Meet Lauren

I did well at school but felt frustrated that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. I went to college to do Media Studies because I love music and film, then I went to university in London at 18 to study TV Production but I dropped out in my second year. By chance I met someone that was starting a production company and said I was interested in lighting. I emailed them asking for their advice about getting in touch with someone who could help me find out more about the opportunities available.

I got the offer to attend a film set in Newcastle for a week, as unpaid work experience. It was totally different to what I was expecting but I loved it. I quit my job and for about a year I worked for this person on and off, on a voluntary basis. When that came to an end, I contacted all the relevant companies in Cardiff I could find on Facebook. I got taken on as a volunteer for two weeks and after that, someone gave me a list of gaffer contacts, also known as chief lighting electricians, so I got in touch with them all.

A gaffer got back to me and said they were working on the Sherlock TV drama and asked if I would like to come and help. The money I made from doing this allowed me to do my electrical qualifications and from there I kept meeting people and gaining more contacts. I went to a college in Cardiff to do a three-month intensive course and get my domestic electrical installation and building regulations qualifications. The course was all men looking to become house electricians. I very much stood out. My whole career I have been the odd one out, but it didn’t bother me!

It varies so much. A general formula would be that the first thing you do is unload the trucks if you are at a new location to familiarise yourself with the kit. You need to look at everything you have got and find out where to go if you need anything. You then prep for the day as much as you can – such as building a few lights ready to go.

Once the directors and actors have finished blocking, it is time to light the scene. The gaffer, who is in charge of the lighting department, lets his or her team know what the lighting is going to be and then we get to work. If a location is huge and they need massive rigs, they get installed in the days prior. As we shoot throughout the day, we follow that same formula. The sparks naturally divide themselves out – it changes each time as to who is doing what.

Now I have been doing this job for nearly 10 years, I regularly see familiar faces but there are still times when I go to work and I don’t know a single person there. It’s like starting a new job every time. It can be quite scary turning up to a studio and there are all these trucks and people, but everyone starts out like that - you have to keep going.