Creative agency snaps up three UON graduates to bolster its team

A Northampton communications agency was so impressed with creative talent from the town’s university that it hired three graduates to help its expansion.

With business thriving, The Outlook Creative Group was keen to bring in new recruits to allow it to continue growing.

After advertising three job roles, the company, located in Little Billing, received standout CVs from a trio of 2018 Media Production graduates.

The technical knowledge and creative flair they had developed on the course saw Federica Marzella, Megan Harman, and Michael Sargent bag all three jobs between them.

Federica Marzella is now Outlook’s video editor, Michael Sargent is a video production assistant, and Megan Harman has already progressed from video production assistant to a video producer.

Investing in local talent

Outlook’s managing director, Steve Harrold, said: “As a growing business, The Outlook Creative Group believe it’s more important than ever to invest in local talent within the community.

“Since our graduates joined us from the University of Northampton, we have been impressed with their approach and positive attitude towards their work.

“It’s an exciting time for our graduates. We will continue to nurture their skills and prepare them for the next steps in their careers. The Outlook Creative Group is committed to employing a diverse range of people from all backgrounds, and we look forward to bringing more young talent into our business in the future.”

Megan’s video production role sees her work with Outlook’s clients from initial brief to the delivery of the final project. Leading various projects simultaneously, her role includes scripting, storyboarding, budgeting, and working directly with post-production teams, in addition to sourcing locations, talent and crews for on-site productions.

She said: “My university course prepared me for my current role in a variety of ways, including working within a production team, acquiring an insight into scriptwriting, and providing an understanding of post-production software. I found that the documentary and live TV modules were particularly beneficial for me as I gained experience in working with clients, understanding the production process, and working to production schedules in greater detail.”

Video production assistant Michael completes a wide variety of tasks.

“One day, I can be finding music for an edit, casting actors or voiceover actors, and then the next, I could be on set helping with props, costumes, and so on,” he said.

“I can also find myself booking travel, hotels, creating call sheets and risk assessments as well as producing some of our smaller pre-recorded jobs so I can learn how to produce projects at Outlook.”

Michael added: “The university course provided me with the basic understanding of a video shoot. Without it, I would not have known how to create a call sheet, risk assessments, and other important production documents. It also helped me gain experience in talking to clients; communication is a huge part of my current role and will only become more important if I climb the ladder to producer eventually here at Outlook.”

Video editor Federica edits everything from interviews to promotional videos, events, and show reels. She follows producers’ briefs maintains client brand guidelines, uses her creative input to establish narratives, and looks to improve the edit where she can.

She said: “A lot goes into an edit, including sound, texts, colour grading, music, and a lot more, so it’s a big responsibility. However, I collaborate with a fantastic team of editors, producers, animators and designers, and every day is an adventure.”

Federica added: “The BA course was key in showing the importance of networking; I met students from other creative courses, and I had the chance to create videos to promote their art and music.

“Being exposed to similar-minded people and sharing our dreams and ideas really helped me build my self-confidence and have faith in my own future.”