Call It!, the app for anonymous reporting of abusive behaviour in film and TV, has been expanded to address concerns of health and safety, as well as signing its first international partners.
The tool, introduced in 2021 and used by ITV Studios since September 2022, now invites reporting on health and safety, safeguarding and working conditions in addition to its core areas of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
ITV Studios has renewed its partnership for another year after encouraging use of the app on its labels’ productions, and now German producer BTF has signed up.
Meanwhile, data collected by the app will be compiled and analysed in an annual report to be produced by the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University from next year.
Call It! prompts staff, freelancers and ancillary workers to report on their working conditions with the question “How were you treated at work today?”, enabling producers to get an early indication of problems that might need addressing.
The addition of the App’s optional question regarding workplace concerns is welcomed by the industry’s leading health and safety charity, the Mark Milsome Foundation. MMF Chair,
Samantha Wainstein, chair of health and safety charity the Mark Milsome Foundation, welcomed the new features.
“Too many people are scared to express concerns about health and safety,” she said. “Many accidents could be prevented if productions are made aware of safety fears. We applaud the work of the Call It! team to empower and protect all who work in the film and tv sector.”
The independent, not-fo-profit app was developed by director Delyth Thomas, producer Jules Hussey and writer/producer Kate Wilson to complement existing corporate policies and procedures.
Outline Productions’ creative director Helen Veale is set to leave her role at the indie she co-founded in 1999 with Laura Mansfield.
Outline’s credits include Remarkable Places to Eat (BBC2/Channel 4), Michel Roux’s Provence Masterclass (Discovery +), Michel Roux’s French Country Cooking (Food Network), Sarah Beeny: Breast Cancer, My Family and Me (C4), Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country (C4), and Rochelle Humes: Interior Designer in the Making (W).
The indie was acquired by Tin Roof Media in 2017. Mansfield recently left her position as managing director to join ScreenSkills as chief exec.
Veale said it is “now time for something new” after running the indie for 25 years, adding that she is proud of the company’s track record in hiring and nurturing people from all backgrounds and seeing them flourish throughout their careers.
She went on: “Through the hundreds of hours of TV I’ve devised and delivered, it’s been a real pleasure developing shows and formats that audiences keep coming to. I’ve also loved learning the commercial tricks of the trade and have become a passionate enthusiast for brand partnerships and AFP projects.
“All of this has made me increasingly aware of lots of new ways that the creative skills of TV translate into a broader range of partnerships and platforms in broadcasting and beyond, I’m going take this chance to explore them. Running Outline has been such a privilege but now I’m now really excited about my next steps.”
Rod Henwood, chairman of Tin Roof, revealed that Blink’s creative directors Dan Chambers and Justine Kershaw will take over Outline’s production and development slate, as well as its creative direction. Its production management and operations will remain integrated under Ulla Streib, Tin Roof’s director of operations.
He added that further announcements will be made in due course and that he is “looking forward to continuing to build the company’s development and production slate”.
Henwood praised Veale’s work at Outline, stating: “Together with Laura, Helen built Outline into a very well-respected indie with the reputation for producing high quality, returning shows for a wide range of clients. Everyone at Tin Roof would like to thank her for making Outline such a success and wish her the very best for her future – where I’m sure she’ll continue to be a leading light in British TV.”
