Coventry woman who worked on new Channel 4 series says 'bizarre but fulfilling'

[dutchman]

Keely Pickard originally hails from Coventry but studied in Manchester



A Coventry woman who worked on a new TV series said the project was 'bizarre but fulfilling.' Keely Pickard secured a job on the upcoming Channel 4 series Pushers.

Camerawoman Keely, 23, who studied at MetFilm School in Manchester, worked on Pushers across two months, marking her first job in TV. Pushers is a new six-part comedy thriller co-written by and starring 8 of 10 Cats star Rosie Jones.

Rosie stars as Emily Dawkins, a woman with cerebral palsy who resorts to drug dealing after her benefits are slashed. She is helped by her old friend Ewen before recruiting other disabled people to join their gang.

Speaking of her time working on Pushers, Keely said: “My degree helped me massively on this shoot in understanding the various roles of other departments and understanding the overall flow of a shoot day. During my time at MetFilm School, I also worked on a variety of short films outside of my studies, which provided me with the skills and knowledge required in camera assisting roles.”

Keely secured the Pushers job by using the industry-recognised platform CREW Manchester. It featured her CV and behind-the-scenes stills from productions she created while studying.

She said: “It is the only job that I have ever gotten through my CV as of yet, so this was a very new experience and felt like a big sense of achievement. I had never met anyone in relation to the production team or camera department before, so it felt very fulfilling to get a job offer solely through displaying my work and experience rather than mutual connections, which is what I have found more common.”

Keely said working on Pushers was a big step up from her previous experience on short films, but something she really enjoyed. She said: “I found the production level of this drama to be much more intense than short film productions, so having that previous experience allowed me to settle into the high intensity and fast-paced environment more smoothly than I feel I would have without it.”

Seeing her name in the credits was, Keeley said, 'a very bizarre but fulfilling experience.' She explained: “I had always hoped to have my name come up on a TV screen one day, so seeing it in reality is very surreal! I think overall it is nice to be recognised for the work that we put into the shoot. It was gruelling at times but an incredible experience overall.”

Since graduating from MetFilm School, Keely has been freelancing on various projects, including music videos, commercials, and TV. She said: “I am just continuing to take every opportunity provided to me and fulfilling a job that rarely feels like going to work.”

[dutchman]

The new series sounds a lot like the old Johnny Vegas series "Ideal" which was abandoned by the BBC for no good reason.