We recently caught up with one of our Alumni members, Merryn Rae Peachey.
Merryn’s a graduate from Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, part of Nottingham Trent University and our Confetti Media Group (CMG) family of companies. Confetti is located right next door to Antenna, along with other CMG brands, like Notts TV, which provides a fantastic training ground for students to gain experience in media production and broadcasting.
Merryn got her start at Confetti and Notts TV, during which time she often based herself in Antenna between filming. When Merryn began working freelance, she decided to join our growing alumni membership. We spoke to Merryn about her graduate career, her membership experience, and her latest big break in high-end TV.
Hi Merryn, tell us about your time working as a Script Supervisor
Of course, let me go back to 2021 as that was a really big year for my career. I got my first role in a BBC Daytime Drama; last year I did ‘Doctors’, ‘Father Brown’, ‘Shakespeare and Hathaway’, and a production that’s recently been released on Britbox called ‘The Sister Boniface Mysteries’.
What would you say has been your biggest career milestone to date?
I would have to say the recent Apple TV series I worked on. Last year a Script Supervisor got in touch with me to ask if I wanted to work on a production codenamed ‘Whirlwind’… I know right?! The name alone sounded interesting. Anyway, it only turned out to be an original Apple TV series executively produced by none other than Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks! The series is called ‘Masters of the Air’, and it’s basically the sequel to Band of Brothers but this time, instead of following the US Army, it follows the US Air Force and their experiences in Britain during the Second World War. I worked on the second to last block of production, my boss and I worked on two episodes and it was an insane learning curve. I thought going from Indie shorts to BBC Daytime was a big jump but the transition from Daytime to Apple high-end TV was astronomical… I loved every second of it!
How does Antenna factor into your every day?
Pretty much for the whole of this year, when I’m not on a project, I’ve been at Antenna working on upcoming jobs and searching for further work. You can usually find me in the restaurant watching an old episode of Robot Wars whilst I’m having my lunch. It’s lovely, I’ve had some of my old Confetti tutors drop by and say hello and some of my ex Notts TV colleagues. It’s great to feel that connection back to Confetti and to also reflect on where I am now and how far I’ve come.
What made you want to join Antenna?
During my time at Confetti and working for Notts TV, I just adored the place. I became part of the furniture pretty much; from working as a student ambassador, helping out with Confetti Industry Week, to volunteering with Notts TV. The coworking space became a great environment where I knew I could get work done, and in my downtime, it was lovely to be able to see those that I had a connection with from my degree to my work experience. It made me really feel like I was an industry professional even though I was still a student. So, when I started to work freelance, I knew from experience of doing my previous full-time job remotely, that working from home doesn’t really work for me and that I need to go to a place of work. Knowing Antenna already, I had a look on the website and found that you do a discounted alumni membership, it felt great to come back. From then to now, there’s no bigger advocate for Antenna.
What’s next for you?
Now I’ve had a taste of working on high-end TV, and by that, I mean big budget shows, I know I need to take advantage of further training and make more connections in those circles. In order to reach that next plateau, I applied for a couple of traineeships, one with ScreenSkills and another with Sara Putt Associates. Amazingly, I’ve been accepted onto them both!
The ScreenSkills HE Trainee Finder Traineeship in particular is a great honour, every year ScreenSkills hold this programme with lots of different categories from animation, to VFX, film, even games. In the HETV pool there’s over 200 participants, and there’s only 24 trainee script supervisors like myself. They work with big production companies behind the likes of ‘The Crown’, ‘Poldark’, and perhaps even, ‘Peaky Blinders’, or the new Lord of the Rings TV series this year! It’s exciting stuff… and they’ll be drawing from ScreenSkills’ talent pool, so fingers crossed! They’ve already put me through lots of great training with tips from industry pros, and that’s just within the first month.
That all sounds amazing, we’re really rooting for you Merryn! If people want to get in touch, what’s the best way to contact you?
If you see me around Antenna, please do say hi, I love getting to know new people. You’ll also find me on LinkedIn, and for more information on my work, you can have a look on IMDb.
Are you a NTU or Confetti graduate? Join our Antenna community with discounted alumni membership
With 3 months free use of Antenna during June, July and August, then a further 20% discount for the remaining months of the year (spread across 12 months), this is a great opportunity to start your career in the creative industries with a monthly cost of just £5.97!
You’ll have your company registered on our member directory and also receive 10 free day passes to use in Antenna at off peak times throughout the year (8am – 10am / 3pm – 6pm).
Please note, priority will be given to graduates that studied a creative, or related, degree or are in employment that is in, or supports, the creative industries.
Find out more on our membership page.
