It’s not every day you get to talk to an acclaimed Oscar-nominated producer, but that’s exactly what happened to our BA (Hons) Filmmaking, Filmmaking and Screenwriting Diploma students as they were introduced to Tracey Seaward. Seaward has excelled in her field and collaborated with incredible directors such as Steven Spielberg, Stephen Frears and Fernando Meirelles.
A key piece of advice Seaward offered was regarding the amount of involvement a producer should have on the film’s crew. Seaward explained;
“As producers, look for the extent of real creative input that you can put into a film, whether it’s through an exquisite cinematographer or a talented writer.”
Seaward went on to explain how she continues to work with great directors and talented crew, which is all down to the relationships you form prior to hiring them.
“Immerse yourself in everything, do research into people and learn from them a lot, and whilst it is a collaboration it is often a handover process. You need to have faith in the relationship you build with the team who will create your film.”
The topic of Netflix, and other streaming giants, came into the conversation, the former being the distributor of ‘The Two Popes’.
“We had a great level of autonomy from Netflix, and they are very talent driven, not just from the cast or the director, but the whole creative team”
Seaward concluded her Masterclass with a word of advice to budding writers, directors and producers:
“Watch film all the time, know your work, do your research and immerse yourself in this world.”
This is part of our series of online Masterclasses, with a lineup of prominent filmmakers including Tracey Seaward (‘The Two Popes’), Corin Hardy (‘Gangs of London’), John Strickland (‘Line of Duty’) and Dick Pope (‘Mr. Turner’). This series is exclusive to our BA (Hons) Filmmaking, Filmmaking and Screenwriting Diploma students.