ABOUT

So what do you actually do?

I pitch podcast and video ideas, get them commissioned and then make them.

What has your career path been?

Started out working in a biscuit factory, then a cinema, then a comedy production company and then in current affairs and now I run a small but perfectly formed department at ITNP. 

What is the best part of your job?

Making stuff and then hearing it on a podcast platform or watching it on Youtube

Why do you do your job?

Money. Jokes. It's fun and I get to do lots of different things and meets lots of talented people. 

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Don't wait to get commissioned, just start making stuff.

Any parting words?

Pick up a camera/mic/pen and make shit happen. 

Check out Rubina’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

It's so tough to sum up a typical day working here at ITN Productions and that's because the days are jam-packed with meetings, brainstorms, writing, pitching and making content. It's a busy old job, but I really love it. 

I wish there were more hours in the day, but of the 8-10 I do properly work there's a lot of exciting things to think about and talented people to connect with.

I try to start super early and time plan so that each hour of the day is allocated to a project or an idea. My role involves pitching video and podcast ideas, getting them commissioned and then making them, so at any one point I can have two podcasts in production and a video series as well as the entertainment news programmes I look after for C5 and ITV.

Once I can see what the day ahead looks like, I like to check in with my team and we plan what the week is going to look like. Part of my job is to oversee some entertainment news bulletins so it's good to check in about movies being released that week or music videos and whether we have any interviews during the week set up with directors or actors etc. 

After this I like to check in on all my productions and write colour-coded lists of all the things that need looking at. Setting up a shoot, organising an interview or being in the edit and listening to a podcast to sign off can be some of the various things involved.

I spend a lot of time in meetings or on the phone and try to switch this up so that I’m not sat at my desk all day.

Money is something I have to think about so I check to make sure our productions are running to budget and schedule and weekly, I report to my boss about any new commissions and update him on how everything is looking. Knowing how much things should cost to make is an art and I am still learning this everyday.

Sometimes I meet with journalists who have new ideas or I’ll be reading articles so I can think about what to pitch next. 90% of my job is about having my ideas rejected so I have to build a lot of resilience and also keep the creative juices flowing.

I like to edit my own pitch decks using photoshop and indesign and when required cut my taster tapes on Premiere or audio teases on Audition. Creative Cloud is my one true love.

Connecting with my super smart colleagues is a real help and I ask them for ideas or see if they have time to read proposals and that makes me feel connected and not like I’m working too solo, which a lot of this job really is.

As I delve deeper into podcast production, I do my best to try and listen to a new podcast episode a week and have recently spent more time listening to the work of sound designers and try to create a catalogue of reference points of things I do and don’t like.

I’ve been doing the same with video and having this bible can be so useful when you try to have conversations about style and tone with editors and producers.

By the afternoon I’ll be thinking about tomorrow and setting up more meetings, but try not to do any brainstorms in the afternoon, as I write better in the mornings and afternoons are more for reading and absorbing.

End of the day of work can vary depending on how demanding some projects are, but I have a little baby growing inside me, so I try to clock off at a reasonable time and make sure I have no emails to respond to.