information because there's a lot of competition, so it's great that someone is there to help and guide you.'
If you would like a careers advice & guidance session with one of our Careers Advisors in Wales, all the details can found at Skillset Careers in Wales
