Historians on Screen - Pathways to Media Work for Historians

Registration for this event is now closed.

Funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC – IAA).

History is everywhere on screen. The past is visualised in historical documentaries, period dramas, films, genealogy shows and horrible histories. Historians provide expert commentary as talking heads, while working behind the scenes as TV and film consultants, contributing their expert knowledge in myriad ways. More recently, historians have started to feature on video podcasts, TikTok videos, and many other visual formats.

However, researchers often feel uncertain about how to engage with the media, or how they might apply their underpinning research to create, develop and pitch ideas. Too often, they lack a roadmap for media engagement and lack training on performing effectively on screen.

Historians on Screen is an online workshop series intended to train historians (and researchers in related disciplines) in working with screen. Across two online workshops, participants will learn how to use historical research to create, develop and pitch screen-based ideas. Talks will be given by industry experts and experienced historians. The event is aimed at participants from postgraduate (MA and PhD) level and early career researchers.

Workshop 2: Pathways to Media Work for Historians

Historians are regularly approached by media researchers, usually to consult on TV and film productions. Thorough historical research is integral to accurate and convincing screen productions, and trained historians can play an invaluable role in helping the media. This workshop sheds light on how historians might search for and secure research-related employment in the media industries.

Schedule

10am to 11.30am Employability, Research and the Media

Session one is led by Jackie Smyth and Donna Caldwell from Ulster University’s Employability and Careers service who will offer insight into how to become a researcher in media, including freelance work, while providing guidance on how to be an effective consultant when approached by media researchers.

11.45am - 1pm The Titanic: Television production and historical “truth”

What happens to nuance and “truth” on a programme’s journey from the original material on paper, to the final project on screen? At what point in the process do the demands of programme finance, programme making and audience expectations have an impact on an interpretation of past events?

Stellify Media is currently editing a new four-part series for the BBC on the sinking of the Titanic. Filmed using Studio Ulster’s state of the art virtual production technology, it can place the viewer inside a perfect replica of Belfast’s most famous ship. During the session, senior members of Stellify’s creative and management team will candidly discuss the production process and how this process influences what the viewer sees – and ultimately, what they do not see.