Film production has always been a predominantly male industry. A study by Variety shows that only 18% of women held behind-the-scenes film jobs in 2017. We find that having different demographics in the film industry is crucial.
Our Assistant Producer, Sloan Rios phrased it perfectly:
“In this industry, our job is to tell stories. If the story-tellers do not bring diverse perspectives to the table, how can we successfully do that job?”
Jennifer Aniston was recently an honoree at Variety’s Power of Women Conference in October of 2019 and shared what it was like for her in the film industry 14 years ago and how it is changing today:
“I think we need more female screenwriters. I think we need to have more female stories. I mean more than half of the population are women and they have incredible stories. My partner and I, when we started doing this around 14 years ago, it was sort of looked upon as ‘oh, isn’t that so cute’ and it took us awhile to be taken seriously.”
Aniston is correct by stating females consist of about half of the world population, so it makes sense that we should try to have an equal pull from all kinds of narratives. Now, Jennifer Aniston and her production company run a successful show through Apple TV called “The Morning Show“.
According to Bustle, women’s roles in the film industry have changed little to none in over a decade and women make up 4.3% of directors studied in the 2018 USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. With the statistics of female representation and inclusion being low in the film industry, we are proud to say that our team is 50% female. It is the first time in our 14 years of business to have as high of a ratio of women as we do now. Having a dedicated and hard-working team that represents different people equally is definitely worth celebrating in an industry that is predominantly male.
Although the stats for female representation in film is low according to Women in Film, there are many great initiatives in our community that support females in the film industry. Fort Worth Film Commission created #femalefilmmakerfriday, which spotlights women who work in various crew positions who live and work in Fort Worth. This is a great example of how people can work to break this issue in the film industry and bring more hard working women of film into light.
Our team went from having three women at the beginning of 2019 to now eight total. All of which work hard and dedicate their time to bettering the film and video industry.
MEET THE WOMEN ON OUR TEAM:
Morgan Polly – Controller
Morgan handles the general financial duties of the company. She has also served as the post-production bookkeeper for multiple independent films.
“When I was hired 8.5 years ago, I was one of two females working for Red Productions. It has been exciting to see the ratio of female employees increase alongside the tremendous growth of the company. In the film production industry, there is a raised awareness to mentor females. Red Productions has the capability to fulfill these opportunities not only for our own team, but also our community.”
Giselle Saucedo – Production Services Manager
Giselle manages our Backlot Studio rentals, executes logistics for physical productions, and leans on her love of Fort Worth and the creative arts to do great work here at Red Productions. When she’s not working with the team, G can be found living her best life at her gym, across the street at HopFusion or pretty much anywhere with a dance floor.
“I am appreciative of the team at Red Productions for providing me with freedom of opportunity to forge a career path that is unique to my personal and professional goals.”
Alyssa Vaught – Associate Creative Producer
Alyssa enjoys tackling creative challenges and ensuring that clients not only have their video needs met, but their expectations exceeded and enjoy the production process.
“When I started just a year ago, I was only one of four women in the Red Productions office. To see that more than double within just a year is really exciting. Red Productions has made a concerted effort to give women a voice in film, and for that I am grateful. I’m always treated as an equal, but I know that’s not always the case in our industry so I truly appreciate the sense of respect and camaraderie from all of my Red Productions team members.”
Sloan Rios – Associate Producer
She loves working with others and enjoys guiding our clients through the process of producing a video! With a background in marketing, Sloan brings years of account service and project management to the table. When she’s not in the office or on a shoot, you can find Sloan gardening, biking around Fort Worth, or planning her next camping trip.
“There is always room for improvement, but Red Productions is making strides in an industry that historically doesn’t give women a seat at that table. As Red Productions continues to grow, I hope to see us take this even further! I hope to see more female leadership and more general diversity (racial, social-economical, etc.) in the future.”
Kelsey Berry – Digital Media Coordinator
Kelsey curates and manages all of Red Production’s websites, blogs and various social media platforms. Her job is really just to make sure that all of the hard work our team does in the production world is put out onto the world wide web. She is also designated “plant mom” of the office.
“It’s truly exciting to be a part of a company that naturally wants everyone to excel. Red Productions does a great job in making everyone feel heard and supported. All the ladies of the office work extremely hard to do what they love and it’s even more rewarding to be a part of an industry that recognizes the need to be more inclusive to all. “
Margaret Boschini – Executive Assistant / Community Coordinator
Margaret Boschini discovered her love of film as an intern for Red Productions in 2016. After growing up a little and learning a whole lot, she rejoined the team in 2019 as a full time employee. As Red’s Executive Assistant, Margaret keeps busy by keeping Red busy. She is often seen running around the office with an epic to-do list in her hands and a pencil (or two) in her hair.
“It’s nice being in an office where I can look up to other women as professionals and role models. It’s easy to get discouraged in a male-dominated field, but seeing the women at Red Productions do great work every day inspires me to go forward with confidence in my skills and abilities. Having this privilege makes me even more passionate about promoting women in the industry because I know how much of a difference gender equity can make.”
Heather Wilk – Film/TV Development Director
Heather started working at Red Productions at the Los Angeles office in August of 2019.
“It’s great to see companies like Red Productions changing their culture to recognize the importance of diverse voices and viewpoints in their projects and I look forward to helping lead the charge. There’s still a great deal of work to be done. It’s no longer enough just to have diversity on your staff. It’s about having all kinds of voices in leadership and key decision making roles so that both our policies and our productions reflect our communities and our clients.”
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO US?
As a production company, our purpose is to tell stories in a meaningful way and we believe that every project has the power to move someone. With more inclusivity to all people in the film industry, we are capable of sharing all types of narratives to those around us.
We are always looking for ways to improve as a company, so when it comes to inclusivity within Red Productions, we know that there will always be room for improvement. As for being 50% female, we are happy with the strides we’ve made to get to this point and are excited to grow as a company in the future.
Our Productions Service Manager, Giselle Saucedo, stated it best,
“Regardless of gender, race, or background, we’re all humans uniquely experiencing a present time that will eventually become our history. We should all be contributing to creative works that leave behind a legacy reflecting our various perspectives and abilities. That’s why it’s important that people working in the production industry actively pursue opportunities where historically underserved demographics have a voice that matters.”
