On the back of a Film Victoria writer placement on Neighbours last year, Eugenie Muggleton landed an ongoing position in the script department of Australia’s longest running television series.
With applications for our writer and director placements on Neighbours currently open, we chat to Eugenie about her experience – from why she decided to apply, to the skills she gained over the six weeks.
Congratulations on completing your writer placement on Neighbours and being offered ongoing work as an Assistant Script Co-ordinator. How does it feel to go from a six-week placement to stepping into this role?
I loved the environment at Neighbours, so it’s a real treat to be offered a position. I learned a lot during the placement but six weeks flies by, so I’m looking forward to getting more experience.
How did the placement help you get to this point?
The placement allowed the department to get to know me as much as me them, so when a position came up it was a bit of ‘right place, right time’.
What initially made you apply for the writer placement?
Neighbours is an institution. So much Australian talent has cut its teeth on Ramsey Street. I thought the opportunity to learn from that first-hand would be invaluable.
During the placement you were working in the script department – what insight did you gain into the workings of the department? And what were your favourite aspects to work on?
The department is broken into storylining and script editing, and I spent three weeks in each. I loved being in a room with the storyliners – it’s collaborative, full of creative problem solving and everything moves at an incredibly fast pace. I also loved working with dialogue and with a script in the editing side of things – it’s a completely different set of skills to build up.
Do you have any tips for writers looking to apply for this opportunity?
Just apply. Why not? And if you get it, be a sponge.
How do you deal with the volume of writing?
The workload during the placement was very light compared to what the rest of the script department turns over. It’s something to behold, that’s for sure.
What’s the most interesting dialogue you’ve got to work on during Neighbours?
There are a lot of fun characters, I can’t pick. There were some fun euphemisms I got to come up with.
Applications for the Writer Placements close at 4pm on 3 April 2019
Applications for the Director Placements close at 4pm on 6 March 2019
To find out more about our writer and director placements on Neighbours, see the Film Victoria website. And watch our video with previous recipient of a Director Placement on Neighbours, Tenika Smith.
Sign up to our e-news to find out about other opportunities like this one.